With its unexpectedly high quality, the recently released Fallout TV series caught me completely off guard. From the minute the visuals and audio reached my ears, I could tell that this series was of high quality. The seven-minute prologue heralded the end of the known world.
The scene was so expertly staged that even after the concert ended, I couldn’t get it out of my head. I felt it was important to explain why I think the first portion was flawless by dissecting it. Anyway, let’s dive right in.
This is why the Fallout series’ opening sequence is flawless. I should probably warn you ahead of time that this has spoilers. The opening scene’s use of music was one thing that stood out to me right away.
Spoiler Alert!
Fallout Episode 1 Opening Scene Explained
Nat King Cole’s “Orange Colored Sky” was playing as we transitioned from the dark screen to the show. It was the right choice, I thought to myself once the scene ended, for the sky was glowing orange from the nuclear bomb that had fallen on the city. Lyrics like “I was strolling along, minding my business,” “went out of an orange-colored sky,” “flash,” “bam,” and “alakazam” were integral to the scene and its climax.
Even though the song was initially meant to depict the sensation of falling in love, it took on a whole new meaning in this context and aptly captured what happened at the very end of the scene. There was more than one instance of this, with the lyrics eloquently describing love and conflict but also containing contrasting meanings. As an example, this incident unfolded during a joyous occasion—a birthday party—yet it ended with widespread fear and what seemed like the end of the world for many.
Thus, there were several manifestations of the friction-filled polar opposites. Because it lulled us into a false sense of security in multiple ways, this was a fantastic artistic choice. It was a fantastic method to set the tone for the scenario, whether through the setting, the emotions, or the sound effects.
I thought it was great that the show was named as “the end” even though it was just the beginning. For them, it meant the end of the world as they had known it before to the bombs falling. I mean, it’s not exactly groundbreaking, but it was a funny little touch that I found entertaining.
To return to the sensation of unease that was virtually concealed, we had many instances of that experience in just seven minutes. For instance, the radio station mentioned that the president was conspicuously absent, the radio also mentioned Anchorage, Alaska, the weatherman’s panicked statement about the pointlessness of doing the weather if the world wasn’t going to exist in a week, and finally, the mother’s attempt to ignore and disregard everything. Even in these brief instances, we gained knowledge of a world with which we were completely unfamiliar—the world beyond the four walls of our house.
At this point, all we knew was that it was a birthday party, and the only warning we had was what we heard and saw on the news, which created a really uncomfortable atmosphere, even though it was only a trickle. We met Coop and Janie, and the bomb threat was never even mentioned. Although we didn’t know much about Coop at the beginning of the show, he became the ghoul we followed throughout. It wasn’t until I watched the show again that I understood and appreciated some of the lines in this scene.
Take children’s birthday parties as an example; we noticed that he was there, and the parents didn’t understand a thing. The reason behind his job loss was because studios didn’t want to be linked with him or Vault-Tec, which led to him losing jobs. This became clear after watching the entire show. This demonstrated that, despite our observations of his steadily declining employment status throughout the play, he had already fallen from stardom by the time the explosives went off; he was reduced to a has-been who had no choice but to throw parties to make ends meet.
Demonstrating the professional and personal effects of Vault-Tec on him through the events involving his wife Barb. Additionally, due to the circumstances surrounding the shot, he declined to give the thumbs up. He came up with the thumbs up posture during a photoshoot in the radiation-resistant costume that vault dwellers wear, as shown in episode 3 of the show.
However, he became enraged at the billboard featuring the caricature based on him 219 years later. This demonstrated his profound animosity toward Vault-Tec and his own potential. And that bitterness began just recently, when he began to uncover the truth about Vault-Tec and how they were to be the ones to detonate the city’s bombs.
After all, he disagreed with the idea that the end of the world is a commodity. Additionally, his parents’ comment, “that’s what you’re known for,” in response to his refusal to give the thumbs up was an apparent dig at him. A demonstration that, despite his acting success, his legacy and reputation were built on his advocacy for Vault-Tec, the very firm he now hated.
The same corporation that destroyed his life, ended his job, and exposed his wife as a wicked person. After viewing the show, everything clicked into place as we witnessed his thoughts go from being open to collaborating with Vault-Tec to realizing that they were a corporation eager to wipe out huge portions of the population for financial gain and toy with people’s lives. All of that was contained in that brief seven-minute scenario inside Coop’s thoughts; we were only unaware of it at the time.
I think it was brilliantly done when the explosion happened. It was absolutely ideal that the entire event unfolded in slow motion while remaining completely silent. The bomb’s descent was particularly eerie because we didn’t see it from the character’s or our own eyes—just a reflection in the window.
We saw Janie’s reaction, which was one of anxiety, uneasiness, and a general lack of direction. Those towering plumes of smoke that Nat King Cole had mentioned earlier suddenly materialized, their orange hue illuminating the sky as they reached for the stars. The end, hinted at earlier, was upon us, and death was on the horizon.
In addition, I thought it was great how the bomb’s impact was breaking all the windows in the home as it was hurtling towards it. Observing its approach while being in the dark about its actual impact caused tension. In my opinion, this scenario would go well with the one where the explosion took place in the miniseries Chernobyl.
It was also incredibly well-executed, in my opinion. From the safety of an apartment window, we can see the explosion unfold as the energy surges through the building. This method is particularly effective since, without sound, we cannot fully appreciate the magnitude of the explosion. Just moments after the explosion, we witnessed two once-friendly individuals reveal their true colors. One of them refused to let the other into the bunker they had built, claiming there was no room, before hitting them. This almost seemed to indicate that the mindset of the civilization we observe today was formed not long after.
It only took a matter of seconds following the explosion for a violent, lawless nation to emerge, with everyone looking out for themselves. The perfect way to end the disaster and show us how the world ended up in the position it did 219 years later when we cut there only a few seconds later was with Coop and Janie riding off, the music reaching a crescendo as the largest explosion occurred before this 7-minute scene concluded. Even if you’ve never seen it before, this opening scene sets the tone for the rest of the show with its eerie atmosphere.
However, it’s worth noting that certain character aspects become apparent only after viewing the program, which adds a layer of complexity to this scenario when watched again. Starting with that Nat King Cole song had me captivated from the first note; it was the ideal way to kick off the performance. Now you know why the Fallout TV series’ opening scene is flawless.
