Fallout viewers baffled by timeline continuity ‘error’
Fallout fans have been left confused over what they assumed to be an error regarding a game show location featured in the new Prime Video series.
Earlier this month, all eight episodes of the video game adaptation, produced by Westworld’s Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, were released, with viewers tearing through the entire lot so quickly that it’s become the most-watched title on the subscription service.
The acclaimed series is set in the year 2296, which is a full 15 years after the events of video game Fallout: New Vegas. This means that a lot has changed in that time – and the show certainly doesn’t pull its punches with the revelations.
There has been some controversy among die-hard gamers regarding a location known as Shady Sands. In the game, Shady Sands is introduced as the capital of a faction, formed after the fall of civilisation, called the New California Republic.
However, in episode six of the series, it’s revealed that Shady Sands no longer exists as it has been nuked. This detail confused some viewers, who had been hyped to see Shady Sands depicted in the show. More details were revealed in episode seven thanks to a blackboard glimpsed in a classroom, which informed viewers about the timeline of what went down.
In a nearby vault, which Maximus and Lucy (Ella Purnell) find themselves imprisoned in, it’s revealed that, in the show’s timeline, Shady Sands fell in 2277.
The blackboard reads: ”Shady Sounds founded, 2142. New California Republic created, 2189. Shady Sands becomes capital of the NCR, 2198. NCR becomes the largest economic and political power in California, 2241. The fall of shady sands, 2277.”
After spotting the final date on the blackboard, though, many fans pointed out there would have been an overlap with events from Fallout: New Vegas – and that Shady Sands was very much still functioning in that game.
The date also appears to be at odds with comments made by show creator Todd Howard, who confirmed to IGN: “The bombs fall just after the events of New Vegas.”
He also acknowledged that, with the timeline, “there might be a little bit of confusion in some places”, but assured videogame players that “everything that happened in the previous games, including New Vegas, happened”.
While many are assuming the blackboard date was a continuity error, it’s worth noting that the last phrase on the blackboard points to a drawing of a nuke exploding, perhaps hinting that while “the fall” began in 2277, Shady Sands was obliterated in the years between Fallout: New Vegas and the Prime Video series.
Not all viewers are convinced, though, with one writing: “I'm sorry, maybe they should have done a little better job explaining when exactly Shady Sands was nuked? Because the show strongly implies that it was in 2277. If that's not what they wanted to imply, maybe don't include that blackboard?”
Fallout is available to stream on Prime Video.
