The Target

This episode is just as good as the stellar premiere, adding intriguing new characters to what was already a pretty well populated story. Lucy and Maximus could both be lead characters of their own series, but this one isn't content to just have one, we get both.

Special kudos to Aaron Motin as Maximus, playing a role that could easily be a mere trope. The green cadet who yearns for more, blah blah, we've seen this before, it's an easy role to play because we're primed to like the kid. But Motin always adds something more to his scenes. And it's always great to see Michael Emerson in anything.

The "junkyard city" scenes are typically above and beyond for this series, taking the well worn post-apocalyptic visuals to all new levels of satire and strange beauty. You could go back and freeze-frame your way through, just to pick up on all the details crammed into every inch of the scene.

Solid second episode, from someone who didn't play the games. I remember when the first one came out (friends played) and it reminded me of the underrated cult-classic 'Six-String Samurai'. Episode 1 was more like a less creepy version of 'A Boy and His Dog', but Episode 2 explores the post-apocalypse world more, and I like that it's building out on an already familiar idea. It's like seeing a planet in Star Wars that isn't Tatooine. The two episodes are pretty comparable, but I think I liked Ep 2 slightly more because of the jokes, character building, and fight scenes.

Not quite as many explosions as episode 1, but a fair amount of shooting, punching and violence to be entertaining. The actors had a bit more room to work and the protagonist evolved after experiencing challenges stemming from her sheltered existence, and as a result she has the beginning of a character arc. The squire appears to also have an arc, but the writers haven't done as well at explaining his motivations so far; but can't rule out that it wasn't intentional.

'The Target' gives me a lot of hope for the rest of the series. They could still screw it up, but there haven't been any major red-flags and so far it's just been kind of fun wacky entertainment.

I thought the pilot was excellent, but this one was fantastic. It did a near perfect job of bringing all the main characters together and pushing the story forward. The standoff at Filly was very intense and made for a great climax to this episode. The whole setting with all the props did a really great job of paying tribute to the 3D video games. I'm also opening up to Maximus's character. He seemed pretty bland and one-dimensional during the pilot but my concerns are starting to ease as he develops courage in the Brotherhood of Steel. Again, Lucy and The Ghoul shined through this one and continue to impress me. 4.5/5 stars.

Continuing from the setup earlier, with Wilzig flash back (can be a spin-off with several seasons) showing crucial points like "the chip" with no intention of leaving immediately, reveals planned, mapped and scheduled escape (Filly seemingly a local hub included), while due to unpredicted events moved somewhat before schedule, and on his way to Filly, next to the bear cave, changed from "doctor's coat" to black jacket, the one he wore when spotted a fire at night, approached Lucy who was, without knowing, general direction to Filly, as shown the next day when asked for directions. Also the way she routinely arranged next to the fire, shows that likely, the first night shown outside, wasn't her first, and at that point was wandering the Wasteland for couple or few days already, while Wilzig wearing the black jacket shows that Titus and Maximus got to the bear cave a day, couple or few days after he left..

Titus didn't like Maximus from the start (interrogation), cause different to Quintus, likely believed Maximus did it. That in combination with Maximus asking if Tempered Lining (reinforcement of metal and suit flaws fix) helps with mobility, and Titus being Titus (lost his belief in the Brotherhood cause, or never shared it, possibly recruited "outsider", as they started boosting numbers by adding Regulars to their Elite, as shown), resulted in "Clean that" and "I'm bored, and I wanna shoot something", showing Titus without patience, nor intention of explaining what Squire should already know, as the hunt for live "Target" requires air dropping earlier (few miles before Filly in this case) to avoid announcing (Recon and Sabotage), in addition to searching a section of terrain during approach. Added Maximus' unskilled air drop, Titus likely decided to get rid of incompetent Squire and get a replacement, or in case Maximus "proves" himself, "a restart". In all that Titus made a single mistake when didn't mount his sidearm, while Maximus ultimately failed as a Squire when didn't shoot after Titus won the 1st round boxing match vs irradiated, "ghoul" bear..

Another visual storytelling episode, with almost zero exposition, that doesn't spoon feed nor holds hand, that writes the characters in character, genuine overall and to the world they belong..

This episode focuses more on developing relationships between characters and does a great job portraying their internal emotions and tensions. Strong dramatic moments and meaningful dialogues, combined with well-timed action scenes, make the second episode equally compelling and engaging.

With new storylines introduced, this episode adds depth and layers to the narrative. The interactions between characters feel natural and believable, helping viewers empathize with them more. Also, the set design and visual effects enhance the post-apocalyptic feel.amirhosseinahg.