What’s your sperm count?
The Big Picture
- Lucy MacLean is a sex-positive character in
Fallout
, unashamed and enthusiastic about sexuality. - The show presents sexuality as healthy and essential for building community and relationships.
- Lucy’s sexuality is integrated into her character without being portrayed as problematic or gratuitous.
Radiation and lawlessness might be everywhere in Fallout, but surprisingly sex positivity is also on the rise in this post-apocalyptic world. This is most evident in the plucky and sexually enthusiastic Lucy Maclean, played by Ella Purnell. Although Fallout embraces a ’50s and ’60s aesthetic, Lucy is definitely a modern woman. She is not embarrassed by her sexuality or made to feel shame for being sexually active. This is rooted in her duty as a Vault Dweller of Vault 33 to repopulate the earth. The presentation of sexuality as a healthy thing, as something to engage in to build a community and foster relationships, is something to admire about the show. Sex is something good to enjoy and a healthy part of the human experience expertly juxtaposed against the dangers of the world in what is presented as a respite from the brutality and loneliness of life in a radioactive wasteland.
Fallout
In a future, post-apocalyptic Los Angeles brought about by nuclear decimation, citizens must live in underground bunkers to protect themselves from radiation, mutants and bandits.
- Release Date
- April 11, 2024
- Cast
- Moises Arias , Johnny Pemberton , Walton Goggins , Kyle MacLachlan
- Main Genre
- Sci-Fi
- Seasons
- 1
- Creator(s)
- Graham Wagner , Geneva Robertson-Dworet
- Producer
- Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan
- Streaming Service(s)
- Prime Video
‘Fallout’s Lucy MacLean Is a Sex-Positive Character
Lucy MacLean is possibly the best and brightest of the Vault Dwellers, at least in her home, Vault 33. She is the daughter of Overseer Hank MacLean (Kyle MacLachlan), and his unconditional love and support have brought out the absolute best in Lucy. She is brilliant, she is kind, and she is an absolute badass warrior. In the world of the Vault Dwellers, she is a prime candidate for marriage and, as this is precisely how the audience is introduced to her, in front of a panel of judges auditioning for what would be her impending nuptials. Marriage is an integral part of their world as it is the primary arrangement by which families are formed, which is essential to the mission of the Vault Dwellers. Families are the stabilizing factor of society and the hallmark of middle-class mid-century America that runs through the show. It also helps that their specific vault’s goal as a “breeding pool” is to continue to reproduce leaders for society once humanity goes back to the surface.
Lucy wants to have a family, and this is very apparent as she enthusiastically jumps at the chance to start making babies with her pre-approved husband (Cameron Cowperthwaite), who has a zeal and enthusiasm that is truly impressive. The scene between her and her new husband is intense, a wild swinging from the chandelier’s session of lovemaking that is almost in danger of being considered tawdry but dialed back enough and steeped in a David Lynch surreal 1950s-style innocence that is more quaint than it is sexually arousing. Lucy’s attitude toward sex can be summed up in two words: Okie dokie. Sex inside the Vaults is a beautiful thing and essential for fostering relationships, but it is also part of their mission to repopulate the earth, and you can’t do that without the pitter-patter of little feet. With their stable and safe society, sex stands out as something that should be embraced and essential to a life worth living.
Lucy and Maximus Approach Sex Differently in ‘Fallout’
This is a markedly different approach to sexuality in post-apocalyptic TV shows, which typically position sex as something terrible and dangerous. Whether it’s used as a weapon of violence against people or it’s a risky activity because getting pregnant in a post-apocalypse could spell death. Growing up in the vaults, Lucy doesn’t have the fear of pregnancy or sexual assault looming over her. In fact, she’s encouraged to marry and have kids. More than that, she’s encouraged to experiment before marriage with her cousin Chet (Dave Register). Her sexuality also demonstrates the information age that the characters live in, as illustrated by Maximus’ (Aaron Moten) humorous lack of knowledge about the subject.
From Lucy’s perspective, sex isn’t dangerous at all, and that is probably because she’s spent her life in relative abundance, learned about it in school, and remained safe inside the steel walls of a Vault where resources and stability have been plentiful. At least as far as she knows, because her father has been harboring some profound secrets. By contrast, people outside the Vaults don’t have the same perspective on sex. Maximus turns down Lucy because he barely understands the act (in fact, he seems to not even understand what ejaculation is) and because the Knights of the Brotherhood of Steel take a vow of chastity. Lucy and Maximus’ relationship illustrates that Fallout isn’t afraid to flip gender roles. It is clear that Lucy wants to have sex with Maximus and has feelings for him, but Maximus is not ready physically nor is he ready emotionally when she offers.
‘Fallout’ Doesn’t Shame Lucy
One of the unique things about Fallout is that the writers don’t present Lucy’s sexuality as problematic, dangerous, or as a type of character flaw. Better still, her sexuality is not flagrant and shoved into the script in a gratuitous attempt to make her character more appealing to audiences. It isn’t an opportunity to insert a titillating sex scene or follow the camera over a body from the male gaze. Instead, Lucy’s sexuality is fully integrated into her character and proportioned perfectly to the rest of her traits. Consider her wedding: Although we find out later that Monty’s intentions aren’t good, the sex Lucy has with him is enthusiastic and joyous. She is confident and in control of herself. The writers balance this against the violence that occurs during their fight in the next scene.
What makes Lucy such a great hero is that she is a well-rounded character, albeit a romantic one, and is precisely the kind of hero a lawless and degenerate world needs. Her moral uprightness is rooted in her very human desire to connect with people. The way she expresses her sexuality is an extension of this part of her character. Choosing to do so outside the vault, and choosing to do so with Maximus, allows Maximus to see that there is another way to live life beyond just the Brotherhood. The season ends with Lucy still holding onto that “Okie dokie” attitude. Lucy’s morality will, of course, be altered by her experiences in the Wasteland, and that could change her perspective on forming connections with people, but until then, Fallout is not afraid to let their characters be horny — and Lucy is a prime example of how great that is.
Fallout is streaming on Prime Video in the U.S.
This article was originally published on collider.com