"The Handoff" received positive reviews from critics. Matt Purslow of
IGN gave the episode a "good" 7 out 10 rating and wrote in his verdict, "After last week's episode dedicated itself to reorganizing the board and all its many pieces, Episode 7 feels like another chapter that's tasked with a lot of work – there are loose threads and unsolved mysteries to be connected, and the final remaining dominos in need of setting up ahead of the finale. All this feels more satisfying than the previous chapter thanks to answered questions and the partial pulling back of curtains, but we're definitely still in
Fallout Season 2's lull before the storm." William Hughes of
The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "I'm on the record as liking Steph, with Annabel O'Hagan giving a performance that walks the line between
Fallouts comedy and drama halves better than many of her fellow Vault Dwellers do. And I like what this episode does with her, threading the character's literally cutthroat need for survival through both the show's past and its potential futures. But the existence of this episode as, essentially, half a spotlight for the character does make me a little sad about some of the things
Fallout sacrifices with its “move every portion of our plot forward six inches every episode” approach to storytelling." Jack King of
Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The Steph B-plot is very much in line with one of the key themes of
Fallout across its two seasons: the idea that you never truly know someone, nor the actual content of their character, whether they be your doting — and widely respected — father, the loving wife with whom you share a daughter, or an irradiated Clint Eastwood cosplayer." Eric Francisco of
Esquire wrote, "With
Fallout season 2 so close to the end, it doesn't seem in the cards that we'll learn more about Clancy Brown's POTUS before season 3. But the Prime Video series has done the impossible for longtime
Fallout fans: It brought the president out of hiding." Chris Gallardo of
Telltale TV gave the episode a 3.2 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "
Fallout Season 2 Episode 7 is a mixed bag that pushes Steph to the forefront all while trying to get the main storylines to their peak as quickly as possible. While allowing Steph to further develop does show her potential to become a lead, the Vaults storyline has felt a bit diluted overall." Ross Bonaime of
Collider gave the episode a 7 out of 10 and wrote, ""The Handoff" puts
Fallout in an exciting place for Season 2 to wrap up. Heading toward the finale, it looks as though we're going to see just how high the corruption in the government goes, both in the past and in the present, as well as some of the major power players in the Wasteland. "The Handoff" not only raises some great questions before the end of Season 2, but fleshes out the show's characters (especially Stephanie) in important and key ways." Alexandria Ingham of
TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "
Fallout Season 2 Episode 7 raises so many questions going into the finale, and I can't see how the finale can deliver on many of them. However, I'm here for it because this has been one wild and enjoyable ride." Sean T. Collins of
Decider wrote, "It's weird to refer to a show as wild and woolly as
Fallout as having done anything elegantly, but I really am impressed by how this penultimate episode of the season advanced all of its storylines without feeling scattershot." Greg Wheeler of
The Review Geek gave the episode a 3 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The show decides not to follow that and go its own way, and perhaps not for the better. 7 episodes in, we have several plotlines here that aren't advancing the story along at all. Everything inside and outside the Vault feels like window dressing, and its taken effectively 13 episodes before we see anything about Stephanie and what her past looks like." == Notes ==