Halo - Season 1 - Review

Way back in 2005, Halo 2 had just released late the year before and set sales records and Halo was getting attention from around the world, so of course Hollywood started looking at it. Soon after the movie was announced, then cancelled, then announced again, then pivoted to shorts and the cycle just kept changing. But even after a false start in 2014, it wasn’t until 2018 that the Halo tv series would be given an order of episodes and now that the season has wrapped, did it live up to the impossibly high expectations that fans had?

The simple answer is no, it didn’t and not because it was bad, but it had to juggle so much, whilst still explaining things to series newcomers and no adaptation ever gets everything right. So rather than focusing on what they did wrong, which depending on whom you ask, could be an exhaustive list, we are going to look towards the story that they told. It is crucial that you know, the Halo tv series is inspired by the world of the videogames and not a direct adaptation, giving it a more Marvel Cinematic Universe vibe; characters you know and major story points, but new connective tissue between them. The Master Chief is present, but so are many other Spartans, so for some players who have never delved into the extended lore for the series, this may feel very new and odd. The series is telling one large story, the fight of Humans against the Covenant, but amongst that it juggles three separate tales and one of them is utterly worthless, with the other one being more frustrating.

The main tale is that of the Master Chief, or as he is known in the show, John-117 and when we first encounter him, we get to see him in action as the Master Chief, in a way that gamers have come to know over the years. Soon after that encounter, the Chief discovers an object that seems alien in design, even compared to what the Covenant are known to use and upon touching it, flashes of a child appear in his mind and upon relaying that back to command, events are set in motion that change the course of his life as he knew it. Before Chief leaves the planet, he takes with him the only survivor from the settlement he defended, who asks why save her and that also starts to weigh on the mind of Chief. That is the kickstarting for Chief to question everything and while he does so slowly, he bounces back and forth between listening to orders and then questioning things so often, it surprises me that he did get whiplash by the end.

His actions on the ship home, also necessitate the introduction of Cortana, who is voiced by Jen Taylor for an authentic touch. Unlike the game series, where Cortana is introduced as an assistant on the ships, here she is created as a means to control the Spartans, in this case Chief and if need be, take over the body completely. Between his actions and Cortana, things quickly spiral out of control around the UNSC base and the introduction of Makee, amps that spiral up to a speed that won’t understand. The problem that Chief has, as I said before is that he bounces back and forth between listening to orders and doing what he wants, which means that you never know which direction the show is meant to be going in and that is made all the more confusing when you see the other two-story lines.

The one that ties directly into Chief is the UNSC plot, which contains actual plots and blackmail, alongside a lot of military jargon, meaning you kinda need to focus on what is going on here. The start of it, when Chief is returning to the base on Reach, starts out a little more traditional in its approach, but once the scope of what Chief is going through is revealed, starts to evolve into less military and more political. There isn’t anything wrong with that change, per say, but it really needed to pick a lane and stick with it, its either a military storyline that contains some politics or it’s the other way, there are a few times when it bounces back and forth, which isn’t all that fun. The times though that they are allowed to be more military than anything else, is when we get some of the best action sequences in the show. The events where the Covenant claim the larger of the pieces, contains some of the best action I have seen in a tv show, it is big, bold and kicks a lot of butt.

The other side story is the one that I feel is the worst and really adds nothing to the show and I am of course talking about Kwan and her crusade to remove the despot who has taken over control of her home planet. There is nothing wrong with the characters, or the general goal they were aiming for, but when you show is called Halo and is about the Master Chief, spending any amount of time focusing on new characters is risky. Star Wars The Book of Boba Fett failed in this as well, when they dedicated two episodes to another character, they managed to get around it, with the character in question being the Mandalorian. In this instance Kwan and her quest was not interesting enough, especially when you compare it against the other plots, it just isn’t entertaining.

The final area where the story felt a little out of place, is the lack of context in the events happening in the show, or more specifically how we got to this point. The first episode did a solid job of trying to explain why the “rebels” were worried about the Spartans coming in, but even that didn’t set the ground for anything else. Sure, if you are a gamer, there is a fair chance you know of Halo and its main characters, but for everyone else, its like being dropped into the last movie of the Lord of the Rings movies, characters are in place, events are taking place and there is no explanation as to what is going on. Even if the show had of opened with something explaining just how the UNSC found themselves up against the wall in their fight against the Covenant, that would have gone a long way to welcoming newcomers to the world of Halo.

On the acting side of things, there are some stand out performances and some less than great ones, but for the most part everything is solid. Let me just start by restating again, that including Jen Taylor as the voice of Cortana adds a level of authenticity to the show, that it really needed, but they could have gone one step further and had Steve Downes, the voice of Chief in the games, dub the dialogue for when the helmet was on here. Being able to hear both voices would have elevated the show, but even without Downes unique voice as Chief, Pablo Schreiber did a fantastic job in the lead role. There is no denying that the moment you see him take of the helmet, it feels weird as we had never see the face of Chief before, but it fits the story that the show is telling. What is interesting is just how often it gets removed, and while it is great thing to see the characters face, which in turn helps connect the audience to it, I would have loved to have seen it on a little more.

The remaining Spartans of Silver Squad are ok, there are two that remain singularly focused until the opening of the final episode and while Kai does grow, her path seems more what about me, rather than any sort of push. The result from that is she feels forced into spots, which does have moments where it works, but given the Spartans are meant to be obedient soldiers, it feels wrong to have one have free will and it is totally ignored, but the leader having free will is monitored 24/7. Of course, we can’t talk about the cast and not bring up Halsey, in the game lore and the books, she is always talked about with reverence, a dash of distain about the methods, but reverence none the less, so seeing a version of the character that wasn’t loved by all was nice. Natascha McElhone did a stellar job bringing Halsey to life, there were times when I wanted to reach into the screen and slap her, given the choices she was making and the pain she was inflicting on others with them. While not the villain of the story, by any descriptor, Halsey is quite happy to make the worst choice for someone else, as long as it provides her with new things to learn and McElhone delighted in that.

The rest of the UNSC are fine, but the growth for two of the characters in the final episode is great to see, Makee is an interesting character and Charlie Murphey brings her to life with distain and grace. Even in the final moments of the season, she is a character that you want to hate, but knowing the struggles she has been through, both in her distant past and just recently, you still want to support her. As I mentioned before, the Madrigal plot isn’t great and while the acting is fine, especially with Burn Gorman leading the baddies, because the story wasn’t interesting there was little, I could do to generate interest in the acting bringing it to life.

On the presentation front, everything looked like Halo and sounded like it, of course there were some shots that looked a little to CGI but given the time constraints that TV shows are under, along with budget that is to be expected. What I did enjoy though were the amount of practical effects around the place, the previously mentioned Covenant attack in the middle of the season, was massive in scale and there are some wide shots that put it into context. There were a lot of details we got to see, thanks to the nice variety of sets and while the Covenant are all CGI, their original design really doesn’t lend itself well to folks in suits, it would have been nice for those to get some practical offerings at times. We also have to talk about Cortana, it is honestly weird that she doesn’t look like the game version, but at the same time, given that the series has been on four different Xbox consoles, she has constantly evolved anyway. While I understand the design they went with, a little more transparent in the face would have been great, but that is just me picking at small things. One final issue, there were times in the show that the camera would cut to a first-person point of view, which always sound great on paper, but it never works in execution and here it was the same. I get the appeal of it but given none of the games have moved like they do in the show, it makes no sense to force that in here.

On the sound side, the music was great, of course there were some nods to familiar Halo melodies, but they were always so minor and when the final fight of the season was happening, I actually said that it would have been the best time to include the main battle theme, but oh well.

The first season of Halo had some issues, a secondary storyline that felt worthless to the overall tale being told and the end of the season coming to the end it did, didn’t help. Seeing the Master Chief go from someone willing to do whatever it takes, to someone willing to do whatever it takes feels like a pointless story, especially when you right it like that, but the growth in between was great. The other Spartans were a little more mixed in their growth and while most of the UNSC did change by the end, Miranda had the best arc of the season. Halsey’s willingness to do whatever it takes for her own goals was sublime and while there are times it went a little far into the cheesy realm, it was still a great villain. If you are a big fan of the Halo games, you may not like the adaptation that the tv show has gone with, it changes the origins of a few key characters, but if you go in, looking for a good story, you will find one here.

Halo the series is a solid adaptation of the world of Halo and as Chief likes to say, the mission always changes and while this may not be the exact Halo you know, it is still a great story, with interesting characters and a sense of scale that most tv shows never achieve.

The Score

8.0

Review access provided by Paramount

The Pros

+The Master Chief grows far more than you might expect, which makes his tale feel real

+There are some sequences of events in the show that are just incredible

The Cons

-The entire plot with Madrigal feels like a waste of time and takes you away from the action

-First person sequences never work in tv or movies and this show is no exception