Once I first bought screeners for Paramount+’s Halo, I opted out of reviewing it. Not solely was I unimpressed by the premise of the sequence, but additionally as a result of I had not seen the entire season and even the vast majority of the season and I didn’t need to go judgment earlier than that. Having now seen all 9 episodes of the primary season of Halo, I really feel like I can safely say that the most important flaw on this sequence isn’t the dearth of accuracy or loyalty to the supply materials (although that definitely damage it) however it’s the lack of coronary heart within the sequence.
Now, positive, you may say {that a} present primarily based on a recreation that contains a faceless supersoldier named Grasp Chief doesn’t want that a lot coronary heart, however that’s the place you’ll be mistaken. Not like in a online game, the place you’ll be able to bodily put your self into the setting of a recreation, the place you might have company in your personal selections, a tv present wants an emotional core, and Halo by no means totally recognized what that was. And it wasn’t for an absence of selections, the sequence had a wealth of alternative however that labored to its detriment.
Whereas it was controversial for some, the logical coronary heart of the present ought to have been Pablo Schreiber‘s Grasp Chief, particularly as soon as he eliminated his helmet. Attending to see Grasp Chief’s face may appear to be an apparent selection given the size of the present, however for devotees of the sport, it’s extraordinary. So, when the sequence started and we not solely noticed John (aka John-117 aka Grasp Chief) take off his helmet, however disregard orders in an effort to save an adolescent named Kwan Ha (Yerin Ha), it made sense that the sequence may then be in regards to the journey of John and Kwan, maybe forming some type of pseudo-parent-child relationship.
However, quickly Kwan was dumped on a Spartan deserter, Soren (Bokeem Woodbine). Because the story continued to separate and develop, including in a human adopted by the alien race and raised within the Covenant, the political conflicts of the UNSC, and the event of one other Spartan soldier, Halo rapidly bought uncontrolled. Every episode spent far an excessive amount of time world-building, speeding to clarify each little bit of the world when it didn’t must. As an alternative of focusing the story on John or Kwan or the human raised by aliens named Makee (Charlie Murphy), the present can’t determine who it needs to place at its heart.
On account of being pulled in so many instructions, John’s characterization falls to the wayside. There’s a determined try to make us care about his upbringing, the betrayals he faces, and the emotional upheaval he feels, however it by no means totally interprets. Though Schreiber has been praised up to now for his efficiency on exhibits like Orange Is the New Black and American Gods, his efficiency as John is flat. Gaining Cortana (Jen Taylor) as his information and companion provides an additional layer to him as does his temporary romance with Makee (one thing the present ought to have laid the groundwork for a lot earlier within the sequence), however none of it’s sufficient.
John serves as a foil to all the characters round him. He hardly ever has a lot company, usually current for different characters to react to. And, as a result of the plots involving the UNSC are so difficult and painfully pointless, as an alternative of specializing in what John is nice at, we spent an entire season struggling alongside John to get our bearings.
By the season’s finish, there isn’t a lot to glean from the course the proposed second season will take. If Makee is useless that may make her one other lady fridged, which is kind of disappointing given the truth that her perspective was a novel one. Kwan met some folks within the deserts of Madrigal, however her plot is so painfully uninteresting and faraway from John’s and the UNSC that it feels just like the present didn’t know what to do together with her. Dr. Halsey (Natascha McElhone), the one attention-grabbing character within the govt department of the UNSC, is on the run, and as reprehensible as she is, on the very least she is attention-grabbing.
Will John lead the UNSC into the celebrities to battle the Covenant extra? The present appears to be making an attempt to attain a type of house epic like The Expanse or Battlestar Galactica, however actually, it ought to attempt to be extra like The Mandalorian as an alternative. A present drilling down and specializing in John and Cortana is an easy idea however one that may permit the story to dive deeper and never wider. Watching Cortana evolve as an AI, gaining respect for John, and caring for him was one of many highlights of the sequence. One hopes that the second season could have a much less grandiose imaginative and prescient and study to focus extra on character work (and, actually, character dialogue), however time will inform.
