HALO - Paramount+ TV Series

[The Terminator]

What a frakking crap show.
"Lets make a list of stuff we can do wrong and try and check every box."

If you can't stick with the source material. Just come up with your own original material.

 

[Riceball]

I just want to know how it's all linked. It really feels like Master Chief is a bit part in his own show. I don't mind the sub-plot but it isn't feeling like a sub-plot, it's feeling like a completely different show.

I agree, I think that the biggest problem with the Kwan Ha subplot is that they're taking too long to tie it in with the main plot of the show. They really should have shaved off a lot of the exposition aspects of that sub-plot and given us more hints as to how her story ties in to the Master Chief's. But I like this sub-plot though, wherever it's going, mainly because I feel that the actress playing Kwan Ha is doing a really good job of playing the character. I actually kind of like her story a bit more than the Master Chief's since, in my opinion, they're spending too much time on telling us about his past and how messed Halsey was for doing what she did.

 

[Gimpdiggity]

I agree, I think that the biggest problem with the Kwan Ha subplot is that they're taking too long to tie it in with the main plot of the show. They really should have shaved off a lot of the exposition aspects of that sub-plot and given us more hints as to how her story ties in to the Master Chief's. But I like this sub-plot though, wherever it's going, mainly because I feel that the actress playing Kwan Ha is doing a really good job of playing the character. I actually kind of like her story a bit more than the Master Chief's since, in my opinion, they're spending too much time on telling us about his past and how messed Halsey was for doing what she did.

I agree that she’s doing a good job of being unlikable…which oddly enough is I believe part of the intent…and this sub plot may be interesting if it weren’t in a show that’s SUPPOSED to be about Master Chief, Spartans, the Covenant, and Halo installations.

At this point I feel like we’ve been watching just as much of The Kwan Ha Show as we have of Master Chief Petty Officer John-117.

It probably isn’t helping that for me I’m just not a fan of the guy playing Soren. Like, I have no real idea what I would picture him as, but I just find him fairly unlikable as well.

It’s weird because it’s not as if I find this sub plot poorly done…it’s just not at all engaging to me. I really do hope that these plots end up feeding into each other, but I’d be completely fine never seeing another entire episode dedicated to Kwan.

 

[Cephus]

I agree, I think that the biggest problem with the Kwan Ha subplot is that they're taking too long to tie it in with the main plot of the show. They really should have shaved off a lot of the exposition aspects of that sub-plot and given us more hints as to how her story ties in to the Master Chief's. But I like this sub-plot though, wherever it's going, mainly because I feel that the actress playing Kwan Ha is doing a really good job of playing the character. I actually kind of like her story a bit more than the Master Chief's since, in my opinion, they're spending too much time on telling us about his past and how messed Halsey was for doing what she did.

I think it's fine and if they want to make another show with these characters, that would be great, but so far, the entire series has been "stuff that Master Chief once did that turned into something else" and very little about Halo itself.

 

[Gimpdiggity]

Now THAT was an episode!!!

I loved every moment of that one.

 

[AJK001]

Unless the next episode, the last of season 1, is really long they are not going to be able to wrap things up this season. I hate season long arcs with a passion but I detest multi season arcs 100 times more. I was watching the after show yesterday when they pretty much said season 1 is just a setup for what happens in following seasons.

 

[Riceball]

Unless the next episode, the last of season 1, is really long they are not going to be able to wrap things up this season. I hate season long arcs with a passion but I detest multi season arcs 100 times more. I was watching the after show yesterday when they pretty much said season 1 is just a setup for what happens in following seasons.

I have no problem with seasonal or multi-seasonal arcs, but what I don't like is long arcs that have no sense of resolution by the end of each season. Even if it's a multi-seasonal arc, each season should be relatively self-contained, which this series doesn't seem to be. The show's pacing is like something from broadcast TV with 20 plus episodes/season on a show with fewer than half the episode count.

 

[AJK001]

I have no problem with seasonal or multi-seasonal arcs, but what I don't like is long arcs that have no sense of resolution by the end of each season. Even if it's a multi-seasonal arc, each season should be relatively self-contained, which this series doesn't seem to be. The show's pacing is like something from broadcast TV with 20 plus episodes/season on a show with fewer than half the episode count.

You said it a lot better than I did and I couldn't agree with you more.

 

[Cephus]

I have no problem with seasonal or multi-seasonal arcs, but what I don't like is long arcs that have no sense of resolution by the end of each season. Even if it's a multi-seasonal arc, each season should be relatively self-contained, which this series doesn't seem to be. The show's pacing is like something from broadcast TV with 20 plus episodes/season on a show with fewer than half the episode count.

I'm fine with multi-season arcs so long as you actually get the entire arc. When shows get cancelled in the middle, that's when it sucks.

 

[Gimpdiggity]

I agree that the pacing seems a bit odd here.

I have to assume that next week we are going to see Reach fall. Makee touching that artifact clearly alerted the Covenant to its location, right?

What I’m not clear on is how exactly we are going to end up on a HALO. We saw last week that there’s some kind of connection between Madrigal and a ring, but it seems like that would be an odd way to get our characters onto a HALO for the first time.

So we will finish this season up with Reach falling and Master Chief on a ring, I would guess?

 

[Cephus]

I agree that the pacing seems a bit odd here.

I have to assume that next week we are going to see Reach fall. Makee touching that artifact clearly alerted the Covenant to its location, right?

What I’m not clear on is how exactly we are going to end up on a HALO. We saw last week that there’s some kind of connection between Madrigal and a ring, but it seems like that would be an odd way to get our characters onto a HALO for the first time.

So we will finish this season up with Reach falling and Master Chief on a ring, I would guess?

That's really my concern. They spent so much time on a side story on Madrigal that, so far at least, has no actual impact on Halo. Somehow, they need to tie it all together in the last episode, they need to get Master Chief to a Halo (or at least we need to see a Halo) and there has to be something to look forward to for the next season. That's a lot to have to do in a single episode.

 

[AJK001]

I really liked the season finale and it leaves you wanting more. I was surprised by one character getting killed off and another one that I was wishing would get killed off but didn't.

 

[Gimpdiggity]

I’m not really sure how I feel about that finale.

It certainly wasn’t what I expected, wasn’t really what I wanted, but wasn’t particularly bad.

It’s a bit disappointing to see a series as beloved as Halo given such a poor budget for special effects. The scenes on the Covenant world were just…bad.

I know they’ve taken a lot of the elements from established canon and made their own way, but I’m really not sure how I feel about

Spoiler

Cortana effectively taking over Chief’s entire being, I guess. I was okay with that being Halsey’s plan for Cortana, but that seems like some kind of massive departure from what we know of this character. Chief and Cortana were a team…it’s what made their relationship so special. I understand that this effectively shows that Chief fully trusts her now, but it’s just…strange.

I loved the way they handled Halsey’s arc here. Fantastic, and it really shows how awful of a person she is.

I was disappointed that we ultimately didn’t get to a Halo, but the end was fairly satisfying.

Ultimately I feel that the season was really uneven. Some great episodes and great moments mixed in with some absolute duds and head scratching elements. I haven’t looked to see if they’ve green lit a second season, but if they have I’ll watch it.

 

[janglesworthy]

That was some of the worst CG action I have ever seen. The story I can sum up really quickly it goes like this....

Yabba Dabba, abba yabba? dabba doo! Halo. The end.

 

[The Terminator]

They really need to start making their own stories instead of completely rewriting existing stuff.

 

[Darth Lars]

It only partly felt like a season finale to me. Like it was incomplete.

 

[AJK001]

I've noticed that people don't like how the show differs from the game and I'm wondering if that is why I don't have as much a problem with it as others since I've never played the game or followed Halo at all. Don't get me wrong, I still hated some of the story lines and as others have stated the CGI was lacking at times.

 

[Strikerkc]

I've noticed that people don't like how the show differs from the game and I'm wondering if that is why I don't have as much a problem with it as others since I've never played the game or followed Halo at all. Don't get me wrong, I still hated some of the story lines and as others have stated the CGI was lacking at times.

That's insult to injury at this point. like you said, the quality of the show, even without knowing the story in the games, is objectively poor.

Then add on that there was not only perfectly serviceable, but good story telling throughout the games, and world building good enough to support any sort of story the writers wanted to tell; and to then get.... this show... it really only reads as writers and directors that are disdainful of the "gamer" audience, and trying to make sure they don't give the audience what they want. "Your games are bad, so anything we write is better".

 

[Cephus]

I've noticed that people don't like how the show differs from the game and I'm wondering if that is why I don't have as much a problem with it as others since I've never played the game or followed Halo at all. Don't get me wrong, I still hated some of the story lines and as others have stated the CGI was lacking at times.

I don't either. There's no way they could do the game on a streaming budget. If you want to see the game, go play the game. Everything is it's own independent entity.

 

[Gimpdiggity]

As someone who has played every single game through multiple times, and read all the comics and books for the first several games or so, I always knew there was no way a show (or even for that matter a very expensive movie) would be able to tell us a story that was close to the source material. It’s just…too big. There’s too much lore. There are too many things that are interconnected and related. That’s one of the reasons I stopped reading material and started just playing the games, it simply became too much information to really even process without basically “studying” it, for lack of a better word.

I did not dislike this show, but as I sit here a day later thinking about it, I do feel a bit disappointed. Halo always had such an interesting universe, with a very important dynamic between our two main protagonists, Chief and Cortana (I won’t get into the antagonist role one plays for anyone that’s never played the games), and an EXTREMELY important “character” in the Halo installations themselves.

Ultimately I feel like never having any of the show even really get close to a ring does the franchise a bit of a disservice. It takes away one of the main aspects that makes the series interesting.

I almost feel like the show shouldn’t have had “HALO” attached to it as a name. I kind of wish they’d have just called it “The Master Chief Chronicles,” or “Spartan-117” or something. They then could have essentially created their own story set in the HALO universe, but kind of left known canon completely alone which would have allowed them to avoid comparisons to what people already know.

Hell, I would have LOVED a show featuring Chief, Cortana, and a Spartan team fighting humans that had started following the Covenant teachings. Give that cult the Covie weapons and vehicles, and maybe have one Sanghelli as their leader, but have them ultimately be just…people. It would have allowed them to not have to worry nearly as much about CGI, would have given them a way to tell an interesting story in universe that can’t be compared nearly as much as this show was, and could have really opened up opportunities for future conflicts.

I guess I just feel a bit let down that we didn’t even get to see a Ring. Hopefully they open up next season and get to one pretty quickly.

There were elements I really liked. I think they did the Halsey character well. Is someone evil if their evil ways ultimately aid humanity in its time of need? I really enjoyed seeing how they portrayed her character. Pretty well done.

I liked Jacob and Miranda Keyes. I thought they were pretty well portrayed.

I liked Silver team.

I didn’t care for the Kwan Ha storyline. I wasn’t much of a fan of the Soren character either. I honestly feel the show would have been better with none of that.

I read today they spent $10 million per episode, and I feel that for that much we deserved better special effects. I also read that they had THREE showrunners for those nine episodes, which would probably help explain why it was so uneven.

I am interested to see where they take things, but I can’t help but feel it could have been so much better.