Halo - General Discussion

[BetterButter]

Quote

Aliens threaten human existence in an epic 26th-century showdown. TV series based on the video game 'Halo'.

 

[AnimeMania]

 

[BetterButter]

 

[AnimeMania]

Halo is a 10 episode live-action TV adaptation of the Halo Video Game that will air on Paramount Plus. Steven Kane is the showrunner and series executive producer.

Set in the 26th century, the series takes place in a moment in history when humanity is entangled in an intergalactic war against an alien menace known as the Covenant. To win the war, the brilliant scientist Dr. Halsey created the Spartans, super-soldiers genetically and technologically enhanced to improve their physical and mental capabilities. The series follows the story of Master Chief Spartan John-117, the commander of a Spartan unity.

Master Chief Spartan John-117 will be played by Pablo Schrieber
Natascha McElhone plays Dr. Catherine Halsey
Jen Taylor plays Cortana 
Shabana Azmi plays Admiral Margaret Parangosky
Bokeem Woodbine plays Soren-066
Charlie Murphy plays Makee
Kate Kennedy plays Kai-125
Natasha Culzac plays Riz-028
Bentley Kalu plays Vannak-134
Olive Gray 
Yerin Ha 
Danny Sapani
Ryan McParland 
Burn Gorman 
Fiona O’Shaughnessy 

Edited December 10, 2021 by AnimeMania

[AnimeMania]

 A new Halo trailer is going to drop during the AFC Championship between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs on January 30, starting at 3:00 PM EST.

Edited January 26, 2022 by AnimeMania

[AnimeMania]

HALO TV: SERIES SILVER DEBRIEF: A NEW BEGINNING

A detailed explanation of the world of Halo in the TV Series, which is different from the one in the video game.

[AnimeMania]

 Halo will begin streaming on Paramount+ on March 24, 2022.

 

Edited January 30, 2022 by AnimeMania

[xaxat]

I had no idea this was a thing until yesterday. It actually looks . . . good?

Paramount Plus needed some content in addition to Star Trek to keep me around.

[Anduin]

Un region locked. However, it looks bloody terrible! Just, cheap all over. Couldn't they hire better writers to write better dialogue for better actors? No thanks. Maybe there will be another trailer that's better.

[arc]

Here’s a backgrounder on some Halo lore: https://gizmodo.com/halo-tv-show-lore-explained-covenant-master-chief-1848455763

[AnimeMania]

‘Halo’ Gets Early Season 2 Renewal on Paramount Plus

[AnimeMania]

Soren-066      Spartan-II warrior

Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey      UNSC and Office of Naval Intelligence scientist

Kwan       human civilian

(L-R) Yerin Ha as Kwan Ha, Natascha McElhone as Halsey, Bokeem Woodbine as Soren, Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief, Kate Kennedy as Kai, Natasha Culzac as Riz and Bentley Kalu as Vannak. 

 

Edited February 22, 2022 by AnimeMania

[AnimeMania]

Short video on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cah77RYF7UZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=f0ec1adb-6938-4514-81db-641f567fa5a5

[AnimeMania]

[AnimeMania]

“Alien Drone Swarm” Form Giant Hovering QR Code Over Austin to Promote ‘Halo’

Halo publicity stunt scares people as a 600-foot-wide drone swarm lights up the Austin Texas night sky. The display was 300 feet tall (roughly the height of the Statue of Liberty) and 600 feet wide (almost two football fields). The “alien swarm” will appear several times again, on Monday night March 14 starting around 8 p.m.

 

[AnimeMania]

 

 

Halo Review: Reaching for the Stars

 

Paramount+’s ‘Halo’: TV Review | SXSW 2022

Hollywood Reporter

 

Halo TV review: Needs more Halo

 Entertainment Weekly

Edited March 15, 2022 by AnimeMania

[AnimeMania]

Halo         S01.E01: Contact

In the year 2552, humans on the planet Madrigal have been fighting for independence from Earth, but a fatal encounter with the Alien Covenant complicates things. Master Chief John 117 and his super-soldier “Spartans” join the fight. After the battle, Master Chief heads to his home planet of Reach with a Madrigal survivor and a mysterious object he discovered on the planet. But a controversial order has John questioning his mission, and himself.    

Original Airdate: March 24, 2022

[revbfc]

I’ve never played Halo…ever.

Is the game as boring as this show?

[steelyis]

So, am I supposed to like or root for Quan? Because LOL! No.

It was a bad writing decision having her run out on those kids to supposedly "do something" only to do absolutely jack shit and need to get saved twice. The second rescue got her dad killed. Better to have her fighting and somehow surviving; her dad did, so it wasn't impossible. That way they still get to kill all the kids and not have Quan look like a coward and an idiot.

Then she strong-arms the government into cutting a deal they absolutely didn't need to make to free the colonies. Because the perfect time to be playing games with a fucking totalitarian regime that's been stomping on your neck for a hundred years is when a genocidal alien race wants to wipe out humanity. Yeah, that's smart. I know the writers think it makes Quan look badass and important, but it doesn't, it just makes her look selfish, unreasonable, short-sighted, and dumb. And if they want to use the: "She's just a kid" excuse, get an actor who actually is, or at least looks like a real child.  Yerin Ha is 24, looks it, and I can only suspend my disbelief for so long.

The show wants to justify her presence, I get it, but they went about it in a badly written way. I shouldn't be hoping she dies every time I see her on screen. And that a lot of the plot seems to be driven by her being around does not bode well.

Give me more of the Spartans, please, not the Scrappy.

 

[AnimeMania]

Master Chief removes his mask.

[oldCJ]

16 hours ago, steelyis said:

So, am I supposed to like or root for Quan? Because LOL! No.

So. much. this. 

[AnimeMania]

‘Halo’ Sets Premiere Viewership Record For Paramount+

[Just Here]

Paramount+'s YouTube channel will have the first episode available for free, starting on March 31st (3:00 am Eastern).

[SharonH58]

I enjoyed the first episode.  I know nothing about the game.   Yes, Quan is stupid.   She's a teenager who I guess was  privileged due to her father's position.  I am interested in finding out more about the Master Chief.

[AnimeMania]

Halo       S01.E02: Unbound

John takes Kwan to an old friend and learns more about the mystery object, which the Covenant and Makee are determined to steal. With the alien threat growing, Dr. Halsey has a plan to deal with John’s unpredictable behavior.

Original Airdate: March 31, 2022

[Ottis]

Has a little bit of a Space: Above & Beyond feel. I’ve enjoyed the first two episodes. I don’t know why Kwan exists. I guess to prompt his memories and compassion. But they could have lost her right after. 

His old buddy is kind of a dick.

Edited March 31, 2022 by Ottis

[SharonH58]

I think its weird the Covenant would have a human in their group.  I don't really understand what they are or what they want.   I hope Kwan stays at wherever she is.   I love Burn Gorman and he is a bad guy as he usually is!

[AnimeMania]

Halo    S01.E03: Emergence

John meets his new partner, and he discovers secrets inside his own memory. Kwan wants to return to Madrigal to continue her people’s fight for independence, but Soren has other plans for her. Makee initiates her plan to retrieve the Madrigal object, with deadly consequences.

Original Airdate: April 7, 2022

[steelyis]

Episode 3 is better. Much, much better than the first two episodes. There's still some stilted dialog and awkward performances, but there's definite improvement all around.

Pablo Schreiber also got real naked. That was pretty nice.

Cortana is great! A real highlight. I like how her relationship with Master Chief is developing and the inherent conflict that comes with it. Very promising.

Yeah, if I was Makee I'd be very pro 'fuck all humans,' too.

Quan still suuuuuuucks! She's complete garbage. I mean, wow, is she really supposed to be likable? Or is she going to get a character arc to make her less of an asshole? If she is, then the show needs to hurry that shit along. Stat!

And I knew Halsey's assistant? Lab tech? Fellow? was a creep from jump!

[AnimeMania]

Halo    S01.E04: Homecoming 

Guided by his visions, John takes Halsey and Cortana back to where it all began, looking for answers from his past. With Soren along for protection, Kwan goes in search of an army. Meanwhile John’s behavior inspires another Spartan to begin a journey of self-discovery. And Miranda discovers a possible link between the artifact and something much larger.

Original Airdate: April 14, 2022

[steelyis]

I liked the Spartans interactions with Miranda. It was surprisingly cute. All the pet slaughter notwithstanding.

Quan... Ugh. Just... Really? Your father didn't die fighting for freedom, he died protecting your dumb ass. Did she even warn her people, or her aunt about the Covenant? I wouldn't know, because I started fast forwarding through her scenes after she threw a temper tantrum like a five year old. I literally hate her face!

That assassin lady is pretty badass.

And I see Burn Gorman is keeping it tight.

Master Chief's plot was kind of boring, but not unwatchable. Not enough Cortana for one, and the search for the artifacts isn't all that interesting. At least not yet.

[skotnikov]

I really don't know what to think about that. I want to like it but it's so unoriginal, so badly written it hurts. 

[Meredith Quill]

Waiting for the 'when will Master Chief find out what Halsey's been hiding from him' shoe to drop is just painful. As are all the sly looks just outside of his periphery vision and the risky bite-size conversations just out of his earshot, which he appears utterly oblivious to - I mean really, how convenient yet gratingly irritating as a viewer. I'm really wondering whether they purposely want to make him look dumb AF by doing all this nonsense?

[Meredith Quill]

2 hours ago, SilverStormm said:

I'm really wondering whether they purposely want to make him look dumb AF by doing all this nonsense?

When I say 'dumb' I'm actually using dumb here as shorthand for un-astute, oblivious, naive, non-shrewd. Which, surely, as the seemingly revered 'Master Chief' he ought to be none of those things, in fact, quite the opposite? But what do I know? Perhaps I'm wrong; I've never played the games and know nothing about the backstory/plot, but to my mind that just seems like a common sense assumption, for a character in his position, as a show-only viewer. I'm finding it somewhat annoying that he's being played by Halsey as if he's a complete chump. He was self-aware enough to not only question but defy the order to execute Kwan, yet then goes back and allows an AI to be put into his brain with no qualms until after the fact? I know soldiers are trained to obey orders without question etc...BUT we already saw him disobey a direct order, therefore, it's a fair assumption that we're supposed to extrapolate from that that he isn't a mindless drone... except when the plot needs him to be? 

It smacks to me of that old, tired & lazy writing device of making a character smart/strong whenever the plot needs it and then dumb/weak whenever the plot needs it, yawn.

As for Kwan, ^eyeroll^, that plot is so stupid and ridiculous my brain refuses to absorb most of what's going on, I try but my brain says 'NOPE, CAN'T DO IT SORRY, BYE!'.  I mean, "I promised I'd protect you!" So, I'll take you to a place where you're wanted and put you at risk because you said you'd pay me to do so... WTF, and we're supposed to take that logic seriously? 

I want to like this show, but show, you're making it difficult. Stop making it difficult.

[AnimeMania]

Paramount+ Brings World’s Tallest Hologram to Life in ‘HALO’ Celebration

They created a 60 feet tall 3D hologram of Master Chief: Spartan 117 in these cities on April 17.

Toronto, Canada

São Paulo, Brazil

Mexico City

Sydney, Australia

[Lunula]

I'm a huge fan of the video game franchise and it's still a bit weird to see it on screen - but the show is growing on me weekly. Still not my favorite show, but entertaining enough. 

My biggest gripe is Kwan. Why do so many shows insist on writing the SAME massively annoying, "I'm ready to fight and make awful decisions!" teenager trope? I'm sick & tired of seeing "the kid" of the show written only with "spunk" and no smarts. Now that she's gotten her last remaining family member killed, maybe she'll grow some new brain cells? 

Edited April 19, 2022 by Lunula

[AnimeMania]

Halo    S01.E05: Reckoning

On the run and out of options, Kwan and Soren have a difference of opinion. With the possibility of finding the mysterious Halo on everyone's minds, John makes a horrible discovery. And the war rears its ugly head.
Original Airdate: April 21, 2022

[steelyis]

On 4/19/2022 at 7:13 AM, Lunula said:

Now that she's gotten her last remaining family member killed, maybe she'll grow some new brain cells? 

 

Nope.

[SharonH58]

I too am so tired of Kwan.   I keep hoping she's killed.   Halsey is boring to me, how is she the same age if she was around when John was a kid?  I feel sorry for her daughter.  She has rotten parents.   I'd like to know more about how the Spartans were picked or stolen as kids.  What is the human with the Covenants plan?  I can't remember her name.   I hope they don't fall for the poor female routine.

[AnimeMania]

Halo      S01.E06: Solace

Survivors from battle return to Reach. John confronts Dr. Halsey, and the lies of his past. The new prisoner seems to know John better than he knows himself. Determined to understand more, John turns back to the mystery artifact, which shows him something truly startling.

Original Airdate: April 28, 2022

[Ottis]

Two of the three series plots so far are annoying tropes. The Blessed One enemy pretending to be a hostage means we now have to wait until everyone else figures it out, and Kwan is just beyond irritating. The only interesting story is the overall war and John, and even the aspect of John and how he became a Spartan is cliched. Even if the Blessed One and a freed Marigal end up being key to the war, the path there will be long and irritating. 

Edited April 28, 2022 by Ottis

[Tachi Rocinante]

I binged all the available episodes. As a game player and book reader, it's just interesting to see it on the screen, tropes and all. Especially when I know where it ends up.

Someone will have to correct me, but I think they are playing fast and loose with some of the canon regarding Halo itself. Unless they use the mind-wipe trope.

They threw in some blatant game references that fell flat. Yes, Kwan sucks, but I want to know where Makee got her snake friends.

Jen Taylor is excellent, as she has been in most everything she does.

They couldn't scan the ground to find out where he buried the box?  And they should've known right away it wasn't the artifact. It wasn't big enough to hold the smaller piece.

 

Edited May 4, 2022 by Tachi Rocinante

[AnimeMania]

Halo    S01.E07: Inheritance

Kwan's journey to uncover her family's "true purpose" takes her deep into the deserts of Madrigal. Soren obsesses over unfinished business.

Original Airdate: May 5, 2022

[Tachi Rocinante]

A Kwan-centric episode that does nothing to further the story.  Yay.  This show can't afford filler episodes.

[AnimeMania]

Halo    S01.E08: Allegiance

John and Makee come to terms with their shared vision. Halsey has one last chance to save her mission, and herself. As things come to a head, everyone must choose a side.

Original Airdate: May 12, 2022

[Tachi Rocinante]

Mildly interesting, but still a mess.  This show really doesn't know what it wants to be.

[Ottis]

On 5/12/2022 at 2:28 AM, AnimeMania said:

Halo    S01.E08: Allegiance

John and Makee come to terms with their shared vision. Halsey has one last chance to save her mission, and herself. As things come to a head, everyone must choose a side.

Original Airdate: May 12, 2022

I’m not even sure what the sides are. Halsey with her own agenda. Programmed Spartans vs. no longer programmed Spartans. Covenant vs Humans. Makee vs John… maybe? Cortana can’t make up her mind. Various people people claiming to be what they are not. I don’t know who I should root for. Though I enjoy Makee’s Irish accent. 

[paulvdb]

Scrolling up the topic a bit was the first time I realized Kwan wasn't in this episode at all. That shows how much I don't miss her when she's not in an episode. I am only really interested in the plots abouth the alien artifacts with John, Halsey, Miranda, Makee and the various supporting characters involved in that part of the show.

[AnimeMania]

Halo    S01.E09: Transcendence

Season Finale

Beaten, battered, and betrayed, John 117 leads the Spartans on a suicide mission to find the Halo and save humanity. But at what price?

Original Airdate: May 19, 2022

[Tachi Rocinante]

Well that was, something, I guess.  Halsey could have at least dyed her hair.

Spoiler

Makee was created specifically for this show as a plot device.  She is not canon in the books or the game.

Yes, Halo is a weapon.  But both sides are clueless to it's real purpose.

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by Tachi Rocinante