Review | Halo the Series – Season 2: Eps. 1-4 (Spoiler-Lite)

The Great Journey

Jesse 'Doncabesa' Norris February 5, 2024Last Updated: March 20, 2024

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After watching the first four episodes of Halo the Series 2nd season I think it’s safe to say it’s better than Season One. It also diverges further from the books and games than that season did, and as a TV show, I think it works. Hardcore Halo fans will be angrier than ever, which is saying something. A more prestige feel will enamor the public at large. As none of the episodes have aired this review will be as spoiler-free as possible while still trying to convey just how I feel after getting to see episodes one through four early.

Where We Pick Up

Early on the Chief-tana merge at the end of season one is quickly answered, becoming a core plotline of the season. Chief is back to being himself for the most part and humanity has continued its war with the Covenant for roughly six months. Major plotlines early revolve around what Chief and Silver Team went through, where Doctor Halsey has ended up, and as the marketing has shown repeatedly that the Covenant is coming for them all.

The first episode isn’t a reset or reboot of the story of season one, it’s a direct continuation but with a different tone. Gone are all the light-hearted and goofy elements, replaced by a dour and mature theme constantly beating home the impending doom of Reach (again, marketed heavily) and the effects the war has had on everyone. This episode is decently heavy on the combat side of things with the CGI spartan movement holding up well in my 1080p low bitrate screener. How this translates to 4k I’m not sure, as the movements look uncanny but the actions the Spartans can pull off should. They’re superhumans, running faster and jumping further than any of us could ever dream.

Side characters feel as one-note as ever, and their fates are predictable as the action ensues. Halo’s season 2 leans heavily on foreshadowing plot points and mysteries, none of which have been answered by the end of episode four. While the side characters feel predictable the main characters do not. Good or bad they’re given room to grow early on. A standout is the addition of James Ackerson as the head of O.N.I. The new boss-man is a real piece of shit, as most in his position would be. He’s given depth and reasons for why he can be so cold-hearted in a way that feels natural.

The same goes for Silver Team, as they continue adapting to life without emotion and pain-suppressing pellets. Vannak and Kai get less time than Chief (John) and Rizz but I found the arcs of all four interesting. Fans will be furious about the portrayal of John-117 as anything but a perfect leader, but how boring would the show be if we didn’t get to see him evolve into that? I’m sure I’ll be in the minority, but even as a massive fan of the games and books I don’t think that any type of 1:1 translation would have been that interesting or feasible of a television show.

Halo Season 2 feels incredibly expensive so far and I can feel the changes to the story that were necessitated by keeping the budget realistic. Season one was a massive success for Paramount but it’s still only a TV show. Having the non-stop action of most of the games or books, including massive space battles is far more in the realm of movies with the type of scale and quality they’re attempting here.

A Few Continued Issues & Where We’re Going

It’s difficult to get into fully things without spoilers, so I’ll have full spoiler episode reviews that go up as each one is available to stream. I think most agree that the Kwan Ha & Soren stories were the weakest part of season one. This continues to be the case with Soren’s storyline and the rubble early on. Surprisingly after seeing Kwan for the first few times, I’m all in. The changes her character has gone through during the time between seasons are night and day. Gone are the whiney entitlement and idiotic actions that felt forced to move the plot along. In their stead, we have someone changed forever by what they’ve experienced and some of the better non-Spartan action sequences the show has had.

Soren’s storyline starts weak and then splinters into something a little weak and something pretty strong. The whole pirate situation in The Rubble feels off. No one is scary; they feel like West Side Story rejects and I normally just groan at their mediocre dialogue and predictable actions. By the end of my time with the early screeners what had been a boring, predictable plot did feel decently resolved at least. I’m genuinely curious where it goes from here now and wish the show could have gotten to the point a little more quickly.

After four episodes I think the show has nailed a more even pacing with its quality including the CGI. As I said before the screener quality was really low at 1080p and no more than a 5k bitrate. The coveneant, ships, and sets looked fantastic but I have no clue how they’ll hold up at 4k. The pirate stuff is never as bad as season one could get, and the Chief/Reach storylines felt like prestige TV more often than not. Some grown-inducing dialogue, especially the banter between Silver and Cobalt teams, isn’t the best.

Wrapping Things Up

Four episodes in and I’m fully invested in seeing where things go. The tonal shift and more consistent quality make for some entertaining and expensive-looking TV. I know Halo’s hardcore fandom will most likely hate this season just as much if not more than season one. Halo’s story isn’t a sacred cow for me, though. I’m fine with changes as long as they make for good TV, and I think so far that they have.