Writer: Sarah McCarron Direct: Otto Bathurst
This review is spoiler-lite
Onyx, in the original lore, was a secret Oni base that housed James Ackerson’s secret project, and Halo the Series takes that plot thread and runs with it. Chief and his crew are on their way, with varied motives in another solid episode for season 2. It’s damned near impossible to give any type of breakdown without a few lite spoilers, but I’ll do my best to go over why I think this episode is setting us up for an extremely exciting finish.
Onyx Base
Things start with Corporal Perez taking on a new assignment. She’s signed up to be a Spartan-III, Ackerson’s new project, and the reason why he felt okay leaving the Spartan-II’s to die on Reach. Kai-125, as far as they know the only surviving member, is overseeing her recruits in what appears to be at least a few weeks since the Fall of Reach. Back to Perez, the Spartan-III’s are running simulations to try and board a covenant ship, and it plays out in a bit of a cliché way. There’s action as they use their brain-stimulating energy training system to fly through space and attempt a desperate rush to a control panel.
Perez’s journey in this episode feels a bit rushed, with her having been a truly terrible shot as a comms officer but now in a Spartan-III suit, she’s a regular murder-bot. I get that time has passed and she’s been hardened by her experiences, but it is a thing that could more easily be earned in a show with more episodes per season. Cristina Roldo continues to do an excellent job giving heft to lines that could easily come off heavy-handed.
Kai is back after missing the last two episodes and feels guilt over not being on Reach. That guilt felt realistically explored as she conversed with Ackerson. He, of course, continues to be exactly who we think he is. He makes sure to never give away too much in his conversations about Reach and his true involvement and motives with Kai. Oni is dangerously close to mustache-twirling levels of villainy a few times between Ackerson and Admiral Parangosky. I’m curious to see how long their utter contempt for the show’s main characters can last in the face of the Covenant threat.
Chief and Co
Chief is focused on revenge, and terrifying at times in this episode. For those curious, no, he doesn’t get the suit back, yet. He’s close to it, though and there IS an armored Spartan-II for a good chunk of time. There isn’t much resolution for the other side characters’ narratives. Halsey and Kwan go off while Soren and Laera continue their search for their son Kessler. We get a few returning faces from season one as well.
Some of my favorite scenes were those featuring Cortana. She’s finally back as a fully-fledged and impactful character. We get her and Oni’s motivations written clearly and some fascinating scenes on the Covenant cruiser. The dynamic between Makee and The Arbiter is more fully explored, with some excellent looking (in my low-quality screener) CGI helping sell the heated debates between the Covenant over their resident human.
Wrapping Things Up
The episode lasts roughly forty-five minutes and pushes us hard toward the season finale. There are two more episodes to go after this and if anything, it feels like the Fall of Reach was lengthened to lead us up to a potentially thrilling conclusion.
Start the discussion at forum.xboxera.com