The Halo TV show was a long time coming. Almost a decade, actually.
At one point, Steven Spielberg was even attached to the adaptation of the hit video game series. Then, in 2022, the first season debuted on Paramount+, an enticement for people to subscribe to NBCUniversal’s somewhat belated attempt to compete with Hulu, Netflix, and others.
Paramount ran Halo for two seasons, comprising a total of 17 episodes, before canceling it in March 2024. Fan sites celebrated its appearance on Netflix this spring, but that seems to be limited to specific markets outside the US. If you want to see it in ‘Murica, you’ve gotta watch it through Paramount+.
At least the network is running a weeklong free trial. After it’s over, if you haven’t finished Halo or if you’ve found more to watch, you can pay per month for $8 with ads or $13 without.
It’s in the performances
Season one takes a few beats to get rolling. When it does, it conveys the feeling of those early Halo games’ pandemonium, where UNSC and Covenant vehicles streak across the sky and plasma bolts rain down in every direction.
The first-person view through Master Chief’s helmet is obvious fan service, but Halo sticks the landing, somehow.
My reasoning for clamoring for a third season isn’t based on how well (or poorly) the show fits into the Halo canon, which, as I understand, is quite a departure from the many dozens of books, video games, and comics’ official record of events.
I haven’t read the books or comics, and I’ve only played Halo 1, 2, and 3, way back when they were released, so I can’t say I’m a hardcore fan of Halo lore. Perhaps that’s why I’m not one of the people pulling their hair out over deviations from the established story or the skewed characterization of Master Chief himself, which is fair criticism from a fan base that was ostensibly a primary reason any network even brought out a show based on Halo.
The reason why I watch the television series is that the acting is quite good. Even if the episodes seem uneven, the series displays strong writing frequently enough (Exhibit A: Season Two, Episode Four, “Reach”) that it’s a good watch. And the acting is good (almost) always. I’ve danced around all kinds of ways to explain why, but every way I’ve tried brings out major spoilers.
It’s a mark of how the show spends real time developing characters’ emotional growth over the seasons, portraying certain characters as villains and then revealing their more noble motivations, while painting others as stalwart allies and then allowing you to see things from their point of view when they drift from Master Chief.
The series is filled with actors and actresses who bring their parts to life and wring complicated motivations and, here and there, sympathies from their villains and occasional disgust from their heroes.
Particular highlights include Cristina Rodlo as UNSC Marine Talia Perez, Bokeem Woodbine as Spartan deserter and pirate king Soren-066, Fiona O’Shaughnessy as Laera (Soren’s wife), Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief, and Kate Kennedy as Master Chief’s Spartan squad mate Kai-125. The series is worth watching for their performances alone.
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