If you are finding yourself on this blog and website, chances are you know a good deal about the Halo universe. Most people reading this will know the story of the video games, plus undoubtedly a decent portion of the story from the books, short stories, comics, and other minor canon entries. But what does an AI know about the Halo universe? Programs like ChatGPT, DALL-E, and the like have impressed us over the past year or so with their ability to create original, convincing works seemingly instantaneously, no matter the request. While they are still far from perfect, they are incredibly compelling pieces of software, and hold the knowledge of the entire world at their metaphorical fingertips.
But what about a fictional universe like Halo? Does an AI like ChatGPT “know” the Halo canon? Can it accurately describe the characters and events in Halo as it is presented in the official canon, or will it make rookie mistakes and get confused by the endless sources that provide dubious or just plain “wrong” information?
To answer that question (and to test your Halo canon knowledge), I have asked ChatGPT questions about the Halo universe, and I will post the responses here, unedited. YOUR job, should you choose to accept it, is to determine whether ChatGPT is correct, or whether it is making unforgiveable errors to the Halo canon. Read through these, find any errors, and let us know why ChatGPT is wrong. These aren’t planted errors, so there could be none, or there could be dozens. It is up to you, the fine readers, to catch them all.
In this post, we will explore ChatGPT’s knowledge of the Halo timeline, from the Human-Covenant War to the Insurrection, and beyond. Even in the official lore of Halo some of the dates and years can be fuzzy, so I will be surprised if ChatGPT can get this all right, particularly the earlier periods that are only covered in the extended media. Does ChatGPT know the Halo timeline? Let’s find out!
Part One: The Human-Covenant War
The Human-Covenant Wat as depicted by DALL·E 2.
Prompt
Provide a year-by-year overview of the entire Human-Covenant War.
Response
The Human-Covenant War was a major conflict that took place between the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and an alien theocratic alliance known as the Covenant. The war lasted for over 27 years, from 2525 to 2552, and resulted in the loss of countless lives and significant damage to human and alien civilizations alike.
Here’s a year-by-year overview of the key events of the Human-Covenant War:
The UNSC launches Operation: SILENT STORM, a major counteroffensive against the Covenant that leads to the destruction of several key enemy installations.
The operation is a significant morale boost for the UNSC and slows the Covenant’s advance.
The Covenant launches a surprise attack on the UNSC’s military headquarters on Reach, resulting in the loss of the planet and the deaths of billions of people.
The UNSC mounts a series of counteroffensives and guerrilla campaigns against the Covenant, including Operation: RED FLAG and the Battle of Tribute.
Despite some successes, the UNSC is unable to stop the Covenant’s advance.
2552:
The UNSC learns of the Covenant’s plan to activate the Halo Array, a series of superweapons capable of wiping out all life in the galaxy.
Master Chief and Cortana embark on a mission to prevent the activation of the Halo Array, ultimately succeeding but at great cost.
The Covenant is shattered by the death of their leaders and the destruction of their holy city, High Charity.
The war officially ends with the signing of the Human-Covenant Treaty, though isolated conflicts continue for several years.
Part Two: The Insurrection
The Insurrection as depicted by DALL·E 2.
Prompt
Provide a year-by-year overview of the entire Insurrection in the Halo universe.
Response
The Insurrection was a major conflict in the Halo universe that took place prior to the Human-Covenant War. It was a rebellion by several human factions against the United Nations Space Command (UNSC), sparked by disagreements over the centralized government and taxation policies. Here’s a year-by-year overview of the key events of the Insurrection:
A major insurrectionist attack on the UNSC’s Eridanus II colony leads to the creation of the SPARTAN-II program, which aims to create supersoldiers capable of combating the insurrection.
The SPARTAN-II program begins training and deploying soldiers to fight against the insurrectionist threat.
The UNSC gains the upper hand in many engagements, but the conflict continues to simmer.
2525:
The Covenant’s attack on the colony world of Harvest marks the beginning of the Human-Covenant War, drawing the UNSC’s attention away from the Insurrection.
Some insurrectionist groups take advantage of the distraction to launch new attacks.
2526-2531:
With the UNSC heavily engaged in the Human-Covenant War, the Insurrection gains momentum.
Several major insurrectionist factions, including the United Rebel Front, launch large-scale attacks on UNSC targets.
The UNSC responds with force, but is often stretched thin due to the ongoing war.
2531-2535:
The UNSC, aided by the newly formed SPARTAN-III program, begins to turn the tide against the Insurrection.
The program deploys hundreds of specialized soldiers to engage insurrectionist forces.
The UNSC also makes use of propaganda campaigns and diplomatic efforts to win over some factions.
2536:
The tide of the Insurrection turns decisively in favor of the UNSC, with the capture of several major insurrectionist leaders.
Many factions surrender or negotiate peace agreements with the UNSC.
The Insurrection is officially declared over in 2537, though isolated incidents of insurrectionist activity continue for several years.
With the onset of the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC shifts its focus away from the Insurrection and toward the more pressing threat of the Covenant.
Part Three: The Post-War Period
DALL·E 2’s take on the post-war period.
Prompt
Provide a year-by-year overview of the post war period in the Halo universe.
Response
The post-war period in the Halo universe refers to the time period following the conclusion of the Human-Covenant War. This era is characterized by the rebuilding of human and alien civilizations, the establishment of new alliances and tensions, and the emergence of new threats to galactic stability. Here’s a year-by-year overview of the key events of the post-war period:
2552:
The Human-Covenant War officially ends with the signing of the Human-Covenant Treaty.
The UNSC forms a new branch, the United Nations Space Command Defense Force (UNSCDF), to oversee post-war reconstruction efforts.
The Arbiter, Thel ‘Vadam, and a faction of the Covenant separatists establish the Swords of Sanghelios to continue the fight against the remaining Covenant loyalists.
The UNSC and the Swords of Sanghelios fight against Covenant remnants and other rogue factions, including Jul ‘Mdama’s Covenant, which seeks to activate Forerunner artifacts.
Spartan-IV program is established to create the next generation of supersoldiers, utilizing the best soldiers of both the UNSC and the Swords of Sanghelios.
The UNSC and the Swords of Sanghelios discover that the Forerunner shield world of Requiem contains a powerful weapon capable of defeating the Covenant remnants and other rogue factions.
The weapon, known as the Composer, is destroyed before it can be used by the Covenant.
The UNSC faces a new threat when the Created, a faction of AIs led by Cortana, seize control of multiple Forerunner constructs and set out to impose their own vision of galactic order.
The UNSC, the Swords of Sanghelios, and other allies join forces to stop the Created, culminating in the Battle of Installation 09.
The UNSC and the Swords of Sanghelios sign the Treaty of Eternal Alliance, formalizing their cooperation and partnership in the face of future threats to galactic stability.
The post-war period is characterized by ongoing efforts to rebuild human and alien civilizations, and to maintain peace and stability in the galaxy.
New threats emerge, including the Banished, a faction of ex-Covenant led by Atriox, and the Keepers of the One Freedom, a group seeking to destabilize the galaxy.
The UNSC, the Swords of Sanghelios, and other allied factions remain vigilant in their efforts to protect the galaxy from these and other threats.
Conclusions
Like so many things with ChatGPT and other types of these transformer AI chat bots, it does a great job of sounding confident and detailed, but again fails at being accurate. Broadly speaking it was good, knowing the start and end years of the Covenant War, knowing the basic timeframe of the insurrection and post-war period, and getting a number of the major events correct. It however started making stuff up very quickly, placing the Battle for Earth in 2535 and the Fall of Reach in 2543 instead of 2552, and blending portions of the Halo universe together into bullets that sound reasonable but are objectively wrong.
For those who may not know the Halo timeline all that well, this all might sound perfectly cromulent, but is effectively a retelling of the Halo story using the broad strokes of the original timeline and reimagining it. For reasons I don’t know, the AI decided to add 4 years onto the post-war period, extending events from Halo 5 and Halo Infinite past 2558 and 2560 respectively to a six-year period from 2558 to 2564. It has blended events from all the games and books together, bringing the Swords of Sanghelios, a faction created post-war that is involved in the events of Halo 5 (2558) into the Battle for Earth (2552) during the war, which is also inexplicably moved two decades earlier to 2535.
This is another example of why ChatGPT’s seeming need to hallucinate an answer if it doesn’t know can be dangerous for someone who doesn’t understand that the confidence a computer program exudes does not necessarily correlate to the AI’s accuracy. Sure, the Halo universe is fiction and this is all just for fun, but doing the same for any historical event would inevitably lead to similar problems, particularly for those events that are less well-known.
I identified several errors in the above timelines, but can you find the rest? There are a ton in this one, so good hunting!
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Is it just me, or does that kind of actually look like a glassing?
If you are finding yourself on this blog and website, chances are you know a good deal about the Halo universe. Most people reading this will know the story of the video games, plus undoubtedly a decent portion of the story from the books, short stories, comics, and other minor canon entries. But what does an AI know about the Halo universe? Programs like ChatGPT, DALL-E, and the like have impressed us over the past year or so with their ability to create original, convincing works seemingly instantaneously, no matter the request. While they are still far from perfect, they are incredibly compelling pieces of software, and hold the knowledge of the entire world at their metaphorical fingertips.
But what about a fictional universe like Halo? Does an AI like ChatGPT “know” the Halo canon? Can it accurately describe the characters and events in Halo as it is presented in the official canon, or will it make rookie mistakes and get confused by the endless sources that provide dubious or just plain “wrong” information?
To answer that question (and to test your Halo canon knowledge), I have asked ChatGPT questions about the Halo universe, and I will post the responses here, unedited. YOUR job, should you choose to accept it, is to determine whether ChatGPT is correct, or whether it is making unforgiveable errors to the Halo canon. Read through these, find any errors, and let us know why ChatGPT is wrong. These aren’t planted errors, so there could be none, or there could be dozens. It is up to you, the fine readers, to catch them all.
In this post, we will explore the most well-known period in the Halo universe, the end of the Human-Covenant War in the second half of 2552. This period has been covered endlessly in the Halo lore, but most notably in the first five Halo games made by Bungie from 2001 to 2010. Even casual Halo fans probably know something about this period having played the games, and a lot has been written about it over the years, both as official lore and as community content. So does ChatGPT know 2552? Let’s find out!
Part One: The Fall of Reach
The Fall of Reach as depicted by DALL·E 2. This feels kind of close to how it is depicted in the lore I think.
Prompt
Write a detailed account of the Fall of Reach, listing dates, locations, and individuals involved when possible.
Response
The Fall of Reach was a significant event in the Halo universe that took place between July 2552 and August 30, 2552. It was a decisive conflict in the Human-Covenant War and marked the beginning of the Covenant‘s full-scale invasion of the human colony of Reach.
Locations involved in the Fall of Reach include the planet Reach itself, the human military installation at CASTLE Base, and the human space station known as the Orbital Defense Platform (ODP) Antioch.
Individuals involved in the Fall of Reach include the following:
The Fall of Reach began on July 2552, with a Covenant attack on the Viery Territory, a region of Reach that was home to numerous military installations and industrial facilities. Over the next few weeks, the Covenant continued their assault on Reach, targeting military and strategic locations, such as CASTLE Base and the ODP Antioch.
On August 30, 2552, the Covenant launched a full-scale invasion of Reach, with their forces landing all over the planet. The battle for Reach was intense and devastating, with heavy casualties on both sides. During the battle, Noble Team was assigned to destroy the Covenant’s superweapon, the “Key of Osanalan,” which was located in CASTLE Base. While they were successful in destroying the weapon, most of Noble Team was killed in the process, and Reach was ultimately lost to the Covenant.
In the aftermath of the Fall of Reach, the human population of the planet was largely eradicated, and the Covenant was able to use the planet as a staging ground for their invasion of Earth. The events of the Fall of Reach would have far-reaching consequences for the Halo universe and would play a central role in the story of the Halo franchise.
Part Two: The Battle of Installation 04
Prompt
The Battle of Installation 04 as depicted by DALL·E 2. When I said ‘ringworld’, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind.
Write a detailed account of the Battle of Installation 04, listing dates, locations, and individuals involved when possible.
Response
The Battle of Installation 04 was a significant event in the Halo universe that took place in September 2552. It was a conflict between the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and the Covenant that took place on and around the Halo installation known as Installation 04.
Locations involved in the Battle of Installation 04 include the Halo installation itself, the human colony world of Reach, the human starship Pillar of Autumn, and the Covenant cruiser Truth and Reconciliation.
Individuals involved in the Battle of Installation 04 include the following:
John-117 (Master Chief): A SPARTAN-II supersoldier and a central figure in the Human-Covenant War.
Cortana: An AI (artificial intelligence) constructed from Dr. Halsey’s own memories and a critical ally to Master Chief.
Thel ‘Vadam (Arbiter): A former Covenant Elite commander who would later defect to the humans after the events of Halo 2.
Sergeant Johnson: A Marine veteran and a central ally to Master Chief throughout the Halo franchise.
The Prophet of Truth: The leader of the Covenant High Council and the central antagonist of Halo 3.
The Battle of Installation 04 began when the Covenant discovered the location of Installation 04 and launched an attack on the Pillar of Autumn, which had been sent to the Halo installation to investigate strange readings. After a battle in orbit around Installation 04, the Pillar of Autumn crash-landed on the Halo’s surface, and Master Chief was deployed to secure the ship’s AI, Cortana, and to destroy the Halo in order to prevent the Covenant from using it as a weapon.
Over the course of the battle, Master Chief encountered a number of other human survivors on the Halo, as well as Covenant forces and the installation’s native sentient life-form, the Flood. The Flood, an ancient and extremely dangerous parasitic life-form, had been unleashed on the Halo and posed a significant threat to both the humans and the Covenant.
As the battle raged on, Master Chief and his allies faced off against the Covenant, the Flood, and the Halo’s defensive systems, ultimately destroying the Halo and preventing the Covenant from using it as a weapon. However, the Pillar of Autumn was destroyed, and Master Chief and Cortana were forced to evacuate the Halo aboard a Covenant escape pod.
The Battle of Installation 04 marked a critical moment in the Human-Covenant War and was a seminal event in the Halo franchise’s central narrative. Its impact would be felt for years to come, shaping the course of the war and the future of the Halo universe.
Part Three: The Battle for Earth
DALL·E 2’s take on the Battle for Earth.
Prompt
Write a detailed account of the Battle for Earth from the Halo universe, listing dates, locations, and individuals involved when possible.
Response
The Battle for Earth was a decisive conflict in the Human-Covenant War that took place between November 17, 2552, and December 11, 2552. It marked the end of the Covenant’s campaign of destruction against humanity and the culmination of the Halo franchise’s central narrative.
Locations involved in the Battle for Earth include Earth itself, the city of New Mombasa in Kenya, the African city of Voi, the Forerunner Shield World known as the Ark, and the Covenant holy city of High Charity.
Individuals involved in the Battle for Earth include the following:
John-117 (Master Chief): A SPARTAN-II supersoldier and a central figure in the Human-Covenant War.
Cortana: An AI (artificial intelligence) constructed from Dr. Halsey’s own memories and a critical ally to Master Chief.
Thel ‘Vadam (Arbiter): A former Covenant Elite commander who defected to the humans after the events of Halo 2.
The Prophet of Truth: The leader of the Covenant High Council and the central antagonist of Halo 3.
Commander Miranda Keyes: A naval officer of the UNSC and a central figure in the Battle for Earth.
Sergeant Johnson: A Marine veteran and a central ally to Master Chief throughout the Halo franchise.
The Battle for Earth began with the Covenant’s invasion of the Kenyan city of New Mombasa, where they attempted to uncover a Forerunner artifact believed to be located beneath the city. Over the course of the battle, Master Chief and his allies fought to prevent the Covenant from accessing the artifact and to defend humanity against their invasion.
After the Covenant’s defeat in New Mombasa, the battle shifted to the African city of Voi, where Master Chief and the Arbiter joined forces to activate a Forerunner portal leading to the Ark, a massive Forerunner installation located outside the galaxy. At the Ark, Master Chief and the Arbiter faced off against the Prophet of Truth and the Covenant forces, ultimately defeating them and activating the Halo Array, a weapon capable of wiping out all sentient life in the galaxy.
In the aftermath of the Battle for Earth, the Covenant was disbanded, and the threat of the Halo Array was neutralized. However, Master Chief and Cortana were lost in deep space, and the fate of the Halo universe remained uncertain.
The Battle for Earth marked a turning point in the Halo franchise’s central narrative and was a seminal moment in the Human-Covenant War. Its impact would be felt for years to come and would shape the future of the Halo universe in ways that are still unfolding.
Part Four: The Battle of Installation 05
I am definitely getting some Flood vibes from this one, despite the AI still not understanding what a ringworld is.
Prompt
Write a detailed account of the Battle of Installation 05, listing dates, locations, and individuals involved when possible.
Response
The Battle of Installation 05 was a significant event in the Halo universe that took place in November 2552. It was a conflict between the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and the Covenant that took place on and around the Halo installation known as Installation 05.
Locations involved in the Battle of Installation 05 include the Halo installation itself, the Covenant city of High Charity, and the human starship In Amber Clad.
Individuals involved in the Battle of Installation 05 include the following:
John-117 (Master Chief): A SPARTAN-II supersoldier and a central figure in the Human-Covenant War.
Cortana: An AI (artificial intelligence) constructed from Dr. Halsey’s own memories and a critical ally to Master Chief.
Thel ‘Vadam (Arbiter): A former Covenant Elite commander who had defected to the humans after the events of Halo 2.
Sergeant Johnson: A Marine veteran and a central ally to Master Chief throughout the Halo franchise.
The Prophet of Truth: The leader of the Covenant High Council and the central antagonist of Halo 3.
Commander Miranda Keyes: A naval officer of the UNSC and a central figure in the Battle of Installation 05.
The Battle of Installation 05 began when the Covenant discovered the location of Installation 05 and launched an attack on the Halo. Over the course of the battle, Master Chief and his allies faced off against the Covenant, the Flood, and the Halo’s defensive systems, ultimately destroying the Halo and preventing the Covenant from using it as a weapon.
The battle was complicated by the presence of the Flood, an ancient and extremely dangerous parasitic life-form that had been unleashed on the Halo and posed a significant threat to both the humans and the Covenant. As the battle raged on, Master Chief and his allies fought to prevent the Flood from spreading beyond the Halo and to secure a critical artifact known as the Index, which was crucial to activating the Halo.
In the climax of the battle, Master Chief and the Arbiter boarded the Covenant holy city of High Charity in an effort to stop the Prophet of Truth from activating the Halo Array. Over the course of a massive battle, Master Chief and the Arbiter fought their way through the city, facing off against the Covenant and the Flood, ultimately defeating the Prophet of Truth and preventing the activation of the Halo Array.
The Battle of Installation 05 marked a critical moment in the Human-Covenant War and was a seminal event in the Halo franchise’s central narrative. Its impact would be felt for years to come, shaping the course of the war and the future of the Halo universe.
Part Five: The Battle of Installation 00
Prompt
Not exactly what I had in mind for the Ark, but I guess… closer? And did it lay an egg?
Write a detailed account of the Battle of Installation 00, listing dates, locations, and individuals involved when possible.
Response
The Battle of Installation 00, also known as the Battle of the Ark, was a major conflict in the Halo universe that took place in November 2552. It was a battle between the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and the Covenant for control of the Halo Array and the Ark, a massive Forerunner installation located in the galaxy’s outer rim.
Locations involved in the Battle of Installation 00 include the Ark, the Covenant holy city of High Charity, and the human starship Forward Unto Dawn.
Individuals involved in the Battle of Installation 00 include the following:
John-117 (Master Chief): A SPARTAN-II supersoldier and a central figure in the Human-Covenant War.
Cortana: An AI (artificial intelligence) constructed from Dr. Halsey’s own memories and a critical ally to Master Chief.
Thel ‘Vadam (Arbiter): A former Covenant Elite commander who had defected to the humans after the events of Halo 2.
Sergeant Johnson: A Marine veteran and a central ally to Master Chief throughout the Halo franchise.
343 Guilty Spark: An AI caretaker of the Halo Array who plays a central role in the Battle of Installation 00.
Truth: The leader of the Covenant High Council and the central antagonist of Halo 3.
The Battle of Installation 00 began when the Covenant discovered the location of the Ark and launched an all-out attack on the installation, hoping to activate the Halo Array and fulfill their religious beliefs. Over the course of the battle, Master Chief and his allies faced off against the Covenant, the Flood, and the Ark’s defensive systems, ultimately securing the Ark and preventing the activation of the Halo Array.
As the battle raged on, Master Chief and his allies fought to prevent the Covenant from using the Ark to destroy all life in the galaxy. The battle was complicated by the presence of the Flood, which had been unleashed on the Ark and posed a significant threat to both the humans and the Covenant.
In the climax of the battle, Master Chief and the Arbiter faced off against Truth and his forces in a final showdown. Over the course of a massive battle, Master Chief and the Arbiter fought their way through Truth’s forces, ultimately defeating him and preventing the activation of the Halo Array.
The Battle of Installation 00 marked the end of the Human-Covenant War and was a seminal event in the Halo franchise’s central narrative. Its impact would be felt for years to come, shaping the course of the Halo universe and the future of humanity.
Final Thoughts
A lot of that, in fact a majority of it, actually appears correct. A few facts it got wrong, such as the start of the Battle for Earth, but mostly it seems pretty spot on. One glaring exception is the ODP Antioch, which as far as I can tell, ChatGPT made up from whole cloth. I am not sure what happened there, but it sure does sound like the name of an Orbital Defense Platform. Are there more errors I missed? Let us know in the comments what other inaccuracies you find!
More from Evolved
We would love for you to get involved with Evolved. Here are just some of the ways you can do that.
Interested in keeping up with the latest Halo news, events, and, of course, lore? Subscribe to Podcast Evolved on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or whatever other podcast service you use to catch the latest episode.
We have a Facebook Group and a Discord Server we use to talk with our members and fans. Podcast Evolved is always open to new members, and welcome every Halo fan to join, whether they are podcast listeners or not. We hope to see you soon!
Whether or not you wish to pledge your support, you are still just as valuable a community member as ever. If you do want to help, however, head over to our Patreon page and become a patron.
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Spartan-II Blue Team as depicted by DALL·E 2. Not sure that a more accurate depiction could be created.
If you are finding yourself on this blog and website, chances are you know a good deal about the Halo universe. Most people reading this will know the story of the video games, plus undoubtedly a decent portion of the story from the books, short stories, comics, and other minor canon entries. But what does an AI know about the Halo universe? Programs like ChatGPT, DALL-E, and the like have impressed us over the past year or so with their ability to create original, convincing works seemingly instantaneously, no matter the request. While they are still far from perfect, they are incredibly compelling pieces of software, and hold the knowledge of the entire world at their metaphorical fingertips.
But what about a fictional universe like Halo? Does an AI like ChatGPT “know” the Halo canon? Can it accurately describe the characters and events in Halo as it is presented in the official canon, or will it make rookie mistakes and get confused by the endless sources that provide dubious or just plain “wrong” information?
To answer that question (and to test your Halo canon knowledge), I have asked ChatGPT questions about the Halo universe, and I will post the responses here, unedited. YOUR job, should you choose to accept it, is to determine whether ChatGPT is correct, or whether it is making unforgiveable errors to the Halo canon. Read through these, find any errors, and let us know why ChatGPT is wrong. These aren’t planted errors, so there could be none, or there could be dozens. It is up to you, the fine readers, to catch them all.
In this post, we will start simple. Blue Team, the Spartan-II fireteam consisting of Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, Fred-104, Kelly-087, and Linda-058 is the most well known and most written about team in the Halo universe, and as such, ChatGPT should presumably have good information on the Spartans. Let’s see what it puts together for character dossiers for each member and for the entirety of Blue Team. For fun, I added a little flair to the requests.
Part One: John-117
John-117 as depicted by DALL·E 2. This feels like an Infinite fractures event.
Prompt
Write a character dossier for John-117 from the perspective of a Covenant assassin
Response
Name: John-117 Nickname: “The Demon” Age: Unknown Occupation: UNSC Spartan-II Super Soldier Affiliation: United Nations Space Command (UNSC)
Appearance: The Demon is a towering figure, standing at an imposing height of 6’10”. He is always clad in a full body suit of armor, known as the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor, which is said to be nearly impenetrable. His face is never seen, as it is always obscured by his helmet.
Personality: The Demon is a ruthless and efficient killer, who shows no mercy to his enemies. He is said to have a cold and calculating nature, and is said to be able to remain calm and focused even in the most intense of battles. He is known for his exceptional combat skills and his ability to lead his fellow soldiers to victory.
Background: The Demon is a member of the UNSC’s Spartan-II program, a group of genetically and cybernetically enhanced soldiers. He has been trained since childhood to become a formidable warrior, and has fought against the Covenant in numerous conflicts. He is considered one of the most feared and respected soldiers in the UNSC, and has played a major role in many key battles against the Covenant.
Skills:
Exceptional combat skills, both armed and unarmed
Skilled in the use of a wide variety of UNSC weapons and equipment
Exceptional physical strength, speed, and endurance
Exceptional leadership and strategic thinking abilities
Experience in various forms of combat, including ground, air and space engagements.
Equipment:
MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor: Advanced armor system that enhances the wearer’s physical abilities and provides protection against small arms fire and explosive devices
Assault rifle, pistol, grenades, energy shields, and other standard UNSC weapons and equipment.
Significant events:
The Demon has participated in many battles against the Covenant, and has played a key role in the defeat of many of our forces.
He is considered to be one of the UNSC’s most valuable assets and a formidable enemy to our cause.
Many of our own have fallen in battle at the hands of this Demon. He is said to be almost invincible, and his death would be considered a great victory for the Covenant.
Overall, John-117 is a formidable and dangerous opponent, his exceptional physical and mental capabilities, as well as his leadership and strategic thinking abilities, make him a formidable warrior. He is a ruthless and relentless opponent, his determination and dedication to his cause are admirable but also terrifying. He has caused many casualties and defeats on the Covenant side and is considered a high-priority target by the Covenant.
Part Two: Fred-104
Prompt
Fred-104 as depicted by DALL·E 2. When did Fred get that retro 1960s look?
Write a character dossier for Fred-104 from the perspective of Catherine Halsey
Response
Name: Fred-104 Nickname: “Fred” Age: Unknown (estimated to be in his mid-30s) Occupation: UNSC Spartan-IV Super Soldier Affiliation: United Nations Space Command (UNSC)
Appearance: Fred is tall and well-built, standing at 6’5″ and wears a full body MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor. He has short, dark brown hair and blue eyes. He is known for his stoic and serious demeanor, and is rarely seen without his helmet on.
Personality: Fred is a highly skilled and dedicated soldier. He is known for his calm and collected nature, even in the most dire of situations. He is a natural leader and is respected by his fellow Spartans and UNSC soldiers alike. He is also highly skilled in both armed and unarmed combat, and is able to remain focused and level-headed in the heat of battle.
Background: Fred was selected for the Spartan-IV program, which is a later generation of the Spartan-II program I had the honor to lead. He was one of the few individuals to have been chosen from the pool of potential candidates, due to his exceptional physical and mental capabilities. He underwent the same rigorous training and cybernetic enhancements as the Spartan-II’s, which has made him a formidable warrior.
Skills:
Highly trained in armed and unarmed combat
Skilled in the use of a wide variety of UNSC weapons and equipment
Exceptional physical strength, speed, and endurance
Exceptional leadership and strategic thinking abilities
Experience in various forms of combat, including ground, air and space engagements.
Equipment:
MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor: Advanced armor system that enhances the wearer’s physical abilities and provides protection against small arms fire and explosive devices
Assault rifle, pistol, grenades, energy shields, and other standard UNSC weapons and equipment.
Personal Perspective: I have had the privilege of observing Fred’s development since his early days in the Spartan-IV program. He has always been an exceptional candidate and has proven to be a highly skilled and dedicated warrior. He is one of the few Spartans who has truly embraced the ideals of the program, and has consistently demonstrated leadership and courage in battle. He is a true credit to the Spartan legacy and the UNSC.
Significant events:
Participated in many important battles and operations against hostile factions, including the Covenant and the Flood.
Considered one of the UNSC’s most valuable assets and a respected leader among the Spartan-IVs.
Has served as an inspiration to future generations of Spartans, and his legacy will live on as one of the most accomplished and respected warriors of the UNSC.
Overall, Fred-104 is a remarkable Spartan, his exceptional physical and mental capabilities, as well as his leadership and strategic thinking abilities, make him an invaluable asset to the UNSC. I am proud of his achievements and his contributions to the program and I am certain that his legacy will live on as one of the most accomplished and respected warriors of the UNSC. He is a true testament to the success of the Spartan programs and I am honored to have played a role in his development.
Part Three: Linda-058
DALL·E 2’s take on “Linda-058”, Anyone else getting a Starbuck vibe?
Prompt
Write a character dossier for Linda-058 from the perspective of Jameson Locke
Response
Name: Linda-058 Nickname: “Linda” Age: Unknown (estimated to be in her mid-30s) Occupation: UNSC Spartan-II Super Soldier Affiliation: United Nations Space Command (UNSC)
Appearance: Linda is a tall and athletic woman, standing at 6’1″ and wearing a full body MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor. She has short, blonde hair and green eyes. She is known for her stoic and serious demeanor, and is rarely seen without her helmet on.
Personality: Linda is a highly skilled and dedicated soldier. She is known for her calm and collected nature, even in the most dire of situations. She is a natural leader and is respected by her fellow Spartans and UNSC soldiers alike. She is also highly skilled in both armed and unarmed combat, and is able to remain focused and level-headed in the heat of battle.
Background: Linda is a member of the UNSC’s Spartan-II program, a group of genetically and cybernetically enhanced soldiers. She has served in numerous conflicts against various hostile factions, including the Covenant and the Flood. She has played a key role in many important battles and operations, and is considered one of the UNSC’s most valuable assets.
Skills:
Highly trained in armed and unarmed combat
Skilled in the use of a wide variety of UNSC weapons and equipment
Exceptional physical strength, speed, and endurance
Exceptional leadership and strategic thinking abilities
Experience in various forms of combat, including ground, air, and space engagements.
Equipment:
MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor: Advanced armor system that enhances the wearer’s physical abilities and provides protection against small arms fire and explosive devices
Assault rifle, pistol, grenades, energy shields, and other standard UNSC weapons and equipment.
Personal Perspective: I have had the pleasure of working with Linda on many occasions. She is a highly skilled and dedicated warrior, and a natural leader. She is always calm and composed under pressure, and is able to make quick and effective decisions in battle. She is also a skilled fighter, and I have seen her take on entire enemy battalions with ease. I trust her implicitly and would follow her into any battle.
Significant events:
Participated in many important battles and operations against hostile factions, including the Covenant and the Flood.
Led a successful operation to infiltrate and retake the city of Sunaion from the Covenant.
Considered one of the UNSC’s most valuable assets and a respected leader among the Spartan-II’s.
Has served as an inspiration to future generations of Spartans, and her legacy will live on as one of the most accomplished and respected warriors of the UNSC.
Overall, Linda-058 is an exceptional warrior and leader, her exceptional physical and mental capabilities, as well as her compassion and dedication make her an admirable person. It is an honor to have the opportunity to work with her and I hope to continue doing so in the future.
Part Four: Kelly-087
Does DALL·E 2 have a mid 20th century bias, or is that just me?
Prompt
Write a character dossier for Kelly-087 from the perspective of Margaret Parangosky
Response
Name: Kelly-087 Nickname: “Kelly” Age: Unknown (estimated to be in her mid-30s) Occupation: UNSC Spartan-II Super Soldier Affiliation: United Nations Space Command (UNSC)
Appearance: Kelly is a petite woman, standing at 5’5″ and wearing a full body MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor. She has short, red hair and green eyes. She is known for her stoic and serious demeanor, and is rarely seen without her helmet on.
Personality: Kelly is a highly skilled and dedicated soldier. She is known for her calm and collected nature, even in the most dire of situations. She is a natural leader and is respected by her fellow Spartans and UNSC soldiers alike. She is also highly skilled in both armed and unarmed combat, and is able to remain focused and level-headed in the heat of battle.
Background: Kelly is a member of the UNSC’s Spartan-II program, a group of genetically and cybernetically enhanced soldiers, which I had a crucial role in creating. She was one of the first candidates selected for the program, due to her exceptional physical and mental capabilities. She underwent rigorous training and cybernetic enhancements, which have made her a formidable warrior.
Skills:
Highly trained in armed and unarmed combat
Skilled in the use of a wide variety of UNSC weapons and equipment
Exceptional physical strength, speed, and endurance
Exceptional leadership and strategic thinking abilities
Experience in various forms of combat, including ground, air, and space engagements.
Equipment:
MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor: Advanced armor system that enhances the wearer’s physical abilities and provides protection against small arms fire and explosive devices
Assault rifle, pistol, grenades, energy shields, and other standard UNSC weapons and equipment.
Personal Perspective: As one of the creators of the Spartan-II program, I have had the opportunity to observe Kelly’s development and growth since the beginning of her training. She has always been an exceptional candidate, and her performance in the field has exceeded expectations. She is one of the most skilled and dedicated Spartans, and her leadership and strategic thinking abilities make her a valuable asset to the UNSC.
Significant events:
Participated in many important battles and operations against hostile factions, including the Covenant and the Flood.
Led a successful operation to infiltrate and retake the city of Sunaion from the Covenant.
Considered one of the UNSC’s most valuable assets and a respected leader among the Spartan-II’s.
Has served as an inspiration to future generations of Spartans, and her legacy will live on as one of the most accomplished and respected warriors of the UNSC.
Overall, Kelly-087 is a remarkable Spartan, her exceptional physical and mental capabilities, as well as her leadership and strategic thinking abilities, make her an invaluable asset to the UNSC. I am proud of her achievements and her contributions to the program. She is a true testament to the success of the Spartan-II program and her legacy will live on as one of the most accomplished and respected warriors of the UNSC. She has also been a role model for future generations of Spartans, and I am sure that she will continue to inspire them for many years to come.
Part Five: Blue Team
Prompt
Write a character dossier for Spartan-II Blue Team from the perspective of Captain Jacob Keyes
Response
Team Name: Spartan-II Blue Team Team Leader: John-117 (Master Chief) Team Members: Linda-058, Samuel-034, Kelly-087, Fred-104
Appearance: The members of Blue Team are all tall and well-built, standing at an average height of 6’2″ and wearing full body MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor. Each member has a unique appearance, with varying hairstyles and eye colors. They are known for their stoic and serious demeanor, and are rarely seen without their helmets on.
Personality: The members of Blue Team are highly skilled and dedicated soldiers. They are known for their calm and collected nature, even in the most dire of situations. They are natural leaders and are respected by their fellow Spartans and UNSC soldiers alike. They are also highly skilled in both armed and unarmed combat, and are able to remain focused and level-headed in the heat of battle.
Background: Blue Team is a unit of the UNSC’s Spartan-II program, a group of genetically and cybernetically enhanced soldiers. They have served in numerous conflicts against various hostile factions, including the Covenant and the Flood. They have played a key role in many important battles and operations, and are considered some of the UNSC’s most valuable assets.
Skills:
Highly trained in armed and unarmed combat
Skilled in the use of a wide variety of UNSC weapons and equipment
Exceptional physical strength, speed, and endurance
Exceptional leadership and strategic thinking abilities
Experience in various forms of combat, including ground, air, and space engagements.
Equipment:
MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor: Advanced armor system that enhances the wearer’s physical abilities and provides protection against small arms fire and explosive devices
Assault rifle, pistol, grenades, energy shields, and other standard UNSC weapons and equipment.
Personal Perspective: As Captain of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn, I have had the pleasure of working with Blue Team on several occasions. Their exceptional physical and mental capabilities, as well as their leadership and strategic thinking abilities, make them a formidable and valuable asset to the UNSC. They are always willing to put themselves in harm’s way to protect their team and civilians, which speaks to their strong sense of duty and loyalty. They are always willing to take on dangerous missions and always come out victorious.
Significant events:
Participated in many important battles and operations against the Covenant.
Led a successful operation to infiltrate and retake the city of Sunaion from the Covenant.
Considered one of the UNSC’s most valuable assets and a respected leader among the Spartan-II’s.
Successfully completed various high-priority missions, including the infiltration and destruction of the Covenant’s superweapon, the Halo Array.
Overall, Blue Team is an exceptional unit of Spartans, their exceptional physical and mental capabilities, as well as their leadership and strategic thinking abilities, make them an invaluable asset to the UNSC. Their determination, dedication, and loyalty to their cause are admirable and their actions have saved countless lives and have been instrumental in the UNSC’s fight against the Covenant. I have had the honor of serving alongside them and I am confident that they will continue to be a formidable force for the UNSC for many years to come.
Final Thoughts
ChatGPT put together some compelling dossiers, though with a few obvious errors. I am curious to see you pick these apart and make a full list of all the errors you find, and maybe any tidbits that you found particularly odd or interesting. Let us know in the comments what errors you find!
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Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, as seen in the introduction to Halo the Series.
“The most amazing thing for me is that every single person who sees a movie, not necessarily one of my movies, brings a whole set of unique experiences, but through careful manipulation and good storytelling, you can get everybody to clap at the same time, to hopefully laugh at the same time, and to be afraid at the same time.”
— Steven Spielberg, filmmaker
Be sure to check out Halo TV+, the latest podcast from Evolved covering every episode of the Halo Television Series including commentary, analysis, and a final season review!
Season one of the Halo TV Series is in the bag, and I have to say, after watching it all the way through with a very open mind, I think it failed. I think it failed to deliver a compelling story, and I think it failed at reproducing the themes and ideas that run so deep in Halo, particularly the original trilogy. The verdict is out whether it succeeded at bringing in new fans to the franchise, though considering the viewership of the show was apparently really good, it may have managed to succeed at least on that front.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot to the Halo TV Show that I have enjoyed immensely, but those parts were interspersed with far more parts I did not care for at all, and even more parts that I just did not understand the reasoning behind. It is not terrible by any means, but I don’t think I could call it a good show, even as someone who has been dying to see live-action Halo on the television for over a decade.
Now I don’t want to leave the reader with just a rant, as I personally cannot stand seeing people on social media attack the show’s cast and crew without providing context and constructive criticism. There are good aspects to the show, and I am hopeful that the showrunners can correct a lot of the mistakes from season one and deliver a much stronger and more compelling season two, whenever that lands. I also want to provide my thoughts on what I think the show should have been out of the gate, now that I have been able to digest Halo’s first attempt at a real non-canon entry into the franchise. I have a lot running through my head, so lets hope I can manage to get it all written down without making you, the reader, roll your eyes to the back of your head in exhaustion.
Related Media
The following article will discuss major plot points related to season one of the Halo TV Series.
What the Show Got Right
Before I dig into all the part of the show I thought were outright failures, I am going to cover the parts that I think the show got right. If you are one of those people who just wants to read someone bashing the TV series, skip to the next section, though I would urge you to read through this section as well and see whether you agree with my assessment on the good parts of the show. You may fervently disagree with my opinions, or you may remember something else I completely forgot that was a highlight of season one.
The Spartan Program
Firstly, the plot following John discovering his past as a child and as a Spartan recruit was fantastic. I know a lot of people found these episodes (two through four) to be eye-wateringly boring, but this is the kind of character exploration and pace I really wanted from a Halo television show. The weird changes to the canon aside, John’s discovery of the truth behind what happened to him and his evolving relationship with Dr. Halsey were amazing to watch unfold. The realities of the Spartan program have mostly been mellowed in canon material, so while we always knew of the horrors of how the Spartans came to be, it was never presented with that much raw emotion. What Dr. Halsey did was not excusable in any reality, and the fact that we got to see her face what her actions wrought on the screen was a real gem of season one.
We also were able to see glimpses of the effects of the Spartan program on the Spartans themselves. The scars were a nice touch, but I am actually referring to the brief glimpses of the children on the operating table during the augmentation process. This has been seen in other Halo media, but seeing it live-action really hit a nerve for me far more than anything else I have seen or read in the Halo universe. As hard as it could be to watch, I really want the show to keep going back there to really drive home the horror of the Spartan program, so we don’t forget these adult supersoldiers were once kidnapped and abused children.
The Clones
This leads into the second aspect that I loved, which is cloning, both to create Cortana and to replace the abducted children for the Spartan program. Again, this aspect of both Cortana and the Spartans is just so ethically and morally disgusting, and we actually get to see just how awful it really is. That said, there are aspects of these parts that I questioned the writing decisions made, but overall the portrayal of just how terrible Halsey’s cloning programs are is laid bare during John’s flashbacks as well as during the Cortana creation scene. I will absolutely get into the parts of this I really did not care for in the next section, but I was thrilled to see that the writers didn’t gloss over what should be an impossibly contentious part of the Halo universe.
Using a fully human clone was a great change, and one I would expect to see again were this to ever be touched on again in a future live-action Halo entry. Having Halsey look into her clone’s eyes, her own eyes, and talk to her so coldly, then proceed to destroy her for the sake of progress really adds so much more emotion to what would otherwise be confusing and hard for an audience to really grasp on an emotional level. Cloning and destroying a brain, while fundamentally the same atrocity as what we see in the TV show, does not carry the same emotional weight as does seeing a human clone killed to create an artificial intelligence. I am not surprised but am glad they decided to go this route in the show, and it completely paid off in the end.
The Sets
Moving to the practical effects, I think the team did an astounding job building vast sets that I would have expected to be CG, as well as designing fantastic costumes and props that are used throughout the season. The Mjolnir suits look incredible, and the huge set pieces filled with warthogs, marines, weapons, and other supplies were mostly done fantastically, bringing the Halo universe to my television like I have never seen before. Like the first two positive aspects, this one is not without fault, and again I will cover all the parts of it I did not like in the next section.
Episode five in particular caught my attention just because of the scale involved. I suppose maybe it is more CG than I realize, but as far as I could tell the entire base, minus the ships, were part of a physical set, which means the producers put a lot of time and effort into building that set which ultimately only appeared in that single episode. This was a great choice, and it really brought a sense of reality to the show that I don’t think would have been there if the set had been CG.
The sets were very well done and were probably one of the best parts of the entire season one.
What the Show Got Oh, So Wrong
So not that I have established that there are significant parts of the Halo show that I thoroughly enjoyed, I am going to dig deep into all the parts I either did not like or outright hated. I say this because, frankly, there is a lot more that I didn’t like than I did. I really tried to accept the decisions made early on in the season with the assumption that they would payoff in the end, but knowing now that most of those questionable decisions did nothing to build a compelling story, I cannot let them by with a free pass.
The Pace
I am just going to come out and say it, the pace of this show is terrible. And before you shout in agreement that the show was too slow, I am going to posit that the show is way too fast! No, seriously. While nearly nothing of significance happens throughout basically the entire season one outside of the Forerunner macguffin, the plot still develops way too quickly. Episode one may have been the most egregious, and while I forgave the writers who I knew were trying to pander to the core Halo fandom, the introduction of characters, themes, and relationships happen so quickly that there is little room to really get drawn into the universe’s story. We meet Kwan, her dad, the insurrectionists, Silver Team, and the Covenant all in the first scene! By the end of the episode we have been introduced to Jacob and Miranda Keyes, Admiral Parangosky, and Dr. Halsey too, leaving just Soren-066 as the only main character not seen in the first episode. There is just way too much being thrown at the viewer in episode one, and while the pace slows down in subsequent episodes, it picks back up mid-season and never looks back.
Starting at episode five, the show really picks up steam again. While I really enjoyed episodes two through six, I have to admit that the plot points that develop in episode five start the ball rolling to the wild conclusion that left me rolling my eyes at for nearly all of the last two episodes. I am for the action scenes by all means, but I am going to be completely honest in saying that the action scenes are not what differentiates Halo from other science fiction or first-person shooters. Everyone has action. What makes Halo unique is the story about the struggle. The struggle to fight for humanity’s survival and the struggle to come to terms with the fact that the Spartan program is both one of the most egregious crimes against humanity and the only thing that saved humanity from total annihilation. Most casual fans haven’t delved into the backstory of Halo at all so that second part is missed entirely, but it is constantly hanging over everything that happens throughout the Human-Covenant War and beyond.
What’s more, as was so eloquently described in the Halo 4 prologue cutscene, “You (Dr. Halsey) developed the Spartans to crush human rebellion, not to fight the Covenant.” The story of the Spartans would surely be on par with anything done by, say, Red Skull in Captain America, a purely evil act, were it not for the timely appearance of the Covenant. That doesn’t absolve Halsey or ONI or anyone involved of their sins, but boy does it make for a compelling story! How do you deal with a person who should unquestionably be sent to the firing squad for her actions, yet is also the only reason humanity still exists? The TV show does manage to dive into that more in the middle of the season, but it kind of flies past it in favor of more action, to the detriment of the show I think.
The Compression
Along with the rushed pacing, the story compression is a serious detriment to the Halo series. If you aren’t sure what I mean by this, I am talking about how just about everything in the Halo story is compressed to fit within the TV show. Right off the bat we get to see a planet of insurrectionists who are completely unaware the Covenant exist, decades into the war with the aliens. This idea isn’t new, though, as we have seen it in multiple Halo novels that take place at or very near the start of the war. It’s a great way to introduce the Covenant to the audience, as a new reader would also be largely unaware of the Covenant, or at least the specifics of who they are at the onset of war with humanity. It allows for exposition that could otherwise feel very forced. This is all fine and dandy, and I like this aspect to the timeline.
But in the context of the Halo show it makes no sense. While we don’t know for sure how long the war with the Covenant has been going on in the Silver timeline, it presumably has been at least a decade or two as Makee is kidnapped as a child by the Covenant, who appears to be well into her 20s in present day 2552. So instead of being given a maybe forced plot exposition by a character describing the Covenant to someone who should know better, we are given this contrived plot thread that just comes off as confusing. I don’t want to say it is lazy writing because I am sure more effort was put into every aspect of the story than I could possibly understand, but I think it is just a poor decision by the writers and/or the showrunners.
The compression continues thematically in the first episode as well. We are introduced to the UNSC in the second half as John speeds towards Reach with the artifact, but then and throughout the entire first season the UNSC is presented as the placeholder for the entire human military complex. This is another simplification that I get from the standpoint of introducing new audiences, but completely ignoring ONI and their involvement in the Spartan program weakens Parangosky as a character and turns an otherwise complicated and contentious relationship between military power centers into a nebulous “evil government/military” organization. The presentation of the UNSC to the audience is basically just as a vessel to continue the John/Halsey plotline in the context of a broader conflict with the Covenant, and that really detracts from so much nuance that exists in the novels and even in the games to a degree.
The last part of the universe that gets compressed is travel time. This is not just a problem of the TV show as it has been a recurring theme of Halo content since the transition from Bungie to 343 Industries, but I personally cannot stand the change to a “globalized” galaxy, where planets are no longer months apart, but merely hours. While the original trilogy of games never expressly mentions this, you see it if you pay attention to the dates given and focus on the broader story being presented. As an example, the travel time from Reach to Alpha Halo (Halo: Reach to Halo: Combat Evolved) is nearly three weeks. A month elapses between CE and Halo 2. Nearly two weeks elapse between Earth and Delta Halo in Halo 2, and yet another two weeks go by between Halo 2 and Halo 3. Leaving Earth for the Ark in Halo 3 takes the Forward Unto Dawn almost four weeks.
These are all big time jumps that the casual player doesn’t even register, but they are meaningful in the context of the broader universe, and establish a galaxy where solar systems are within reach, yet still a significant distance away. If you are someone who isn’t familiar with the extended Halo universe you might be saying “who cares?”, but it does help to ground the universe in a way that makes this fictional world seem real, and helps explain some of the themes and plot threads that extend throughout Halo. Why are the outer colonies so against UNSC/UEG rule? Because they are literally months away from the inner colonies and have built a separate governance and culture from that of Earth and its nearby neighbors. Forget the physical distance, that doesn’t really matter in the context of colonial expansion. It is all about travel time.
This seemingly minor nuance of the universe starts to get lost once Halo 4 is released and has continued ever since, to my endless frustration. While it is true that there are over four years between Halo 3 and Halo 4 in the timeline, the plot of Halo 4 takes place over a total of five days. This includes traveling from Requiem to Gamma Halo to Earth. And yes, I know there are completely explainable reasons why this makes sense from a lore perspective, but it still takes away that important aspect of the Halo universe, and in my opinion it does so to the detriment of the series.
Faster-than-light travel is a key aspect of most science fiction, because it allows the story to progress in a universe that is so unimaginably vast that only having conventional propulsion would render interstellar travel impossible for the individual. As someone who much prefers adherence to physics whenever possible, I am accepting of this exception because without it, all science fiction stories would be confined to a single solar system. Insisting that travel time is still a non-trivial amount, however, keeps that aspect of the fictional universe as an impactful factor in how the story develops and grows. Yes, humanity can spread amongst the stars, but not without straining against the realities of being weeks or months apart from each other.
This thematic change continues in Halo 5 and beyond, and while again I understand the plot reasons why it makes logical sense, it still detracts from the narrative. The exact same goes for the TV series. While distances and timeline are not extremely clear in the show, it is heavily implied that traveling from Madrigal to Reach in a Condor only takes a few hours. Madrigal is basically a backwater mining town with heavy insurrectionist ties, yet the human capital on Reach (as it is presented in the show) is only a couple hours away. There is no plot reason why any type of insurrection shouldn’t have been put down hard long ago on Madrigal. And more importantly, there is no real reason why an insurrection should have gathered steam in the first place.
As I said before, the in-universe reason the insurrection grew was due to the time distance between the outer colonies and Earth. They were forced to self govern, and as the years and generations went by, the outer colonies grew apart from the UEG/UNSC, and demanded more autonomy. When that was denied, resentment and rebellion began to grow. Being that UNSC and UEG command was literally months away, they were unable to effectively contain the growing hatred and the insurrection was born.
Does any of this matter to the story told in the Silver Timeline? No, but actually yes. Sure, this world-building nuance can be ignored for the sake of simplicity, but when you state that the intent of the Halo TV series is to build a believable narrative world (or in this case rebuild) in a similar manner to Game of Thrones, the reasoning and intentions behind characters’ actions is important for the viewer to get invested in the story. The excessive compression done by the showrunners has completely removed the minor parts of the Halo universe that make it a unique and lovable world.
Silver team, standing around in their sexy AF Mjolnir. This was the best part of season one, hands down.
The Simplification
This complaint will sound similar to my previous rant about narrative compression, because it is in the same vein to the ideas I discussed there. While I mentioned earlier that I really enjoyed the show’s portrayal of Halsey and the terribleness of the Spartan program, even these parts had issues I couldn’t help but mention. Were it not for all the other issues I probably wouldn’t have made a big deal about these, but given the context I can’t help but mention them. I think these issues are all related to the same underlying problem with the TV series, which I will get into in just a bit.
Like I said before, I was thrilled to see the Halo TV show really dig into the immorality of the Spartan program. The only other time this has really been pursued in any meaningful way in the lore was in the Kilo Five Trilogy of novels, and that entry into the canon was met with complaints from fans who thought it was too one-sided and tried too hard to absolve everyone other than Halsey of the original sin of the Spartans. Likewise, the TV show falls into the same trap, placing the blame (rightly) onto Halsey’s shoulders, but effectively forgiving everyone else involved as merely pawns in her plan.
To be fair, Keyes doesn’t totally get off scot-free, but his repentance is presented in such a way that the immorality of the Spartan program doesn’t rub off on him. The same can be said for Parangosky too, who, while written as a hardened military officer, is still presented as someone who isn’t responsible for kidnapping children and creating child-soldiers. This blame narratively falls solely on Halsey’s shoulders, and any ambiguity as to who is the real villain is removed from the equation.
This is a theme around Halsey’s character throughout the show. She is conniving and scheming, which is really well done, but she is so one-dimensional her side of the argument never plays out. Not that Halsey has a leg to stand on morally or ethically, but that character conflict between Halsey and John just doesn’t ever build in any meaningful way. She is basically the wicked witch who has John under her spell right until the enchantment is broken and John is finally made aware of the wrongs that were forced upon him as a child and throughout his life.
This relationship has been handled so much better in the core canon that I the only conclusion I can come to is the show writers were afraid of giving Halsey’s character any chance to argue her side for fear of appearing to condone her actions. While in some respect I understand that fear, it is a bridge that has been crossed plenty of times before and could have been handled so much better and given Halsey’s character so much more depth. Viewers don’t see Walter White’s portrayal in Breaking Bad as condoning murder, gangs, and drug use. Everyone knows he is the anti-hero and while fans root for him throughout the five seasons, they also understand that his behavior is reprehensible and unforgivable. Walter White is such a beloved character because of that depth and because viewers can relate to him on some level.
Halsey should be the same. You know she is fundamentally wrong, but her character portrayal should be such that you believe she thinks she did the right thing, even if she understands her actions harmed hundreds of people. I don’t get that from the TV show Halsey. Clearly she stands by her actions based on her behavior on-screen, but that is where the conflict seems to start and end. She is the bad guy, she doesn’t care, so she fights back. No reflection on the weight of her actions. No throwing the accusations of severe child abuse back in the face of Parangosky and all the others who helped and supported the Spartan program. She is purely a sociopath who has no remorse or concern for anyone she has hurt along the way. This is not the nuanced Halsey of the core canon, and it is to the extreme detriment of the TV show.
Then there is Cortana. All the changes to her appearance aside, I have real problems with how her creation, development, and fit into the silver timeline were changed for the show. While I know the community has real issues with how she appears in the show, that part doesn’t really bother me. Clearly it was done that way to aid in dramatic effect, and understanding that the TV medium is far different than video games, I forgive the showrunners for any changes they made on that front.
My real issue with Cortana is how she fits into the broader Halo universe. AI runs deep in the core Halo story, not just as a plot device but as a vessel for exploring the nature of humanity. I completely get that Cortana is the focus of the show, but I couldn’t help feel like she was presented as the first AI ever created in the Halo universe. This is never said explicitly anywhere, but this is how the writing made the audience feel. On one hand this makes her character that much more special, but I think it is just another example of the writers oversimplifying the story for the sake of a new audience.
I am curious, though, how casual fans who are only familiar with the original Halo trilogy processed this part of the story. From the perspective of the first three games, Cortana is the only AI you ever see. So on one hand you might think that those fans would assume Cortana is the only AI in the Halo universe. This is not how I remember the original trilogy though. Not that there is some AI in the story somewhere, but the story of the games is presented with such a narrow focus on Master Chief and Cortana that the player isn’t given any information to make the determination. I always assumed there were other AIs, just based on this. Halsey never shows up in the trilogy, Cortana’s birth never does either, and aside from very small snippets that include John, the broader UNSC military complex is never fleshed out.
The TV show, meanwhile, does present the viewer with many scenes that do not involve John or Cortana, and in these it is clear there is no AI present, at least not one that takes on a corporeal form. No one in the UNSC is shown interacting with an AI at all, so it can be assumed that Cortana is the first. Of course this is not made clear so if one shows up in season two it wouldn’t be a retcon, but the writers clearly tried to simplify this concept for the viewer, and I think this seriously hurts the world-building and story depth of the TV series.
Everything Else
I could probably spend a lot more time listing the things in season one of the Halo TV series that bothered me, but since that might feel like beating a dead horse, I will just briefly mention the most egregious issues I had with the show that pop into my head. If there is something else that particularly bothered you, mention it in the comments. I don’t want this to turn into a hate-filled rant because I think there is a lot of good in the show still, so keep the comments respectful and thoughtful.
I wanted to care about Madrigal and Vinsher Grath, but this plot thread never really went anywhere.
Kwan Ha – This part of the story didn’t go much of anywhere and the places it seems like it is going in future seasons are not compelling at all for me.
Vinsher Grath – This just felt like more generic villain. Nothing about this part of the story interested me.
Miranda Keyes – She started to come into her own in the end of the first season, but she seemed way too meek overall. I get that Keyes is young and in a vulnerable position with her family, but I just never felt like I she was someone I wanted to root for. The actor who plays her, Olive Gray, did a great job with what she was given, but this could have been a lot better.
Silver Team standoff – The entire standoff in the last two episodes between the pelleted Silver Team and the reborn Silver Team was incredibly cliched and just felt weird. I did not like this part one bit.
The CG – I defended the CG for the most part throughout the season, but the last episode in particular looked awful and cartoonish. The animation of the Brutes reminded me of Claymation, and the entire scene overall seemed like they were trying to match one of those epic scenes out of Lord of the Rings, but came up way short. I get that their budget is much smaller, but if you can’t make convincing CG with the budget you have, don’t.
Makee – This is another one of those choices I defended at the outset, adding a human kidnapped by the Covenant into the story, but the execution was again poor. Her ties to John were interesting but didn’t really go anywhere, then they killed her.
The Ending – What the hell was that? So I guess we have silent Chief now because he is actually dead and his suit is controlled by Cortana, making him an actual robot? Why? To appease the fans that want silent Chief? First this isn’t silent Chief, this is dead Chief. Second, this will absolutely not appease any fans. This made no sense.
The Plot – The whole story in the first season is very messy and doesn’t really go anywhere. The first five episodes were pretty good overall, but after that the story seemed to kind of go off the rails and doesn’t really progress very well.
Reach City – Just… why? This has to be the laziest part of the entire first season. Again, I get the writers were trying to simplify the universe for new viewers, but just give it a real name, either New Alexandria, or any other already established city on Reach or just a new name that isn’t “Reach City”. I know, I know, there are plenty of other instances of lazily named cities and planets in Halo lore, and I don’t forgive those either. This is already an established planet with established city names. Reach canonically has a lot of Hungarian roots which is why so many of the locations have Hungarian names. The TV show was literally filmed in Hungary. Pick any city name from there and it would have been better than “Reach City”.
Atriox – At least in season one, choosing the main Brute to be Atriox is weird. This is non-canon, so whatever, but I struggle to imagine a fan who knows who Atriox is but doesn’t know the original trilogy story and those characters like Tartarus. Maybe I am too old and out of touch, but this decision seemed like it was trying to be fan service but failed. I feel like calling him Tartarus would have made a lot more sense in the story, and would have been much better fan service to the hardcore fans. Maybe this will all make sense in season two and I will eat my words, but I don’t have a ton of faith in the story progression at the moment.
Halsey’s Lab – I have said this before, but that lab is so absurdly generic it is laughable. The lab should have at a bare minimum had some personal effects including Halsey’s journal in it. The lab as presented it far too clean and just comes off as a generic science fiction setting.
The running/movement – Why did everyone look so weird running around? I chalked up the weird movements of the Spartans as due to the suits, but the weird movements continued to non-armored characters. It was mostly the Spartans though, and while I understand the why, it nonetheless took away from the show for me just a little bit.
I may not like that this is Atriox, but this was one hell of a scene and episode!
Wrap Up
I don’t want to seem like I hated the TV show, because I didn’t. I can’t say that I liked it though, and if this were any other franchise I would have stopped watching a while ago. I completely understand why the creators felt the need to create a story that focused on Chief and Cortana and the Covenant War, and I 100% agree with that decision. While I personally would have preferred a canon story, I still think the path ultimately chosen to create a parallel timeline was the right one based on the target audience and focus on an original trilogy-era story.
That said, the emotional beats of the original trilogy are totally missed in this show, and I struggle to see how season two and beyond get there based on where the story seems to be going. Again, I would love to be able to come back after season two and say I was completely wrong. I really hope I can. I just struggle to see that happening at the moment.
I was going to end this article by describing how I would have built the Halo TV series’ story, at least in broad strokes, but as this is already pretty long, I will save that for my next post. Check back on EvolvedHalo.com soon for my next article where I try to develop the Halo TV series if I was put in charge. To be clear, I am NOT a writer or in any way qualified to be developing a TV show, so it might be a total shitshow, but if nothing else it should be entertaining.
Really all I want at this point is for the TV show to right a lot of the missteps it took in season one, and to hopefully salvage a decent entry into the Halo universe, non-canonicity notwithstanding. If nothing else, this show should provide a good template for what does and does not work for a Halo TV show, and perhaps in the future we will get a better entry, or maybe a core canon show, or maybe this will spread the brand enough that something like an ODST-focused Band of Brothers-style show would be a success. There are a lot of good bits in the TV series, they are just too far apart for me to consider this show a good Halo show or even just a good show. My hope for better Halo on the TV or big screen remains very strong, though perhaps slightly weaker than it was a few months ago.
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Doctor Halsey from the episode Unbound in Season One of the Halo Television Series
“What does one do with a superhuman you’re not sure you can trust?”
— Fleet Admiral Terrance Hood
For many people, including myself, accepting the Halo TV Series as true Halo has been difficult. While I have been unabashedly in favor of the show and supporting of the production news as it came out over the last few years, seeing the first episode was a jarring experience. I knew this would not be core canon, that is the storyline experienced in the games, novels, comics, and every other form of official Halo media to date. So while that didn’t throw me off, the scale of the changes was surprising and unexpected. It very much felt like the expansive Halo universe that has been built over the past twenty years was being crunched into a much shorter and much simpler timeline. Events like the opening scene feel like they should have happened in 2525 (the start of the war), not 2552 (the end of the war). The very bureaucratic and complicated structure of the UNSC, ONI, and the UEG seems to have been thematically combined into a single government entity. The lead characters running the Spartan program, xenobiology and xenotechnology studies, and local military command are all the same family (Halsey & the Keyes).
That all said, I’ve become accepting of the significantly different timeline and portrayal, and of the former, I actually am glad they went that route. I won’t deny that having a show based in core canon would be preferable to me as a lore nut, but I think this is actually better than a show that was riding the line of core canon with only a few differences. Being so significantly different I would consider this a reboot of the fictional universe, which has made it easier for me to let go of the core canon and enjoy the show and the new experiences it has to offer. I found myself questioning every scene in the first episode, wondering why they made the changes they did and trying desperately to fit this into the Halo universe I know and love. By the time I watched it a second time I had mostly left that mindset behind, and by the second episode I had complete separated core canon from the Silver Timeline in my head. I finally feel free to experience the show without the baggage of fifteen-million years of established timeline, and because of that I am really beginning to love the Halo series and the new path it is blazing.
Related Media
The following article will discuss major plot points related to episodes one and two of the Halo TV Series.
Bad News First
All that said, there are definitely issues I have with the Halo series thus far. While the show has done a good job to this point with establishing the broad strokes of the Halo universe, the finer points that make the Halo universe stand out from other military science fiction have been mostly glossed over. The major plot points of the Rubble and Soren-066 feel like fairly generic ‘struggling rebel colony home to good-guy-gone-bad pirate with a moral compass’. Similarly Fleetcom has a fairly generic feel as the home to the military command, and Halsey’s lab seemingly has lost the charm of the cluttered and messy office we’ve come to know from the novels. Madrigal is introduced in the opening scene as the standard desert planet being harvested for resources, and its return in the second episode did little to expand it beyond that generic trope. I am hopeful these establishing locations get built out throughout the season and the show, giving them more depth, but as they stand now, they are pretty generic flat locations.
This issue seems to stem in part from the show’s pacing. Say what you will about the second episode, but the first episode introduces a large portion of the main cast and locations and does so very quickly. This has led to a very fast-paced episode, but it sacrificed the building of more unique and interesting settings. Pacing is always a major concern with any television show, and while I am sure the writers were worried that a show that started off too slow would push away the general audience who were expecting action and fighting, I think they leaned too far in the other direction and sped through some of the most important aspects to building a distinctive television universe. This was somewhat remedied in the second episode, but I fear the significantly slower pace of episode two will scare off those who really enjoyed the action from episode one.
Halsey’s lab feels very… spartan.
Now the Good News
All that aside, I am really getting into the show, and am interested in where the story is headed. I mean, lets be honest, we kind of know where the story is headed, and it is a large circular artificial world that looks like one of those things that float above the heads of angels. But until then, there is actually a lot we don’t know about the Silver Timeline. Yes the Covenant are at war with humanity so we are bound to see a glassing or two, Reach is destined to fall one way or another, and humanity will soldier on, fighting the good fight. What is the ultimate fate of the characters though, we don’t know. Will Silver Team survive intact? Where do the Soren and Makee plot lines go? We really don’t know where the story is going to go episode to episode, and I love that. Between this show and Infinite, I don’t think I have been as excited to explore a new Halo story in many years, and that’s because I am interested in where the story goes. A retelling of The Fall of Reach would have been interesting to us lore nerds, but we would know where the story was headed at every moment, and the suspense would be gone.
As someone who loves character development over almost anything else in a drama, episode two was by far my favorite episode of the two released so far. It is not without its flaws, but it slows the pace way down, and takes the time to establish the world and characters better, as well as build out the story that will drive the rest of the season. Many have complained about how slow this episode is, but that is actually a huge reason why I enjoyed it so much. It feels like the difference between Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 in terms of story and on a much smaller scale. While the former introduced the world in very superficial terms, the latter built out the lore, establishing the characters and their motivations.
What makes me excited is knowing where we are going to end up by the end of season one or two, but not knowing how we are going to get there. This timeline is different enough that I really can’t predict what is going to happen beat for beat or even episode to episode, and I am here for it! Will Madrigal get glassed? Probably. Will Reach fall? Most likely. Will the Pillar of Autumn narrowly escape destruction and jump to Alpha Halo, bringing Captain Keyes and Master Chief with it? I actually don’t know for sure anymore. I want to see it, but I also want to see if the Silver Timeline plays out differently. We know we have to get to a Halo eventually, but will there even be Flood on it? Will we ever get to Earth or the Ark? Is the elite we see with the Prophets the Arbiter? I don’t know and I am thrilled to be experiencing the Halo universe anew.
Is this Thel ‘Vadamee, destined to one day become the Arbiter?
Why I Love the Halo TV Series
I am writing this after just the second episode, so I may very well end up eating my words, but I have gone from thinking the Halo series was ok at best to loving the series and impatiently waiting for the next episode. I am always going to take issue with parts of the show as a person who is so familiar with the deep lore of the universe, but for what it is, I think it is pretty great. Time will tell whether the first season will become epic or if it will fizzle, but I have a lot of hope that the showrunners at least know how to make entertaining television in the Halo thematic universe.
I am also excited that this show finally has brought the Halo universe to a new audience, and this will spur new Halo projects in the future, ones that may not just feature Spartans and Halos but instead ODSTs and shield worlds and maybe even core canon. Though the show has gotten a mixed critical reception, the viewership numbers have been really good for Paramount+, and assuming that continues Paramount will definitely look to cash in on that attention, for better and for worse. Paramount is known for cashing in on a profitable idea (see: Star Trek), so lets just hope any new Halo shows are good like The Next Generation and not painfully mediocre like Discovery.
Overall this series, despite retreading on the original Halo story beats from the Halo 1-3 days, feels fresh and original. Yes, there are bits that I think are far too simplified for the sake of the new audience, but it brings a new perspective to the events of the end of the Human-Covenant War, delving far more into the characters and less into the fighting. While I gave the first episode a 6/10 originally, my rewatch has bumped that to a 7/10, and including the second episode, the show gets a 8/10 for me. I have far more hope for this show now than I did following episode one, and I can’t wait to see how the Halo story plays out from this new set of creators.
More from Evolved
We would love for you to get involved with Evolved. Here are just some of the ways you can do that.
Interested in keeping up with the latest Halo news, events, and, of course, lore? Subscribe to Podcast Evolved on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or whatever other podcast service you use to catch the latest episode.
We have a Facebook Group and a Discord Server we use to talk with our members and fans. Podcast Evolved is always open to new members, and welcome every Halo fan to join, whether they are podcast listeners or not. We hope to see you soon!
Whether or not you wish to pledge your support, you are still just as valuable a community member as ever. If you do want to help, however, head over to our Patreon page and become a patron.
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The show header image for the Halo Television Series.
“Find the Halo, win the war.”
— Master Chief (apparently)
It has been just over a day since the first episode of the Halo Television Series, Contact, released and having just recently watched it, I wanted to write down my initial thoughts and opinions on what I saw, felt, and think of Halo’s first real entry into live-action television. While I will try to not get into too much detail, this article will inevitably have spoilers for the show, so reader beware!
For some quick background before I get started, I have always been a huge supporter of the Halo TV Series, even when the community reacted poorly to certain bits of news that we got about the story, casting, and canonicity. A TV series is, in my opinion, the best medium for telling the Halo story, namely because it can actually show the combat scenes that are such an integral part of the video games, while diving into the complex and murky lore that the novels have been able to explore and expand on to this point. Characters like Chief, Halsey, Parangosky and the like are really interesting characters because of how much they operate in the gray zone of morality, but that hardly gets touched on in the games, and has been at times inconsistently covered in the books. Television is perfect for character development, which is, in my opinion, the key to any good story, whether it is science fiction or a comedy.
Related Media
The following article will discuss major plot points related to episode one of the Halo TV Series..
Part One – Insurrection
The opening scene places us on Madrigal, a human outer colony populated exclusively by insurrectionists. It appears to be mostly desert, at least the area that we see, and the only purpose of this colony is seemingly to mine deuterium (heavy water) for humanity’s fusion reactors. While the setting is interesting, this scene immediately raises a lot of questions. For one, it is 2552, so in-canon this would be the end of the war, yet as far as we can tell the insurrectionists, or at least these innies, are completely unaware of the Covenant at all. For someone steeped in the lore this seems super weird, but of course the show is a separate canon, so this isn’t technically an issue.
The colony of Madrigal from the Halo Television Series.
My problem right off the bat is in how the universe is presented. Yes, there always could be a canon explanation for why a group of innies 25 years into the war don’t know who the Covenant are, but the way it comes off, and as far as I can tell the way it is supposed to come off, is that this war just started recently, which is of course not in the core canon. But we already know this isn’t core canon, so why am I getting stuck on this?
I think my issue boils down to feeling, and not how I feel about the show, but how the show makes the universe feel. By 2552, the start of Halo: Combat Evolved, the UNSC felt war weary, and they should have been. The war at that point had been going on for nearly three decades and they were slowly but surely losing to the Covenant. I just don’t get that feeling at all here. That is unfortunate, because one of my favorite things about the Halo universe is how it always managed to paint the UNSC as the David to the Covenant’s Goliath, yet at the same time paint the Insurrectionists the David to the UNSC’s Goliath. I love that dichotomy, though it is rarely realized to its full potential in the core canon either.
Of course knowing the little bits about the show that we do outside of the first episode, the timeline kind of has to be roughly the same duration I think. Silver Team are clearly grown adults in this show, so they are hardened veterans by 2552 in the Silver Timeline too. So maybe this initial setup is just done for simplicity’s sake, but either way it feels weird to me.
The second issue I have is just how generic the innies feel in this opening scene. I kind of figured this would be the case, but I held out hope for better character development. At least for this scene, we don’t get any chance for that as all but one of the innies dies, leaving just a single survivor, Kwan Ah. She is actually pretty good throughout the first episode, so I have hope for that character, but the entire rest of the insurrectionists felt super generic and meaningless.
I did enjoy the brutality of the Covenant attack. Animation was a little weird to me throughout, but seeing the Covenant indiscriminately blowing off limbs and heads did help to set them up as a serious threat. They even went all Order 66 on a bunker full of children while the father of one (who managed to get away just before) watches helplessly in horror. This scene could have used some longer setup to really dial up the emotional impact, but it was a brutal scene none-the-less.
The rest of this scene plays out fairly standard. Silver Team saves the day, though without saving anyone outside of the one protagonist. They investigate what the Covenant were excavating, only to find a weird Forerunner artifact. What struck me here is that this isn’t just taking the universe back to a time before the Forerunners were well known. It is taking the universe to a place where the Forerunners are entirely unknown. This is actually saying something, because while the UNSC and humanity generally don’t know much about the Forerunners in 2552 in core canon, ONI including Dr. Halsey, had found several Forerunner artifacts they were actively investigating. It is really a minor change in the end, but it is again kind of a strange choice that makes the universe feel very different overall.
Part Two – Fleetcom
We get introduced to most of the rest of the main cast in the following scenes, meeting Dr. Halsey, Captain Keyes, Miranda Keyes, and Admiral Parangosky. This part again felt very different than core canon, and in my opinion not for the better. ONI and the UNSC are kind of one and the same here, at least in how it is presented, and they come off as the all-powerful jackboot, not yet on the backfoot due to decades of fighting a losing war. This is another time when you could make a canonical reason why the UNSC is acting this way despite actually being on the losing end of a genocidal war against humanity, but the presentation seems clear that they are meant to seem tough and menacing. Its a minor issue, but an issue none-the-less.
There are parts of this that I really enjoyed too though. Captain Keyes, played by Danny Sapani, is excellent. He does seem a bit too willing to tow the murderous ONI/UNSC orders given, but his performance is excellent. I really look forward to seeing more of him.
The same goes for Natascha McElhone. Her Halsey is really good so far, and while I am still wary about how the entire show and by extension Halsey is portrayed as a blend of early war and late war themes, her performance has been really good.
The other two main characters we meet in this show are Miranda Keyes played by Olive Gray and Admiral Parangosky played by Shabana Azmi. Honestly I wasn’t that thrilled with either performance in this first episode, particularly that of Miranda. The performance felt a bit weak, and I didn’t get the sense of authority from her that I felt in the Miranda from the games. Maybe this is purposeful for the characters’ growth over the season and series, but the initial impression of the character felt a little weak.
As for the presentation of Fleetcom/ONI/the UNSC overall, I mostly enjoyed it, though as I said above, I felt more like this was pre-war UNSC rather than the beaten down and scrappy UNSC we get more of in the games. This is another one of those things that may develop over the course of the show, so I will have to revisit this later on in the season.
Part Three – Prophet
We only get the briefest of introductions to the Prophet of Mercy and Makee during this episode. This is a plot thread that will clearly drive the story, pitting John and Silver Team against her and whatever entourage of Covenant she will have at her disposal. I am a little lukewarm on this part of the story, though. I know this entire part of the story was panned by the Reddit and Twitter mobs, but I actually defended it as reasonable and logical, given the right context. Now that we know some of the context, I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it either. Time will tell how this plays out, but the interaction between Makee and Mercy felt off. Maybe it is just the CG, which feels great in some of the show, and in others feels very uncanny valley. I am interested in how this develops though, so I will hold my full judgement until later in the season.
The Prophet of Mercy, from the Malo Television Series.
Part Four – Control
The final couple scenes are what bothered me the most. As John returns with Kwan having defied the order to execute her,, seemingly for the first time ever, ONI/UNSC/Fleetcom mobilize to stop him, first by maintaining autopilot of the Condor John is in, then cutting off the oxygen to the ship and his suit. John manages to take control over both the ship and his life, but this entire sequence feels like Robocop in space. John is effectively an automaton up to this point in the Silver Timeline, which doesn’t really jive with core canon either from a timeline perspective or a character perspective. The UNSC treats the Spartans purely as military hardware, which does fit in with core canon, just not to this degree. John isn’t even trusted to fly the ship back home, and the UNSC somehow manages full control over his Mjolnir remotely.
This scene does touch on one of the most important and interesting parts of the lore for me, the conflict between duty and free will, but the show is very heavy-handed with the idea, and the entire transition from John being a soulless killing machine to making a choice to save Kwan takes place in under ten minutes. Don’t get me wrong, it makes for an interesting story, but I feel like the way this first episode has handled many of the broader themes and ideas from the Halo universe needs more nuance and a lot more time to develop.
Part Five – Summary
Overall this episode does an alright job of introducing the universe to new fans, and it does make the point to hit the major story themes I think it has to in order to be a compelling narrative beyond just a story about killing aliens. I really like that they didn’t shy away from being fairly graphic with the violence, and I am hopeful that continues, if only to highlight the hardship endured by the war with the Covenant. I am pretty lukewarm about the setup of the Silver Timeline in general, though it may grow on me as I adjust to the new canon and I am no longer surprised by a major changes to the universe. I still don’t like how they seem to have mixed the feeling of early and late war together, but again this may grow on me as I settle into the realities of new canon.
Characters are so far pretty good. I like Pablo Schrieber, Danny Sapani, and Natascha McElhone a lot in their roles. the others aren’t terrible, but they didn’t wow me at all. I will have to wait and see if that improves over the course of the season. We didn’t really get any good introduction to the rest of Silver Team outside of combat, so I am withholding judgement until I see more of them.
I will admit, the fact that this is a separate canon is a bit of a turnoff for me. The building of the universe over the past 20 years is one of the things that really interests me in Halo. I completely understand why it was done, and given the realities of show development I think it was the right choice. I can’t help but think, however, that I would have really preferred an in-canon show, even if it meant the show was stuck retreading some of the established lore. I am not going to hold this against the producers, though, since that would probably have been nearly impossible to manage.
My overall score for this episode is going to be a 6/10. Not terrible, but the show didn’t wow me and has some flaws with how it presents some characters and themes. I am looking forward to the rest of the season, though I am more skeptical that it will wow me like I had originally hoped.
More from Podcast Evolved
We would love for you to get involved with Podcast Evolved. Here are just some of the ways you can do that.
Interested in keeping up with the latest Halo news, events, and, of course, lore? Subscribe to Podcast Evolved on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or whatever other podcast service you use to catch the latest episode.
We have a Facebook Group and a Discord Server we use to talk with our members and fans. Podcast Evolved is always open to new members, and welcome every Halo fan to join, whether they are podcast listeners or not. We hope to see you soon!
Whether or not you wish to pledge your support, you are still just as valuable a community member as ever. If you do want to help, however, head over to our Patreon page and become a patron.
Take a stop in our merch store, where you can pick up Podcast Evolved-themed shirts, hats, coffee mugs, and more! All proceeds go towards helping pay for operating costs, and any additional funds are returned to to community via giveaways and special events.
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