Spoilers Halo: Season One - Discussion Thread

[JD]

That's such a huge part of the games' backstory, that I imagine it will be a part of the show at some point.
I'm curious if we're going to see The Flood once they make it to Halo.

Her creation was illegal. AIs are made by scanning a human brain, traditionally from a deceased donor since it destroys the brain in the process. Halsey created a clone of herself and killed her in order to create Cortana. Cloning is generally only used to clone organs and age them to point where they could used as a replacement for operations. Cloning a full human and aging them is possible but there are enough complications that they usually die within a year. They're usually used in identity fraud or to help cover up the UNSC kidnapping children for medical experimentation.

OK, thanks. That probably explains the Admiral's attitude when she was discussing her with Halsey.

 

[Awesome Possum]

Could be the season one finale. It’s a different timeline so it may not happen

It's the loss of Earth's first colony, the home of the Spartans, and the greatest military and civilian loss in human history with Earth and the extinction of the species feared as the next blow. I'm not sure how they could avoid using such a huge source of drama.

 

[thribs]

It wasn’t the first Earth colony. There were a few before that were “glassed”.
It was the first major colony to fall. Only because Master Chief wasn’t there

 

[FPAlpha]

It's the loss of Earth's first colony, the home of the Spartans, and the greatest military and civilian loss in human history with Earth and the extinction of the species feared as the next blow. I'm not sure how they could avoid using such a huge source of drama.

It is one of the big events in the Halo history and definitely needs to happen though i wonder when. The first season has 9 episodes so the season finale perhaps though it may overshadow the Halo reveal itself if they do it in the first season. It would be a shame because while Reach is an important milestone the show and franchise is named Halo, so that reveal should be even bigger and i hope they separate these events and give each episode where it happens enough time to shine.

 

[fireproof78]

What would be the point of doing that? Revealing Master Chief's face is only a big deal in a metatextual sense, and unless there's something about the internal narrative of the Halo universe from either the games, novels, or this adaptation that would necessitate or justify incorporating metatextual influences, I'm confused as to what would be gained by metatextually emphasizing Master Chief taking off his helmet.

I agree. Chief having a face is important as he fights for humanity.

 

[cooleddie74]

I've played the Halo franchise for more than 18 years. This series is off to a good start and I like how it replicates some of the in-game visuals I'm used to from the different games. The opening battle was such a good intro that I almost teared up.

I'm that big a Halo nerd.

 

[Awesome Possum]

I loved that the scene of the Spartan suiting up was nearly identical to the scene of Master Chief taking his armor off from Halo 4.

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[Hartzilla2007]

Sounds like the Covenant aren’t as genocide happy in this continuity, since I got the feeling the war isn’t as big as it was in the main continuity what with the Insurrectionists thinking they were made up by the UNSC and nobody acting like Madrigal was totally fucked since the Covenant know where it is.

 

[Awesome Possum]

I wonder if Miranda Keyes is still Halsey's daughter?

Sounds like the Covenant aren’t as genocide happy in this continuity, since I got the feeling the war isn’t as big as it was in the main continuity what with the Insurrectionists thinking they were made up by the UNSC and nobody acting like Madrigal was totally fucked since the Covenant know where it is.

It may still be pretty early in the war and I don't think they really got genocidal until they realized that humans could activate Forerunner tech and were actively searching for it since it was blasphemy in their religion. They were glassing planets to keep humans from finding it, it's why Reach got attacked.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

I wonder if Miranda Keyes is still Halsey's daughter?

She is.

 

[Tuskin38]

I think I'll do a month of P+ after this finishes airing so I can binge it. There's nothing else on the service I want to watch to justify subbing for multiple months.

 

[thribs]

I think I'll do a month of P+ after this finishes airing so I can binge it. There's nothing else on the service I want to watch to justify subbing for multiple months.

What about the various Trek shows?

 

[Tuskin38]

What about the various Trek shows?

I'm Canadian. They air on TV and are on the Crave streaming service here.

 

[Reverend]

I'll be honest, the part I liked the best was the Mass Effect easter egg, though it did rather make me wish I was watching that show instead.

I mean I didn't hate it, I wasn't exactly bored . . . but it's just not gripping me all that much.

As expected the Spartans have about as much personality of a plank of wood. No, actually I take that back; some planks of wood can be quite charming by comparison. The military tech porn is off the charts, which I suppose it part and parcel of the IP, but still, it feels shallow to me. Oh and the poor stunt performers look ridiculous any time they try to run in those outfits. I feel like there's an alternate timeline in which people are complaining about how inaccurate to the game the suits are, even though they actually move like a human being is meant to function inside it. So it's a Catch-22 I suppose.

So pretty much the whole thing is being carried by one girl who to her credit is doing a lot with not a lot of material, and a bunch of people staring at screens and spewing exposition and foreshadowing at each other with all the grace and subtlety of a sledgehammer.

On the plus side I do respect that they're not pulling punches in regards to what a plasma weapon does to an unarmoured human body, that they're not going the "aliens can all magically speak english route", and that the cast seems unusually and appropriately diverse on the gender and ethnicity fronts.

I'll give it another two episodes to see if it gets more interesting, (and I hope it does!) but I get the feeling this is going to be a "fans only" type adaptation.

 

[Awesome Possum]

the cast seems unusually and appropriately diverse of the gender and ethnicity fronts

It's about a future where the entire world has colonized hundreds of worlds, the organization is the United Nations Space Command. It's going to be diverse because humanity is diverse and was the intent of the original creators of the game and present throughout the games and in marketing material. It's not unusual, it's to be expected.

 

[Reverend]

It's about a future where the entire world has colonized hundreds of worlds, the organization is the United Nations Space Command. It's going to be diverse because humanity is diverse and was the intent of the original creators of the game and present throughout the games and in marketing material. It's not unusual, it's to be expected.

I meant unusual for a sci-show like this, not the IP, or the conceptual setting. It's also why I used the word "appropriately".
This and 'The Expanse' are of the few sci-fi shows that have done this properly, and not just gone in for tokenism.

 

[FPAlpha]

I meant unusual for a sci-show like this, not the IP, or the conceptual setting. It's also why I used the word "appropriately".
This and 'The Expanse' are of the few sci-fi shows that have done this properly, and not just gone in for tokenism.

Discovery is pushing hard in the direction of diversity, skin color is not even any issue and has been replaced with sexual orientation characters ( for lack of a better description about all the LGBTQ members).

I find it refreshing in Halo to see the diversity and not make it any issue or part of the character, that's how it should be.

 

[fireproof78]

I'll give it another two episodes to see if it gets more interesting, (and I hope it does!) but I get the feeling this is going to be a "fans only" type adaptation.

Yeah, the lore is quite deep on this series so some aspects for casual viewers can be missed. And I'm more a casual fan, and I know that the lore regarding Master Chief, the Spartan program (1, 2 3, 4) all have a long history.

 

[Tuskin38]

this is going to be a "fans only" type adaptation.

Not even the fans like it. At least the circles I'm in. Deviates too much from the source material.

 

[FreezeC77]

I found some disconnect in how good some of the effects and scenes looked vs how 'less good' some of the other scenes. I thought some of the indoor sets looked a bit "off" at times and the actors came across as being in something uncanny and fake looking.

The outdoor location on the planet at the start looked really good even if the technology looked way too much like it was in Afghanistan 2022 than another planet 500+ years into the future.

As to the helmet/no helmet stuff. I only ever played the first Halo and have no idea about storylines later on or character building so I tried to approach this from as close to a 'fresh perspective' as possible. If I was just watching this storyline unfold and had absolutely no prior knowledge I would think it was strange as to why we didn't see the main character take his helmet off honestly.