Halo: Series Premiere

Based on: Halo by Xbox Game Studios 

Developed for TV by: Kyle Killen, Steven Kane

Starring: Pablo Schreiber (Master Chief), Shabana Azmi (Admiral Margaret Parangosky), Yerin Ha (Kwan Ha Boo), Natascha McElhone (Dr. Halsey), Olive Gray (Miranda Keyes), Jen Taylor (Cortana)

I've said before on Facebook how excited I've been for this series. Two episodes in, it's mostly holding up! 

I've been most impressed by a lot of the show's adherence to the original game lore, as has my friend who I'm watching it with and who knows the lore even better than I do. Little details, like the physical appearance of the Covenant alien race and sound effects from the game replicated in the show, have been a real treat. We also appreciated the dynamics between the humans, Spartans, and Covenant being very accurate. 

Master Chief wielding a classic weapon from the games

The visuals have been spectacular as well. It's not an easy world to portray, with quite a lot of space travel, advanced human society looking completely different from ours, and of course the Covenant race and cities being absolutely foreign and fantastical. All of these have been adapted beautifully and I've loved the sweeping views of both human and Covenant metropolises in all their technological brilliance and sophistication. 

Human capital, Reach

Covenant Holy City, High Charity 

(Potentially lower quality because I had to take the photo myself on my phone.)

There are a few things in the show that have upset me and my friend, which is probably unavoidable in this kind of adaption. I'll keep it brief, but I think it's important that I at least acknowledge them. In the entire game franchise, Master Chief never takes off his helmet. It's a part of his character that feels comparable to The Mandalorian in legacy and respect, and I think it's notable that The Mandalorian has been able to connect intimately with viewers and in-world characters alike with his helmet staying on. I understand Killen and Kane's decision to an extent with their Master Chief removing his helmet--it can definitely aid in character and plot development. But I don't think they did it very well and they also kept his helmet off for an entire episode, which felt very frustrating to me. They also had a random-seeming side-character be knowledgeable about deep Covenant lore that no human should technically be aware of. 

The direction of the show has been good. It's a new story separate from the games, which is important to note because it definitely forges new territory different from any I've seen in the games. It takes its roots from deep game lore, which has felt very satisfying, especially the callbacks to the Forerunners implied by an ancient technological artifact Master Chief discovers in the first episode. I don't know where the plot is going yet because the second episode doesn't give a lot of clues, but the groundwork the show has laid has been good. 

Covenant on High Charity: an Elite meets with three prophets. All are impressively accurate to the games! 

The characters have also been (mostly) true to the games. Master Chief has been accurate, especially in the scenes with all his armor on. Dr. Halsey is a major character in the books, has some presence in the games, and her depiction in the series has been quite accurate so far. Commander Keyes and his daughter also appear in all areas of the franchise and they have both been accurate. The only major departure so far has been Cortana, who is an AI in the games and books, but seems to be a biological clone in the show. Depending on where they go with this, it could be very good or very frustrating. She's my favorite character in the franchise, so I have a lot personally invested in where they take her!!

Dr. Halsey, who I've been very impressed with so far 

So far, I definitely feel in favor of the show, especially as far as visuals. The flaws have been far from deal-breaking and I'm very excited to see where it goes.