Halo, we saw the first episode of the event TV series with Master Chief

Halo

Microsoft's debut in the glossy world of television series could only happen with Halo. The series born thanks to an intuition of Bungie and then managed by 343 Industries is, without a doubt, the strongest IP, among the historical ones, of the Microsoft Studios catalog.

It is not, moreover, a first time. Master Chief, in fact, is already the protagonist of a rather varied expanded universe that includes a plethora of books, comics, but also two official web series (Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn and Halo Nightfall), an animated film (Halo: Legends) and even a much-loved machinima called Red vs. Blue. Without considering that District 9, in reality, was born from the project - then failed - of a Halo film.

It is not surprising, therefore, that it is John-117 who is the television forerunner for a Microsoft that, with the acquisition of Fallout, Doom and Elder Scrolls (and potentially Call of Duty), it could soon have a lot to say in the cinematic field as well.

A few hours after the official release of the first episode in the USA and in Italia, which will take place in the original language through the Sky channels starting from 21 of March 24, 2022 and in Italian on the 28 of the same month, we were able to see the debut of Halo on the small screen.

Here are the first impressions of of the Halo TV series.

Hollywood production

The TV series is produced by Showtime, in collaboration with 343 Industries and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and has an estimated budget of 200 million dollars. In other words, all the actors in the field are focusing very strongly on the new epic of the Master Chief. The cast consists of Pablo Schreiber, Natascha McElhone, Charlie Murphy, Jen Taylor, Shabana Azmi, Bokeem Woodbine, Kate Kennedy, Natasha Culzac, Yerin Ha and Bentley Kalu.

The story does not resume that of any video game or book in particular, but try to create an alternative timeline to the official one called the Silver Timeline. In this way Kyle Killen and Steven Kane think they can have enough freedom to adapt the plot and the rhythm to the television medium, while obviously remaining faithful to the universe and to some cornerstones that have made Halo one of the most loved and well-known video games ever.

Double soul

In the first half of the initial episode, the desire to remain very faithful to the original work is very noticeable: The story of the Halo TV series opens on Madrigal, a peripheral planet of the galaxy where populations who rebel against the yoke of the UNSC live. The United Nations Space Command, in fact, is seen in those parts as an oppressor, who moreover uses strange stories about an alien invasion to subjugate those who do not want to join the organization.

The Spartans, al instead of icy heroes, they are seen as unscrupulous monsters that the UNSC sends around the galaxy to slaughter rebels. It is, therefore, an unsettling picture, very different from what we are used to seeing in video games where the Spartans and the UNSC Marines are clearly the "good guys".

At a certain point, however, things take a different turn: Madrigal is attacked by the Covenant and a group of Spartans, led by the Master Chief, arrive to fight the alien menace. From that moment on, a long sequence of action opens with which the production tries to build a bridge to gamers: during this bloody battle the attentive eye will be able to notice the classic weapons and means of Halo, but not only. The Spartans and the Covenants move exactly like in videogames, but above all they "sound" like in games. You can hear the sound of the protective shield recharging and the bullets exploding as they have since the first Halo: Combat Evolved. The homage becomes total when you move into the Master Chief's helmet and see the action from his point of view, exactly as we are used to on Xbox and PC.

But surprisingly, this is where the Halo TV series performs worse. We understand the need, at the limit of fanservice, to satisfy the stomach of gamers, but this process seems, at least initially, to have been done without a critical spirit. The design of the first Halo and its proposition of intact and spotless warriors screeches a little in 2022, where we are now used to seeing more multifaceted characters and less simplistic plots, also because of everything that is happening in these days, where the war is by no means heroic and there seem to be no more good and bad.

Master Chief appears to be a soulless hero in the first few minutes of the Halo TV series After the fight, however, Master Chief touches a mysterious Covenant artifact and meets young Kwan Ah, a survivor of the Madrigal massacre. These two events seem to crack something inside John-117's iron soul and the story begins to fill again with shadows.

At this juncture the series seems to assume more the connotations of a space opera, with the intertwining of increasingly complex plots that will lead to knowing what could be the antagonist of the series, to discovering the flesh versions and bones of Dr. Halsey, perhaps the most multifaceted and interesting character of these early episodes, of Jacob Keyes and his daughter Miranda. And of course we will get to know Cortana.

The future

What to expect from the future of the Halo TV series? It is still impossible to say what the future of the television series airing on Sky Atlantic will be. The first episode, in fact, shows two very distinct souls that we will have to understand how they will develop and amalgamate. On the one hand we have the action video game, with its violent scenes, the particular design of the enemies and the characteristic battle sounds. On the other hand, we have a complex and multifaceted universe which, thanks to the choice of using an alternative timeline, allows authors to have the creative freedom to tell the stories considered most interesting, without necessarily having to remain faithful to the original lore. This, however, in full respect of the characters and the visual imaginary.

In our opinion, the production should push more on the second soul of the Halo TV series, so as to definitively bring Master Chief into more stories and themes. suitable for modern times. It is certainly an impressive and ambitious work, which we will follow closely week after week in the hope that he will finally know how to give John-117 the ground he deserves even in the cinema. Will you watch it?

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