The show needs to be seen through different eyes. You can’t have a video game mentality when watching any TV show. Especially the Halo show because it is very, very different story telling from the games. The first Halo trilogy didn’t even show another Spartan… until Halo Reach I thought Master Chief was the only Spartan that survived. But come to find out, thousands of other Spartans still lived, some incredibly important throughout the lore but we didn’t see or even hear about another Spartan in the original trilogy. This was designed on purpose… to make the player feel like Master Chief, which is why he never took his helmet off, because it was suppose to be “you”.
That’s how video games are designed, to give one player the steering wheel. TV Shows are a different chemical… there is no driver… every player/viewer is in the back seat watching out the front windshield together, looking at ALL available information to form our own opinions on where our destination is going to be. Video games, books, movies, and TV are only loosely related but are completely different monsters which is why it is so difficult to get a universally accepted adaptation from anything, and when it is done correctly, the title usually explodes with fame.
Personally, I find that the story is better in the TV show right now then in Halo Infinite, I will say it is a huge deviation from the source material but I think the most shocking thing for me here is the story is more interesting than Infinite’s. At least the TV show has a credible excuse to start over and rebuild a new story, Infinite used the most piss poor excuse ever and they wrote it so poorly that the story in Infinite is basically a bunch of useless dialog and a collection of random audio logs scattered about the map and some of them can be missed entirely, so that tells you how ‘important’ these logs really were.
I’ve got very mixed emotions about the TV show… I like the action scenes, and I like how gritty it can be at times, such as making the Cortana system literally to control the spartan body.
Don’t really care for Kwan and pushing the “Be Human” agenda, or at least how painfully they’re shoving it down the viewers throat.
As a Halo fan, I… I don’t want to say “hate”… but I really wish they did their own story without having to rewrite what’s already there from what they’re basing the show on.
Thankfully despite its flaws, I can still say it’s worth checking out to friends who may not even like the Halo games, cuz guess what, you don’t need to know anything about the Halo video games to enjoy it.
Do wish there were more actions scenes though, episode 5 left me craving.
I also wish they followed the already established lore, which they do a little, but really only to make things feel or appear familiar to fans. But a part of me is kind of happy that they chose to write something new because now I’m not quite sure what’s going to happen… will it stay off the rails for even further? or will it bounce back on track with the original lore then hop off again to their new narrative to keep new viewers and even veteran players on their toes with what’s happening next…
I don’t know, but I can tell you this… by the time an episode is finished, I really get an urge to play Halo Infinite… and that has to mean something right?
Thing is though is that you can’t really tell me to ignore and not compare the already established canon for this franchise when the show itself is flaunting the name of said franchise.
And when it deviates from the games so sharply, particularly when it comes to Chief, it is absolutely jarring: going from the stoic badass who knows and accepts his past as a conscripted child soldier because its all he knows and has saved humanity because of it to this John character who’s memory and emotion suppression has him as a emotionally-compromised rageman who’s screaming while caving in the face of an Elite and looking for an opportunity to do the same to Halsey.
While I can understand that there are people who can look past it and separate the two stories enough to even enjoy it, for myself - and I assume plenty of other fans - the only difference between this adaptation and previous video game adaptations that were hated because of how they deviated so much from the original canon of the source material and were considered as non-canon is that the people behind it said that it was a different timeline. I think its at least understandable how that minor difference can appear rather flimsy.
Edit: Just to add, I thought Forward Unto Dawn was a rather decent live action Halo adaptation and a lot of it I enjoyed was its respect and use of the source material.
I’m not telling you to ignore it. I’m telling you to lower your expectations for the show a bit and take in a new story. You don’t have to like the show, but there are plenty of different variations of all sorts of random entertainment out here. Some sharing the same titles, some taking on their own title once it’s been established. Besides, it’s not like the Halo show is made by a random studio trying to steal something from the Halo games, it’s 343 giving an alternate look at how things might have went in a different timeline(for example, like Marvel’s What If? or Visions series). Even the books are different versions of Halo, the Spartans and Elites, even Grunts do things in the books that the video games can’t replicate properly.
Well I did go in with low expectations for the show, and at least in my personal opinion the show managed to go even below them
Other than my dislike of how this alternate look had strayed so far from the original canon, I do believe that there are a lot of storytelling shortcomings and other narrative designs that were not well-executed, leading me to just not liking the show and pretty much skip it unless I get tempted to take a brief look to see if the action delivers in at least a little bit, which I admit that episode five did at the very least.
That’s fair enough. I don’t think the show is some masterpiece or anything lol but when put side by side to Infinite’s campaign, I think the show’s story is way more interesting. I have no idea what’s going to happen next in the show, whereas in Infinite, I know at some point a plot-armored Atriox is showing up with the big spooky Wizard of Oz monkeys called the Endless… and the UNSC is going to rise from the ashes like a phoenix to fight an impossible war in deep space… Maybe we’ll know more in several more seasons. Who knows for sure.
My opinion’s the opposite here. While I do think Infinite definitely left a lot out in terms of context when it comes to a six month time period between the Infinity’s destruction and the Banished takeover of the Ring and suffered for it, I thought the resolution between Chief, Cortana, and the Weapon were done fine and I’m interested to see how the story will unfold on the Ring while, maybe, getting some insight on what’s going on with the Created and the continued UNSC resistance in our upcoming multiplayer narratives. I actually recently replayed the campaign again and still found it enjoyable.
As for the TV Show I hope it doesn’t get a second season until there’s some serious rethinking going on in terms of its direction but, hey, that’s just how media goes sometimes and people’s different opinions to them
Not a fan of how he really doesn’t like Cortana. Full on “You’re a machine!”
It’s a little over the top how he leaps into the air to try to Lion El Johnson Halseys Head. The actor has a very memeable face and I don’t think this was the intent.
The action does seem cool but I am not sure they have the budget.
If I wanted a 100% retelling of Halo CE’s story and for the lore to be regurgitated verbatim, I would just re-read the books and replay the Halo games. Which I have done anyway.
I like the show. I’m glad it isn’t 100% matching the core canon. I feel like it shouldn’t. We didn’t like Halo 5 for making us go do homework. If we want this show to be canon, then that is exactly what you will have to do. Go do homework.
My parents don’t have time to sit down and play the game, or read all the books. Star Wars used to be what we watched together, but now its a slog because Disney expects us to watch Clone Wars, Rebels, Bad Batch, the aftermath books, etc. Halo shouldn’t follow those footsteps.
If you want a Halo show, you need to include the Halo(we’ve built up to that), and include the Master Chief (You know, the face of the franchise.) If you make it canon then you’re either telling a side-story that has nothing to do with the Halo ring, or you’re just retelling the games. AGAIN.
The show is slightly above average most of the time. 6/10 at least. When it is good, it reaches 8/10. But man, when the show is bad, it drops straight down to a 2/10. Kwan and Makee being the main bad parts. And the budget is rough, definitely a development-hell project.
As for Halo Infinite. No excuse. Still won’t touch the campaign until network co-op is out.
Personally would love a tv show with a better cast, some of the acting in this series doesnt do justice to halo imo. Also dont think some of them fit their character. Also dont like how chief takes off his helmet all the time just to focus on his blank stare. It feels so forced like they dont really want chief to wear his armour. Dont like the direction of the show either. They spend so much time with side characters like kwan and it feels like its pointless so far. I dont think she brings anything good to the series.
I do like the brutality and the violence of the combat tho. But i feel like they could have made more use of the amazing universe and focus more on the halo ring, covenant instead of focusing on side characters that kinda disrespects how good the games are. I mean it was supposed to be a halo series but it feels so disconnected to the games Since i am a big halo fan i still enjoy watching the series even though it could have been so much better. Guess only time will tell if a better show will ever be made about halo. Sure hope so.
As many problems as Infinite has, it is by far 343i’s best stab yet at a “Halo” feeling Halo game, IMO. I liked the campaign and think the core gameplay experience is phenomenal. There’s not nearly enough content and some inconceivable exclusions from launch (co-op and Forge coming nearly a year late to a Halo game feels so wrong), but realistically I think it can only get better going forward now that the first gigantic player drop has occurred. Just my opinion.
As for the TV show, I still don’t have a strong opinion on it. The version of the Halo universe and characters it portrays is wildly different from what is seen in the games, but 343i wasn’t hiding the ball in that when they promoted the show. It’s a separate continuity. “Our” Master Chief from the games isn’t the Master Chief seen in the show, and that’s by design. I like Steve Downe’s Chief a lot more than I like Pablo Schreiber’s, so far, but I’m willing to give all of Season 1 a chance before I decide that it’s a terrible show. Having watched five episodes, it hasn’t really impressed me yet on its own merits, but I don’t think it’s awful either.
It’s more accurate to call it a reboot. Same franchise, but fully reimagined characters, events, and history.
Like Tim Burton’s Batman, vs The Dark Knight, vs Batman v Superman, vs The Batman. None of which take place in the same universe or any of the various comic book universes. All of which completely redefine the characters and events from the source material.
Im still going to watch the series but I see your point. The battle sceans are amazing but there aren’t enough of them and I dont mind chief taking his helmet off, just not all the time and every 3 seconds.
The campaign to infinite was good. Not as action like as previous halos but I still enjoyed it.
Whenever the showrunners say they want to “reimagine” the IP that means they want to crap the bed furiously and immediately. Essentially just disregard it and consider it not canon. Luckily, in this instance Microsoft had the foresight to make sure that this series was not canon anyway. Spoilers for later seasons, they will replace Chief with someone who is higher on the woke totem poll. After Ghost Busters 2016, Terminator Dark Fate, Doctor Who + Lost Children arc, etc we already know how it’ll all end, because it always ends the same way.
Halo Infinite is aimed at trend chasing and “turning players into payers”. There comes a point when making a lot of money is no longer enough for these giga corporations and they will turn their sights to making all of the money. In their pursuit of trying to make all of the money they will run the franchise right into the ground without any regard for the consequences.
As far as I am concerned there is no point in contracting an I.P if you’re just going to deviate from the cannon or the source material. Adding things is fine, for spin-offs, if it doesn’t contradict any parts in the cannon. But creating different timelines is just a lazy excuse to bastardize a story while hoping the I.P’s name pulls existing fandom to the show. I won’t watch this crap on principle. Infinite still has a chance though.
Since i am a big halo fan i still enjoy watching the series even though it could have been so much better. Guess only time will tell if a better show will ever be made about halo. Sure hope so.