Let's start with the positives, which can be rare for most of the episodes in this season so far. The visuals have improved. The acting is not as bad here either. There are definitely fewer awkward scenes with tedious dialogue. The plot is more focused on what the characters should be focused on given the plot. The characters seem to have clearer motivations and their actions seem much more realistic because of it. It has improved in many ways. The Cinematography has improved but it is also short lived.
They are still not showing critical scenes like the Arbiter's Covenant ship traveling to the Halo. They don't show the Covenant fleet arriving. Important images that would convey what is happening are left out. There is not enough world building in general. They need to show more of the scale of ships, fleets and the war progressing. They need to show where things are, how far they are and how they are getting there. Less tedious drama and more visualization would go a long way. SHOW don't tell.
How do so many humans know about the Halo now all of a sudden? They seem to know its significance and what it is capable of without explaining how they found out. Critical facts like this shouldn't just be glossed over and taken for granted. This leaves the viewer with too many unanswered questions. The plot still is littered with these holes which is frustrating as a viewer. There is not a natural progression to the plot. It feels forced as if relevant scenes or information have been skipped over. It could be much worse though.
While they have made improvements, the show still has a long way to go to redeem itself. They really need to scrub the tedious and unlikeable Kwan plot, the Soren family plot, the ONI sub plots and all of the unrealistic actions/characters. They need to spend more time and money on CGI to show the world they created with the larger scale of an intergalactic war. Build up this world by showing us critical visuals. You can't depart from the canon and then not show/explain critical parts. Besides this, they have done vastly better here as they focus more on the Halo part of...HALO.