In this episode we begin to see a a variety of plot threads come to a head and find some major payoff.
After a season of being imprisoned and marooned, Cortana finally reunites with Chief - the meeting feels earned, cathartic, and took me way back to the early days of Halo.
The Arbiter's storyline is very intriguing (is he the heretic?), and it seems like Makee may actually play a much more compelling/important role in finding the Halo and bringing down the Covenant. Also, is she a clone? Why can't she activate the keystone?
Kwan's plot has been woven into Halsey's, with visions of the Shaman possibly being visions sent by the Gravemind, or even the Librarian.
The confrontation between Chief and Kai was brutal and difficult to watch . . . However, we see that, in the end, Kai wants to trust Chief. Also note: Schreiber has been friggin' killing it as Chief.
We peak behind the ONI curtain and catch glimpses of Parangosky's vision for the war and Ackerson's motivations for abandoning reach and leaving Chief for dead.
The visual effects have been pretty good, the writing has been fairly strong, and this episode just clipped along. I was frustrated when it was over! I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The biggest strike against the show at this point is that it follows neither the games nor books very closely. This will anger "purists," but we must remember that Halo's mainline lore is nothing like Tolkien's Silmarillion (or similar works/universes). The lore here, while fondly enjoyed and remembered by many, is not imbued with some sort of central vision. The Halo universe and its extended lore has been crafted, by committee, to sell an IP. It's a fun sandbox to play in, and that's exactly what this crew is doing (they're also trying to climb their way down the mountain with much of the rope tied during Season 1).
If you can finally stop insisting that the show must recreate the games or books, if you can stop insisting that "big green armor guy go SMASH" every episode, and instead - as the kids say - "let them cook," I think you'll find there's much to like about Season 2 generally, but 'Onyx' in particular.
There is hope for this series, and I hope it gets renewed soon.
After a season of being imprisoned and marooned, Cortana finally reunites with Chief - the meeting feels earned, cathartic, and took me way back to the early days of Halo.
The Arbiter's storyline is very intriguing (is he the heretic?), and it seems like Makee may actually play a much more compelling/important role in finding the Halo and bringing down the Covenant. Also, is she a clone? Why can't she activate the keystone?
Kwan's plot has been woven into Halsey's, with visions of the Shaman possibly being visions sent by the Gravemind, or even the Librarian.
The confrontation between Chief and Kai was brutal and difficult to watch . . . However, we see that, in the end, Kai wants to trust Chief. Also note: Schreiber has been friggin' killing it as Chief.
We peak behind the ONI curtain and catch glimpses of Parangosky's vision for the war and Ackerson's motivations for abandoning reach and leaving Chief for dead.
The visual effects have been pretty good, the writing has been fairly strong, and this episode just clipped along. I was frustrated when it was over! I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The biggest strike against the show at this point is that it follows neither the games nor books very closely. This will anger "purists," but we must remember that Halo's mainline lore is nothing like Tolkien's Silmarillion (or similar works/universes). The lore here, while fondly enjoyed and remembered by many, is not imbued with some sort of central vision. The Halo universe and its extended lore has been crafted, by committee, to sell an IP. It's a fun sandbox to play in, and that's exactly what this crew is doing (they're also trying to climb their way down the mountain with much of the rope tied during Season 1).
If you can finally stop insisting that the show must recreate the games or books, if you can stop insisting that "big green armor guy go SMASH" every episode, and instead - as the kids say - "let them cook," I think you'll find there's much to like about Season 2 generally, but 'Onyx' in particular.
There is hope for this series, and I hope it gets renewed soon.