Halohas, unfortunately, telegraphed its final moments with very little room for surprises. Predictability is far from a cardinal sin, especially in an adaptation of an iconic franchise, but it does rob some elements of impact.Halopushed a central conflict between John-117 and his Master Chief persona for most of the season. “Onyx” features the first of several likely payoffs, but its weakness will spell disaster for the rest of the series.
“Onyx” is thefirstHaloepisode written by Sarah McCarron. McCarron’s early credits involve acting in projects likeCoverandNeighborin the late 2000s. She wrote two episodes ofMade for Lovebefore nailing down her most notable project. McCarron wrote on all ten episodes of HBO’sStation Eleven, a jaw-dropping post-apocalyptic drama nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards. Her deft hand at writing textured, moving characters feels almost hilariously out of place inHalo.
Haloseason two didn’t set its ambitions too high. It’s not absurd to ask the series to develop the Master Chief as a character, even if the games have ignored that task for over 20 years. Thefirst season took an easy routeby inventing an emotional regulator he could surgically remove, allowing him to change drastically over a five-minute montage. Season two wants its central narrative thread to be the uneasy relationship between John and the Master Chief, which grants the character an internal struggle and the show a theme. “Onyx” sees John invade the forward operating base on Reach to avenge himself upon James Ackerson and the rest of ONI. He breezes through a dozen soldiers before encountering Kai-125. Kai is the dark mirror of John’s quest for individuality. Their struggle works better out of context because theprevious episodes failedto earn the catharsis outright. Still, this is a better dramatic turn than most.
Kai and John’s fight scene represents the moral peak ofHalo’s narrative. It isn’t a compelling brawl. It’s a classic example of violence as a stand-in for an internal duel.John allows Kai to destroy him, explaining in detail that he understands her quandary. Kai took over the symbol John used to occupy, making her a critical asset to the UNSC. She’s overseeing the new Spartan III program, which borders on dark comedy. Where the Spartan IIs were small teams of elite super soldiers, Spartan IIIs are mass-produced grunts designed to overwhelm the Covenant hordes. TheUNSC has succumbedto the “throw bodies at the problem” strategy to handle the oncoming war. Kai sees the problems, but her mindless devotion to her orders pushes her forward. She comes across as less intelligent than usual, but her battle of wills with John makes sense.
Soren doesn’t get much time in this episode. Catherine Halsey and Kwan Ha take a few minutes to dig into the young renegade’s spiritual awakening, but little comes of it. The primary subplot in “Onyx"is James Ackersonand Margaret Parangosky debating the moral justifications of their new military strategy. Ackerson has been an unquestioned antagonist for most of the series. His intentions were vague, but he sacrificed half of Reach to avoid “creating a panic.” He’s less of a character and more of a pile of villainous tropes. Parangosky strolls back onto the evil team to offer him a few moments of nuance that don’t fit his character in any meaningful sense. It’s clear what they’re going for, but the debate lacks teeth.
“Onyx” represents some unfortunate warning signs for the rest of this series. With only two episodes inHaloseason two, the epic conclusion is rocketing toward viewers with no suitable runway. They have to revisit the Master Chief’s internal struggle, the weaknesses of thenew UNSC strategy, and the mounting threat of the Halo ring. It’s all laid out, but every ostensible peak falls at the first hurdle. The emotional moments feel unearned, and the action scenes mean nothing. It’s a sad state of affairs that can only suffer under added weight. When it’s all said and done,Halowill be a disappointing roller coaster tossing aside decent ideas in favor of fanservice, cheap action schlock, and broken promises of narrative intrigue.
Haloseason two could have been a substantial improvement over its predecessor. Episodes like “Onyx” are double-edged swords, demonstrating promise and the weaknesses behind them. Themost engaging momentsstill fall well beneath the standards set by other science fiction shows. In a world with endless competition, theHaloshow needs more than its brand name to stand out. It found basic storytelling legs in its first few episodes, but later outings have demonstrated constant downfalls. With only two hours to save itself,Halothreatens to jump into a fight it can’t win. It’ll finish the fight, but at what cost?
