Season 1 episode 1 of the science fiction series Halo introduces Master Chief and his team of elite soldiers, Spartans, as they fight amidst a war between humans and the alien race, Covenant. The series is currently streaming on Voot Select.
Recap
In the year 2552, the world is at war. The rebel forces are distrustful of the UNSC and their elite killing squad, the Spartans.
General Jin Ha commands a rebel outpost on planet Madrigal. His daughter Kwan Ha leaves the outpost with her friends. The group is soon attacked by alien soldiers of the Covenant.
The Covenant soldiers penetrate the defences of the outpost. Soon, a UNSC ship arrives, and the Silver team, a group of four Spartans led by Master Chief, come to the rescue and eliminate the Covenant forces.
Trying to find the Covenant ship, Master Chief discovers an excavation site where he finds an alien artefact. On touching it, he sees certain visions from his early life. Amidst this, a Covenant soldier manages to escape. Master Chief instructs the other three Spartans to lead while he follows with the artefact. He also takes the lone survivor Kwan Ha along.
On planet Reach, at the UNSC headquarter FLEETCOM, Catharine Halsey, the creator of the Spartans, locks horns with Admiral Margarate Parangosky over the high-casualty mission. She informs the admiral of the alien artefact. The admiral also rebukes her for the Cortana system, an unauthorized project.
At the Covenant station High Charity, the High Prophet of Mercy informs the blessed one, a human, about the artefact. He conveys what the returned soldier saw as Master Chief touched the object. The blessed one demands to see Master Chief.
Back at FLEETCOM, Catherine Halsey seeing a spike in Master Chief’s vitals when he interacted with the artefact questions him about it. He tells her about the visions of his family. This revelation shocks Halsey. She asks him to keep his distance from the artefact until he reaches back.
Captain Jacob Keyes and Catharine Halsey’s daughter, Miranda Keyes, failingly attempt to convince Kwan Ha to help spread the message of the Covenant’s brutality to other outer colonies.
Kwan Ha tells Master Chief that they have met before. Master Chief killed her mother on the orders of the UNSC. He defends his actions as mere orders and claims to rarely know the entirety of the situation, hence, trusting his superiors.
Kwan Ha asks if he ever thought that the situation can be the other way around. At just this moment, Master Chief receives an order to terminate Kwan Ha.
He goes against the order and cuts the video feed to his ship. Halsey tries to interfere with the ship’s oxygen levels, briefly rendering Master Chief and Kwan unconscious, before he manages to take control back.
Admiral Margaret orders a full squadron protocol to neutralize Master Chief. Halsey, without the knowledge of the FLEETCOM, orders the other three Spartan members to rescue Master Chief and eliminate even friendlies, if needed.
The AI-controlled ship is led to the landing bay and pulsed, cutting the ship’s power. The admiral orders for the girl’s execution and, if required, Master Chief’s too.
Master Chief touches the artefact again, this time seeing more of his family along with a drawing by him of the artefact. It leads to a power surge through the station. The flight regains power and Master Chief, along with Kwan Ha, manage to escape.
Review
- The opening episode is promising and doesn’t linger around much before heading straight into the action.
- The moments between Kwan Ha and Master Chief are interesting. Both characters are similar in some aspects. The dynamics between the two hold great potential to be explored.
- The action choreography is engaging with more than just regular gun fights.
- There are multiple conflicts present. The episode doesn’t indulge a lot into the world-building but manages to evoke interest and generate curiosity.
Rating: 4/5
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