Television Halo: Season 2 (Paramount+) - Official Trailer

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

[Remarkableriots]

I'm excited for season 2 and the trailer was good!

[Keyser_Soze]

As an enjoyer of the first season I'm looking forward to this, though it doesn't seem to offer any insight in what happened at the end of the first season. Also, they changed Cortana?

[GeneticBlueprint]

Trailer is intriguing, but man I couldn't get through that first season. And I've been a pretty big Halo dork (i.e. I've consumed material beyond just the games). I might have to power through.

[Greatoneshere]

13 minutes ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

Trailer is intriguing, but man I couldn't get through that first season. And I've been a pretty big Halo dork (i.e. I've consumed material beyond just the games). I might have to power through.

 

I haven't checked it out yet but is it true it's not really an adaptation of Halo but more like generic space opera/sci-fi? That it's an alternate universe Halo?

[GeneticBlueprint]

1 minute ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

I haven't checked it out yet but is it true it's not really an adaptation of Halo but more like generic space opera/sci-fi? That it's an alternate universe Halo?

 

Yes. Remember in Halo 3 how Master Chief would get those fever dreams of Cortana's tortured state? And how irritating that was? It was like That: The Series. Lots of Master Chief fever dreams and visions. Still no appearances or mention (that I remember) of the game/show's namesake by the time I stopped watching which was over halfway through the season. There was some cool fight scenes and stuff though.

[Keyser_Soze]

1 minute ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

Still no appearances or mention (that I remember) of the game/show's namesake by the time I stopped watching which was over halfway through the season.

 

Keep watching.

[Greatoneshere]

1 minute ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

 

Yes. Remember in Halo 3 how Master Chief would get those fever dreams of Cortana's tortured state? And how irritating that was? It was like That: The Series. Lots of Master Chief fever dreams and visions. Still no appearances or mention (that I remember) of the game/show's namesake by the time I stopped watching which was over halfway through the season. There was some cool fight scenes and stuff though.

 

So is it a good show when divested from Halo? The filmmaking looks well done but as a fellow Halo fan I kind of want to see Halo adapted. This isn't that from the sound of it.

[GeneticBlueprint]

1 minute ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

So is it a good show when divested from Halo? The filmmaking looks well done but as a fellow Halo fan I kind of want to see Halo adapted. This isn't that from the sound of it.

 

Looks slick. Actors for the most part are not good. I'll always like Pablo though and I like him here. The script/writing is centered around a generic magic object thingy that I assume will lead them to Halo. As a whole it definitely feels better and more polished than a generic network sci-fi show for sure. But I can see why Showtime didn't want this to be a Showtime thing too.

[Greatoneshere]

Just now, GeneticBlueprint said:

Looks slick. Actors for the most part are not good. I'll always like Pablo though and I like him here. The script/writing is centered around a generic magic object thingy that I assume will lead them to Halo. As a whole it definitely feels better and more polished than a generic network sci-fi show for sure. But I can see why Showtime didn't want this to be a Showtime thing too.

 

It sounds intriguing enough - I'm just confused why they didn't adapt Halo.

[Keyser_Soze]

7 minutes ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

So is it a good show when divested from Halo? The filmmaking looks well done but as a fellow Halo fan I kind of want to see Halo adapted. This isn't that from the sound of it.

 

How about some impressions from someone who finished it?

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

The show features gratuitous shots of John-117's ass - what more could you possibly want?!?

[GeneticBlueprint]

2 minutes ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

It sounds intriguing enough - I'm just confused why they didn't adapt Halo.

 

Same. I mean, on one hand I don't think any adaption needs to adhere strictly to its source material. On the other hand it was just vaguely Halo enough to be called Halo so that was kind of disheartening.

 

Just now, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

The show features gratuitous shots of John-117's ass - what more could you possibly want?!?

 

Forget a face reveal. Take off those pants!

[Greatoneshere]

22 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

How about some impressions from someone who finished it?

 

 

 

I remember the thread - as a Halo fan it didn't inspire a lot of confidence that it's a good Halo adaptation. I'll still probably check it out at some point though.

[Keyser_Soze]

22 minutes ago, Greatoneshere said:

I remember the thread - as a Halo fan it didn't inspire a lot of confidence that it's a good Halo adaptation. I'll still probably check it out at some point though.

 

I was linking to my final impressions though not just the thread. 

[Greatoneshere]

1 hour ago, Keyser_Soze said:

I was linking to my final impressions though not just the thread. 

 

Yeah I remember reading them.  

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

[Spork3245]

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

I couldn’t make it through the first season. It’s

not the worst adaptation of a property. It at least has the aesthetics of Halo. But that’s where the praise ends. The show runners and writers didn’t want to be beholden to the story of the games and books because it would hurt their creativity. But then it’s not even equally good. Just bad. Though they seemed to take inspiration from current (Halo 4 onward) areas of lore. You know, the stuff that’s far less relatable and more generally panned. 
 

I have no faith in a season 2 righting the ship for me. My dad will like enjoy it. He just told me he and my stepmom really likes Rebel Moon, so his bar is pretty low when it comes to sci-fi. He’s always enjoyed sci-fi channel original movies, no matter how b tier they were. 

[silentbob]

I haven’t seen the first season, but the first episode of Season 2 is free to view with Prime until Feb 14th. Plus that was indeed a cool opening fight with the Elite. 

[Keyser_Soze]

If you have Game Pass they are giving away a free month of Paramount+ to watch this show.

 

I'm probably going to wait for most of the episodes to drop before I watch. I made the mistake of doing it for the full duration last time. I'd rather just use my free trail to see all the show at one time.

 

Although my mom did agree I could come over and watch it at her place, she has P+, and gained her interest by saying you could see Master Chief's ass.

[Remarkableriots]

Halo Season 2 Shatters Expectations with Soaring Rotten Tomatoes Score

MOVIEWEB.COM

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Halo Season 2 scores big on Rotten Tomatoes.

Quote

Halo Season 2 receives a commendable 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, surpassing its predecessor and exceeding expectations.

 

[PaladinSolo]

On 2/10/2024 at 2:55 AM, Remarkableriots said:

Halo Season 2 Shatters Expectations with Soaring Rotten Tomatoes Score

MOVIEWEB.COM

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Halo Season 2 scores big on Rotten Tomatoes.

 

Did they only show it to critics who've never even heard of halo and are blind and deaf? 

[TwinIon]

Season finished up and it’s not uniformly terrible, but I just have a hard time connecting with it. I think there’s a lot to like. The finale ended with some pretty decent action. There are some very cool shots in space, some nifty horrorish sequences, and I appreciated the lack of cuts from the final fight. I think a lot of the issues I have with the show are remnants from a first season that failed to really connect me to all these characters. So even when individual scenes are well done, they’re just not hitting me with the weight they’re trying for. 

 

That said, I’m kind of excited about Season 3, if we actually get one. 

 

Spoiler

The finale jettisoned a lot of potential baggage (even if it wasn’t as much as I’d like) and more importantly, Master Chief is finally on Halo! Also, Cortana is in his suit, and they get along. So if season 3 happens, which I wouldn’t bet on, then we’ll actually be at the point where we’re getting an adaptation of the first game.

 

As for the narrative, I think it’s kind of cowardly to give all the antagonists a human touch point. I understand why that would be a storytelling instinct, or even a note from the studio, or even for budget reasons, but to me it robs us of a more interesting perspective. First we had Makee as our intermediary for the Covanent, which isn’t a horrible choice in and of itself, but now they have Kwan Ha as a connection to the flood? I haven’t minded that storyline as much as I did in Season 1, but it’s still a weaker part of the show in my opinion. I also just like the flood to be this incredible force of nature. Introducing the mind of it so quickly is like introducing the Borg queen first. 

Still, I’ll watch season 3 if they make it.

 

 

[Greatoneshere]

On 3/22/2024 at 9:21 PM, TwinIon said:

Season finished up and it’s not uniformly terrible, but I just have a hard time connecting with it. I think there’s a lot to like. The finale ended with some pretty decent action. There are some very cool shots in space, some nifty horrorish sequences, and I appreciated the lack of cuts from the final fight. I think a lot of the issues I have with the show are remnants from a first season that failed to really connect me to all these characters. So even when individual scenes are well done, they’re just not hitting me with the weight they’re trying for. 

 

That said, I’m kind of excited about Season 3, if we actually get one. 

 

  Hide contents

The finale jettisoned a lot of potential baggage (even if it wasn’t as much as I’d like) and more importantly, Master Chief is finally on Halo! Also, Cortana is in his suit, and they get along. So if season 3 happens, which I wouldn’t bet on, then we’ll actually be at the point where we’re getting an adaptation of the first game.

 

As for the narrative, I think it’s kind of cowardly to give all the antagonists a human touch point. I understand why that would be a storytelling instinct, or even a note from the studio, or even for budget reasons, but to me it robs us of a more interesting perspective. First we had Makee as our intermediary for the Covanent, which isn’t a horrible choice in and of itself, but now they have Kwan Ha as a connection to the flood? I haven’t minded that storyline as much as I did in Season 1, but it’s still a weaker part of the show in my opinion. I also just like the flood to be this incredible force of nature. Introducing the mind of it so quickly is like introducing the Borg queen first. 

Still, I’ll watch season 3 if they make it.

 

 

 

I land about where you do - the show isn't very good but whenever it tries to actually be like Halo (namely in the action sequences and the set, costume, and production designs) it's actually quite good. It's very unfortunate the show introduces the Flood wrong, has mystic mumbo jumbo, no Avery Johnson, the UNSC is "bad", etc. I feel like viewers deserve to get a season 3 after all the fucking about the show has been doing as an adaptation. And yes the human touch point has been a problem for two seasons now.

[Kal-El814]

On 3/25/2024 at 10:45 AM, Greatoneshere said:

 

I land about where you do - the show isn't very good but whenever it tries to actually be like Halo (namely in the action sequences and the set, costume, and production designs) it's actually quite good. It's very unfortunate the show introduces the Flood wrong, has mystic mumbo jumbo, no Avery Johnson, the UNSC is "bad", etc. I feel like viewers deserve to get a season 3 after all the fucking about the show has been doing as an adaptation. And yes the human touch point has been a problem for two seasons now.

 

I'm not intimately familiar with Halo lore, but wasn't the SPARTAN program initially developed to counter human insurgents then the timing of the Covenant threat just kinda happened to work out?

[Greatoneshere]

22 minutes ago, Kal-El814 said:

I'm not intimately familiar with Halo lore, but wasn't the SPARTAN program initially developed to counter human insurgents then the timing of the Covenant threat just kinda happened to work out?

 

That is the case, but the show takes place primarily in 2552 (the same year as Halo 1), 27 years after first contact at Harvest and by now there should be no "outer colonies revolting" plot by the time of Halo: Reach and Halo 1 yet in season 1 (and somewhat in season 2) the UNSC are "bad" is a bigger plotline than warring with the Covenant and stumbling on Halo which is just strange, but that's one aspect I don't have much issue with compared to everything else I mentioned. When you play the original games you get that the UNSC, like any militaristic organization, gets up to some shit but you never get the sense they are completely incompetent and evil like the higher ups are portrayed on the show. It's just a tonally strange swerve to make when adapting Halo of all things. But the human touch point I'm referring to is a McKee, who is a human raised from a young age to follow the Covenant and for some reason is still around and it's like: just give us the Arbiter from Halo 2 and make him the Covenant POV, no need for McKee (they almost did it with the not-Arbiter that was following McKee around, but that's not Keith David's Arbiter so who cares).

[Keyser_Soze]

I'll take Mackee over Kwan Ha.

[Greatoneshere]

19 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

I'll take Mackee over Kwan Ha.

 

Kwan Ha is at least more likeable than McKee but both need to be jettisoned from this show since both make Halo far more stupid and far less like Halo. It's not the actors' faults, it's just how unnecessary they are to Halo.

[Keyser_Soze]

1 minute ago, Greatoneshere said:

Kwan Ha is at least more likeable than McKee

 

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

Everything Ive read and heard about the story and portrayals this season has made it clear to me I wouldn’t like this season. The show still doesn’t know what MC is nor care about the source material. They still want to do their own thing and this show is Halo in name only, because these talentless people (lead actor included) know that nobody would watch this shit if it was a new original IP made for Tv. 
 

The commercials to sell Halo games in the were more faithful and better crafted than this self servicing imitation. 

[Greatoneshere]

1 hour ago, Spawn_of_Apathy said:

Everything Ive read and heard about the story and portrayals this season has made it clear to me I wouldn’t like this season. The show still doesn’t know what MC is nor care about the source material. They still want to do their own thing and this show is Halo in name only, because these talentless people (lead actor included) know that nobody would watch this shit if it was a new original IP made for Tv. 
 

The commercials to sell Halo games in the were more faithful and better crafted than this self servicing imitation. 

 

You would be right, it's not really Halo. There are moments where it is pure Halo, but they are few and far between (but well done when they show up). Despite season 2 having an entirely different writers' room compared to season 1, it still does seem like the show is written by people who don't like or get Halo. The season 2 finale did course correct a significant number of things so I'm wondering if the season 2 writers were contractually bound to use the actors set up from all the terrible plotlines from season 1 because if they do a season 3, there is a pretty clear opportunity to finally make Halo and it can mostly be done given the finale killed off a lot of the not-Halo stuff while finally bringing us to Halo with Cortana and Master Chief so that's something. There are still things that would bother any Halo fan that can simply not be corrected at this point short of just ignoring what's been established in the show so far (which is possible) but I'm curious what a season 3 could look like if they get writers who care about Halo.

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

Ive always wanted a Band of Brothers style and inspired Halo show that shows the events from the Fall of Reach into Halo CE and Halo First Strike. Ive known for a long time that would never happen. 
 

I will admit part of my issue is also that I do not like where 343 took the Halo lore and this show seemingly wanted to jump right into incorporating that lore. Halo under 343 has always felt like bad fanfiction, because they so badly want to differentiate their Halo from Bungie’s Halo.  

[Greatoneshere]

1 hour ago, Spawn_of_Apathy said:

Ive always wanted a Band of Brothers style and inspired Halo show that shows the events from the Fall of Reach into Halo CE and Halo First Strike. Ive known for a long time that would never happen. 
 

I will admit part of my issue is also that I do not like where 343 took the Halo lore and this show seemingly wanted to jump right into incorporating that lore. Halo under 343 has always felt like bad fanfiction, because they so badly want to differentiate their Halo from Bungie’s Halo.  

 

Well, season 2, episode 4 does cover the fall of Reach and the season 2 finale we finally land on Halo but I imagine you'd be disappointed with how they portray both, though at least with those two things it's much closer in look and feel to Halo as compared to the non-Halo stuff on the show. They do lay down groundwork in the backstory of Halo 4 and onward stuff because they kind of have to if they're going to incorporate all Halo lore but it's not come up too much so far. The Covenant are there, look good, speak their alien language, the Spartans act and move and look like Spartans, etc. It's a show at war with itself. Definitely nothing like Band of Brothers though nor is it of the level of quality Halo deserves.

 

I don't mind the 343i additions in theory, I'm assuming you're referring to things like the Precursors, Ancients Humans, the Prometheans (part of the Forerunner rates/castes), etc.? If so, it's fun but definitely comes off as fanfiction, especially when done poorly.

[TwinIon]

6 hours ago, Greatoneshere said:

That is the case, but the show takes place primarily in 2552 (the same year as Halo 1), 27 years after first contact at Harvest and by now there should be no "outer colonies revolting" plot by the time of Halo: Reach and Halo 1 yet in season 1 (and somewhat in season 2) the UNSC are "bad" is a bigger plotline than warring with the Covenant and stumbling on Halo which is just strange, but that's one aspect I don't have much issue with compared to everything else I mentioned. When you play the original games you get that the UNSC, like any militaristic organization, gets up to some shit but you never get the sense they are completely incompetent and evil like the higher ups are portrayed on the show. It's just a tonally strange swerve to make when adapting Halo of all things. But the human touch point I'm referring to is a McKee, who is a human raised from a young age to follow the Covenant and for some reason is still around and it's like: just give us the Arbiter from Halo 2 and make him the Covenant POV, no need for McKee (they almost did it with the not-Arbiter that was following McKee around, but that's not Keith David's Arbiter so who cares).

Maybe I need to re-watch the beginning of season 1 and I just didn't pick up what they were giving us, but I feel like they did a terrible job of setting the stage. Episode 1 we had Spartans, including Master Chief, saving (or at least attempting to save) insurrectionists from Covenant. It was really not clear if humanity was still in some civil war, what exactly was happening with the war with the Covenant, to what extent MC was already some legendary hero, or why. I think some of that is their failing, and maybe some of it is that it conflicts with the games.

 

I'm fine with dropping the audience off in media res, but I feel like that works best when things are simple and it's easy to get your bearings. You don't watch the opening of Star Wars and wonder who the good guys are. It felt to me like they wanted to make Halo more complex in different ways than the game did, when I think it would have worked better without all the mess. So I completely agree with you that the "UNSC does bad stuff" threads were so weirdly the core of this show, arguably until the very end of season 2.