Halo is one of the most beloved game series to come out of the early 2000s. The game revolutionized the FPS genre with its breathtaking gameplay, story and characters, which are still remembered fondly today. When an adaptation for the game had been announced, especially as a streaming show for Paramount+, fans were excited, until the thing came out.
Halo Season 1 received immense backlash right after its release. From revealing Master Chief’s face (at the same time when the Mandalorian was able to pull off what Halo fans wanted) to a full-on s*x scene involving John 117, there was a lot that fans did not enjoy about the series.
However, despite the immense backlash that the show ended up receiving, it was renewed for a second season. Now, in an interview, Executive Producers of the show home that the show is given a second chance.
Master Chief is not putting his helmet back on in Halo Season 2
One of the main criticisms of Halo Season 1 was the amount of times Master Chief removed his helmet. While there are plenty of times when Chief removes his helmet during the game, the player is never shown John-117’s face, something that is an integral part of the relationship that the players have developed with the character.
Season 2 is expected to follow the source material more closely, according to an interview with the Executive Producers of the show with Kotaku. Kiki Wolfkill revealed:
“We wanted to offer it up as a gift to the fans. I hope they know, for people who didn’t like season one, the helmet’s still gonna come off—that won’t change. But I do feel like there’s so much in season two that will really hit on those Halo pillars that I hope they try to come back and see.”
While it seems that a lot of criticism was taken to heart during the production of Season 2, Producers have decided to run with what was set up in Season 1, while also course-correcting as much as possible.
Fans can expect a more character-driven Season 2
Joseph Morgan, another producer on the show, talked about the faith he had in teh new showrunner for the series, David Wiener. Apart from the helmet coming off, Morgan believes the season could be a treat for fans of the franchise, who would find themselves in a more familiar and emotionally similar world if they decided to give the season a shot. He said:
“I can probably be more honest than other people because I wasn’t even a part of season one [laughs]. Look, I played the games, and I love the world. And I’m a fan of the aesthetic. I know that David Wiener, our new showrunner who brought me on, is a huge gamer as well…I think this is, to a certain extent, a reinvention of the show that is a lot more faithful to the canon…It’s the world of Halo that I [as a fan] want to see—if you want to see a Halo where Master Chief doesn’t take off his helmet, you’re not gonna like this, because he does take off his helmet—spoiler alert, his helmet does come off. But if you can get past that, it’s cool.”
Overall, despite all the backlash that came with Halo Season 1, Paramount has decided to run with Season 2 which has great promise.
While keeping with the established tropes of Season 1, the follow-up seems to be focusing on making a faithful adaptation, that also doubles as genuinely good content.
It remains to be seen if the efforts that have gone behind the more grounded and character-driven season 2 are enough to win back fans, and also merit a third season in a landscape that is increasingly dominated by space opera IPs like Star Wars, Rebel Moon and Dune.
Episode 1 of Halo Season 2 is currently available to stream on Paramount+
