The gaming world and television have not been strangers for quite some time now. Like Assassin’s Creed, Mortal Kombat, and various others, it was only a matter of time before Halo would be produced into a series as well. As the game and the novel were already popular, the series producer focused on making the series stand out from its parent versions. However, taking the mask off was not the only goal in mind it seems. Revelations from the series have quickly gained headlines for the latest Master Chief controversy.
About the Halo Protagonist – Played By Pablo Schreiber
Until recently, the Halo protagonist and Spartan soldier was simply a masked, faceless, towering man of few words. The Master Chief was built to portray desolation and loneliness. After birth, John-117 (his human name) was taken by the United Nations Space Command. Since his conscription into the Spartan-II Project, he has known nothing but battle. When Halo began, our protagonist had already lost fellow soldiers and friends to the war.
When it came to the series, a deviation from the scripted character of Master Chief seemed a favorable choice. The producers decided to take some liberty in contributing to his attributes since the Chief’s face was never fully revealed to the players. Those liberties included not just his appearance but also his storyline and overall persona.
The Master Chief Controversy
The first step outside the drawn line was when the masked soldier revealed his face. By the end of the first episode, Master Chief had already taken off his helmet. To reveal more of his persona, the character became more vocal. But when it comes to connecting with the audience, a face and words are not the only factors. The final touch was to make the Spartan soldier more human. The Master Chief goes on to lose his virginity in episode 8.
Suggested reading: Kiki Wolfkill talks to Deadline about Halo’s Latest Controversy
Kiki Wolfkill, the show’s executive producer, talks about how this enables a human connection between the Chief and Makee. However, the audience has something else to say. As revealed by Wolfkill in an interview, it was not an easy decision. The team went back and forth on it before finally going ahead with the idea. To fight against pre-conceived imagery about who the Master Chief is in the books and the comics, the series runners made a bolder choice.
Wolfkill has confirmed that the controversy was as expected because lots of opinions already existed on the matter. However, in her words, “that’s not a bad thing”.
Suggested reading: Halo Season Finale Recap and What’s to Come for Season 2
