A media property can mean different things to varied fans.Halois a fun, goofy party game to some and the most effective, moving, and powerful narrative in gaming history to others. The extended universe novels allow many to appreciate the franchise’s universe for its potential. In season 2, episode 4: “Reach,“Halosuffers near-fatal wounds from being pulled in two directions by its place in pop culture. The series may never recover.
“Reach” was directed by Craig Zisk, who alsohelmed last week’s episode. Screenwriter Tom Hemmings is a new voice on the series, though he’s credited as a supervising producer for the season’s first three episodes. Hemmings works as an editor on various projects, from Netflix’sDraculato BBC’sDoctor Foster: A Woman Scorned. Hemmings also directed two well-received short films; “Alpha Beta” and “The Dark.”
“Reach” is the moment fans have been waiting for. It’s the culmination of every ill-conceived decision involved in making a TV show aboutHalo. The Covenant is on Reach, where the last episode ended with a bang. The alien menace lacks nuance, but they’re a believable threat. The great punchline underneath theHalofranchise is that the fancy weapons and armor weren’t developedto fight the Covenant. The all-consuming antagonists were a lucky surprise that drew the super soldier program away from suppressing human insurgents. That mirrors their role in theHaloshow. It spent three episodes building up strong themes and hinting toward engaging narrative directions, only to throw all of it away in the most frustrating imaginable way. It’s fun when the games bury their story to make room for another hour of context-free shooting galleries. When the show does it, it turns the first three hours of content into a massive, pulsing waste of time.
The narrative thrust ofHaloseason 2 has been entirely dependent on John-117’s identity. It draws hard lines between John, a human being who has undergone more trauma than most could survive,and the Master Chief, a mythic figure of military excellence who exists to inspire his troops. The show wants the audience to ask who John is when the helmet comes off. Its answer, it seems, is that he’s the same man with or without it. “Reach” changes the context of his single-minded rush into violence without altering any of its narrative weight. For all the talk about faith and duty, he really is a gun-toting automaton, just about capable of feeling grief when one of his brothers-in-arms dies. Every sacrifice feels unearned, skating by on nostalgia from the games. Every soaring speech falls to the floor with a corpse-like impact. The show sends the Spartans into battle without armor, proudly proclaiming its thesis. Was John supposedto be Luthen Rael, burning his life to create a sunshine he’ll never see? Of course not. They’ve abandoned every hint of Spartan-117 as a human being, repurposing the warriors to face the conveniently-timed alien invasion as always. It’s embarrassing to have enjoyed the show previously.
“Reach” will be many fans' favorite episode ofHaloto date. It’s anexcellent reflection of the games. Just like most first-person shooters of the era, the utterly generic narrative ducks behind cover to let the repetitive sound of gunfire lull the audience into a soothing slumber. The games don’t aspire to anything beyond cathartic violence. The cutscenes interrupt the parts most come to enjoy. A TV show doesn’t have the benefit of interactive narrative or satisfying gunplay. It rests wholly on the story.Haloseason 2 found something worth exploring in the lives andinteractions of its Spartans, the complex narrative push-pull of the character motivations, and the grim politics of war. “Reach” is the show displaying its hands plaintively and admitting those engaging narrative threads were fun distractions on the road to its true purpose.
Balancing adaptation and storytelling remains challenging. Thewriters likely knewthe uphill battle they faced when they took on the franchise. The following four episodes have an even greater struggle ahead of them. Will they subvert expectations and return to semi-compelling war drama or lean into their unpleasant destiny as expensive, reference-fueled cutscenes from a shoddyHalogame? “Reach” falls hard, and the show might go down with it.
Halo
Cast
Season 2, Episode 4: “Reach”: The Covenant attacks the Spartan’s home, sparking an all-out battle for survival.
