The newest episode of the Paramount+ Halo collection is an action-packed throat punch from the second it begins. That punch to your windpipe will sting somewhat extra when you’re an enormous fan of a sure character from the video games, who bit the proverbial mud this week.
Halo season 2 episode 4, titled “Attain,” marks one of many larger deviations from the sport’s established canon for the reason that collection introduced it created its personal timeline. This deviation doesn’t essentially detract from the episode, because it’s maybe the strongest but, however the particular means by which it opts to do away with a widely known Halo determine is strikingly unceremonious. If folks had been mad about Grasp Chief taking his helmet off (and it staying off within the second season), in the event that they had been irate about him getting his gravity hammer moist, they’ll be angrier than a freshly kicked hornet’s nest about what occurs in “Attain.”
Spoilers for Halo season 2 episode 4 and the Halo sport collection comply with.
This episode kills off Commander Keyes (Danny Sapani) through the Covenant’s invasion of Attain. Within the first Halo sport (which takes place after the Fall of Attain within the collection’ timeline), the Commander is captured by the Covenant, tortured, rescued by Grasp Chief, after which contaminated by the zombie-like Flood. Grasp Chief mercy-kills Keyes when he discovers that the Commander has been subsumed together with different human minds into what would ultimately develop into the Gravemind, a Flood with near-omniscient powers. It’s a brutal loss of life for a beloved character, however the Halo collection actually mentioned, “nah, let’s have him die as a result of he forgot gas up a ship.”
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Sure, Commander Keyes, within the midst of making an attempt to evacuate Attain with others, realizes that the ship they’re on continues to be linked to the dock by way of its gas line. Regardless that Keyes knew that the Fall of Attain was nigh, he didn’t get a getaway automobile prepared. And for that planning error, he received smoked. Not less than he received an incredible speech beforehand, delivered with spectacular gusto by Sapani, and a humorous, closing one-liner.
However Keyes’ loss of life sucks as a result of he isn’t almost as compelling right here as he’s within the video games, primarily as a result of collection’ laser-focus on the Spartans. Whereas I preserve that the Halo present is strongest when it focuses on John and the Spartans’ battle to each defend the human race and reckon with who they’re and what the UNSC made them, that alternative signifies that different characters get much less fanfare. Much less fanfare means deaths are much less impactful, and when a beloved sport character unceremoniously dies at some extent when he’s, canonically, not presupposed to, it stings.
Apart from Keyes’ premature loss of life, “Attain” is a badass, action-packed episode. There are some nice nods to the video games, together with an enormous Covenant Wraith tank decimating the town streets, a crunchy, messy hand-to-hand battle between an armor-less Chief and an Elite, and some messy, goopy explosions courtesy of some good ol’ UNSC frag grenades.
“Attain” additionally doesn’t draw back from killing off characters prefer it’s a spherical of Halo 3 Group Deathmatch. From Vannak-134 (Bentley Kalu), whose love for animals made him one among my favourite folks on the present (and whose loss of life despatched me right into a hysterical spiral for a couple of minutes), to Louis-036 (Marvin Jones III) and his associate, “Attain” racks up a fairly excessive physique rely. The emotional beats hit, even when you’re sad with who didn’t make it off Attain alive. Regardless of the modifications, regardless of the Spartans actually shedding their armor this episode (lol at how the Mjolnir fanboys should really feel), I’m nonetheless firmly on the facet of “Halo TV collection good.”
