So much of me is wrong, out of place. You might be too late. (Fan Creations)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Tuesday, March 26, 2024, 12:44 (32 days ago) @ Ragashingo

To me, this felt like 343i continuing its trend of trying to do "ah ha you didn't expect that now did you?!" things to Halo. They have a decent story laid out before them from the original lore, but almost every time they change something it isn't to make the story better or to make well thought out compromises to fit 20+ years of content into a few hours long tv episodes... it's to swerve left and try shock me at their brilliant boldness.

It sucks.

I feel terrible for any Halo newcomer who might try to watch this show and reconcile it to the games and book that I grew up with and loved. What they're getting is a weird set of existing story elements, renamed characters, and vaguely familiar locations that have been thrown into a blender and then purposely, carelessly inverted. (Yes. Purposely & Carelessly.) So, not only is everything wrong and out of place... it is almost always the complete opposite of what happened in the original stories and games.

I'm not someone who thinks the only way to tell Halo's story is to stick to the way it was original told. It was a video game from the early 2000's with just enough story to provide a reason to keep shooting. The main character was notable for never taking off his helmet. It took almost a decade before the games even started trying to consider the implications of things like the feelings of enslaved Spartan super soldiers. It was totally reasonable to pull forward some of the personal emotions and politics that only came up far later in Halo's lifespan.

But not like this. Not like this.

I didn't hate the first season, so had some anticipation for the second. The fact that I at least skimmed these posts demonstrates the low stakes for me, however. I normally loathe having things spoiled, but not so much for this. It's a different take on the Halo universe. All that being said, after time you develop a nose for legitimate critiques, and y'all have successfully persuaded me to move S2 to the homework section of my queue.