There have been talks for a Halo series for quite some time. Since 2013 fans have been expecting a live action adaptation of the beloved franchise. There have been several films (both live action and animated) which have only fanned the flames for a live action series. I admit that was as interested in seeing the series as I was apprehensive, and for good reason. Video game movies and television shows haven’t had the best track record. And with social justice commentary and the woke agenda messing up everything how well will the series hold up.

From the start of the episode there’s almost a sense of familiarity with the world and the setup. Everything from the UNSC ship to the outpost on the planet Madrigal, feels like it’s been ripped from the game. It’s got a good look and the overall quality is appealing to the eye. There’s definitely an opposing look to the UNSC and the Insurrectionists, the UNSC being more polished, clean cut, and the hierarchy less sociable while as the Insurrectionists are more like family and friends and they have less technology and have a grittier look to them. This contrast is the perfect parallel of their ideologies.

Despite the presence of Master Chief, the main character of the episode is the daughter of an Insurrectionist general named Kwan Ha. Kwan is an original character made for the show and right off the bat I realize that her character will be very divisive among the fans. On one hand, she has an interesting story. Her mother is revealed to have been killed by Spartans preceding the events of the series, so she has a grudge against the UNSC. And within the first twenty minutes she becomes the sole survivor of an attack on her outpost by Covenant forces. So yeah, Kwan’s been through some things. I honestly thought the character was alright and Yerin Ha does a good job with her performance. Will she be compelling enough to match the presence of the more established characters like Halsey or Master Chief? I think it’ll be interesting seeing the Human-Covenant War from the viewpoint of an Insurrectionist.

Of course, let’s talk about Master Chief, the “star” of the show. MC is kind of a gray area for me. There are three points to his character in this episode and each one changes the perception of him. The first point is his introduction. When he pops up on the screen with Silver Team, it’s the MC we all know and love. The suit looks great, sounds great, and seeing him kick Elite butt is satisfying. I know a lot of people didn’t like his voice, but I didn’t have a problem with it. Look, I like Steve Downes as much as the next fan, but let this man take a break from the character, damn. The second point appears after MC touches the Forerunner artifact and he begins receiving visions of his childhood. And this is where we see the character shift. One of the strongest aspects to the character is his anonymity. We don’t know who is or what he looks like. And that makes him more intriguing. And with past being fleshed out more and more throughout the games it adds depth to his character while maintaining his level of awesomeness. Hell, it isn’t until Halo 3 that we see a chink in the MC’s armor and the 4th game that we see the emotional depth. But in the first episode, all of this just comes spilling out with no buildup. And it’s one thing showing that MC’s human but this early of a reveal and how it was revealed is a complete mistake. Pablo Schreiber isn’t bad and actually does a good job when he’s in the suit, but seeing out…well, we’ll see how well he can maintain it.

The episode takes an interesting direction by showing that the Covenant has a human working with them. This human is Makee (played by Charlie Murphy), and apparently, she’s high ranking as we see her speaking with the Prophets. Now, in the games, the Covenant viewed humanity as blashemous which is why they went on their genocidal campaign in the first place. But it isn’t like they didn’t use humans or work with humans when it benefited them greatly (especially when it came to Forerunner technology). Just read the Cole Protocol or Silent Storm. But I’m for it if they can tell a good story with it.

Okay, let’s address the elephant in the room. Already, I can see that this show is going to cater to the WOKE mob. First, the casting for some of the characters is questionable. I like Danny Sapani, I think he’s a good actor. But why in the hell is he playing Captain Keyes. If anything, he’d play a better Avery Johnson. He’s got the chops for the character, and he actually looks like him. Plus, I don’t want to see a black Keyes. And Olive Gray as Miranda Keyes is just as bad. Nothing against the actress but she’s not the character. She doesn’t look like the character, doesn’t act like the character, and the writing around the character is just bologna. In the games, Miranda shows herself to be as charismatic, strong, and as smart as her father. Here, she sounds like a social worker. And I don’t believe Margaret Parangosky as the Admiral in the slightest. She’s simply there for diversity points. Nothing more. Natascha McElhone is too young to play Halsey. Add about another twenty years to the character and she might fit.

In the end, the first episode has some good elements and has some bad. There’s definitely WOKE elements in it and a lot of questionable decisions especially the casting. I get this is supposed to be a different “timeline” but damn. Anyway, I’m still interested to see where the series is heading. Contact gets 3 out of 5.