I was honestly surprised at where the direction of this episode went. Reckoning managed to bring the same energy of the opening of episode one. But let us walk through the mud first. After being chased from the city, Soren and Kwan are stuck in the middle of nowhere. At this point, Kwan’s story is pretty much dead. She has no resources, she has no family, she has no support, and her story has really nothing to do with the main plot. And instead of there being some good revelation of Kwan’s perception, her story seems to be dragged out more and more. Soren’s a decent character and I’d hate to see him get drug through the mud but unfortunately, he’s stuck with Kwan for the moment. It just feels so contrived, and Kwan’s character has potential but the way she’s written is bad.

There’s a bit more family drama amongst Keyes, Miranda, and Halsey, and again because of Miranda’s character and Halsey depiction, it just feels so forced. We all know Halsey’s personality but why can’t the series give the two some good moments instead of Halsey being such a douche the entire time. There’s a moment where Halsey and her minion are studying the artifact and Miranda tries to get her attention, but Halsey completely ignores her. Why? Miranda’s a scientist (at least in this show) who’s studied the artifact so why couldn’t they both have studied it? They do address this in the later battle with Miranda being wounded and Halsey rescuing her. It’s one of the good moments not only for the character but also for the series.

But let’s get to the awesome sauce portion. We finally get another battle and boy is it everything that we love to see about Halo. The UNSC has finally gotten their hands on the artifact that seems to be so engrained in John’s past. A beacon set off and Makee manages to lock on its location and the Covenant comes a running. It’s crazy, it’s chaotic, a lot of people die. We get to see Grunts, Elites, Jackals, and even a Brute. We get to see soldiers fighting aliens, plenty of explosions, and Spartans doing what they do best. This is like the last 15 minutes of the episode and damn is it entertaining. There are some moments where the CGI isn’t the best but for the most part it’s good and the practical is on point. There are some really good shots like when it goes to first person when MC’s fighting Covenant forces. There’s a scene where the Spartans are running alongside a warthog protecting it from Covenant forces. This is by far the best moment of the series so far.

The only real issue I have with this is the part where Kai is taken off the mission because John figures out she removed her emotional device thing. She questions him about it and he says she’s emotionally compromised and not fit for duty but John has made several questionable decisions since he removed his (and before removing it). His superiors have seen that he’s compromised which is why they had Cortana installed to keep him in check. So if that doesn’t show that he’s full of crap then I don’t know what does. But she proves him right because in the fight she gets emotionally overwhelmed when she sees the marines getting killed and damn near gets herself killed in the process. Which doesn’t make sense. Even without her device she’s still seen years and years training and combat against human forces and Covenant forces so emotional or not, those years of battle hardened instincts, discipline and experience would take over. You see it when the fight starts and plenty of marines were getting killed then. Hell, John did it, and he’s been acting like a spoiled brat almost the entire season.

In the end, Reckoning has one of the best battles I’ve seen on television and without it this episode would be another slow burn. There is more political maneuvering for Halsey, the sense that John feels betrayed by Halsey and Keyes and the USNC, Makee doing her own nefarious deeds, and Miranda whining all the time. The battle was fast paced and awesome, the special effects were good, and it was thoroughly entertaining. Reckoning gets 3 out of 5.