With the anticipation of the fall of Reach, the writers and showrunners have given us as fans little to look forward to outside of that major event. For a show that follows the efforts of the human race to defend itself against an overwhelming force of aliens dedicated on destroying them, there’s an awful lot of unnecessary political drama (most of which is force).

MASTER CHIEF

At the end of the previous episode, MC departs with Silver Team on an unsanctioned mission to find Colbat team who MC learns was sent to a different area on Reach. The opening sequence shows us that MC is determined and that Silver Team, although a little uncertain, are determined to follow MC. Now why he doesn’t fully tell his team the specifics, I don’t understand why. But when they get to the relay station, they see that it’s completely empty. The scene is tense, and there’s a strong sense of foreboding. However, before they can fully investigate, FLEETCOM show up and attempt to arrest Silver Team. Again, a pretty intense scene, with the Spartans pointing guns at the soldiers and vice versa. However, despite the buildup of this scene, it’s ultimately wasted as they discover that there’s nothing there.

Keyes takes Silver Team off active duty, which is dumb because they’re in the middle of a freaking war. A war that they’re slowly losing by the way. John gets sent to get a psychiatric evaluation. And it makes sense (though for some reason he didn’t get the evaluation in the first season when he was actually acting crazy but they’re giving him one when he’s actually telling the truth). He does need to be reprimanded but it makes more sense for the team to actually be reassigned and not grounded. Then we have Silver Team fallout with MC and despite the array fiasco, I don’t see why they just suddenly don’t trust him. I mean, he doesn’t present a good case, but they’ve known him for so long that they should at least hear him out and investigate the situation themselves.

While on the way for his evaluation, MC easily takes out his escorts. This is a good scene for two reasons. The first, the way it’s shot, it makes MC look like a giant to the two soldiers. Second, it shows how strong a person is to a Spartan. So, he escapes to see Parangosky, who he discovers is still working with ONI. Parangosky in this show is one of the worst characters. In the books, she stands out as strong and commanding. Here, she has no agency, and with season two she literally has nothing to do. MC goes to see Perez who for some reason still hasn’t come forward with the information to corroborate MC’s story. He finds her in a church, and she admits to picking up and deciphering a Covenant message stating the Covenant’s oncoming attack on Reach. Then we get an explosion.

JAMES ACKERSON

I will give the writers some credit. I don’t like Ackerson as a character. I think he’s dumb, a waste of time, and a complete missed opportunity. But the writers try to humanize him by having us watch him with his father who’s dealing with some form of dementia. This scene does show he does have a stake in what happens. And we also learn a bit more about his past. This scene gives us a bit more into his motivations and backstory. The scene is okay, but his father says something that doesn’t make any sense. He tells his son not to let the Covenant take him alive. So, I raise an eyebrow. Why would they take him alive? Why’s he so important? Is he like Makee and MC, linked to the Artifact and Halo? The episode doesn’t tell us.

Kai-125 (Kate Kennedy) goes to speak with Ackerson after the suspension and the scene happens like you’d think it’d happen. Kai’s being manipulated by Ackerson who’s got this weird vendetta against Catherine Halsey and her Spartans (which is obvious from the beginning). Kai’s such a good character I can’t believe that she’d be this dumb to be manipulated by Ackerson and a device to further discredit MC.

Ackerson, Keyes, and FLEETCOM find the bodies of Cobalt team who were slain. Keyes discovers that MC was right about the Covenant on Reach although Ackerson admits prior knowledge. The problem I have is why’d he sacrifice the Spartans. He could’ve easily sent in a bunch of marines or at least warned them of possible Covenant forces. He gives no reason for sacrificing one of the most effective weapons for fighting the Covenant. Ackerson basically admits that Reach is going to fall and that they’re evacuating the most important people out while not alerting the public. I like that Keyes wasn’t willing to play ball. Most of the time he’s in the background while everyone else is making decisions.

Ackerson goes to see Halsey and it’s revealed that Ackerson had a sister named Julia that was a part of the Spartan program but ultimately failed. However, I have some questions. How did Ackerson know that his sister was in the Spartan program? Why would the UNSC put someone in the position like that who had someone in the Spartan program? After a meaningless discussion, Soren is sent in. There’s so much tension built around Soren and his relationship with Halsey. This is a potentially good storyline to explore. Anyway, Ackerson goes to see his father once more with a clone of Julia. He then helps his father commit suicide. I thought that was okay but still wonder why he was afraid of the Covenant capturing him.

LAERA

On Rubble (honestly one of the dumbest names for a criminal hideout) Laera and Kwan talk. Kwan warns her that Soren’s crew betrayed him and her and their son, Kessler, lives are in danger. How does she come across this information, we never find out. Laera goes home to get Kessler but two of her crew are there waiting for her. It’s one of the most cringiest scenes in the show. Despite the tension, everyone is acting awkward. Laera is acting scared and not acting like she’s the crime boss’ wife. You’d think she would act like she doesn’t know that they’re going to betray her, but she basically reveals that she knows their mutiny. The first crewman seems more reasonable than his comrade, who comes off as psychotic. The two reluctantly leave and Laera gets her son, and they leave.

So, Laera and Kessler meet up with Kwan and they attempt to escape. And it’s a dumb scene. They’re not trying to blend in with other people. Laera sticks out like a sore thumb. Kessler is the only kid on the either Rubble wearing a Spartan helmet, and he’s wearing it while they escape. The decision’s so dumb on the writers’ part that Kwan even brings it up. Don’t dress down to look like everyone else. So, the three of them sneak into Soren’s ship and attempt to escape only to be cut off at the last minute. Laera surrenders herself to the crew while Kwan takes Kessler and gets on the civilian vessel.

The interrogation scene with Laera was okay and probably one of the worst interrogation scenes I’ve seen in a show. Antares, Soren’s second-in-command, tries to be reasonable but Laera doesn’t know about the treasure Soren got from Madrigal, though she did mention it to him before. So, instead of actually interrogating her with torture, they decide to throw her in an airlocke. However, Kwan is on the ship and manages to kill all of the crew saving Laera. Cool. Not likely but cool. However, the writers are idiots. Because instead of Kwan taking Kessler somewhere safe, she leaves him on the transport ship to come and save Laera. Kwan could’ve brought Kessler and stashed him on the ship. She basically abandoned the kid to potentially becoming a slave. Just overall dumb.

RIZ-028

Having been suspended, Riz goes to see Louis. Personally, I don’t like Louis. I understand what the character is supposed to symbolize, but it’s the point that the show tries to drive home that the Spartans are evil and that they have nothing but the mission. Louis is gay (the show is full of girl bosses and incompetent men so why not have a gay couple). So Riz is a solid character, and I don’t mind seeing her interest in other “regular” people’s lives. I don’t have any personal issues with the actor, Marvin Jones III, but his characters suck. He sucks in this show (no pun intended), he sucks in Black Lightning as Tobias Whale. And there’s this weird moment in the dinner where Riz asks what is there to do and he just gives this really creepy smile. Later on, we see them huddled on the couch and for some reason between the creepy smile and the couch, I thought something sexual happened.

The Verdict: In the end, episode three is a bit of hit and miss. Sure, some of the politics of the episode concerning Reach were interesting but the other storylines concerning Kwan and Laera suck. I’m not saying that they can’t be interesting but not when the buildup of the show is the fall of Reach. I liked that Soren meets Halsey again, the tension between Ackerson and Keyes over the plan, Riz coming to terms of being a Spartan and learning to have a life, and even MC trying to prove his case. There are some elements that work and a bunch that don’t. Still, the explosion clearly marks the beginning of the end for Reach so hopefully we get nothing but action. Episode three gets 2 out of 5.