Summary
After only two seasons, Paramount +’sHaloshow has been canceled. It became one of the most viewed shows on Paramount+ but was controversial among fans due to poor depictions of Master Chief, the UNSC, and the Covenant, among other characters and events. While 343 Industries andHaloshow producer Amblin shop the series around other services to produce a third season, both groups should consider rebooting the show and focus more on another fan-favorite part ofHalo: ODSTs.
The Halo Show’s Themes and Faults
The first two seasons of theHaloshow are not based on any priorHalogame, but are instead loosely based on a variety of books, includingHalo: The Fall of Reach,Halo: The Cole Protocol, andHalo: Evolutions. Set in an alternate universe called the Silver Timeline, it primarily focused on Master Chief in 2552 dealing with his emotions after learning about the origins of the Spartan 2 program. Thematically, the entire show focused on the emotional toll soldiers suffer from in times of war, but Master Chief was never shown to be as emotional or compromised in the games as he was in the show.
While the main universe Chief would lament the loss of his fellow soldiers, he never attempted to kill Doctor Halsey for kidnapping him as a child, nor was he seduced by a Covenant spy. Instead of having Chief’s emotions come out slowly through years of conflict as seen inHalo 4throughInfinite, it seemed the show’s producers wanted Chief to have as complex relationships as other popular show protagonists like Jon Snow fromGame of Thrones. This was confusing for game and book fans, as Spartans were trained to put missions first and never be compromised emotionally. These narrative choices madeHaloshow Master Chieffeel like a totally different character, no matter the timeline difference.
Halo Show’s Depictions of Famous Events
Despite the show being based on books featuring critical events, the show often made questionable choices in how it depicted these events. For example, the Rubble was an independent Jackal and human colony inCole Protocol, showing that members of the Covenant could cooperate. In the show, no Covenant species are seen in the Rubble. Likewise,HaloSeason 2 was meant to depict the Fall of Reach, an important event that put humanity on the brink of extinction in the games and books. However, the show hardly ever showed cities being destroyed or invaded by the Covenant and primarily depicted the Fall of Reach off-screen.
The Potential of an ODST-focused Halo Show
Spartans were always designed to be rather unemotional beings compared to ordinary soldiers, which made them great for player-characters in video games but odd leads for a show. If Microsoft and Amblin want to continue developing aHaloshow with emotional leads, a new show should focus on ODSTs.Orbital Drop Shock Troopersare the best of the best in terms of the UNSC’s normal troops, just below the capability of Spartans. Each ODST is recruited from various branches of the UNSC to be trained as ODSTs, intended to conduct special operation missions often deployed behind enemy lines.
With ODSTs being normal people, it would make more sense for an ODST lead in a show to display various emotions and form complex relationships with others, as opposed to the typically machine-like Spartans. ODSTs could further react to the destruction of planets in dramatic ways, showcasing the true horror and grief of what a Covenant glassing event can inflict on people. While ODSTs are strong, they’re not as strong as Spartans and Microsoft could use an ODST protagonist in a new show to truly illustrate how terrifying members of the Covenant are, such as thetwelve-foot-tall Hunter bond brothers.
A Halo 3: ODST Show Adaption
Microsoft could use an ODST-ledHaloshow to create an entirely new story, but they could potentially base it on one of the more popularHalocampaigns:Halo 3: ODST. This 2009 game depicted a squad of ODSTs as they struggle to reunite and survive in the Covenant-invaded African city of New Mombasa. Most of the characters inODSTwere played by actors from the hit seriesFirefly, so Microsoft could potentially rehire them to play live-action roles withNathan Fillion’s Edward Buckas the show’s protagonist.
