Halo Season Two Episode Four “Reach” Review
Intro
In case you missed my previous reviews of Halo Season Two, you can read my thoughts here on the first two episodes and here for my thoughts on episode three.
Episode four marks the midseason finale for Halo, which seems hard to believe. I know it makes mathematical sense, given the two-episode premiere on February 8th. Given how little has happened in the season, it feels too soon to have the big "event" episode.
Story
L-R Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief and Cristina Rodlo as Corporal Perez in Halo episode 4, season 2. Photo Credit: Adrienn Szabo/Paramount+
To get started, let's dig into the episode's name: Reach. For anyone who even has a passing knowledge of Halo lore, the name refers to the planet that kickstarts the Human-Covenant War and is mentioned multiple times through the Bungie Halo games, with the most prominent being Halo: Reach, as well as depicted in books like The Fall of Reach and two animated shorts within Halo Legends.
So, naturally, as someone very familiar with the games, the name has a lot of expectations for me. Much of my impressions of the season so far have been colored by this episode, my expectations for it, and what happens within the episode.
Surprisingly, the Reach storyline depicted here is one of my favorite versions of this story. It's evident that much love and care went into this episode, and I appreciate it. Sometimes, I felt like watching a live-action Halo: Reach adaptation. It's that good.
Writing
Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief in Halo episode 4, season 2. Photo Credit: Adrienn Szabo/Paramount+
Much of the episode's success has to do with the writing by Tom Hemmings. He's mainly a supervising producer for season two, but with "Reach," he gets to write the episode and leans into Halo fans' expectations while also fixing some of the clunkier parts that made the Reach story. The consequences feel devastating, and I'll be interested to see how using this episode as the season's middle chapter affects the back half.
However, there are some points where the script unravels, like the constant need by the writing team to interrogate John about his emotions. Those kinds of moments work, but not in an episode where so much is happening that it has the main narrative screech to a halt to address the issue. If you want to have that moment, that's fine. Just include it in episode five, where we'll likely investigate the character's reactions to this episode's fallout.
VFX
Natasha Culzac as Riz in Halo episode 4, season 2. Photo Credit: Adrienn Szabo/Paramount+
While discussing the negatives, this is a good time to mention the repeated CG issues with this show and the need for color grading in dark scenes. The fact that this episode, one that may be the most important for the series going forward, still has issues where the Covenant models look out of place and that sometimes the shooting effect on the guns isn't properly animated (the most egregious example is about 17:35 in if you want to see for yourselves) is embarrassing. Likewise, the repeated use of dark scenes without correctly color grading them so that viewers can see what's happening is a problem I shouldn't have to explain two seasons in.
Wrap-up
Overall, "Reach" is a much better episode than all previous episodes in season two, and I cannot wait to see how this episode influences the second half of the season.
Rating
★★★★
Availability
If you'd like to watch Halo, you can do so with a Paramount+ subscription here.
Until next time!
