Halo: The Series Episode 5 “Reckoning” Review - A Great Episode That, Unfortunately, Pulls Its Punches

If you haven’t read my coverage of Halo: The Series thus far, click here to read my critique of the series, plus all previous coverage.

After a steady decline in quality these past few weeks, I severely hoped that this week’s episode would be much more cohesive & enjoyable than those previous episodes. And you know what? They actually pulled it off! Of course, there are some sacrifices to make for a better episode (like a shorter runtime), but it’s worth it.

In this week’s main plot, we rejoin John and the rest of UNSC as they try to figure out what John’s discovery means. Meanwhile, Soren & Kwan’s differences come to a head.

These two plots actually get their due this week, surprisingly. While the episode spends much of its time with John and the UNSC, writers Richard E. Robbins and Steven Kane cut the fat by tieing all the UNSC subplots back to either Halsey, Captain Keyes, or the larger mystery going on behind the scenes of the show. Furthermore, the intrigue going on with John feels much more natural and, in some cases, more faithful to the exploration of his psyche that the video games seem to hint at.

With Soren and Kwan, their storyline makes much more sense this week. Instead of the viewer wondering why it’s even part of the episode, the storytelling makes a conscious effort to illustrate why.

Something worth noting is that the performances from Pablo Schreiber, Jen Taylor, and Kate Kennedy are all vastly improved from last week. Where their performances in that episode felt wooden, reactionary, and otherwise meme-worthy, their performances here evoke a sense of betrayal, instead of merely going with the flow. Without spoiling revelations in this episode, there are a bunch of little scenes that feature character moments that give these actors the room to explore what these characters might be feeling in these moments. In these moments, both Schreiber and Kennedy start to act in unpredictable ways that left my jaw on the floor. I can’t wait for you all to see these two moments.

Now I need to talk about the reason for the shorter runtime: the battle sequence. This is exactly what I was looking for when I envisioned a Halo series. There are moments of pure adrenaline, danger, and moments that’ll make fans of the series happy. To give context without spoiling what happens in this battle, think of a firefight in the style of Halo 3 mixed with the danger of the latter half of Halo: Reach.

To top it off, the effects work by Ruan Liebenberg, Craig Calvert, Mr. X, Cinesite, Pixomondo, Base FX, FuseFX, MPC, Rocket Science, Frame Distillery, Mavericks VFX, and Rodeo FX is astounding. The effects no longer feel pulled from the games but photoreal (or near to it) representations of The Covenant, their ships, and Spartans.

So, while the episode is much shorter than all other episodes, it has moments where it showcases how great a tv series based on Halo can be.

★★★★

Episodes one through five of Halo: The Series are now available to stream on Paramount+.

Until next time!

Thanks to Thomas Stoneham-Judge from Movies For Reel, Shane Conto, Joseph Davis, David Walters, Ambula Bula, and Matthew Simpson for supporting Austin B Media on Patreon!