[TV]Halo

[Witchblade77]

so my feelings on the series so far are... mixed. I loved some things, liked others, was meh on yet more things, you know - mixed. but... I'm still closer to "I want to see where they are going with it" side of it to want to see what they do in season 2, so... I guess we shall see.


on a different note, just saw this come across my dashboard and....

I hate to admit it but they may have a point???? (I know some of that stuff is a bit of a stretch but at the same time)


https://superectojazzmage.tumblr.com...the-reason-the

the full text of the original post in spoiler tag for those who would rather not click the link but if you do and keep scrolling down, well... if you are NOT a fan of the show, neither are people theorizing in all those conversations O_O

Saw someone on Reddit theorize that the reason the Halo show is Like That is because it was supposed to be a Mass Effect show but they couldn’t get the rights so they just licensed some other famous science fiction game series, did some rewrites, and went from there. And I’m intensely disturbed because of how much sense this theory makes, because so much of the show feels like “Halo pretending to be Mass Effect”:

The general focus on internal, smaller-scale human conflicts, intergalactic politics, and relationships with the bigger alien threat building largely in the background.
The Covenant’s motives and reasons for attacking humanity being built up as a mystery like how Mass Effect makes a big deal out of nobody knowing why the Reapers do what they do (in contrast to the Halo games, where the Covenant’s motives are more or less known from the start). Also, how the Covenant aren’t really humanized in comparison to the games, being portrayed more like inscrutable beings using brainwashed human servants like the Reapers.
The frank depictions and discussions of sex and nudity. Halo’s generally always avoided outright sexual content beyond the occasional silly joke (e.g., “he was my lover!”), whereas Mass Effect never shied away from that subject.
The sheer fact that Master Chief fucks at all, and especially that he fucks a woman aligned with the aliens (and is speculated by some to be originally intended AS an alien). Fucking aliens is one of the bread-and-butters of Mass Effect, but can you ever imagine that in a Halo game beyond obvious non-canon gags like Johnson hugging the Elite in CE?
The portrayal of AIs. Cortana is a mix of EDI (AI made by morally dodgy group that slowly aligns with the good guys) and SAM from Andromeda (implanted into Chief’s nervous system rather then just carried in a chip like in the games). More vaguely, the Spartans’s portrayal as basically human robots “rediscovering their humanity” feels eerily similar to the Geth and their whole arc of developing individuality, with Chief filling the role of Legion.
Halsey acts a lot like a female Illusive Man, manipulating people for “the greater good” and lacking a lot of her more sympathetic traits from the games. Similarly, the guy playing Captain Keyes looks and acts A LOT more like Captain Anderson from Mass Effect (seriously, Danny Sapani is the perfect pick Anderson aside from getting Keith David to reprise the role; he’d be an amazing casting choice if this were a Mass Effect show). And just to cap it off, this Makee character is suspiciously similar to Benezia, serving the villains, the sex appeal, and it would explain why so many people get the vibe that she was intended as an alien.
The fact that the whole plot is kicked off when Master Chief goes to colony to find it was attacked by aliens and touches an ancient alien device that gives him a vision… just like Commander Shepard going to Eden Prime and touching the Beacon at the start of Mass Effect.
The way Parangosky is portrayed, arguing with and seeking respect from a Council while also covering for undercover black ops stuff would make a lot more sense as the Citadel Council and the whole subplot in Mass Effect of humanity having to prove themselves as newcomers who have only just got onto the Council (which would also explain Parangosky being made a lot nicer then in canon Halo; she’s a stand-in for the first human councilor in Mass Effect, taking elements from both Anderson and Udina).
This one is kind of a stretch but Kwan and the Madrigal subplot feel ever so similar to Tali and the Quarians (younger girl from a culture on the outskirts of galactic society leaves home and ends up working with her peoples’s perceived enemy and learning they’re not so different — again, lining up with the ”Spartans as Geth” idea). Kwan also seems to take a bit after Ashley, being survivor of the heretic Geth Covenant attack on Eden Prime her hometown and having similar ”angry tough girl” characterization.
Like, no, completely unironically I am one hundred percent sure that this was a Mass Effect script at some point in its production. If so, man, BioWare really dodged a bullet for once, huh?

[Vetali]

There is a shit ton of mental gymnastics in there as a fan of both Halo and ME.... made my head hurt especially comparing Tali to Kwan. The ME series is in development hell, like the Halo series was. Doesn't Netflix have the rights to it? They are pretty much firing everyone and canceling everything due to a shitty quarter, so that might not happen at all.

The only over analyzing I will do is they didn't really do much to screw up the core of the story no fall of reach, still haven't discovered where the Halo is and left it pretty open to change things in S2. Do I think they will? Not really. The show was pretty successful with people that don't play the games which is the target audience.

[Rennadrel]

There is a shit ton of mental gymnastics in there as a fan of both Halo and ME.... made my head hurt especially comparing Tali to Kwan. The ME series is in development hell, like the Halo series was. Doesn't Netflix have the rights to it? They are pretty much firing everyone and canceling everything due to a shitty quarter, so that might not happen at all.

The only over analyzing I will do is they didn't really do much to screw up the core of the story no fall of reach, still haven't discovered where the Halo is and left it pretty open to change things in S2. Do I think they will? Not really. The show was pretty successful with people that don't play the games which is the target audience.

Netflix only canned people involved in projects that honestly didn't even look like they'd be financially viable. A ME show at least has financial viability, I don't think Anti-Racist Baby does, but that's just me. Hopefully the Halo show ditches those weak moments and focuses more on the action sequences for season 2, because there's potential. I know there's some fears, albeit irrational ones, that there might be some script flipping where Chief gets killed off and replaced, but we'll have to wait and see.

[ProphetFlume]

I've played the games and follow the canon. I've enjoyed the show other than slow side stories. Most the casting is pretty good, Chief and Halsey are both great. Getting Jen Taylor to voice Cortana in the show as well was a great move.

People just expected the representation of a character you play as in a video game to be the same as one in a TV show. Only show to do that remotely close that I've tried to watch is the Witcher.

I just finished ep 7, decided to wait after first, but this is basically how I feel.

I still can’t stand the kwan arc and it’s only tolerable by Soren being involved. I think the guy they cast for John was perfect tbh: bland and jarhead-y enough to be a soldier, emotionally stunted and able to project feelings onto, and he portrays those well most of the time.

But 7 episodes in I can feel the budget strain with how few covenant/spartan fights there and noticeably reusing the same sets for everything involving soren and Kwan’s places. I do wish Chief would put his helmet on more. Doesn’t have to be 100% but at least enough to remember that’s who he is, otherwise it can be easy to feel like I’m just watching a sci-fi show.

Halsey killing it obviously, Cortana voice was a nice touch, though just a little jarring hearing that voice mixed with live action. Kai is from the books right? I thought I remembered hearing about a female spartan who was really popular but I may be thinking of something else.

I’ll come back once I’ve finished.

[TheRevenantHero]

I just finished ep 7, decided to wait after first, but this is basically how I feel.

I still can’t stand the kwan arc and it’s only tolerable by Soren being involved. I think the guy they cast for John was perfect tbh: bland and jarhead-y enough to be a soldier, emotionally stunted and able to project feelings onto, and he portrays those well most of the time.

But 7 episodes in I can feel the budget strain with how few covenant/spartan fights there and noticeably reusing the same sets for everything involving soren and Kwan’s places. I do wish Chief would put his helmet on more. Doesn’t have to be 100% but at least enough to remember that’s who he is, otherwise it can be easy to feel like I’m just watching a sci-fi show.

Halsey killing it obviously, Cortana voice was a nice touch, though just a little jarring hearing that voice mixed with live action. Kai is from the books right? I thought I remembered hearing about a female spartan who was really popular but I may be thinking of something else.

I’ll come back once I’ve finished.

You're thinking of Kelly. Kai is a completely new character. But I'm loving the casting choices, tbh. Also, the final episode is fucking AWESOME. I'm so excited for season 2.

[ProphetFlume]

well.... its a good thing I decided to treat it in my head as AU fanfiction. because... sigh....... no I do not think we needed that scene.

I wasn’t crazy about it either but it makes sense if you view the whole series as being about Chief exploring and embracing his humanity — becoming John. Which is kind of what I dislike because that doesn’t really make him master chief, and is probably why they made such a point in calling him John so often the last few episodes.

The show is like 90% discovering the truth about one’s self (for both John and kwan…oh god they rhyme) with some sci-fi and war trappings; I wonder how many plot points I could parallel with Garden State.

TBH the war and covenant in general feel inconsequential, and I’m having trouble understanding how long the war with the covenant has been going on because it seemed like kwan’s dadcestor mentioned it. I think the screen time for the covenant has been around the same as the blessed ones.

I did really like the teamwork between Cortana and John at the end of 8, and seeing him still lose to two Spartans in armor was rewarding because it HAD to happen. It just did. it would’ve been so cheesy for it to go any other way. Kinda same as only tying Kai to a stone bench and thinking it’d hold her but I’ll let it slide.

[Rawrajishxc]

The Halo series is absolutely fine, minus the Kwan stuff and the Matrix wannabes. The usual suspects whinging about things they don't like doesn't change that. As ever, they could just not watch, but they compel themselves to do so to enable their suffering.

I can't believe people are still talking about the helmet, ffs.

It's an okay show if you don't know anything about Halo but most people went in expecting something It's not(Which is Halo based on Halo).

[Yayeet]

so my feelings on the series so far are... mixed. I loved some things, liked others, was meh on yet more things, you know - mixed. but... I'm still closer to "I want to see where they are going with it" side of it to want to see what they do in season 2, so... I guess we shall see.


on a different note, just saw this come across my dashboard and....

I hate to admit it but they may have a point???? (I know some of that stuff is a bit of a stretch but at the same time)


https://superectojazzmage.tumblr.com...the-reason-the

the full text of the original post in spoiler tag for those who would rather not click the link but if you do and keep scrolling down, well... if you are NOT a fan of the show, neither are people theorizing in all those conversations O_O

Saw someone on Reddit theorize that the reason the Halo show is Like That is because it was supposed to be a Mass Effect show but they couldn’t get the rights so they just licensed some other famous science fiction game series, did some rewrites, and went from there. And I’m intensely disturbed because of how much sense this theory makes, because so much of the show feels like “Halo pretending to be Mass Effect”:

The general focus on internal, smaller-scale human conflicts, intergalactic politics, and relationships with the bigger alien threat building largely in the background.
The Covenant’s motives and reasons for attacking humanity being built up as a mystery like how Mass Effect makes a big deal out of nobody knowing why the Reapers do what they do (in contrast to the Halo games, where the Covenant’s motives are more or less known from the start). Also, how the Covenant aren’t really humanized in comparison to the games, being portrayed more like inscrutable beings using brainwashed human servants like the Reapers.
The frank depictions and discussions of sex and nudity. Halo’s generally always avoided outright sexual content beyond the occasional silly joke (e.g., “he was my lover!”), whereas Mass Effect never shied away from that subject.
The sheer fact that Master Chief fucks at all, and especially that he fucks a woman aligned with the aliens (and is speculated by some to be originally intended AS an alien). Fucking aliens is one of the bread-and-butters of Mass Effect, but can you ever imagine that in a Halo game beyond obvious non-canon gags like Johnson hugging the Elite in CE?
The portrayal of AIs. Cortana is a mix of EDI (AI made by morally dodgy group that slowly aligns with the good guys) and SAM from Andromeda (implanted into Chief’s nervous system rather then just carried in a chip like in the games). More vaguely, the Spartans’s portrayal as basically human robots “rediscovering their humanity” feels eerily similar to the Geth and their whole arc of developing individuality, with Chief filling the role of Legion.
Halsey acts a lot like a female Illusive Man, manipulating people for “the greater good” and lacking a lot of her more sympathetic traits from the games. Similarly, the guy playing Captain Keyes looks and acts A LOT more like Captain Anderson from Mass Effect (seriously, Danny Sapani is the perfect pick Anderson aside from getting Keith David to reprise the role; he’d be an amazing casting choice if this were a Mass Effect show). And just to cap it off, this Makee character is suspiciously similar to Benezia, serving the villains, the sex appeal, and it would explain why so many people get the vibe that she was intended as an alien.
The fact that the whole plot is kicked off when Master Chief goes to colony to find it was attacked by aliens and touches an ancient alien device that gives him a vision… just like Commander Shepard going to Eden Prime and touching the Beacon at the start of Mass Effect.
The way Parangosky is portrayed, arguing with and seeking respect from a Council while also covering for undercover black ops stuff would make a lot more sense as the Citadel Council and the whole subplot in Mass Effect of humanity having to prove themselves as newcomers who have only just got onto the Council (which would also explain Parangosky being made a lot nicer then in canon Halo; she’s a stand-in for the first human councilor in Mass Effect, taking elements from both Anderson and Udina).
This one is kind of a stretch but Kwan and the Madrigal subplot feel ever so similar to Tali and the Quarians (younger girl from a culture on the outskirts of galactic society leaves home and ends up working with her peoples’s perceived enemy and learning they’re not so different — again, lining up with the ”Spartans as Geth” idea). Kwan also seems to take a bit after Ashley, being survivor of the heretic Geth Covenant attack on Eden Prime her hometown and having similar ”angry tough girl” characterization.
Like, no, completely unironically I am one hundred percent sure that this was a Mass Effect script at some point in its production. If so, man, BioWare really dodged a bullet for once, huh?

Seems like a pretty stupid theory by a set of pretty stupid fans as per usual.

Spielberg took on this production based on the depth of the story of the Halo series, he mentioned that many times in the past, with the mass effect story you wouldn't be able to do much, it's just too generic for a sci-fi series pov. Granted that the halo series have been in production for nearly 10 years, there would have at least been one or two leaks to support the fan theory, but since there aren't, it's a load of bs.

And differences in the story are always going to happen, stories are told differently in game than on tv, and that has nothing to do with fan theories, that has to do with a different point of view as a viewer and a gamer.

[ProphetFlume]

You're thinking of Kelly. Kai is a completely new character. But I'm loving the casting choices, tbh. Also, the final episode is fucking AWESOME. I'm so excited for season 2.

Any similarities like she might be Kelly with a name change? Isn't her armor pink?

I finished. Not much to really say. Oof at the cgi but I've liked the fps shots, and they showed some stuff from that pov that we wouldn't from playing the game. Ever since the brute first showed up I've been waiting for Chief to take his hammer because I thought his solution was going to be taking it and smashing the keystones. Sad to see Makee go, which is weird considering her character for most of the show, but I guess I'm just a sucker for a redemption arc. Was REALLY surprised we didn't see Kwan in the finale, hopefully we won't see her again until S2 finale, but that would also mean there’s barely any progress for the main plot.

I wonder if they're going to change what halos do, which wouldn't really surprise me because it was always disappointing, but I never found the Halo story in the games to be good any way, which is probably why I'm so open to the show. But I don't want them to get stalled and teased throughout the whole thing like the end-all plot because one of the best, if not the best, things about the story was the twist of the flood being dropped in the middle of the war and superceding it. Was a great swerve.

In response to the Mass Effect theory above: I can see the inciting incident part and finding the key actually being calling on the reapers but Tali as Kwan doesn't work for me at all. One of the big things I didn't see mentioned was how similar Pablo is to the default version of Shepard, but if that was the case I would think they switched to Halo before casting began.

[TheRevenantHero]

Any similarities like she might be Kelly with a name change? Isn't her armor pink?

I finished. Not much to really say. Oof at the cgi but I've liked the fps shots, and here we saw some stuff that we wouldn't normally when playing the game. Ever since the brute first showed up I've been waiting for Chief to take his hammer . I thought his solution was going to be taking the hammer and smashing the keystones with it. Sad to see Makee go, which is weird considering her character for most of the show. Guess I'm just a sucker for a redemption arc. Was REALLY surprised we didn't see Kwan in the finale. Probably won't see her again until S2 finale,

In response to the Mass Effect theory above: I can see the inciting incident part and finding the key being calling on the reapers. Tali as Kwan doesn't work for me. But one of the big things I didn't see mentioned was how similar Pablo is to the default version of Shepard. But I would think they switched to Halo before casting began. I wonder if they're going to change what halos do, which wouldn't really surprise me because it was always disappointing, but I never found the Halo story strictly in the games to be any good any way, which is probably why I'm so open to the show. But I don't want them to get stalled and teased through the whole thing like the end-all plot because one of, if not the best, things about the story was the twist of the flood being dropped in the middle of the war and superceding it. Was a great swerve.

I'd say there's quite a few similarities like how she cracks jokes often and that she is not good at hiding her emotions at all. Though Kelly had light blue armor whereas Kai's is dark blue.

The Brute with the grav hammer has actually been confirmed to be Atriox. Which explains why he was easily able to dunk on John. I'm also not liking that Makee was taken out. Though it's clear that this first season is mostly set up for the next season where they will probably be hunting for and eventually find one of the Halos.

As for the Mass Effect theory, it was clearly made by someone who didn't read the books and also didn't play Reach. This whole first season is all plot elements that show up in the books, something the creators of the show drew on instead of the games.

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so my feelings on the series so far are... mixed. I loved some things, liked others, was meh on yet more things, you know - mixed. but... I'm still closer to "I want to see where they are going with it" side of it to want to see what they do in season 2, so... I guess we shall see.


on a different note, just saw this come across my dashboard and....

I hate to admit it but they may have a point???? (I know some of that stuff is a bit of a stretch but at the same time)


https://superectojazzmage.tumblr.com...the-reason-the

the full text of the original post in spoiler tag for those who would rather not click the link but if you do and keep scrolling down, well... if you are NOT a fan of the show, neither are people theorizing in all those conversations O_O

Saw someone on Reddit theorize that the reason the Halo show is Like That is because it was supposed to be a Mass Effect show but they couldn’t get the rights so they just licensed some other famous science fiction game series, did some rewrites, and went from there. And I’m intensely disturbed because of how much sense this theory makes, because so much of the show feels like “Halo pretending to be Mass Effect”:

The general focus on internal, smaller-scale human conflicts, intergalactic politics, and relationships with the bigger alien threat building largely in the background.
The Covenant’s motives and reasons for attacking humanity being built up as a mystery like how Mass Effect makes a big deal out of nobody knowing why the Reapers do what they do (in contrast to the Halo games, where the Covenant’s motives are more or less known from the start). Also, how the Covenant aren’t really humanized in comparison to the games, being portrayed more like inscrutable beings using brainwashed human servants like the Reapers.
The frank depictions and discussions of sex and nudity. Halo’s generally always avoided outright sexual content beyond the occasional silly joke (e.g., “he was my lover!”), whereas Mass Effect never shied away from that subject.
The sheer fact that Master Chief fucks at all, and especially that he fucks a woman aligned with the aliens (and is speculated by some to be originally intended AS an alien). Fucking aliens is one of the bread-and-butters of Mass Effect, but can you ever imagine that in a Halo game beyond obvious non-canon gags like Johnson hugging the Elite in CE?
The portrayal of AIs. Cortana is a mix of EDI (AI made by morally dodgy group that slowly aligns with the good guys) and SAM from Andromeda (implanted into Chief’s nervous system rather then just carried in a chip like in the games). More vaguely, the Spartans’s portrayal as basically human robots “rediscovering their humanity” feels eerily similar to the Geth and their whole arc of developing individuality, with Chief filling the role of Legion.
Halsey acts a lot like a female Illusive Man, manipulating people for “the greater good” and lacking a lot of her more sympathetic traits from the games. Similarly, the guy playing Captain Keyes looks and acts A LOT more like Captain Anderson from Mass Effect (seriously, Danny Sapani is the perfect pick Anderson aside from getting Keith David to reprise the role; he’d be an amazing casting choice if this were a Mass Effect show). And just to cap it off, this Makee character is suspiciously similar to Benezia, serving the villains, the sex appeal, and it would explain why so many people get the vibe that she was intended as an alien.
The fact that the whole plot is kicked off when Master Chief goes to colony to find it was attacked by aliens and touches an ancient alien device that gives him a vision… just like Commander Shepard going to Eden Prime and touching the Beacon at the start of Mass Effect.
The way Parangosky is portrayed, arguing with and seeking respect from a Council while also covering for undercover black ops stuff would make a lot more sense as the Citadel Council and the whole subplot in Mass Effect of humanity having to prove themselves as newcomers who have only just got onto the Council (which would also explain Parangosky being made a lot nicer then in canon Halo; she’s a stand-in for the first human councilor in Mass Effect, taking elements from both Anderson and Udina).
This one is kind of a stretch but Kwan and the Madrigal subplot feel ever so similar to Tali and the Quarians (younger girl from a culture on the outskirts of galactic society leaves home and ends up working with her peoples’s perceived enemy and learning they’re not so different — again, lining up with the ”Spartans as Geth” idea). Kwan also seems to take a bit after Ashley, being survivor of the heretic Geth Covenant attack on Eden Prime her hometown and having similar ”angry tough girl” characterization.
Like, no, completely unironically I am one hundred percent sure that this was a Mass Effect script at some point in its production. If so, man, BioWare really dodged a bullet for once, huh?

yeah this is an utterly asinine because it's clear they didn't read the books or play Reach. First off, it's explained in the books that when the Covenant first showed up, nobody had any idea what they wanted. They didn't find out their true motivation until the first game.

The insurrectionist plot is ALSO from the books where it's explained in detail that before the Covenant showed up, the UNSC was skirmishing against Insurrectionists.
So that point is utterly invalid in saying it's a copy of Tali and Quarians.

Halsey 100% is as manipulative and sociopathic in the Halo canon as she is on the show. So the Illusive Man comparison is invalid as well.

Halo never involved sex and nudity because games at the time had stricted UESRB rules. Halo 1 came out in 2001 and Halo 2 came out in 2004. Mass Effect showed up in 2007. Also, Halo isn't a roleplaying game like ME. It's meant to be mostly all action whereas ME has a lot of action but has heavy RPG elements as well. So another invalid comparison.

John had his emotional dampener removed and became incredibly emotional for the first time in decades. He formed a paracausal bond with her that led him to a point where he was overcome with emotion and gave into the moment. They're both humans. Humans have sex. Another invalid comparison.

Cortana acts the same way in all the games because she's a "smart" AI. "Smart" AIs in the Halo lore have no limits on how much they can learn and even develop complex emotions unlike other AIs. Though their ability to continuously learn and evolve eventually causes them to start breaking down and go rampant. As a result, they only have a lifespan of about 7 years. Another invalid comparison.

I'm pretty sure Keyes on the show is a hybrid of Keyes and Sgt. Johnson from the games. Which explains how he acts on the show. As for Makee, ridiculous. Because humans NEVER serve the villains or have sex appeal right? Yet another invalid comparison.

Chief touching the artifact and seeing a vision is a pretty common trope so saying it copied ME is beyond ridiculous.

So all in all, the person who came up with this comparison has absolutely no idea what the fuck they're talking about. Because if anything ME hardcore copied Halo, since all three of the first games launched before the first ME game was launched. The person who made the comparison needs to do proper research next time before posting asinine shit like this.

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It's an okay show if you don't know anything about Halo but most people went in expecting something It's not(Which is Halo based on Halo).

No people were expecting a shot for shot retelling of the first game in live action form which would have been boring as fuck. I've already played the games and can go play them again if I want that story. The show is much more similar to the books which is a good thing. But clearly "hardcore fans" never bothered to read the books.

[Rawrajishxc]

No people were expecting a shot for shot retelling of the first game in live action form which would have been boring as fuck. I've already played the games and can go play them again if I want that story. The show is much more similar to the books which is a good thing. But clearly "hardcore fans" never bothered to read the books.

I mean the creators themselves admitted they've never played the game nor read the books, so it makes sense that it seems like a mess to fans.

[bledgor]

I'd say there's quite a few similarities like how she cracks jokes often and that she is not good at hiding her emotions at all. Though Kelly had light blue armor whereas Kai's is dark blue.

The Brute with the grav hammer has actually been confirmed to be Atriox. Which explains why he was easily able to dunk on John. I'm also not liking that Makee was taken out. Though it's clear that this first season is mostly set up for the next season where they will probably be hunting for and eventually find one of the Halos.

As for the Mass Effect theory, it was clearly made by someone who didn't read the books and also didn't play Reach. This whole first season is all plot elements that show up in the books, something the creators of the show drew on instead of the games.

- - - Updated - - -



yeah this is an utterly asinine because it's clear they didn't read the books or play Reach. First off, it's explained in the books that when the Covenant first showed up, nobody had any idea what they wanted. They didn't find out their true motivation until the first game.

The insurrectionist plot is ALSO from the books where it's explained in detail that before the Covenant showed up, the UNSC was skirmishing against Insurrectionists.
So that point is utterly invalid in saying it's a copy of Tali and Quarians.

Halsey 100% is as manipulative and sociopathic in the Halo canon as she is on the show. So the Illusive Man comparison is invalid as well.

Halo never involved sex and nudity because games at the time had stricted UESRB rules. Halo 1 came out in 2001 and Halo 2 came out in 2004. Mass Effect showed up in 2007. Also, Halo isn't a roleplaying game like ME. It's meant to be mostly all action whereas ME has a lot of action but has heavy RPG elements as well. So another invalid comparison.

John had his emotional dampener removed and became incredibly emotional for the first time in decades. He formed a paracausal bond with her that led him to a point where he was overcome with emotion and gave into the moment. They're both humans. Humans have sex. Another invalid comparison.

Cortana acts the same way in all the games because she's a "smart" AI. "Smart" AIs in the Halo lore have no limits on how much they can learn and even develop complex emotions unlike other AIs. Though their ability to continuously learn and evolve eventually causes them to start breaking down and go rampant. As a result, they only have a lifespan of about 7 years. Another invalid comparison.

I'm pretty sure Keyes on the show is a hybrid of Keyes and Sgt. Johnson from the games. Which explains how he acts on the show. As for Makee, ridiculous. Because humans NEVER serve the villains or have sex appeal right? Yet another invalid comparison.

Chief touching the artifact and seeing a vision is a pretty common trope so saying it copied ME is beyond ridiculous.

So all in all, the person who came up with this comparison has absolutely no idea what the fuck they're talking about. Because if anything ME hardcore copied Halo, since all three of the first games launched before the first ME game was launched. The person who made the comparison needs to do proper research next time before posting asinine shit like this.

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No people were expecting a shot for shot retelling of the first game in live action form which would have been boring as fuck. I've already played the games and can go play them again if I want that story. The show is much more similar to the books which is a good thing. But clearly "hardcore fans" never bothered to read the books.

Have to strongly disagree about this being more like the books, it might have pulled different elements from the books, but that is it, it pulled names and people but they weren't anywhere close to the same character as they were in the books. None of the name characters acted basically anything like they were in the games/books (minus Atriox).

While yes in the start we didn't know exactly what they want, by the end of Harvest we basically understood they were trying to literally wipe humanity out. After a few years humanity knew they were facing genocide if they lost, much less decades in when Reach falls/Halo is discovered.

Halsey may be manipulative in the games/books, but she is a lot more gray/do whatever it takes to save the human species than the laughable evil she is in the show, not to mention she acts so stupid in the show, which is not even close to how she is.

The insurrection plot could have worked pre-covenant or early covenant years, but Reach falls roughly 25 years into the war. The plot of the show is already pushing us towards the Halo rings/reach being discovered which means we should be decades into the war, at that point it wasn't my insurrection/my UNSC, it was all humans banding together to fight off literal extinction. That is exacerbated by the fact the show has barely shown the covenant to be a threat in the show, you would think they are an equal foe that humanity is holding off rather than an unstoppable force we can barely beat when outnumbering them overwhelmingly (what is it recommended 3 to 1 or 6 to 1 odds?)

Halo never had to sex gimmick because that wasn't what it was about, it was about the action, the fight to survive, fending off extinction. Add in some spice of horror with the flood and you have all you need. Injecting it in is solely because the writers want to add something that isn't really there, much less there for the main character (I fucking hate the man child they made John Cheeks, he is nothing like Master Chief).

The whole emotion chip gimmick was stupid way to make drama out of nothing, would have 1000% preferred they delved into the fact the Spartan were basically emotionally crippled by training/indoctrination from the time they were 6, much like in Halo 4, where you have conversations about how Cortana acts more human than John who acts more like a machine 99% of the time.

Johnson was a badass and removing him is dumb as fuck, Keyes isn't near as badass in the show to come close, and is even too timid to be game/book Keyes.

Yes you can serve the enemy, if there objective is to conquer, not when there literal objective is the extinction of your race because you are a threat to everything they believe, and a direct threat to the hierarchy/leadership. Humans are blasphemy to the core tenants of the covenant, I could have stomached them keeping her an actual PoW/slave that is treated like shit but kept around because of the human/for-runner stuff, but not treated like it was in the show. Have you read the books?

I am not saying they copied ME, but I can see the parallels easily enough because quite a few aspects of the show (aka the drama/relationships) are closer to ME than Halo, though I think it is because the writers have no clue what makes Halo, Halo, and went for more a sci fi drama rather than an action sci fi show.

I am also so tired of this bullshit deflection that fans want a shot for shot retelling of a game/book, they don't. What they want is something faithful/close, more a 80-90% accurate depiction and right now Hollywood keeps giving us something that is maybe 40, 45%. The modern writers are overwhelmingly proving they don't have the talent to go off script so to speak of adaptations, because so much of modern adaptations have been utter garbage (see Halo show, Wheel of Time, Game of Thrones once they got past what is written, etc)>

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Haven’t watched the last episode yet but so far my thoughts are.

For a halo show it misses the mark hard, but being honest halo’s story isn’t great so that wouldn’t be a bad thing on its own.

As a sci-fi show it’s very hit or miss. The show looks great Mabye the best sci-fi I can remember, the acting is all rather good with no real stand out bad actors.

the characters writing and story arcs is Mabye the weakest link with things like the covenant girl flip flopping at the drop of a hat, the spartan Pills being used as a weak explanation on how the Spartans are so effective and them becoming less reliable then normal marines without them and every thing about the Asian girl and his planet being such a bore that I actually just skipped her episode.

[TheRevenantHero]

I mean the creators themselves admitted they've never played the game nor read the books, so it makes sense that it seems like a mess to fans.

No they said they didn't play the GAMES. Unlike the idiots on reddit, I actually read the entire article.

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Have to strongly disagree about this being more like the books, it might have pulled different elements from the books, but that is it, it pulled names and people but they weren't anywhere close to the same character as they were in the books. None of the name characters acted basically anything like they were in the games/books (minus Atriox).

While yes in the start we didn't know exactly what they want, by the end of Harvest we basically understood they were trying to literally wipe humanity out. After a few years humanity knew they were facing genocide if they lost, much less decades in when Reach falls/Halo is discovered.

Halsey may be manipulative in the games/books, but she is a lot more gray/do whatever it takes to save the human species than the laughable evil she is in the show, not to mention she acts so stupid in the show, which is not even close to how she is.

The insurrection plot could have worked pre-covenant or early covenant years, but Reach falls roughly 25 years into the war. The plot of the show is already pushing us towards the Halo rings/reach being discovered which means we should be decades into the war, at that point it wasn't my insurrection/my UNSC, it was all humans banding together to fight off literal extinction. That is exacerbated by the fact the show has barely shown the covenant to be a threat in the show, you would think they are an equal foe that humanity is holding off rather than an unstoppable force we can barely beat when outnumbering them overwhelmingly (what is it recommended 3 to 1 or 6 to 1 odds?)

Halo never had to sex gimmick because that wasn't what it was about, it was about the action, the fight to survive, fending off extinction. Add in some spice of horror with the flood and you have all you need. Injecting it in is solely because the writers want to add something that isn't really there, much less there for the main character (I fucking hate the man child they made John Cheeks, he is nothing like Master Chief).

The whole emotion chip gimmick was stupid way to make drama out of nothing, would have 1000% preferred they delved into the fact the Spartan were basically emotionally crippled by training/indoctrination from the time they were 6, much like in Halo 4, where you have conversations about how Cortana acts more human than John who acts more like a machine 99% of the time.

Johnson was a badass and removing him is dumb as fuck, Keyes isn't near as badass in the show to come close, and is even too timid to be game/book Keyes.

Yes you can serve the enemy, if there objective is to conquer, not when there literal objective is the extinction of your race because you are a threat to everything they believe, and a direct threat to the hierarchy/leadership. Humans are blasphemy to the core tenants of the covenant, I could have stomached them keeping her an actual PoW/slave that is treated like shit but kept around because of the human/for-runner stuff, but not treated like it was in the show. Have you read the books?

I am not saying they copied ME, but I can see the parallels easily enough because quite a few aspects of the show (aka the drama/relationships) are closer to ME than Halo, though I think it is because the writers have no clue what makes Halo, Halo, and went for more a sci fi drama rather than an action sci fi show.

I am also so tired of this bullshit deflection that fans want a shot for shot retelling of a game/book, they don't. What they want is something faithful/close, more a 80-90% accurate depiction and right now Hollywood keeps giving us something that is maybe 40, 45%. The modern writers are overwhelmingly proving they don't have the talent to go off script so to speak of adaptations, because so much of modern adaptations have been utter garbage (see Halo show, Wheel of Time, Game of Thrones once they got past what is written, etc)>

Again, the paralells are asinine and other people have pointed it out. I'm not gonna break down all the points you said because I can do so with one somment. You're objectively wrong with every single point. You clearly didn't read the books either. The Halo show is nails the look of the Halo franchise and has the same vibe as the books. the vast majority of criticicsms has been people bitching about how it's nothing like the games. It's not deflection. It's the truth. Get over it.

[bledgor]

No they said they didn't play the GAMES. Unlike the idiots on reddit, I actually read the entire article.

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Again, the paralells are asinine and other people have pointed it out. I'm not gonna break down all the points you said because I can do so with one somment. You're objectively wrong with every single point. You clearly didn't read the books either. The Halo show is nails the look of the Halo franchise and has the same vibe as the books. the vast majority of criticicsms has been people bitching about how it's nothing like the games. It's not deflection. It's the truth. Get over it.

This might be the most ignorant post I have read on this site, and that is saying something. I can respond with one sentence, you are factually wrong on every single point. I did read the books unlike you, the show gets some looks right, sure, but it has NONE of the vibes though and is not a reflection of the games either (which is where the universe was made, yes technically the Fall of Reach dropped first but it was created within a few weeks for Bungie on their request to spear head the game).

You can be happy with a CW tier show that is not a reflection of Halo all you want, but don't sit there and peddle bullshit saying that it is accurate, it isn't. Till you decide to read the books and learn about the franchise you can enjoy talking to the wind.

[Witchblade77]

I wasn’t crazy about it either but it makes sense if you view the whole series as being about Chief exploring and embracing his humanity — becoming John. Which is kind of what I dislike because that doesn’t really make him master chief, and is probably why they made such a point in calling him John so often the last few episodes.

The show is like 90% discovering the truth about one’s self (for both John and kwan…oh god they rhyme) with some sci-fi and war trappings; I wonder how many plot points I could parallel with Garden State.

TBH the war and covenant in general feel inconsequential, and I’m having trouble understanding how long the war with the covenant has been going on because it seemed like kwan’s dadcestor mentioned it. I think the screen time for the covenant has been around the same as the blessed ones.

I did really like the teamwork between Cortana and John at the end of 8, and seeing him still lose to two Spartans in armor was rewarding because it HAD to happen. It just did. it would’ve been so cheesy for it to go any other way. Kinda same as only tying Kai to a stone bench and thinking it’d hold her but I’ll let it slide.

I have more issues with it then just John exploring his humanity.

specifically how contrived that scene felt. TBH, I also have some issues with the Park scene (specifically when John just walks away to chat with a marine and just... leaves potential covenant collaborator on her own with no marines close enough to contain her at a moment's notice???), but that scene is just... I couldn't buy it at all. and like... if you look at both their backstories, you have two virgins whose knowledge of sex is at best theoretical on John's side and nonexistent on Makee who have grown up with Covenant and whose only exposure to romance comes from a single by all appearances non explicit book, - having a really good time somehow (its implied to have been life changing enough to convince Makee to remove her mini energy blade)?

I know its a stereotypical hollywood fantasy, but it just ... didn't work for me at all precisely because of that... like... is John overcome, is he still calculating and wants Cortana to observe, did he forget she was there, I just.... that scene just felt obligatory to me. I can even see the kiss making sense, since Makee is essentially reenacting her book. but progressing into sexy times just felt weird and tacked on. YMMV

as far as Kwan and all those various ancestors protecting the portal, I don't think they knew about the Covenant as much as the precursors who left the portal and the artifact and Halo behind. the case of parallel goals that are not aware of each other.

the war with covenant seems to be decades long - same as canon. but insurrectionists still thinking that covenant must be propaganda - doesn't make much sense to me, given the length of the war and that planets have been acknowledged to have been glassed by Covenant. Spartans in the show were created for the same purpose as in games. to squash the insurrection once and for all and it just so happened that Covenant attacked by the time they were operational. One of the things that Forward onto Dawn miniseries shows is that there are recordings of Spartans AND ODST AND insurrectionists fighting on the same side against... something (Covenant). that is when spartans II are still teenagers. John is the same age in the series as he is in first game which means Covenant war has been going on for decades at that point.. there is absolutely NO way insurrectionists would still believe that Covenant was just UNSC propaganda/fake. IMO.


as far as people's reactions to my repost.. I still think that there is a possibility of that theory ringing true. Alian invasion/galactic wars often have superficial similarity. the vibe thought.... Halo games have very different vibe from Mass effect. Halo TV show... feels closer to ME in its vibe then Halo.

(oh and while Halsey in games is very much ruthless/willing to do whatever it takes... she is not as sociopathic as show Halsey. I LOVE show Halsey, but she is a lot more ramped up in her antagonism then game Halsey)


P.S. I highly doubt John is full on dead since apparently activating the artifact requires his actual consciousness not merely genetics. unless they want to push "Kwan is the only one who can activate the artifact now" narrative in which case... I like the idea behind her character... but not THAT much. if they go that route, I'm out.

there IS a possibility of a flash clone maybe? but I'm hoping its rather John being in a coma, maintained by Cortana but unable to wake up just yet. I hope

[TheRevenantHero]

This might be the most ignorant post I have read on this site, and that is saying something. I can respond with one sentence, you are factually wrong on every single point. I did read the books unlike you, the show gets some looks right, sure, but it has NONE of the vibes though and is not a reflection of the games either (which is where the universe was made, yes technically the Fall of Reach dropped first but it was created within a few weeks for Bungie on their request to spear head the game).

You can be happy with a CW tier show that is not a reflection of Halo all you want, but don't sit there and peddle bullshit that it is accurate, it isn't. Till you decide to read the books and learn about the franchise you can enjoy talking to the wind.

Nothing I've said was factually wrong. Just because you decided to believe the complete fucking morons on Reddit doesn't make me wrong. I've read all the books and played all the games. I think I know more than some whiny jerks on Reddit who played Halo 1-3 and think they know what they're talking about.

Go back to crying on Reddit.