Haloseason 2 has an uphill battle in front of it. The first season was a mixed bag, but most of its successful elements were borrowed from better science fiction. Fans, angered by the show’s new canon and focus on anything other than shooting aliens, were unkind to the first season. The new series has dug under the first to find a selection of new narrative threads, some of which are worth exploring.
“Sword” launches with thesame director behind “Sanctuary,“Debs Paterson. This will be her last outing in the season, but her creative vision felt powerful. Writer Ahmadu Garba, who previously worked onHappy,The Sinner, andTales of the Walking Dead, makes his series debut in this episode. He’s working with some of the most moving emotional beats in the show to date, and he delivers some excellent moments.
Halo’s season 2 debut wasn’t overwhelmingly focused. It had three distinct plot threads with separate casts of characters and tons of new information. “Sword” flits between at least six narrative paths to create a broad portrait of the universe. The best of the selection is the ballad of Riz-028. Riz suffered a point-blank blast from aCovenant plasma grenade, stuck fast to her armor as is tradition, and barely crawled away from the season finale. After the first episode’s time skip, Riz struggles to return to the fold. She participates in the battle on Sanctuary, but her injuries limit her. Watching a Spartan deal with human vulnerability is endlessly compelling. Her teammates vary between sympathizing and pushing her to train harder. Her mentor is a blind former Spartan who offers brilliant insight into the life of a super soldier. It’s one of the best emotional elements of the series to date. The show would do well to keep Riz’s recovery in the spotlight.
While Riz tries to reclaim her glory,Master Chief seeks to sethis story straight. His new boss, James Ackerson, refuses to believe his version of what happened on Sanctuary. John saved Talia Perez, a fellow soldier in the field, but she didn’t corroborate his story. When John tracks down Perez, he winds up at an awkward dinner with her extended family. It’s a rare and moving moment of humanity in a series packed with aliens, taciturn super soldiers, and the occasional AI. One of Talia’s cousins asks John about his kill/death ratio. It’s surprisingly funny. The underlying thematic weight of John experiencing life through another soldier’s eyes is shocking. Perez is a warrior who chose to fight, leaving behind a loving family. Perez throws herself into the conflict with faith and fear in equal measure. She’s everything John is only now realizing he wants. It’s a comedic family dinner scene that also happens to double as the bestexploration of John-117’scharacter to grace a screen.
There’s less to talk about in the other plot threads. In between Riz’s touching recovery journey and John’s introduction to the life he could have had, the other characters enjoy brief spotlights.Catherine Halsey is ina featureless white room playing backgammon with a mysterious young girl. She doesn’t know why she’s there, but the twist reveal hasn’t hit its stride by the episode’s end. James Ackerson has firmly thrust his fingers into several pies, enjoying a scene or two with most of the iconic characters. Kwan Ha is back, running from an increasingly inhumane selection of bounty hunters. Soren’s wife Laera and his son Kessler get the short end of the stick, mostly worrying and arguing about the fate of their missing loved one. It’s a messy grab bag that spends most of its time setting tables for the future.
Haloseason 2 comes with aTalking Dead-style companion show available on Paramount Plus. This episode’s companion piece saw the interviewer sit downwith showrunner David Wiener. He briefly mentioned approaching the show’s wartime setting through the lens of the relationships between central characters. He shouldn’t have had to say that out loud. It should have been the basic building block of the series from the first season premiere. It wasn’t, and that’s part of the reason the first season didn’t amount to much. “Sword” and “Sanctuary” live and die by that new standing policy, and they’reconsiderably better for it. That tiny change could elevate a passable, if derivative, sci-fi action mess into a worthwhile exploration of a universe many fans love.
Haloseason 2 started strong. Its premiere delivered one of the most compelling action scenes in the show to date, and this follow-up demonstrates a commitment to something more substantive. Theseason still has six episodesto explore, any of which could drag its quality into the perils of mediocrity of the show’s initial launch. The first two episodes ofHaloseason 2 aren’t just better than any in season one. They’re unique and engaging enough to provide hope for the next few.
