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Halo rebounds with “Homecoming,” which feels slightly off-kilter and has some satisfying reveals. This recap of Paramount+ series Halo season 1, episode 4, “Homecoming,” contains spoilers. Read the season 1 review of Halo.
- TV-14
The series would continue through the war, showing us key events such as Reach, the Autumn’s discovery of Halo, and the events of Halo 1-3. It would end with the war over and the covenant/flood defeated.
- Master Chief learns you can go home again.
- Halo: The Series Gallery
- Who's your favorite character on the Halo TV series so far?
- Verdict
By Jesse Schedeen
Updated: Apr 14, 2022 4:20 pm
Posted: Apr 14, 2022 4:14 pm
Warning: this review contains full spoilers for Halo: The TV Series Episode 4! If you need a refresher on where we left off, here's our review for Episode 3.
For all the many strengths of the classic, Bungie-developed Halo games, they never did a particularly great job of fleshing out Master Chief as a character. Chief is barely more than a cipher in those games, a superhuman powerhouse who lays waste to entire armies while rarely speaking and almost never showing signs of emotion. Compare that to Bungie's swansong in Halo: Reach, a game that manages to keep players deeply invested in the plight of Noble Team, all the while knowing these elite warriors are doomed to fail. But if developing Master Chief was never really a priority in those games, the upside is that it leaves plenty of room for the Halo TV series to leave its mark on the franchise.
"Homecoming" serves as another satisfying chapter in the emotional journey of Pablo Schreiber's Master Chief. It's to the show's credit that, a mere four episodes in, we're already to the point of seeing Chief return to his family home and uncover large chunks of his repressed memories. Compared to The Mandalorian, which went nearly an entire season before giving viewers any real insight into the main character's background, Halo is moving along at a satisfyingly brisk pace.
The fact that this episode places so much emphasis on the John/Dr. Halsey dynamic is just icing on the Spartan cake. The series is doing an excellent job of painting Halsey as a morally ambiguous, vaguely threatening character who cares for little beyond her work and her test tube super-soldiers. Thanks in large part to Natascha McElhone's enigmatic portrayal of Halsey, it's hard to actually detest this character, but she's certainly no friend to John and Cortana at this point.
This episode takes makes use of John's rapidly returning emotions as it explores the painful ordeal of returning to a home that now exists only as a forgotten ruin. Director Roel Reine takes full advantage of Cortana's abilities in this sequence, allowing John to be overwhelmed by a combination of digitally reconstructed imagery and pure memory. The Iron Man-esque shots of John's face framed inside his helmet are an especially nice touch. The series is not at all shy about letting Master Chief remove his helmet, but it's good to know there are other ways of conveying the tumult of emotions plaguing this otherwise inscrutable character.
Master Chief
Soren
Makee
Kwan Ha
Dr. Halsey
Other -- let us know in the comments.
Halo continues to move along at a satisfying clip, with Episode 4 delivering some real emotional weight as it digs deeper into Master Chief's tragic past and his twisted relationship with Dr. Halsey. The series is developing into a much-needed companion to the games, one that can give John-117 the backstory and character development they never real...
Homecoming is the fourth episode of the first season of Halo: The Television Series. The episode aired on April 14, 2022.
Mar 23, 2022 · Halo. Guided by his visions, John takes Halsey and Cortana back to where it all began, looking for answers from his past. With Soren along for protection, Kwan goes in search of an army. Meanwhile, John's behavior inspires another Spartan to begin a journey of self-discovery.
- 55 min
Apr 14, 2022 · The aptly-named ‘Homecoming’ sees John-117 return to the planet of Eridanus Two in a tense, emotionally rich episode that finally paints Doctor Halsey as the villain of the piece. Flanked by...
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Apr 14, 2022 · Homecoming: Directed by Roel Reiné. With Pablo Schreiber, Shabana Azmi, Natasha Culzac, Olive Gray. Guided by his visions, John takes Halsey and Cortana back to where it all began, looking for answers from his past. With Soren along for protection, Kwan goes in search of an army.
