Review: “Reckoning” is the best episode of Halo yet

The location of the second artifact now found, Halsey and the UNSC organize a mass effort to excavate the far larger component from Eridanus II. But there are some potential problems within the ranks as both Master Chief and Kai’s battle capacity have been hindered since the self-removal of their emotional spine chips. Even worse, mutiny is afoot as Chief’s resurfacing memories have him questioning Dr. Halsey intentions. Meanwhile on Madrigal, Kwan contemplates losing Soren as a partner. Alliances are questioned in this week’s episode of Halo, “Reckoning.”

Halo Episode 5 review, “Reckoning”

The episode, once again, opens on a flashback, this time to back before the plague that wiped out life on Eridanus II. A young John is on a playground while a visiting Dr. Halsey watches him curiously as he saves a playmate from certain doom. Ignoring the horrible oversight in allowing such a dangerous play platform in a children’s park, Halsey is impressed by John’s heroism at such a young age. Back in the present, we see that an entire army of UNSC soldiers have set up camp on the now barren planet as Halsey and her team go about extracting the second artifact.

This is the first setting for the show that I have really enjoyed. Knowing this base camp was built to house the UNSC’s excavation project made it feel dynamic, especially since last episode we saw the place completely deserted. Now it’s the most important place in the universe. We understand the purpose of this place, unlike, say, the village in the first episode with that tower that did Lord knows what. Plus it was clearly shot in a practical outdoor environment, which for me ups the appeal; it doesn’t scream “set” like The Rubble or the UNSC HQ on Reach.

The main storylines were another highlight, I think because of the focus on character drama. For starters, you have Master Chief, who is slowly turning sour on Dr. Halsey. He just cannot shake the feeling that something is wrong about his memories of her. His inability to trust any of his higher-ups as he once did drives him to disobey orders and make contact with the second artifact.

A new memory floods his mind. Needless to say, child John was not transferred into Dr. Halsey’s hands by peaceful means. The specifics are still a mystery, but he knows enough to conclude that Halsey has been lying to him.

The new episode of Halo brings the character drama

I also found myself pretty invested in Dr. Miranda, who is eager to meet her mother’s high standards. She misses the mark, but she is able to make her own discoveries and conclusions about the artifact, which I liked because it showed her character being rewarded for caring about something other than her parents’ opinion; she, like Master Chief, is becoming more independent.

However, for arguing that the artifact is far too dangerous, Miranda is booted off the project. We get a scene of her father, General Keyes, breaking the news to her.

This scene really surprised me. It comes on the heels of Dr. Miranda making a discovery about the artifact that, besides being an important plot point, excites her as a scientist. She’s happy over something other than her mother’s approval, but her mother is still able to strip that moment away from her.

I also thought it was well-written. At the start of it, I expected a typical “But you can’t do that! Let me prove myself!” sort of conversation. Instead, Miranda silently accepts the disappointing decision. She’s clearly come to expect it from her mother, and she is so numb to it she cannot argue back. However, she is surprised by her father’s participation, and that’s where the meat of the scene is.

Action!

It turns out the higher-ups were right to be wary of danger, as during the mining process the second artifact unleashes a painful auditory signal that incapacitates the nearby personnel and delivers their exact coordinates to the Covenant. They arrive shortly after.

The resulting action scene is, thankfully, largely free of the problems that wore on me in past episodes; it’s well shot, well edited, well choreographed. There’s good character stuff in it, too. Master Chief disobeys orders to save Kai, jumps onto an enemy ship and crashes it into another, then fights up close with a wave of Covenant soldiers. Hot hot stuff. Not just great action, but it furthered the story too, as Chief’s choice to set his own priorities saves Kai but results in the loss of the second artifact to Covenant forces.

My one tiiiiiny complaint about it: I thought those shots of Chief’s face within his helmet weren’t needed. I think I get why the show did it: they wanted to see him express some emotion. That’s also why we keep seeing Chief without his helmet. But being so up close…I don’t know, it just feels off-putting. I think hearing some heavy breathing or grunts while in POV mode would have been more than enough to get across his emotions.

The verdict

Final note on the episode: we have a secondary story with Kwan and Soren. Soren handcuffs her to the totaled bike, keeping her in place till he can find other transportation, and plans on returning her to The Rubble to pay off the debt she now owes him. I don’t have much to say about this storyline because the show keeps it short with just three scenes. That’s for the best. I don’t much care about Kwan or Soren or the story on Madrigal, so keeping it largely in the background was fine by me.

We do a turn in the tale, though; it looks like Kwan is on her own for a while. Will that make her more or less insufferable? Let’s see. She can’t get as annoying at Cortana.

And that’s this week’s episode of Halo! For me, this is without a doubt the best episode yet. It had strong storylines, well-done action, and perhaps best of all, it was under 40 minutes. I pray to the Forerunners that the show can continue this momentum. Let’s see what next week has in store, but my opinion of Halo is up like the price of gas.

Grade: B-

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