‘Halo: Episode 4: Homecoming’ - Spoiler Review
Image Source: The Outer Haven
‘Homecoming’ is a fitting title for the fourth episode of Halo on Paramount+ as Chief and Kwan Ha return to their respective homes to search for answers. Viewers were finally introduced to Governor Vinsher, played by Burn Gorman, and the show deepens the connection between Chief and the Artifact, but Halsey’s role in everything as well. Unfortunately, despite the strong character building, the inconsistencies and the baffling separate story of Kwan and Madrigal continues to pull the series down from the potential it could achieve.
The spotlight was split with much of the rest of the cast this time around, with Kai, Riz, and Vannak, Chief’s other Spartans, getting more screen time than before. Miranda Keyes, played by Olive Gray, a scientist in the show compared to her game counterpart’s position in military command, is finally given time to shine as she studies the Artifact in her mother’s absence. Her time on the screen and interaction with the Spartans wonderfully deepen all their connections to Halsey, along with Halsey’s scheming and centrality to everything going on, all without Halsey around.
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Image Source: IMDb
Again, this character-building is a great departure from the source material, which, as I’ve pointed out before, is a natural and necessary element of screen storytelling. What were they going to do, have nine episodes of just non-stop action? Viewers would be bored within two episodes, especially with a weekly release. Game of Thrones wasn’t popular because of the violence. It was popular because the story is compelling, painting a dramatic picture dotted with exciting moments.
While the show is doing well with Chief’s story, it could perhaps use some more excitement to stir up a narrative that is growing a little stale. Chief walks around much of the episode in his armor, which by the end of the episode, doesn’t make sense since he faces no real threat. The Covenant should be a persistent, lingering threat, especially when they go off Reach.
That brings up an issue that has been slightly growing, but the episode brought it to the forefront, and now it’s something that needs to be addressed in the series. Worldbuilding. Halo, the game was all about fighting back against the Covenant threat, and while the Covenant are the threat in the show, some developments in this episode could best be described as a head-scratcher. If the Covenant are a threat, they aren’t being posed as such. Let’s revisit Game of Thrones. Part of the tension in the show was this ever-present threat. The writing and cinematography do a great job of presenting that suspense. That’s missing from Halo and the “threat” of the Covenant.
Why did it take until the fourth episode for the UNSC to decipher a Sangheili transmission? And even then, it was not until a newly emotional and punk-pink-striped-haired Kai reminisced over Covenant weaponry with her super soldier comrades? If the Covenant are so dangerous and the big threat to human survival that they are portrayed to be, how has it taken until now for the UNSC, and scientist Miranda Keyes at that and not an intelligence analyst, to figure out what the Covenant are saying? It’s just one of those little details that come across as a plot device, and while, yes, people understand it’s a sci-fi show, believability is a key factor in buy-in for a show, and that takes the viewer out.
Image Source: IMDb
Worldbuilding certainly had a strong presence in this episode, even in the confusing inclusion of Kwan’s story. Outside of the video clips and the random segment of him executing rebels, the introduction of Governor Vinsher fleshed out the insurrectionist plot on Madrigal. Burn Gorman is great as usual, even though he is yet again a villain. It’s actually rather funny, especially since he takes a jab at the typecasting in the fantastic show The Expanse when he, as the villain of season four, says to one of the characters, “maybe I’ve just got that kind of face.” Either way, he’s great at the role. However, that’s not enough to save this errant storyline.
Image Source: IMDb
This episode further took the Madrigal arc down a separate path from Chief’s that continues to beg the question: why is this even in the show? At this point, her only link to Chief is that he was supposed to kill her, and he asked Soren to watch over her. There’s been no connection between them since then, and her storyline is uninteresting. It doesn’t jive with the portrayal of the plot. Why should we care about this insurrection against the oppressive UNSC? Are we supposed to hate the UNSC? But they’re fighting the Covenant, so who are we supposed to like here? Soren’s actions and continued insistence on promising to honor his word to John are more interesting. He left his family in order to keep a promise to a man that, as far as we know, threatened to turn Soren in to the UNSC during the night of his escape.
This episode was the first major misstep of the series. Good character development, like Chief discovering Halsey was involved with his removal from his parents, Kai’s journey down Chief’s path, as well as interesting worldbuilding, aren’t enough to save hollow and uninteresting stories from pulling it down to a low mark for the season.
Rating: 7/10
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Source(s): Paramount+
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