Hello, ladies and gentlemen, Welcome back to another episode of Geek Verst podcast.
I am the helmet to Taylor Field and I am joined by I'm Dill
Muss. Yes, we are here because we are going to be doing another
another round of Halo reviews. Season two is upon us, and so we
are. We are getting into the juiciness of master Cheeks. But before we
get into that, a couple of plugs support us on Patreon. Help us
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out, huge thank you to our patron producers, Aaron Braden, April of
Darkness, Jack Grant, MUDs and Sam. You all know who you are.
You're fabulous with love you. We love all you. But you guys
are the producers. So what else have we got here? We got a
what are we? What do we got going on? In the geek first
what's what's latest and greatest? What do we all? We did fun newscast
me, you and Travis this week. That was fun. We talked all
sorts of news, some Jurassic stuff, some trailers, some Madam Web predictions.
That was fun, some madam Web reviews. Next week, side quest,
a lot of fun. Me and Travis had a very long, lengthy
discussion on all sorts of state of play Xbox rumors with these Xbox games,
speaking of Xbox games coming over to a PlayStation and whatnot. And then me
and you were gonna talk about cull and Bones next week, which and other
things which I'm excited about. So that's weird. I played last night.
I will not say anything I played. I played Scolding Bones last night.
It's a real game, it exists after all these years. Oh I can't
wait. You reminded me this Sunday is the super Bowl. Well, we're
not covering the super Bowl. We are covering the trailers. So definitely tuned
in because we're gonna be talking about maybe Deadpool three trailers, some other cool
things that have dropped so at something to look forward to. But other than
that, I think we are ready to get into this. So I guess
we'll just do our basic non spoilers first, and this is again episodes one
and two. Did you want to do like episode one first and then or
just want to join them together? I think we can like kind of talk
about the storylines all of sore and stuff at once, all of da da
da at once. That probably no sense, Rightah. I watched them back
to back personally, so they kind of blend together a bit, right,
Okay, cool? Well, so non spoilers, how how'd you feel getting
back into this world? Yeah? Right off the bat, I mean it
felt like I was thrown on the deep end, like I probably should have
watched a recap of the first season or if they had one. You know,
a lot of shows will do that where there's like a you know,
a longer before last time on for the first episode of a season. Because
even though we did those reviews and I didn't feel like that doesn't feel like
that show is too long ago. I am a really a lot of the
little details, and there's certain characters. I'm like, why did't Miranda Keys
show up? I have no idea where she left off the last season?
Certain things like that, so it took me a bit and I still feel
like I'm kind of getting my bearings there, but then also we're throwing new
characters and whatnot. It's a pretty weak start for me so far. Some
of the I don't honestly, by the end of episode two, where we're
set up for episode three, I'm actually more excited for where we're gonna get
there. But this first I guess hour and a half between those first two
episodes, I felt pretty slow, and I wasn't really loving kind of the
drama that was going on with with Chief and Akerson, who's like the new
chief in command whatever you want to call him. Didn't really love that dynamic
so much. But they even kinda some things at the end of episode two,
I guess more set up some more interesting things that we're gonna see further
down the line. So and then I don't know, there's so many different
storylines going on. I'm I feel like all of them are kind of just
getting that in right now, so I haven't there's not too much to dig
on yet, But so far, it was just kind of a bit of
a bland to start here. Pacing was a bit off, but that's what
the show's great at is having off pacing. So I don't know, I'm
not not loving it so far, not even really liking that much, but
I am. I am genuinely intrigued for potentially what we have set up for
episode three, so hopefully it takes an upswing next week. But yeah,
kind of feeling on par with where I was for most of the first season
there, mm hmm, yeah, I share. I share a few things
that you've kind of specified in that I feel. I felt optimistic going into
this season to a slight degree because I really thought, Okay, maybe they're
going to drift away from certain things they did with that first season. A
lot of originality that they decided to indulge in instead of kind of adhering to
source material from the games and books and whatnot. I was not a fan
of in that first season, and there's there. As soon as this first
episode popped in and I was watching, I thought, Matt, I'm just
getting like PTSD flashbacks of things I didn't like in that first season. But
I will say, Okay, they they did some things that I did enjoy
in this first episode, but those things did not last long and then we
just went right back into our old, our old ways of just them doing
certain things. I will say that that Akerson, I really enjoyed that character's
introduction. I enjoyed getting to see more of that story because that's a character
that I'm I'm interested in, at least with how he exists in the Halo
game or not not really the games, but the Halo books and the universe.
So there's interesting things that they can tackle with that character and just what
they're with them bringing him into the show. It just excites me for what
is to come in terms of master Chief and our spartans and whatnot. But
they also were alluding to several big things coming to play in the middle of
the season, which I guess will probably be I'm assuming it's eight. I
think it's eight episodes. I don't actually know. Wasn't it ten for the
first season? It might have been. Oh, actually I think it was
nine. I think it was nine. Yeah, yeah, So I guess
that would probably be like episode four or five is when things. There will
be eight this season apparently, so eight, okay, that might be good
for pacing and stuff compared to how we're feeling lest last go around. Yes,
absolutely so, once we get into that that middle part of the season,
like they were alluding to where some big stuff is gonna happen. I
mean, they're being pretty mysterious about it, but I think most people can
kind of pinpoint what they're getting at. So I'm just I'm excited to see
that happen. But there's so much that I just I'm really just not a
fan of so much, like bullshit and just mannerisms and Chief just going to
his old ways and he's just emotional and stuff. And we'll get more into
that than the spoilers. But god, I just sequence when he had the
hood on and he was doing that well, no, oh my god.
Oh it stresses me out. And I was telling Travis this because he asked
me how the show was earlier and I told him, like, I got
nothing against Pablo. I'm sure he's a great guy in real life. I'm
sure he like fantastic, But every time he takes that helmet off, fuck,
I get angry. I just don't like I don't like his face as
Master Chief. And that's a very mean thing to say. I really,
I'm so sorry, but like it's nothing against Pablo, nice guy, but
he's just not who I would associate with massa Chief and that's just my own
problem, my own biasedness that I have to work through. It's nothing against
Pablo, nothing against the creators of the show anything like that. It's just
me as a person and my flaws. So I would just I wish that
he looked different. He's just got like that great stubble, that nice looking
haircut, Like I'd love to look like do that haircut, and that that
beer he's got going on. But that's not what master Chief has. Master
Chief has something different going on, at least to me. Anyways. I
think I've rambled enough. Anything else you want to sneak in there? Yeah,
I'm trying to think non spoilers wise, I guess, how do you
feel about because we got a couple really one main action scene and then in
episode two there were it was kind of more like an acrobatic one. There
was like a small like action fight scene thing. How did you feel about
the CGI because that was a big, you know, topic of conversation throughout
season one. I'd say the budget is noticeably different in an improved way.
Well, there's definitely certain things like when the spartans are running, I feel
like this is kind of weird, but I don't even think that's CGI,
because I was looking at some behind the scenes and they have them on like
a zip line and they're like, wow, they're like moving as they move
along the zip lines. It's got to be a combo of that plus CGI
for the more like extreme movements. I think so. I think so kind
of like how the vampires run on in Twilight. That's what it kind of
reminds me of. Almost. I haven't watched that yet. For the retro,
I'm not on top line for me, but when we get to that
retro can revisit that context. I definitely agree with that. For me,
it was the weird that was the like, that's the easiest part to nail.
It is like just a guy in the armor like running, because you
just you just film that and you're good to go. But that was the
stuff that looked weird for me. Was really any of the spartans in in
their suits doing big action stuff. I thought all I thought all the Covenant
looked great, just like they did in season one, and mostly like the
effects and whatnot were really solid too, But it was mostly just the CGI
around the people, right, because that's what I expect. I mean,
even though it's people in suit like I they need to look more life like
than that. But they looked just so cgi that that definitely stood out to
me. So I hope that improves. Uh you know, if they have
one less episode, you don't hope Hopefully that means that budget wise they have
a bit you know, they can get that action to look a bit better.
But for the most part, I think it decent. It was just
mostly that most of the spartans running around and flying around and whatnot. Yeah,
yeah, I would agree, spaceships all look great. Yeah, and
I looked pretty pretty good, same as season one, So yeah, no
complaints there. Yeah, I don't. I don't know if I have much
else than in the non spoilers realm of things. Yeah, I don't think
I have anything else either. Uh So with that, then you had your
chance go back now if you got to watch the show, because we're getting
in the spoiler territory after this ad break and we are back. So where
in this wonderful story do you want to start? Well, you so you
mentioned that you were pretty into it at the start and then there was a
shift and you weren't quite as into it. Is that because we opened with
like that big action, longer sequence and then the stuff after it is what
you were lesson to like when we got back into more like the character stuff,
is that kind of what you're talking about. That's that's exactly it.
When we got them the Silver Team just on this planet doing their stuff,
I was really driving with this. I thought it was cool that they're just
on the outer rim worlds. They are evacuating people because the covenants getting like
pushing in further and further. That was it was really cool to see.
And so the mysteriousness of the fog. These marines just out there being kind
of stupid and they're just communications office. I shouldn't say they're supid, but
they're very ill equipped and trained for the situation. That's the right thing I
should have said. So when you have all these elites pop it in,
you get that cool fight sequence and whatnot. Then for me what I think
that it's fitting because I feel like there is definitely a place in Halo where
you have very very religiously prophetic individuals that are just fixated like this is our
belief, this is what we're going for, and that woman and then her
followers them just choosing to stay behind. I feel like there's definitely a place
in Halo for that kind of thing. But when she they're walking and she
goes and like touch touches chiefs like arm like find finds your like find your
your religion or something like that chief, And I'm like, man, I
don't think chief, because it gives much of a shit about this. He'd
be picking you up and throwing you into that bloody condor to get you out
of here. M hmm, yeah, No, that's interesting to bring it
that. That seemed very Unhalo like to me. And obviously you're way deeper
in the lower in the story and you're reading the books to me, but
just like that, that character, that group, I don't know. I
guess it felt so similar like things I've seen in Star Wars, and so
it kind of took me out of the Halo universe. And because I feel
like, really we haven't seen too many like human civilizations outside of like we
spend a lot of time in Madrigal, and then we had like Sorein's asteroid
place, right whatever that was in season one, and I'm trying to think
of other ones. I guess I guess I reach as a place like obviously
that whole area. But yeah, like I guess if we go down to
these different worlds and we can get to see these different perspectives and outlooks.
But I guess since we spent so little time with them and they're kind of
like no one, now, I didn't really feel a whole lot for them.
But I don't know, maybe that was a bit of foreshadow too,
because there was a lot of trippy stuff going on with Chief in his mind,
especially on that planet. Right, Yeah, he's still going through some
intense mental inhibitors. I guess you could say, yeah, I'm curious,
how how did you feel? Because we in that sequence, there's the one
Perez is the uh, the other lieutenant private whatever she was that makes it
through that encounter. And this is skipping ahead to episode two, but I
think, you know, we can we can talk about now. It was
like she is there with Chief and then when they get back to their home
planet and Accurson, this is like, I guess, spinning into a whole
other storylines and whatnot. But Perez, I guess, didn't share what she
experienced during that encounter, and then Chief's kind of getting chewed out for it
by Acerson and getting take on off missions and no combat and all this,
and then he goes to her house and they have like this whole dinner sequence,
which was kind of strange. I did not understand her logic or her
explanation because first she's she's saying that, oh, well, I didn't really
see anything. It was kind of like foggy and like I was kind of
knocked out. I couldn't really see anything. But then she's like, yeah,
but then I chose not to tell him what I saw. Did that
make more sense to you? I even rewatched, I rewind and watched the
scene again, and I just I could not understand her logic. But it's
like it's pretty important. I mean, I'm sure there's a lot of other
scummy things going on with Akerson, and maybe he doesn't care and he would
have found a way to sewer Chief in some other way. But I feel
like this is a big part of the plot of why he's been taking off
mission and why the whole Silver team's been benched, even if they're disobeying those
orders by the end of it. So, I don't know, did that
make more sense to you? Was I missing something they did not do?
A good job of explaining it. At the end of the day, I
think that you want to keep what she was saying and quiet, and Ackerson
is obviously taken over for Halsey. Ackerston is a part of Oni and Onie
obviously naven intelligence. They're the be all end all, They're very much they
they're not They're not necessarily the good guys, even though they're trying to help
protect humanity. So why I think she lied, I think is because they
probably threatened her. And this is all my own head canon. They did
not address this in the show, but I think Akerson probably threatened her and
maybe seeing her family as an implication that shows like, hey, this is
what she has to lose. But the fact is the Covenant are here and
there's nothing we can do to stop them. But we don't want people to
be panicking. We don't want people to be freaking out. That's again why
he's talking to Cortana behind everyone's backs, like hey, what can we do
or on the simulations, can we survive this, can we defend reach whatever?
So I think she lied because she was threatened. Okay, yeah,
fair enough, And I mean also she's kind of been rewarded they're almost kind
of like setting her up as a hero, and that's what his beach is
all about two like we need heroes, whatever he says. So giving her
a medal, putting her on TV kind of lifting her up. Maybe that's
a way to like spin the public's perception too, like away from Chief and
Silver Team and more, making her the hero of the story, even though
she's even like I don't even know why I got a medal, Like I
didn't really do anything deserve it. Well, that's another thing with Akerson's character.
Akerson, he's not a fan of Halsey Halsey's arrival, and in turn,
a way to kind of strike at out at Halsey is to kind of
strike out at Spartan two program. Something that Akerson does is he brings in
the Spartan three program. And if remember you play it, you've played Reach,
so you know Noble six, the main guy you play as, he's
a Spartan three. So this is where you have Ackerson introducing this next generation
and what Spartan threes are. And I'd be really excited just to see them
kind of get thrown into the mix. Here is you have the Spartan two's
where they were boys or girls like kids, and they hint again at that
in this for what Halsey had did, everyone seems to know what is talking
about it when this ye is spark like, oh, you're abducted when you're
a kid. That's super shady. That's what Spartan two's are. But they
were hands selected when humanity was at its prime and peak before the Covenant came.
We have Spartan threes. They're usually just orphans whatnot, and they're augmentations.
I believe they're very different forms of augmentations. They're not the same and
invasive as it was for Spartan twos where they had like the titanium bones and
whatnot. Spartan threes are more like a cheaper method of just pumping spartans l
but they're still very capable and very effective. But that's where Akerson, I'm
assuming is coming into play here and where they're going to be leading. So
I should probably look at it at any as of right now, like any
of Akerson's decisions or actions are kind of there to discredit Halsey in any way
possible, and that's why he's partially like maybe he thinks Chief and Silver team
are sold and reliable, but as part of his whole narrative of discredit and
Halsey, he kind of has to also throw them under the bus because that
was her pet project, right, I would say that's that's definitely it's he's
very much like, not self sustaining, but out for himself and his own
goals as much as he is like, yeah, I'm doing this for humanity.
Yeah, he has a good position of being similar to Halsey in certain
regards but then very different at the same time. Both characters. I would
definitely put Halsey as more of the hero, but both of them are I
guess evil to a degree. Atleast Halsey is evil in the show. It
looks like, right, Like, I guess it's like a good gray area
in concept, right, because obviously they're against the Covenant and they want humanity
to survive, but the ways in which they do it is kind of out
for debate in terms of right that's the most ethical and obviously we explored that
a lot with Halsey in the first season. I'm liking what you're I'm liking
what you're selling here for Akerson because I was not a fan of him.
Here, And I think even just that explanation of maybe some more of his
motives, well like from your backstory there helps me kind of have a better
idea who he is. But it just felt like a very big, powerful
character to just drop in here, and like I feel like, Okay,
I'm supposed to just respect this guy and think he's cool and badass, but
like, I don't really know he is. Even if I've maybe seen him
in a game at some point, I don't remember him or anything. So
I'm what was it about him? Because because you obviously like him as a
character, bringing him, bringing in your prior knowledge, but what was it
about like what we actually got here in episode one and two that you're liking
of the portrayal so far? Like what do you think about the performance too?
I guess I like his I like his performance because he definitely feels like
he uh, just how he commands this power of like yeah, okay,
Chief, you guys you're benched, and he's just spinning his own narrative.
He should have put Chief up on the camera, but he, you know,
he put Perez, which for moral's sake, I mean sure, it
makes regular Joe blow feel like they can make a difference, and they don't.
Everyone doesn't have to be a Spartan, but spartans never die. He
should have put Chief up there, and just that would have been a huge
game changer. He should have been he should be he he should be doing
more, you think. But I like him because he's not doing what is
right. He's doing all these different things that is like against Chief and everything
like that. I feel like that's that's more represented well just with this character
in general. Now. I don't remember a lot of direct communication between Acrison
and Chief and the books or anything along those lines, but I do remember
just how he acted in certain just mannerisms, and I feel like Ackrison in
the show is definitely portraying that really, really well. And that's just that's
just my own take. But I stand with you on the fact that how
they introduced him was very ill. They throw him at while he walks into
a room and I can't remember the spartan's name, if it was Kai,
but she's like, who's this guy, And it's like, okay, we're
so we the audience are supposed to be the Spartans right now, and we're
learning about this guy with them. But as he's in there for thirty seconds
and then he leaves and you still have no idea who this guy is,
just that he's now the new head Hauk show. It's a terrible job delivering
information about who this guy is. Yeah, I get I feel like maybe
they're hemming up his evilness or like his suspiciousness, maybe like too much at
the start. I feel like maybe we should establish some report where there's like
some reason or root for him first and then try and take him down or
like that's when you do the more severe things and then we as an audience
more struggle to go along with him, or like right off the bats,
like I hate this guy and I don't want him to succeed and I want
everything against him, and I'm not even like diard fan for this Chief and
this Silver Team. We talked about the issues we have those characters in the
first season, So yeah, I guess it just feels like a weird way
to start him off here too, And I don't know there was even like
someone necessary, so like I don't really understand the point of that scene he
had with Kai when he brings Kai into his office to confirm, Like how
do you feel about Chief as a as a leader. I don't know.
Maybe they're setting up that Kai is gonna go against Chief potentially because also when
he's in the ship at the end and Kai's asking like are we approved to
go in combat? And like Chief just lies to her right then and there.
So maybe that's what they're setting up, and maybe that's the breadcrumb we're
getting there is also her that defending him, but then maybe he'll be able
to sway her overtime or something. But it's not really working for me so
much, and I guess I also, I really have no idea where we're
going with Akerson. I don't really know what his big game plan is yet
and I don't need to. It's still like fairly early on here. But
maybe that's a part of it too, where I just don't really understand like
the trajectory, and that makes me a little less invested at the moment.
Mm hmm. I think you're very much correct that they are gonna try and
maybe pitch Spartan against Spartan here with Silver Team, which I hate to see.
And I'm gonna let that segue into another thing seeing Cobo and Silver Team
just them talking about killing each other and just their banter. I was getting
pissed off. This is fucking bullshit. I don't know any scenario where you
got these spartan twos just fucking dreaming each other out like this. What the
fuck are you kidding me? You have a group of kids that were all
abducted and all formed really close knit bonds to each other. And while definitely
certain squads are more connected into and than others, I'm sure, but the
only thing that they did right that I appreciated was there was a little bit
of disrespect when Master Chief finally came to the conversation said something to COBALT's leader
and he just acknowledged, like, yes, Chief, that's like okay,
it seems like there's a respect for Chief, yes, But they hate the
other three people for something yeah apparently, which I think is just ridiculous because
they all have the same thing in common and they all like it just doesn't
make sense. That's something with the books. You have spartans all spartan two
like spartan two's that haven't seen each other in a long time. They get
thrown into the mix together and they're just like in sync instantly. They're like
best friends. Like, uh, never separated whatever, and that just really
bothers me to see them at at all. It's like this, I could
see a difference between even Spartan threes and Spartan two's. They mingle really really
well, but you see, you see certain things and how maybe in Halo
five Guardians where there's respect. Even in Halo Infinite or not Hale Infinite,
Halo four, there's certain respect, but there's still a dispute between like Spartan
two's and Spartan four's I would say, because Spartan four's are more I don't
know, there's just there's a little bit of a stigma, I would say,
And that's just what I've observed and how I take that. But you
see Spartan two's going at it, I just fucking maybe want to pull my
hair out. Yeah, And in terms of like yeah, if they're setting
up this kind of Spartan versus Spartan situation, like do you with this thing
of Akerson bringing in the threes, Like do you think that's something that would
happen this season in terms of the timing of things, in which case,
like why do we really need the all this like petty conflict like Goddamn.
That locker room scene was like so cringe to me. All the dialogue.
Oh, I don't even I don't want to get into it. But I
was not a fan of that scene. Yeah, I was not a fan
at all. I mean, I don't know if they would bring in Spartan
threes and I mean Ackerson, I'm sure that whatever motives that they're wanting to
give him, I doubt that it's going to be a Spartan three program at
this point. I feel like if we get season three, maybe we would
be down the road then. But I think for now they're just using him
as an inhibitor against Chief and Silver Team, and he's just going to be
kind of like looming over them and lumin in the background, trying to get
a grasp on when Reach falls. I think that's all his his His his
part in this season is going to be is just that. And I mean
that he said maybe at the end he's going to come for and be like,
yeah, we're going to be you know, we're losing to any Spartans,
Cobalt, they're dead. You know, we gotta make more. So
here's my plan. Maybe season two ends on like a cliffhanger where he introduces
all these new spartans or something. I don't know, but right we'll see
that. That was the thing I was kind of intrigued by, is I
mean, I like, I guess that's where I had issues with some pacing
in these first two episodes, because it's pretty obvious ones Akerson is benching Chief
that they're gonna go against command there and go hunt down who, I don't
whatever their mission was going to be. I knew that they were going to
go against his command even if they haven't been given the go ahead to go
do something. And I just felt like, why did we have to wait
till the end of episode two to get to that, Like, let's get
into it a bit quicker, especially if there's one less episode. But that
is what I'm intrigued by. I'm excited to go see Silver Team go try
and track down Cobalt and whatever happens there. I don't really know what to
expect from that, but I thought that was, uh, it was pretty
well done. And also like setting up Acerson is like lying about where Cobalt
was sent and what's going on, Like I'm intrigued to see what the answer
to that whole sequence is going to be Yeah, and hopefully there's some cool
action that comes along with it too, I hope. So the action always
helps kind of lessen the blow with this show. There's I get that they're
trying to make a comparison with Silver Team to Blue Team and Blue Team that's
Chiefs Squad from the games and the books, Fred, Linda and Kelly.
Even in that Halo Live action film that they did Ford into Dawn, you
get to see Fred and Kelly in that in that movie. And when you
have Chief giving out orders, giving out commands and these books and these games
and whatnot, like they don't even question it. They're there, they're doing
it. And so when you have an episode one Chief giving an order and
Vanik is like, you know, babysitting WLA, It's like, man,
this is so not not cool. I don't like this. And then again
with we already talked about a Kai looming in, like well, we're we're
given permission to to go go caught like go weapons free here, Chief or
whatever, and she's like yeah, like he lies to them, Like that's
just not spartanly, like doesn't it doesn't jive? Like in Halo five,
Guardians Blue teams didn't even question it. Chief went a wall and they were
with him, right, So why isn't this team doing it too? Now
that they all remove their pellets, maybe they're all just freedom thinkers. I
guess if maybe they kept the pellets in there, maybe they would have been
inclined to listen to him and not question him. That's the only thing I
could I could think of. Yeah, and I I mean, I'm based
on what we've gotten the show so far season one, I would be inclined
to believe that they would follow him into go hunt down Coolbalt even if he
had been truthful there. So I'm curious to see why why he did give
that answer. But once again, maybe it's because because even then, like
if Akerson was putting these seeds in Kai's mind that he's not trustworthy or he's
got some mental stuff going on, he's not a good leader right now,
Like Chief didn't know that that occur, right, So how would how would
he know that he should lie there because the seed, the seeds have already
been planted, Like he doesn't really know any of that. So I felt
like, I don't know, I don't really know why the what the purpose
was of a lie, Yeah, unless there was some pre existing notion,
because the only way that falls out is they're all in a room and they're
told like Chief never had permission to take you guys out, and then Kay
looks at Chief like what you lie? Like something like that. But that
kind of changes it up a little bit. Them removing their pelts. It's
kind of weird that the like the unsc is just like, yeah, spartans,
if you want to remove them, go ahead and remove them. That
did not bode well in season one when like two like multiple spartans were like
down because like they just remember in those scenes. So when they first took
their chips out and like ever being all loopy and we're painting their hair,
they're doing some sh the grease in the hair. Very questionable performances or not
performances, but manners, I guess also performances. It's weird. So see
in season one, Vanick and Riz like really didn't have a story or much
characterization. Like Kai was the other one who was given a ton of story.
And I feel like, so far, it feels like Riz is getting
a lot of content here so far, I mean, at least relative to
season one where like I could not tell you any defining trait about her.
She was just kind of in the crew, even Vanik had had more.
But yeah, how are you feeling about her? She's just like really just
seems like she' has some temper issues that anytime anyone says that and she's like,
I'll fuck you up'll kill you. Like whether she was talking to her
like I guess physio therapist guy or the other people in the locker room,
uh, just really aggressive. She's going through all of these I don't know.
I guess just she has to heal. She's kind of physically pretty fucked
up from some of the actions of season one. I suppose I can't even
remember what happened to her exactly, but I'm sure was in there. So
yeah, how are you feeling about her? Now? We're seeing like more
of her or a different side of her. I like getting to see a
different side of her and they getting to see more of her story develop.
But I'm just curious what their end goal is. Are they trying to overall
just show us and teach us that hey, not all Spartans need to be
warriors, because I feel like, okay, well, we kind of got
that with Soren. He did disregarded his past and jump ship and didn't want
to be a Spartan, so he just went and became like a pirate bandit
guy. So now they're implying, like, is she going to live the
life of a pacifist? Is what is her plan? Like, they're kind
of putting the stones in front of her to leave being a Spartan behind and
be something different. Even her trainer, who was apparently a Spartan until the
procedures made him lose his eyesight, kind of implied that, hey, there's
more to life than being the super soldier. You don't have to be that.
So I'm curious if that's the route they're going to take with her character
ultimately. And I feel bad because I'd like to see more of her just
being a Spartan, especially being injured now and her overcoming that and making a
comeback over that. I would really like to see that because I feel like
she'd be forced to reckon with her temper. Tantrums are definitely a thing,
very potent thing. Yeah, it just feels like a part of her personality
that I don't seem to remember from the first season. She was very very
quiet, and especially Vanik was. I mean, he's he's probably like fourth
in terms of story development. Quiet, I'd say, still, but he's
he's gotten a lot more personality added to him, and I think it's kind
of fun that the actor can do that now with this character instead of playing
just a robot. Thanks I guess to the pelp being removed. He likes
to watch his what does he watch his programs? Like shows or something like
that. Very peculiar. I'm trying to think what other stuff occurred with Chief
and that her crew. So, I mean, also at one point he's
in the shower, I was wondering if we're gonna see those master cheeks.
I'm just afraid, Like I'm I like the fact that he slept with someone.
I'm afraid that he's I thought he was going to sleep with Perez.
I just don't know anymore. Like he's just he's just unhinged and he's ready
to go. He went into that like blade runner room where he was trying
to like activate the hologram and like he's changing her look constantly, Like I
was like, what is going on? I don't even know what to say
about that one. It was bizarre the hoodie had on there. I'm like,
this is not my Chief. No weird stuff. No, and he
rocked the hood again when he goes to the elevator to speak with the admiral.
I can't remember her name, but I totally forgot about this character and
forgot that she took the hit for Halsey. And she's like, yeah,
she's living underground now. Apparently I'm a civilian now. So basically, anything
that he learns Chief learns accurson or I guess other stuff, she's he's going
to report it to her. I don't know what good that does because she's
a civilian. Yeah, I don't know. And what what did happen to
Miranda Keys in season one? At the end? I have no memory.
I thought she was still kicking around on Reach. Yeah, I guess I
remember. She was like trying to get more responsibility, trying to climb up,
get a promotion sort of thing. And oh, yeah, they put
her in her dad like didn't really want her to have more responsibility or something
like this. Yeah, they put her in Halsey's labs. You're right,
she did have a lot more responsibility, and its just like a science officer
or something like that. But I guess she got the shaft here down,
but her dad is still there, so I imagine she'll show up it,
but maybe she won't because like every other character that I can think of at
least had some screen time here, like McKee uh and and Kwan were at
least like here. Barely was more just like there in the season and you'll
see them later. I guess we got a little bit more of Kwan,
but yeah, with her, we didn't even see her at all, right,
So yeah, I hope they do bring her in. I mean,
she's a very in Halo too. She's a huge main character for sure,
and then she remember liking her as well from season one, one of the
few characters that I was into her journey for the most part. Yeah,
absolutely, so hopefully they don't scrap her. Was there anything else on like
the unsc that you wanted to touch upon, because you meant you mentioned Kwan
there? Ah, Yeah, what's there to say about Kwan? I mean
episode one didn't really have much, like she was kind of in the cave
with Soren's Soren's kid, right, and then she had that action sequence which
was which was decent. I thought it was pretty okay. I like the
setting of that that. I mean even in like from season one two,
I really just Soren's astroid. I always forget the name of that play.
Does it have a name that we know? Have no idea wherever that place
is. I like the look and feel love. It feels very gritty,
and I like just seeing all the stuff going on in the background. It's
very just richly detailed and all that. So I I like that action scene
enough there and yeah, like I just like to see even like for Kuan,
that was she had to kill that guy and that weighed on her pretty
heavily there, So that was interesting to see. I don't really know where
her story's going, but I also have no clue what the hell is going
on with sore and and that storyline, So I feel a bit lost there
given the given the screen time in these first couple episodes, so I don't
know. We'll see because that was I think one of our biggest complaints with
season one is not necessarily we didn't like Kwan or the acting or anything,
but it was just that storyline was like why is this here? Like this
is not feeding into the greater narrative and it's not even that intriguing on it.
On the side of it, And that was also a thing. So
they were naming off planets that were destroyed by the Covenant and magical like that's
her home planet right or where she was and she was they just name dropped
that was destroyed and it's gone now. So that felt like kind of like,
well, that's kind of a bit of a just throwaway line for this
place. That was a pretty big setting in season one, so that was
also surprising. So I don't know, it doesn't seem like that would be
her stories going back there. Maybe at some point we'll get her reaction,
or maybe she already knows that I got destroyed. I'm I'm not sure.
Yeah, that I mean seeing plants get destroyed there being glassed. It was
very cool to kind of see that in live action. It's such a I
thought the effects were great for that stuff. Yeah, it's a very brutal
thing that the Covenant does. Of course, from the covet they added this
new thing where like they're training the elites I guess as they go into the
planet before they glass Yeah, well that was weird. That was Chief's theory
at least, But I took. I took it that there was more going
on, like they were looking for someone in particular, or looking for an
artifact or I don't know whatever they're looking for, but at the same time,
like they're not looking that like I I mean, I don't understand yet
why they left Chief alive, but there's obviously some story element there. So
maybe it is just that simple. Maybe it is just training, but I
feel like there's some other layer that we don't know yet. You're absolutely spot
on, and that's in the games. The biggest reason why they attack Reach,
why they don't glass at they deploy the ground troops, because Reach is
like a massive archive of Forerunner tech, the stuff that they love. They
just salivate for that stuff, and if you destroy it or hamper it,
then it's like super heretical, heretic, heretical. I think that's heretical.
Yeah, so you don't want to do that if you're if you remember the
Covenant, but maybe that I definitely would stand with that theory that you you
proposed with them at the beginning, just not wanting to destroy the planet right
away. Additionally, I think with Kwan, like you mentioned, I think
she was much better in this season. I think that season one, there
is definitely some stuff going on that yeah, I wasn't really driving with the
character. But in season this season, season two so far, I feel
like it was either better writing, albeit brief as it is. I just
think that she she as an actress, is just really like bringing it.
I feel like, Okay, there's definitely some more stuff going on here with
this character that I am liking, and I'm thankful for that. Her look
was cool too. Her look was cool, kind of mad, was just
trying to shroud herself high herself, and I thought it looked nice. Yeah.
And I also think that the story of just these ear these ear pieces
that you have to wear, like it seems like if you're you're like an
orphan of another planet and these groups will take you in, but you're kind
of like their servants or their slaves something like that battle tag essentially right,
basically yeah, dehumanizing, which is good. Yeah good angle mm hm,
so I I I welcome that into the Halo storyline, at least with these
like underground like rogue bandit running groups. It's kind of cool. But uh
yeah, I mean that's that's pretty much it. You just get to see
her be kind of like that buddy buddy to Soren's kid and whatnot. A
orn goes missing, he gets and he gets bamboozled, bamboozled hard. But
before we carry on, we're gonna jump to another ad break. We'll be
you right back, and we are back. Well, I actually want I
just thought about this, So maybe before we get to Soren and stuff,
I should ask this, which is and maybe you know the answer because you're
the lower master here, But why why didn't they covenant weather? Whatever they're
doing finding this four un tech? Why wouldn't they kill chief there? They
am dead to rights. They had forty dudes with energy swords. He was
outnumbered. Why did they leave him alive? There? There's there's no reason,
no reason at all. There is some reason. The only minor,
miniscal thing I could ever tell myself is that elites are very honorable and if
this was not a fair fight, that they would back off. I guess
for that reason. But like that was a fair well, I mean,
the forty verse one. Maybe that's not fair. But yeah, he had
just killed like what at least three or four of them, a few of
them. Yeah, So again that's that's me trying to piece it together,
but all and I think that, like he's the demon, they should have
they should have went and killed him instead of just leaving it to chance,
Like, hey, we're just gonna start glassing the planet and chances are you're
probably gonna die, master Chief. It's just it's just doesn't fit. Mm
hmm. Yeah, yeah, I love that term glassing the planet glass.
That's the official Halo term. It's cool. Yeah, yeah, I mean
I I don't I personally don't have a lot really to add to Sora and
just that it seems like he's just got this fixation with Halsey and it's ruining
his family. He's having fights with his wife and now he got kidnapped.
Yeah, so yeah, I don't. I that there was that Zero G
kinda. I mean, it was all a trap, really, but I
thought there was a cool set piece. At least you kind of have this
torpy little kid who's leading him on this married chase. I think it would
have been cool if they were also in Zero G. I understand it's a
lot more work, I'm sure to get the effects going on for that,
but I think it could have been a cool, more cool setting if we
had that, but all these like shipping containers like smashing into each other and
whatnot. But yeah, that's I I'm kind of with you on that.
I don't think I have much on Soar and yet just kind of have to
wait and see, uh, kind of see where that story goes, because
I feel like it was I can't remember when exactly was because I watched episodes
back to back, but I feel like early on in episode two he got
kidnapped and then we just like didn't see any of the yet. So yeah,
I'm not too sure. I did appreciate the nod to Harvest. That
was a cool little Easter egg. Harvest is basically the first planet that the
Covenant went and took over. I guess they're kind of like held hostage.
There's a lot of really cool kind of Halo lore involved with involved with that,
because the Covenant realizes what humanity is and there's like a in the books,
there's like a brief meeting where humanity like they give fruit and like some
things of kindness to the Covenant, and the Covenant like don't get it.
And then the Covenant realized that because they were here because they were looking for
Forerunner related things and they realized that, oh, like humans are these Forerunner
related things because it's a whole thing. And then that's why they decided to
wage war against humanity. Right, Okay, it's convoluted, but a good
little easterg good little east egg. Yeah that shot too, like the Covenant
fleet like kind of emerging through the clouds or the fog layer. That was
an absolute episode highlight. That was ten seconds of amazingness out of forty minutes
of questionability. Yeah, yeah, we talked. We already kind of talked
about that opening cuts in from episode one, but just a couple other high
Like I liked the foggy setting up. I thought it was cool. There's
a couple interesting moments where the one like Covenant is coming up behind behind Chief
and he like croaches, he like croaches like a shot on behind his shoulder
and takes him out. I thought that was really cool. It was a
fun scene other than yeah, like some messygi in parts for Chief in particular,
I thought that was a fun, like well choreographed sequence. And then
yeah, just the shot of like the beams coming down and then like instantly
turning to lava and that's spewing out and there was that one shot where the
beams coming down, like one of the ships is trying to fly away and
it just gets beam, It gets beam, gets beamed in half, and
I was just like, oh, I get just a gut wrenching moment.
It was really really well done. I liked, liked all those visuals there.
We also got to see him with like a grapple shot, which is
introduced in the latest game, so that was kind of cool, yeah,
because that was a that wasn't in five, right, that was just infinite
that had oh yeah, just infinite. Yeah, that's kind of was pretty
neat. Yeah. I mean, I would definitely put the first episode maybe
higher on the scale than the second one just because of certain like Halo vibes
and aesthetic said that episode really put out there. Halo two or episode two
just felt just felt like more drama and backstory and like Chief grabbing Akerson's arm
and Chief that oh God, like, yeah he was seeing the girl and
I almost forgot that freakin mackay Mac she's back. She's back in the episode
twoing a lot, I think is the vibe I'm getting. I think so,
I really do think so. I like the Covenant. They probably got
wicked healing technology, and they am sure they healed her up because they want
to keep her because she can activate this this tech. But I don't need
this character. I really really don't. Yeah, yeah, I'm curious to
you what the story is for her exactly. I do think she's one of
the better actors of this show, so I think there's some potential there.
But she, Yeah, she's definitely. She got so little screen time out
than that sequence at the end with the the other Covenant just fucking up those
marines. So yeah, I don't really have much to add on her yet.
Kind of hopefully hopefully it's an upturn from season one. How much do
you think her story is gonna roll around Chief like it didn't, because it
kind of seems like right now like she's kind of just off doing something separate.
I don't know. Yeah, she's definitely doing her own thing. Ah,
So I'm curious how I'm curious how much more she's gonna actually have in
the story. But I think that she's gonna probably play a consistent, parallel,
prominent haunting position on Chief because Chief seems to just keep on thinking like
he's hearing her and seeing her and he's trying to make his holograms like look
like her, Halsey and Kortana all mixed in one. I don't know.
He's just he's fucked up right now. My god, he is. One
moment that I thought was funny was when he goes to Perez's house to uh
talk to her find out what's going on, and then like Perez's mom walks
up to the door and she's just like, you are very large, and
he's like, yes, ma'am. That got me. He just he's like
he always acts the same for every scene, pretty much like with the odd
exception. I just thought his reaction there was was good, good, good,
that was good. It was just so weird to him just going and
they're having dinner with the family and the brothers are talking like, so,
man, what's your KD ratio? That was like some you know, first
half an hour of Grand Treismo cringe and and I was so after the episode
was done, and I was like getting ready the auto play on Paramount took
Me to took me to Twisted Metal. I was like, I'm just like
hearing the first minute of that Anthony Maggiew's character. It had that sort of
energy of like trying to capture like video game talk. It's pretty goofy.
What do you think the Spartan Attack though, This concept of there being a
presumed a video game in this world called Spartan Attack. Yeah, I mean
I didn't really think about video games inside like the Halo world itself, yeah,
and then being based off the actual Spartans because people, the regular civilians
kind of look up to them. How close do you think it is to
Halo as a game? I've been playing as chief in Spartan Attack. Oh?
Absolutely, I think I think it's probably like you're wearing the Apple Vision
pro. I think that's what it is. It's four thousand dollars, Yeah,
four thousand dollars game. So he's asking, was Katie goddamn? You
mentioned it briefly there when mackay was returning, But you get that cool sequence
of the Marines going down the hall, and it's just I feel like this
this commander, he was kind of stupid because he's like, Okay, first
wave go and they just get slaughtered. Second wave go. Man, you
reevaluate your scenario, your situation here. Your first squad that you sent in
completely botched. So why would you send in the next wave and then you're
all alone and questionable. But I like that that takes place on Sword Base
because that's another iconic location from Halo Reach. It's one of the I think
the first areas are engagements between the Covenant and the UNSCA the Sword Base.
Yeah, what do I need to know about Sword Base? I don't think
you really need to know much except in the show. It seems like that's
just where they're housing the one half of that the device. I guess where
that tells them or Halo the Rings are I'm assuming what they called it,
Like, didn't they just call the artifact? Or maybe that's just such a
generic term these days Starfield had all these artifacts. I don't know. I
might be mixing up my scide by at this point. No, I think
you're right. I think it is just the artifact. Yeah. What do
you think about what's going on with Halsey so far? In the first two
episodes, she's in this weird kind of I don't know, also Apple Vision
situation where she's put in this presumed world and they're kind of they're not torturing
her, but they're trying to like do some mind tricks on her to get
her to spill the beans, but he's captured. But then there's like a
portal, and it's like, I don't really know where this is. I
am very confused by it, clearly, as you can tell by my description
of what is going on. They keeps sending in a clone to die after
playing backgammon, which is weird, and I honestly could not tell you what's
going on here. But I feel like if you're not, if you're just
wasting screen time, why even have these scenes period? We're not getting we
have not gotten anything out of Halsey. We've not got anything of the fact
that, aside from okay, Akerson just has her in containment on her lockdown.
We could have had that covered in a quick brief scene like they showed
with him and Cortana. Just show him go down to the basement of his
little house, his business office. He's gone. Then you could see Halsey
in a cell or something down there. That's all we needed to see.
I did not need an extended sequence of her talking to a clone trying to
figure out who is the guy that's got her trapped here, and then it
turns out it's just Akriston because he doesn't even carry he just walks in there
anyway, So the secrecy is irrelevant to who the man was. And yeah,
it's just it's it's pointless. I don't understand it. Yeah, it
definitely feels just like patting. It's I don't know this show really sees the
one in this first two episodes so far just really struggles with pacing in general.
And you have all these storylines and these subplots and these sub storylines,
and I feel like they really they really struggle once they were like filmed it
all to like, Okay, how do we chop this together? How do
we make this cohesive? And I don't know. I feel like maybe a
better way to go is to have longer cohesive sequences rather than jumping from thing
to thing and just getting so little development, because like, damn, we're
already a quarter through this season, you know, like we've already gone a
decent ways through, and I feel like, for at least to or through
these storylines, we haven't made any ground yet. So I don't know.
I and I guess, like the first episode was I think fifty seven minutes
like with credits. The second one was like forty forty something with credits.
I don't know, I want. I'm curious if the times will be quite
random and sporadic like that, or if it's more just like episode one,
we're gonna open with a bang and then I don't know, it'll be like
forty five minute episodes throughout, because yeah, we're probably gonna get a lot
less screen time in general than we did in that first season. Now maybe
there's less setup to be done. It doesn't seem like we're having too many
new characters really, just like Akerson and maybe some other Meyer ones. So
h I don't know. I think I'm I'm glad that it's shorter just for
that pacing thing, but I hope they can pull it off still, I
don't know, you know, it's so far. I agree with you though,
it feels like we're wasting time on some of these, some of these
subplots. Yeah. One more thing I guess I have is uh, oh
gosh, that I really just lose my train of thought with it related other
character pacing, episode count, Oh my gosh, sheep related, Oh my
gosh. It was bothering me so much, and I think I just it
just evaporated and disintegrated out of my mind. Damn, maybe it'll come back
to me. I don't know where you're going with it, so, oh
my gosh, that's gonna bother me. I'm gonna think about it after action.
CGI character it was definitely a character thing. It was something that a
character did and it really really kai let me just when we're don't talk about
Chief Commander Keys. Was it him related? We haven't talked about him at
all. No, it wasn't him related. Oh I remember, thank you,
thank you, thank you, thank God. So Chief they walk into
the room, it's like a little Spartan briefing room, and the guy's changing
the words for like the Spartan squads and he changes the words so like to
stand by for Cobalt team. She's like, what do you think you're doing?
You take that down now? He just reams on this por man.
He's like, they tell me. He literally says it. They tell me
to change a sign, and I changed the sign. You take that down?
This. I felt so bad for that kid. You tell us like
his first job sort of thing. He's like new, it's like his second
day or something. He's getting reamed out by like this person. He's looked
up to his whole life. Oh yeah, Oh my god, I was
just dying laughing at that. Well, that four kid man a good shout
out. I think that's all all I got. Yeah, me too,
me too, Yeah, okay. Looking forward to hearing Kirkland's thoughts when he
joins us next week. Mm hmm. Yeah. I'm curious if Travis might
sneak in here eventually. Oh no, I don't think so. Well,
speak of the devil. Look at that. If you're on the YouTube show,
you know what he's watching. He had like a pony with a little
Yeah, he's got like a what the heck is he holding in his hands?
Oh my goodness, Oh that's it. Okay, Uh, well I
think uh yeah, that about uh what about does that? So we'll be
back next week? Uh next week. Yeah, you're gonna get Madam Webb
on the Wednesday, and then we'll be back for Halo on Thursday. Yeah
crazy. Until then, thank you for tuning in. We'll see you in
the search bar. Have a good one bye everyone,