![]() Furthermore, Cortana looks more human-like than an AI hologram, with less of her code being visible on-screen. Clearly the other Spartans will be forced to choose their loyalties as the season unfolds, so the show needs to do more to flesh out these characters and their history with John-117.One of the many things that's caused backlash ahead of Cortana's official debut in the Halo TV show is her coloring - Cortana is considerably less blue than she's been in most of the Halo games (she doesn't have a hint of purple either, which was her original color). The series would be better served devoting more screen time to various underdeveloped UNSC characters like Captain Keyes or Master Chief's other Spartan comrades. Yes, this episode does hint at how some of these threads will eventually tie together, but it's still hard to feel very invested in either Kwan Ha or Soren. Echoing a complaint from last week's review, Kwan Ha isn't nearly as compelling a character when removed from Master Chief's orbit, and the the civil war on Madrigal comes across as an unnecessary detour from the show's main threads. Unfortunately, the series isn't finding nearly as much success when it comes to the Madrigal subplot. We'll see if that particular Covenant foe has the same visual impact when Master Chief squares off against a Hunter. Plus, it's just cool seeing her control a colony of Lekgolo and slaughter a an entire ship. The series is really making the most of its flashback sequences, with this episode's opening sequence revealing everything we need to know about Makee's past and why she sides against her own kind. ![]() She may lack the trademark blue skin, but this version of Cortana emotes well enough that we can sense her inner conflict without it needing to be voiced aloud.Įpisode 3 also helps build up Makee as a credible threat to the UNSC and a compelling character in her own right. That's another point in favor of her new look. Even Cortana seems unsure of how much to trust her creator. You can see why the Spartans are fanatically loyal to their surrogate mother, even as we can't help but be repulsed by her actions. Natascha McElhone's performance is reminiscent of her haunting work in 2002's Solaris. We see even more of Halsey's ruthless side as she interacts with her clone and effectively condemns herself to death for the sake of her research. Cortana's introduction pays off in that area, as well. That all being said, Halsey has quickly become the most fascinating character in this series. It's encouraging to see the show successfully adapting the Master Chief/Cortana relationship on top of that. This series is already managing to give John some added layers compared to the straightforward protagonist he is in the games. ![]() They're both basically blank slates who are beginning to form real personalities as they venture outside the parameters of their UNSC programming. Both characters mirror each other in a lot of ways. And even at this early stage, we can see the seeds of the deep bond they share in the games. She injects some much-needed humor into his world as she becomes the pesky helper he neither asked for nor wants. More importantly, Cortana quickly becomes the foil Master Chief has been needing. Cortana suffers from the same Uncanny Valley effect as most of the all-CGI characters in the show, but at least in her case that's by design. She looks more human now, which is both a little strange and probably for the best in the long run. No doubt the goal was to shift Cortana away from "semi-naked blue lady" to something a bit more grounded and reflective of Dr. Granted, there is a bit of an adjustment period when it comes to Cortana's redesigned appearance. ![]()
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