Halo season two official trailer reaction
‘Halo’ season two is shaping up to be a fascinating adaptation of The Fall of Reach, a key story both in the games and stories of ‘Halo.’ And while the first trailer only hinted at this, the official trailer for the show has confirmed this. It’s shaping up to be a big improvement over the much-maligned season one, so hopefully Paramount can stick the landing.
At both the start and end of the trailer, there is a shot of Master Chief looking out of a Pelican in space at a huge naval battle above what’s likely Reach. How he plays into the battle is hugely exciting, as in previous books Chief had to enact the Cole Protocol on a docked ship the Covenant were trying to get, while UNSC forces attempted to stop the Covenant from landing. Something similar might play out here.
The early shots establish Reach as a bustling location, vibrant with different kinds of life. This is likely before the Covenant attack, to show audiences what normal life is like, and sets the stage for urban warfare. Voiceover given by the character of Makee is the Covenant’s declaration of invasion, though it’s not as epic sounding as the Covenant’s declaration of war on humanity is in the books.
A shot that comes up a few times is that of the Master Chief and a marine assaulting a communications outpost. It’s not clear what this is yet, it could be an adaptation of the mission called Nightfall in the game ‘Halo Reach’ where Noble Team discovered the size and scope of the Covenant’s invasion, or The Package where they retrieve Cortana, obviously that will be slightly different for the show.
There are some passing shots of Jackals with shields (Kig-Yar), and an Elite with an energy sword (Sangheili) but the next one of note is the Covenant fleet rising out of the clouds at a slightly different angle than before. A quick glassing occurs, before audiences get a look at Doctor Halsey in a Forerunner-like structure, teasing the mysticism that’ll still be present in the show.
The shot of Chief on the ground with several Elites approaching him with their energy swords, igniting them in a very epic fashion. The trailer teases that Chief will go hand to hand with some of these Elites, a tantalizing bit of action that a nearby Marine is just as shocked to witness as the audience will likely be.
Some more incredible destruction occurs (especially of the ruined cityscape), and James Ackerson talks about the need for heroes, followed by some introspection by Master Chief. This is something that the first season attempted to do, give Chief more of an emotional side not present in the games. And while this is worth doing, the way season one went about that was unsuccessful. Hopefully, Paramount has improved on it.
The one most important thing that this trailer captures is tone. There is such an overwhelming feeling of helplessness and loss, and it’s key to the game this story comes from. But it’s clear that, like in the game, humanity doesn’t just throw in the towel, there is that will to fight on, something that the show must deliver on. It also looks like season two will be much more action-intensive, which is something the first season lacked.
