While the first ‘Halo TV series‘ episode was about establishing the Spartans, UNSC, and the brief Human Civil War that quickly turned into the Human-Covenant War. Episode two is of John and his newfound emotions and journey. Before heading into this review, if you haven’t checked out the first episode’s review, I’d recommend doing so.
Halo TV Series Episode Two “Unbound”
When we last saw Master Chief and Kwan, they had somehow managed to avoid the UNSC and being captured. Now, the unlikely duo is in a pickle. That is until Master Chief (I’m just going to call him John) decides he has an idea. He knows a guy who happens to be Soren or Soren-066. Soren, played by Bokeem Woodbine, used to be buddies with John. Except when things started going off the rails, he decided to abandon the project. This put him directly at odds with John and shows that John was all about the rules and regulations, even at a young age. The two seemed to make the best of a bad situation.
What’s interesting is they chose to include Soren in this timeline. Not many know of Soren, as he was a character that was introduced via the Halo books. Unlike the other Spartan-II Project candidates, Soren had volunteered for the program; he was given a choice. Except, he ultimately became disfigured due to the program and was already mentally unstable due to his childhood. He and John knew of each other, but I wouldn’t have called them friends. An excellent resource to learn more about Soren is on HaloFollower.
When John finally meets up with Soren, it’s into the reunion that anyone would expect if you met up with a friend that wasn’t your friend anymore. Soren has made himself at home, in this space colony with Insurrectionists. The very same ones that don’t approve of the UNSC, and indirectly with John. It’s a daunting encounter with the people at the space colony pointing their weapons at John, which may as well have been peashooters. We’re talking about the MJOLNIR Mark V armor here. Conventional weapons aren’t going to make a dent in it, and it also endows the wearer with some impressive strength, as John demonstrates by moving a loaded forklift that was parked to block his way.
This was an unusual way to show off what the suit of armor could do without having it being engaged in a firefight. Not to mention having Soren making his appearance right after this feat and de-escalating the tension. Showing that he either has some major clout among the insurrectionists or he’s their leader. It’s not mentioned to which that is. As for why Soren decided to live here, it makes sense as Soren also doesn’t like the UNSC.
Still, Soren does the complete opposite, welcomes John and Kwan, and agrees to help them. When his ideas run out, he says “He knows a guy,” and that’s when things take a turn for the weird. While the Covenant isn’t shown during this, they are still very much involved. Some familiar concepts from Halo are brought to light, and suddenly things get less vague for John, and for a brief moment, he shows hope. But there’s something about Soren that shouldn’t be trusted.
As for why John went to Soren for help is interesting, as I didn’t think they would involve a character that could be considered obscure. They definitely wouldn’t be called best friends, and adding to that, Soren feels that the UNSC had betrayed him. As for Bokeem Woodbine, I felt he played the character reasonably well. The problem with characters in a book is that they’re left up to your own interpretation. Everyone can envision a character in one way, others in another. However, it shows via the conversations with John that Soren still has issues with the UNSC. How that will ultimately unfold during the series will be a key element and another layer of the story that’s being told.
Soren greeting John with open arms and offering to help him in any way that he can is a departure of the character. Though, again, a lot has been changed for this timeline. Soren was a character that was once believed dead, but here we are. And not just how he’s acting towards John, but he has a wife and a child. He’s loved on the place he calls home as well. It’s some great storytelling and building up a character that few have heard of.
I believe that Soren was the star of this show, as Bokeem was charismatic and charming, while you could tell in his interactions that he wasn’t fully on board. He despises the UNSC, and by extension, John as he’s the shining star of the organization. He clearly has an angle, but he hasn’t shown his cards yet. As for John, yet again, we’re seeing a different side of the iconic Master Chief and now relying heavily on people. Where the video game character would be doing his best to do everything independently. This flipped dynamic here still throws me for a loop, but I’m starting to like this side of the character more. He’s not this almighty character and clearly has trust issues, but here he is and doing everything he can.
At the end of the episode, things don’t play out as I expected, and John decides that the UNSC might be the best play. To which he turns himself in, with the artifact he found in tow. So basically, everything he did, despite not getting any answers, seemed to be a waste of time. The UNSC is still upset at him for what he did in episode one, and John has been tossed in the brig. Closing out the episode, Hasley pays John a visit, they talk, and then it cuts away to Hasley being the sly person she’s being set up to be. Hasley has plans of our own, and she seems to be hedging her bets here.
Verdict
The second episode is solid, and a great way to introduce Soren, who I adore now. Bokeem Woodbine takes this character and goes a fantastic job, all while planting seeds of distrust along the way. As for John, here they make him almost human. He’s lost, he doesn’t have all the answers, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to find those answers, even if it puts him in harm’s way. The episode also tosses in a few more epic moments that I can’t speak on, but trust time. Yet again, Halo fans will enjoy what’s going on, even if those moments may cause them to scratch their heads in disbelief.
The only question I have is how John will continue from here. Being locked up presents an issue, and the UNSC isn’t just going to release him. He’s a liability now. Dang it, I’ll have to wait until the Halo TV series episode 3 is released to find out.
The Halo TV series debuts exclusively on Paramount+ on March 24, 2022.
