Master Chief is getting a little cheeky in the most recent episode of Paramount’s Halo series. The show’s third episode, “Emergence”, sees the Chief stripping down and as he does so, fans are greeted with a full shot of the Chief’s cheeks. So, if you thought taking the helmet off was bad, you might want to skip this episode.
Halo’s third episode features a scene where Master Chief must deal with a bullet lodged into the base of his spine. To remove the bullet, the Chief is guided through some self-surgery by his artificially intelligent guide Cortana. While this scene is meant to establish a relationship of trust between the two iconic video game characters, it is a little distracting with the Chief’s globes on full display.
Of course, this is not the first time that the series has stripped the Chief of his suit, or at least part of it. The very first episode features the protagonist removing his helmet for the first time in the character’s history. This move divided fans as it was a clear deviation from the video game where the Chief’s face was never shown. Many felt that the hidden face was part of the character and should remain. However, others seemed to find it a refreshing change from the video game and a necessary move as it shifts from video game to live-action adaptation.
In a bit of ironic phrasing, Master Chief portrayer Pablo Schreiber recently responded to the mixed reactions to the direction of the show: “I will keep working my ass off each and every day to make this show the best version of itself, to bring attention and respect to this Halo universe we love.” Clearly, he meant it, at least the ass part.
The Chief’s confident display is also not the first instance of nudity on the show. Last week’s “Unbound” featured a human woman named Makee stripping down for…reasons. With all this occurring in the first three episodes, I am almost scared to see how far, and how naked, the rest of the series goes. Although, it's clearly working for the series which is doing quite well for Paramount.
New episodes of Halo land every Thursday on Paramount Plus.