Halo has always been a story of scope and intimacy. It stretches far across the galaxy, yet revolves around the soul and conscience of a single, unbreakable soldier. From the very first scene, Halo’s television show from Paramount nails this feeling. We begin in a rebel camp and see not soldiers, but people. Yes, they discuss fighting and preparation and the incoming storm, but they do it over laughs and drinks and card games. It's a masterclass in telling the story behind the story, and what makes it so frustrating is that a few scenes in, Halo completely abandons this close humanity for battles, bombast, and exposition.

The initial battle, at least, is terrific. There has only been one out-and-out combat experience like the ones we're used to from the games in the first two episodes, but it's enough to carry them. It avoids explosions everywhere and rapid machine gun fire with blood, screams, and gore for something that feels like Halo. We see the other-worldly energy swords, the punchy rifle blasts, the crunchy footsteps. Everything feels weighty and deliberate, avoiding the pitfall of making it a light and airy MCU-style VFX fest. We even see some shots in first-person mode through Master Chief's helmet, which feel like a nice nod to the game without a reliance on it. The first few scenes see an intimate gathering of characters who are immediately and effectively constructed before our eyes, followed by an epic battle that feels perfect for the Halo universe. That's around 25 minutes of the two hours of Halo I've seen so far. None of the rest even comes close.

Related: Showing Master Chief's Face Misses The Point Of His Character

Let's talk some more about the helmet. Folks, he takes the helmet off. He takes the helmet off real early. The showrunners have explained this decision before, and you'll be able to read producers Steven Kane's and Kiki Wolfkill's thoughts in more depth in my interview with them tomorrow, as well as Master Chief himself Pablo Schreiber's views on the matter. I don't think taking it off is a terrible sin. I understand their reasoning. It just happens too early. It's mid-way through episode one, and we've spent more time with new character Kwan Ha than we have with Chief at this point. It just hasn't earned it. The showrunners have talked about understanding how important the helmet and the facelessness of the character is to the mythology, and I think they're correct when they say television is a different medium and calls for a different style of storytelling. But by doing it so early, it's too soon for the video game fans to have been convinced that Schreiber is a fitting Master Chief, while newcomers to Halo won't understand why it's such a big deal. It's especially baffling when The Mandalorian has already provided a perfect example of how to earn this very same reveal.

At least the helmet being removed gives the show more of a chance to humanise Master Chief. Unfortunately, thus far this chance is squandered. Chief spends the first two episodes going from place to place, meeting people far more interesting than he is, having the scene stolen from under his power-armour-covered feet at every turn, switching between emotionless grunts and angry grunts. This may all be groundwork - if Halo is to centre around Master Chief gaining a sense of humanity, then this is an effective starting point. But right now, he's difficult to root for.

The show has done little to convince me that Master Chief's best moments are being held back to flourish later on. The writing is too stilted to let anyone shine, with the exception of Soren's fleeting appearance and the consistently brilliant Kwan Ha. Yerin Ha, the actor behind teenage rebel Kwan, is the only one who has been given license to show off her range so far and as a result carries the entire heart of the show. Everyone else is either a soldier, Spartan, scientist, or military official, and therefore by design are very one-note expositional characters. The show might be about Master Chief becoming a real person, but it feels like every single character involved needs to go on the same arc. Cortanas all round, garçon!

Visually, the show is similarly uninspired. I mentioned earlier about not taking inspiration from The Mandalorian when it comes to the helmet, but visually it looks a lot like the Star Wars shows. And the DC shows. And the Marvel shows-sans WandaVision. Every blockbuster television series today has this issue - there's a complete lack of visual language. Just put the star in the middle of the frame, give them nice lighting, and push ‘record’. There are one or two nice shots, but 'nice' is about as high praise as I can offer. The deserts are beige and bright. The military base and tech labs are glowing blue and bright. The alien temple, with all its dreary exposition and fawned poetry, is white and bright. The ships are black and somehow bright. The caves are bright. Everything is a nicely lit television set waiting for actors to arrive and say some words - there is no attempt to otherwise convey the story.

That's incredibly disappointing when you consider the involvement of Steven Spielberg. The man has been pushing the boundaries of visual storytelling for the past 50 years, but outside of an Asian sidekick, it's impossible to feel his influence here are all. Thankfully, Kwan Ha is significantly more developed than Indiana Jones' Short Round. We see her go on a mini-arc so far; her life as she has always known it disintegrates in front of her, and she is the only one who reflects Master Chief's newfound sense of humanity back at him rather than trying to shut it down. She's angry, scared, adventurous, brave, smart, and righteous. She is the reason the show matters - she is the only human being so far who has been defined by how they feel and what they think, not what uniform they wear. It's tremendous pressure to act against cast members who, quite deliberately, give her nothing to go on. That she prevails is the main reason the show still feels loaded with a sense of potential.

All in all the show was still enjoyable. I may sound overly critical, but Halo is one of the quintessentially perfect video game series. If you try to adapt it for another medium, it's a high bar to clear, but it's a high bar you've chosen yourself. There's potential here, if entirely carried by Kwan Ha (with Soren sharing the load as and when he appears), and enough reason to keep watching if you're a Halo fan - which is probably why you've tuned in to begin with. But 25 minutes in, it loosens its grip and never quite gets it back, instead choosing to explain the plot to you slowly and carefully. It all plays out like the opening text crawl of a Star Wars movie - but once that crawl finishes, you're usually in for a ride. Hopefully it ends in episode three and the show can find its footing. The ingredients are there, but right now they're not even underbaked, they're still in their bags waiting to be scooped into the bowl.

Next: Should You Play Hogwarts Legacy If You Care About Your Trans Friends?