Halo's inaugural season has its fair share of critics, who had more problems than the idea of Master Chief removing his helmet. Pablo Schreiber told CinemaBlend as early as early 2022 that he was excited about changes in Season 2, and part of that hype was tied to new showrunner David Wiener. I took some time to drill down on that further in a new interview and asked why fans jaded by Season 1 should return for the new episodes.
Schreiber hasn't shied away from acknowledging the missteps of Halo Season 1, to be sure, and he's had some time to reflect on it ahead of Season 2's two-episode premiere, which is available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription. So when I asked the Master Chief actor about Season 2 vs. Season 1, he talked about how such a big franchise will inevitably disappoint some people while trying to appease the masses, saying:
I think one of the beauties of the Halo universe is how big the universe is, how many fans there are, how much passion they have, how much people love this world, how much people love this character, you know? And one of the downsides of that is that it comes with a whole host of many, many, different opinions on what people would like to see. So one thing that I think is you kind of have to throw out the window is that not everybody is gonna be absolutely happy. Not everybody is gonna get everything that they want in terms of improving the show and, and making it better.
Halo can't please everyone, and for those hoping the Paramount+ series would do a full-scale reboot in Season 2, that hasn't happened. Master Chief will still remove his helmet, and the overall story from Season 1 does carry over into the latest episodes. Given that, I wouldn't blame the reader for thinking that nothing much has changed at all.
That is not true, according to Pablo Schreiber, who noted the Halo team took a look at Season 1 and began to make some changes. He talked about those changes at length and how the show will change under David Wiener in Season 2:
One of the real goals going from Season 1 to Season 2 was to learn from what we did, try to figure out what was successful, try to figure out what was unsuccessful, and learn from that. From what I can see, to one end, we have a great new showrunner David Wiener. The second season will be a representation of his vision for the Halo Universe. And so we're all working as hard as we can to fulfill his vision to the best of our ability. One of the positive things that I see in his vision that feels different from the first season is the tone of the show. The tone of the show feels darker, it feels more mysterious, it feels deeper, more interesting. And a lot of that is achieved by the filmmaking and the storytelling that he sets out with.
Halo will have a darker tone in Season 2, and that's evident off the bat. The UNSC is now deeper into its conflict with The Covenant, and without getting too into spoilers for those who have yet to watch, it's not going well. The story picks up with Master Chief looking for any way to turn the tide, and he and many other characters dealing with the reality that it's not that simple.
Those who tune in should also expect to see a change of scenery, as Pablo Schreiber spoke of the care taken in the art department when it came to what appears on screen in Halo Season 2. While speaking about it, Schreiber talked about each location and what they bring to the show:
He brought in a lot of really, really wonderful, talented people in the art department that worked incredibly hard to make sure that everything on screen looked really detailed. Obviously in all the sets that we built, going to different locations. We went to Iceland at the beginning of the season and we went to this amazing location on the Italian-Slovenian border in the Alps for the end of the season. And both of these locations kind of open up the universe in a way and make it bigger and faster and feel like you have different places that can look like different planets. All of that I think really helps to sell the universe.
When Pablo Schreiber first tried to reassure Halo fans ahead of Season 1, his core message was to relax. As one can see, he wasn't shy about selling the show much more in Season 2 to show that the series differs from what people witnessed in the first.
This brought us back full circle towards the end of his explanation, which hit again on the different tone of the series. Schreiber closed on talking about that, as well as some of the other big ways fans felt the show should tie into the video game franchise:
But that tonal shift, I think is the biggest thing for me. The darker, more mysterious, way that we shoot the action sequences is much more subjective,a lot more handheld. So you're in the battle sequences with the characters more than kind of looking at it from a distance. And I think that really helps sell the action in a way that is better than the, first season. So I think there are a lot of improvements from first season to second season that I think people will be really happy with and enjoy. And there's a number of really cool Halo lore moments that happen in the season that I think Halo fans will be quite excited to see.All of these elements to me, make me excited for people to come check it out and see if it's something that they like.
Some may still be skeptical, but as someone who has screened the first four episodes of Season 2, I believe Halo is on the right path. Pablo Schreiber has made it clear he's aware of Season 1's failings and has shown nothing but respect for haters who disagreed with what they saw in the first few episodes. Hopefully, his words encourage those who didn't jive with what they saw the first go-around to give the show another shot and get this show what it needs to see another season and really get rolling.
Halo's first two episodes are available to stream over on Paramount+. Tune in and see the beginning of what will be a wild ride for the sci-fi series as The Covenant threat gets more serious than it's ever been.
