The second episode of glorioleis the second season It’s not bad, but it’s not quite as memorable as that previous episode. Instead, “Sword” is a reminder that gloriole The series is at its strongest when it focuses on the Spartans’ stories, be it John’s attempts to come to terms with the events on Sanctuary, Riz’s efforts to recover physically and mentally from a near-death experience, or Kai’s concerns for the chief’s well-being.
But like most modern television, there are multiple branching narratives playing out simultaneously, and gloriole struggles to reconcile them. There’s a little too obvious tension between building up the series’ supporting characters while simultaneously racing to ensure the narratives are in order by the end of the season. The results are somewhat confusing; gloriole Episode 2 feels like it’s trying to clear multiple paths at once. Sometimes it stumbles, but when it finds its way, it’s like a Spartan sprinting across an open field.
Spartans on standby
The episode begins with Dr. Catherine Halsey (Natascha McElhone), who is very much alive and in a room with beautiful natural light. (How do I get this lighting in my New York apartment?) She has brought a tray of tea and cookies from a young girl who tries to ask Halsey for information. Apparently someone is holding her here, but before she can get answers, the girl falls dead in front of her. Flash clones, man, they die faster than grunts.
Back on Reach, Riz (Natasha Culzac) struggles with the injuries she sustained in the big fight six months ago and refuses to admit it. Even after Kai (Kate Kennedy) suggests using her emotional control pellet again to ease the pain, Riz says she’d rather have a bullet shot into her instead. Stubborn Spartan.
The subsequent conversation between Kai and John (Pablo Schreiber) proves again glorioleThe company’s strength is its Spartans. The concern that crosses her face when he tells her what happened on Sanctuary, the change when she realizes that not only is he depressed because Cortana has been ripped out of his head, but that he might be hallucinating (he says he saw Makee, the Kai herself). killed), is first class stuff. However, she can’t focus on what’s going on with John because it looks like Ackerson has delegated another Spartan team to the “STANDBY” role – except that this one never returned from deployment. Now John is even more worried than before, the opening credits roll and the episode switches to Gibraltar and Kwan Ha.
Although Kwan’s story gives us a superbly choreographed chase and fight scene (which includes a moment where she attacks a man with a beer bottle and then drags him headfirst into the corner of a bar counter), it is difficult. She’s escaping forced servitude (I don’t remember her ever being forced into it, oops) and is hunted by two men who should be scary but really aren’t. I don’t know who they are, I don’t understand what’s at stake, or how much effort it will take to prove they’re henchmen whoever doesn’t land. Just take me back to the Spartans.
Spartans never die
We see more of Riz’s efforts to get better in this episode, and that’s a great thing. Spartans may be super soldiers, but they are also people, and it’s incredibly emotional to watch them reckon with the limits of their humanity after years of feeling invincible. While Riz fights in the Spartan’s monochrome weight room (which looks like a gym I’d happily go to, considering Planet Fitness and Blink Fitness have the bright color schemes of a damn kindergarten), a former Spartan named Louis-036 (Marvin Jones). III), who has become blind due to the necessary augmentation process, offers her help. “Don’t let her see it,” she winces as he feels her injured arm.
“Spartans never die,” she says when he tells her to do something else with her life. Moments later, James Ackerson (Joseph Morgan) scoffs at the same line through gritted teeth as he confronts John, who is worried about the missing Spartan team. Ackerson and John have a cock-measuring contest, John loses – but not before he finds out that Talia Perez (Cristina Rodio), the only Marine to survive the Sanctuary attack, has refuted his account of events. Time for a home visit.
Soren’s family is desperately searching for him, but once again I’m finding it hard to care. The acting is very strong and the writing is solid, but there’s something about the pacing that keeps me from identifying with the other characters here.
Elsewhere, Riz and the rest of the Silver team are tested by John, who suppresses his emotions in training sessions. It’s an intense but visually stunning scene – set among grassy hills reminiscent of the Ring Halo: Infinite, with moss-covered rocks and a huge, impressive waterfall. As the Spartans argue about the mission, the water beads up on their Mjolnir armor; As they climb the cliffs, their dull hues blend into the rocks. It’s such a huge visual improvement over last season that it’s almost unbelievable.
“The federal government is within reach”
The second half of the episode is where everything comes together – we get a payoff for the Halsey story (Ackerson is holding her hostage, she’s on Reach, and he’s using Cortana to exploit her, though it’s unclear why, and it still is reads a bit chaotically), and all other subplots are dropped and focus solely on the Spartans.
Riz goes to a healer and releases some of her torment, while John is forced to have dinner with the aforementioned Marine’s family members. (“You’re very tall,” her mother immediately says to him.) Then they ask him about his KDR (kill-death ratio) in the game “Spartan Attack“Which, you know, is easy Gloriole. After dinner, he talks to Perez on the roof of her apartment and she tells him what really happened – communications went out, she could hear something in the fog but couldn’t see it, and then boom Everyone but her is dead.
“It’s not getting better,” John says of the post-traumatic stress disorder she clearly struggles with. “It just gets further away.” Schreiber reminds us again that in this world, Master Chief has to take off his helmet as we have to see the pain on his face, only to then see stoicism kick in just as quickly to replace him.
Inspired by his conversation with Perez, John investigates the Spartan team’s disappearance and finds that they never left Reach. They went looking for a failed communications relay and disappeared. At the same time, Ackerson questions his captive Cortana about a problem he wants her to solve. She can’t find a way to avoid the likelihood of an unnamed event occurring, and we all know what that is: The Fall of Reach.
“The Covenant is at hand,” John tells the Silver team as they embark on an unsanctioned mission to rescue the mission’s Spartans. The Marines compete against a single cloaked elite in the relay race and we are once again reminded of the horror these aliens were designed to inspire. A dark hallway, the glow of an energy sword cutting through flesh – if you’re not afraid, you don’t pay attention to it.
This unique elite (wearing the Arbiter armor) is working with someone: Makee (Charlie Murphy), who is definitely alive and now has a new one gloriole Keystone in their possession. The fall of Reach is near.
gloriole Season 2, Episode 3 airs February 15 on Paramount+.
