Halo “Onyx” Review

Season 2 Episode 6 – John seeks revenge on a secret ONI planet. Perez trains to become a new kind of soldier. Kai finds herself torn between her Spartan code and her loyalty to Master Chief. Makee turns to Cortana for help in her search for the Halo.

Please note, our reviews are based on likes and dislikes. These contain significant spoilers. If you haven’t already watched the episode, we recommend that you click off the article and come back once you have watched the episode. Enjoy!

What I Liked

1. Another action-packed beginning to the episode despite being a simulation it still looked incredible. In the simulation, Perez and a squad infiltrate a Covenant ship in space to take it down. We later learn it’s Kai behind the simulation training them. I’m intrigued to see how this continues to go with Kai.

2. I loved Parangosky in the way she handled Ackerson in their chat. It’s the fact she told Ackerson to his face that Chief was on the planet and ready. He still couldn’t even believe it. It’s showing a continuing sinister side to Ackerson, we all knew it was there but now we know for a fact he tried to kill Chief and Halsey.

3. As John, Soren, Kwan, and Laera are surveying the facility where Ackerson is, they’re approached by a squad looking to kill them and they don’t even hesitate before firing. Chief takes down a unit with very little effort and as always, it’s an absolute pleasure watching him in action.

4. As John is hauled into a room full of chains, he has this sadistic smile on his face. This is what I love about Chief, you know he has a plan and it’s written all over his face. I just hope it’s the suit at this point in the episode.

5. There it is. Even chained up like that, John still manages to annihilate every single soldier in that room completely. It’s just impressive and even more entertaining to watch.

6. Cortana finally shows up to Chief after he is battered by Kai. He gave him a pep talk and told him the Covenant is close to finding the Halo. He bravely gets back to his feet whilst Cortana also distracts Parangosky. It’s nice to see Chief and Cortana back in conversation again, considering how vital she is in the video games.

7. Kai now discovers that Chief is right. Before she can end the simulation, Ackerson has already ordered a squad down to finish John off. Kai sprints to him but John marches on with the help of Cortana to the artifact. What a climatic moment this was.

8. ARBITER!!!!! He saves McKee after being ordered to kill her. I always wondered if he’d get the Arbiter from Halo 2/3 and it appears like this is the beginning of that. Holy s***!!!

What I Disliked

Nothing to report this week.

Favorite Moment

Kai and John finally come face to face for the first time in a while. Chief wastes no time in explaining to Kai exactly what happened. Kai diverts and goes off Ackerson’s accusations but I love how this interaction didn’t beat around the bush, it got straight to it. Kai attacks Chief but gains an immediate upper hand because she’s in the Spartan armor and he still doesn’t have it. As the Chief continues to explain what happened, Kai continues her assault and knocks the Chief out. What a moment. That entire scene was fantastic.

Standout Character

John for me stood out the most in this episode. He was fantastic from all angles. It’s difficult to say much more than I’ve already written within this article but this was a huge episode for him.

Verdict

One of the best Halo episodes by a country mile. Everything from the action, to the story, to the confrontation between Chief and Kai all the way down to the eventual Arbiter switch. I can honestly say I was fully entertained all the way throughout.

Rating 10/10

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