REVIEW: ‘Halo’ Episode 7 — “Inheritance”

Halo, the live-action series based on the iconic video game franchise from Paramount+, hit its stride in the last two episodes by focusing on Master Chief’s (Pablo Schreiber) story and unpacking the questions it’s set up so far. But in order to do that the series stopped focusing on three storylines at once and instead focused on one. In a similar fashion, Halo Episode 7 has shifted gears again only this time it’s expanded Kwan’s (Yerin Ha) story.

Dedicated to Kwan and Madigral, Halo Episode 7, “Inheritance,” takes her journey to uncover her family’s “true purpose” to a deeper level. Abducted in the deserts of Madrigal, Kwan is pushed to see beyond her expectations and consolidate her past with Madrigal’s future. At the same time, Soren (Bokeem Woodbine) obsesses over unfinished business.

To be completely honest, my feelings on Halo Episode 7 are complicated. On the one hand, it is a good episode. It’s well-shot and paced with stakes that feel real. Additionally, the last act of the episode is packed with action that continues to showcase how well the series handles large-scale battles. In fact, it captures all the great elements that the series has built up so far but do so with Kwan at the center. Storywise, the episode digs into Kwan’s father’s legacy and the purpose behind his goals. Additionally, it expands Madrigal out beyond the city we’ve seen, giving it a grander sense of scale.

But Halo Episode 7 isn’t just great for Kwan, it also puts Soren more in focus as well as the antagonist on Madrigal, Vinsher Grath. With some of the most outright evil in the series thus far, Burn Gorman goes towards a chaotic evil that works so extremely well. He’s a force for bad but his intimidation makes him compelling and his performance is one of the best in the series.

That said, Halo Episode 7 feels out of place. In a way, the episode, like the last two before it, proves how much the series can succeed when there is a clear focus. Unfortunately, this leaves the series split in to. Despite showing Master Chief in some sequences and adding a larger commentary about the UNSC, the episode feels extremely detached from the larger narrative. This is especially clear because the series didn’t just inch closer to discovering the Halo but leaped towards it.

Halo Episode 7 is a damn fine episode, but it shows what the series could have been if it had chosen to tell a story that wasn’t about Master Chief. As Kwan Ha, Yerin Ha finally evolves past a child wanting everything her way and into a dynamic character with grit and fight as well as vulnerability. She comes into her own in this episode and when judged by itself, “Inheritance” works. But within the larger narrative, we’re left waiting for the build-up in the series’ main storyline to pay off. Outside of wanting to make it back to John’s story, the episode’s costuming ends up falling short. From the wigs to Soren’s prosthetic, it’s hard to understand the budget of the series. In one moment, like the battles, it feels grand, but in smaller moments it feels like a b-movie.

We know that Halo is going to last beyond one season. With that, I hope that they begin to balance Kwan and John in a way that doesn’t consistently leave me waiting for the main story. Halo Episode 7 is good, but it’s out of place. I want to get back to John, even if Kwan has finally become a standout.

Halo Episode 7 is streaming now, exclusively on Paramount+.