REVIEW: ‘Halo’ Season 2 Episode 4 — “Reach”

At just four episodes in, the Fall of Reach is here. The last episode ended with an explosion, disrupting John-117 (Pablo Schreiber), the Master Chief, and Talia Perez’s (Cristina Rodlo) time in the church. Now, the Covenant assault threatens humanity’s most important stronghold in full force. John, Perez, and the Silver Team fight an overwhelming enemy. Admiral Jacob Keyes rallies the UNSC forces to make a final stand and it cuts deeply.

Halo Season 2 Episode 4 moves at a breakneck pace. The Spartans move quickly through Reach; they fight, and they fall. Somehow, despite the episode’s speed, the series doesn’t lose sight of the emotional stakes. Finally, Halo captures action and emotion in a balanced way and does so with weight. This is the best episode that the series has put out since it started. Capitalizing on everything established since Episode 1 and the last episode’s sharp reveals, “Reach” stuns.

In this episode, you can feel the loss. You can feel the Spartans losing their grounding as Reach is under siege. Every explosion and attack captures emotion while simultaneously showing the series’ biggest investment in combat sequences. With iconic weapons, vehicles, and attacks, Halo Season 2 Episode 4 is a buffet of video game references for gamers. At the same time, it never feels too much or stuffed in where it doesn’t belong.

Regarding character work, Halo Season 2 Episode 4 keeps everything centered on the Silver Team but also justifies the inclusion of characters like Louis, Danilo, and Perez. There is more to the ensemble than you expect in the weight they carry as Reach falls. Loss is everywhere. Cristina Rodlo’s performance as Perez as she realizes her entire family may have been killed in an explosion is heartbreaking. Her decision to accompany John and save others because she is a marine while still in shock is emotional, to say the least.

Thanks to the production design of this episode, it all feels real. Instead of feeling like it’s an endless greenscreen, in the area of Reach, we see the bulk of the fights look real. It looks lived-in. It feels like a place you can explore. The set’s tactile nature continues with the series’ action elements even when John is out of his Spartan armor fighting a Covenant grunt hand to hand.

The action in Halo Season 2 Episode 4 has an epic and intimate scale. Large explosions and rolling Wraith move through the streets. It’s all a spectacle. But simultaneously, as John and Perez stumble into an antique shop, the human resiliency is striking and personal. It’s a small moment that captures the importance of standing your ground, even against the inevitable. The fact that that tender moment immediately transitions into a section of Reach that has now become a battlefield makes it all hit harder.

Not losing any of its characters in the mayhem and attacks is a testament to how far the series has come. Loud and expansive, the action direction in this episode pulls clear influence from action greats as the Silver Team and the others move upwards through a building only to fall into even more danger. There is no release of the pressure in this episode. It all mounts. The loss builds layer by layer, and no single character in this ensemble escapes it.

But the shining moment of emotion in Halo Season 2 Episode 4 comes in two key parts: Keyes and Vannak. In Episode 3,  Keyes (Danny Sapani) stood against Ackerson’s cowardice. He chose to stay with Reach and his people. And in this episode, he goes out on his own terms. The strength of this scene doesn’t come from Keyes’ sacrifice alone. It’s how the camera pans to his Spartans reacting to his death. While his presence will be missed, the weight of his exit and the strength of his performance will stand as a pillar in the series. After delivering a powerful speech that acknowledges the hopelessness of their situation, he chooses to fight along his marines. He never runs.

From a narrative perspective, though, Silver Team is not complete. While we see John, Riz-028 (Natasha Culzac), and Vannak-134 (Bentley Kalu) fighting together, Kai is not. As the Silver Team enters the fight without their suits, their mortality is displayed. And Vannak pays that price. Taking a needle to the chest like Riz did last season; he doesn’t have a suit to protect him. The kindest among the Silver Team and the one we didn’t get to know deeply, the way his body closes out the episode, staring at the birds he loved is gutting. And we can only assume Kai-125 (Kate Kennedy) fled with Ackerson, leaving her team behind.

As a whole, Halo Season 2 Episode 4 is astonishing. It’s a midseason episode that showcases just how far the series has come, showcasing action and telling the stories that build its weight. The show is at an inflection point in its narrative. Reach has fallen. Halsey is out of her imprisonment. Keyes is dead. Ackerson has left Reach unprotected and allowed it to be taken. Nothing is going to be the same from here on out. The future for the Halo series is as bright as ever, and it comes from the darkness that has fallen in “Reach.”

Halo Season 2 Episode 4 is streaming now on Paramount+, with new episodes every Thursday.