Halo Episode 7 Puts The Master Chief On The Backburner For A Detour Into The Desert

Never before has Kwan Ha, once such a promising character at the beginning of the series, felt more like an afterthought — ironic, given that this episode was clearly meant as her moment to shine. To Yerin Ha’s credit, the actor is tasked with carrying the vast majority of the hour with very little in the way of worthy material, and she acquits herself just as well as ever. It’s a shame that the script, written by Steven Kane, hardly gives her more to do than oscillate between extremes of rage, brokenness, and ultimately tearful self-realization, but Ha at least tries her best to add subtle layers of interiority to help make those wild emotional shifts feel a little more grounded.

Other facets of “Inheritance,” however, don’t fare quite as well. On the face of it, it’s actually surprisingly difficult to question any of the good intentions prevalent throughout episode 7, directed by Jessica Lowrey (“Fear the Walking Dead,” “Doom Patrol,” the upcoming season 2 of “Perry Mason”). Only a few weeks ago, I myself challenged the creators of “Halo” to do away with the sprawling and unfocused structure of each episode and double down on just one major storyline for a week. That’s exactly what they did here … but, unfortunately, the choice comes just a few weeks too late. Worse still, the characters and their particular arcs here perhaps weren’t best served by such an approach at this stage of the season.

After beginning with a flashback to 2 years in the past (a plot device that this season repeatedly defaults to at the start of several episodes, with this one ranking as perhaps one of the least effective), which mostly just reiterates Kwan’s pragmatism and single-minded need to fight at all costs, the episode picks up with Kwan in the wilderness after she’s ditched Soren. Heading off into the heart of the desert to find the mysterious people who she holds responsible for her father Jin Ha’s death, the episode very obviously leans on as many “Mad Max” and “Dune” vibes as it possibly can. This only increases once Kwan plunges into a dust storm and immediately (read: conveniently) encounters the precise inhabitants she’d been looking for: a desert-dwelling settlement of women, one of whom holds the key to Kwan’s family lineage and her overwhelming need to protect Madrigal.