Actor Pablo Schreiber, who plays Master Chief in Paramount+’s Halo streaming series, claims the romance in the show’s first season “was a huge mistake” and that he “fought against” it.
Halo Season 2 key art
Speaking with SFX Magazine ahead of the show’s second season, Schreiber said, “The decision to make the connection between Makee and John a romantic connection was a huge mistake.”
He elaborated, “I felt it was a huge mistake at the time and I argued against it and fought against it. But I am who I am. I don’t write the scripts. I only give my opinion. It wasn’t listened to.”
A scene from Halo Season 2 (2024), Paramount+
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The scene in question saw Schreiber’s Master Chief bring a book to the recently captured Makee. She becomes overwhelmed by her emotions and puts her hand on his chest. After she thanks him, Master Chief caresses her hand with his. The two then look into each other’s eyes and Makee leans in for a kiss.
From there, the two are shown undressing and it’s very clear what happens next.
The scene was previously defended by the show’s executive producer Kiki Wolfkill.
When asked about the negative reaction the scene got from Halo fans, Wolfkill told Deadline, “There was a lot of conversation leading up to whether to do that or not and it was a tough one. I mean, I will say that there’s a lot of different opinions and voices.”
She added, “I will say from my perspective, having the audience getting to understand what it means for him to make sort of a human connection with someone, with Makee, was important.”
Wolfkill continued, “There’s a lot of different opinions on how to do that, and ultimately, we ended up with that path and I think a lot of us feel conflicted about it and that’s not a bad thing.”
A scene from Halo Season 2 (2024), Paramount+
Next, she said, “I think ultimately what we’ve been able to deliver on with this season is a Master Chief who is wholly the soldier, and hero, and leader that he has always been and we also leave the season with a character in John who is really a fully defined character. It’s super interesting to be able to see his journey, and you know, admittedly some controversy along the way in getting there.”
“My hope is that we can all sort of rise beyond that and sort of look at where we end up with Chief and with John going into season two. I believe really strongly that we have an amazing story to tell with him and we’ll continue to do so, and sometimes as we know with the Silver Timeline that it’ll be different than we’ve seen him before. But who he is as a character both as Master Chief and as John is wholly the same,” Wolfkill concluded.
A scene from Halo Season 2 (2024), Paramount+
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Schreiber also previously defended the show’s writing and admitted that he came into the show wanting to subvert audience expectations during an appearance on Deadline’s Hero Nation podcast.
He shared, “In terms of working on the character and my process of it, I think a huge part of the research and all that was figuring out who this guy was in popular character. What it is he represents, what are the expectations that people are going to have coming in, and how can we simultaneously fulfill those expectations, but more importantly, subvert those expectations.”
Schreiber continued, “Especially when it’s a character like this, where it’s established and it’s a guy who pretty much stays the same across the long haul of the mainline Halo games. There’s definitely a character arc, there’s some development, but for the most part, he is what you get because he is created as an avatar for the gamer and you can’t have this major revealing of who it is so that the game feels like they’re him.”
A scene from Halo Season 2 (2024), Paramount+
He elaborated, “You can’t have this guy who stays the same across a long haul in order to make a TV show that fits into the landscape of great television. To make a show that fits into the landscape of great television, you have to have a character arc. You have to have your character begin somewhere and end somewhere else. That’s crucial to making a good TV show.”
“And then I think that subverting expectations is what also makes it interesting,” he reiterated. “If you’re just going to show up and redo what’s been done and give people the experience of a video game, then what are you there for?”
“We should be aspiring to giving the hardcore audience the Halo game, giving them a familiar experience that feels like Halo but allows them to experience this universe that they love so much in a completely new and different way. That should be the goal, and is the goal, in a way that also brings in new fans and creates new fans,” he posited.
A scene from Halo Season 2 (2024), Paramount+
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The first season of the series had an abysmal audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 52%. The average score was 2.9 out of 5.
Halo Season 1 Rotten Tomatoes scores
On IMDb it has a much higher score of 7.2 out of 10 with 22.2% of all reviews being perfect 10s.
Halo Season 1 IMDb scores
The second season arrives on Paramount+ on February 8th. The official description states, “In season two, Master Chief John-117 (Pablo Schreiber) leads his team of elite Spartans against the alien threat known as the Covenant. In the wake of a shocking event on a desolate planet, John cannot shake the feeling that his war is about to change and risks everything to prove what no one else will believe – that the Covenant is preparing to attack humanity’s greatest stronghold. With the galaxy on the brink, John embarks on a journey to find the key to humankind’s salvation, or its extinction: the Halo.”
The second season stars Schreiber as Master Chief and Natascha McElhone as Dr. Halsey. Other cast members include Jen Taylor, Bokeem Woodbine, Shabana Azmi, Natasha Culzac, Olive Gray, Yerin Ha, Bently Kalu, Kate Kennedy, Charlie Murphy, Joseph Morgan, Cristina Rodlo, Christina Bennington, Fiona O’Shaughnessy, Tylan Bailey, and Danny Sapani.
The cast of Halo on the set of Season 2.
What do you make of Schreiber’s claims?
NEXT: Games Journalist Disses Old Master Chief as Halo TV Series Crashes
