Summary Master Chief actor Pablo Schreiber reveals that he thinks the John and Makee romance in Halo season 1 was a mistake and that he argued against it at the time, to no avail.
The romance was criticized by some viewers for being too out of character for Master Chief, who never had any romantic interests in the video games.
The romance was part of a larger attempt to humanize Master Chief, which has divided audiences.
Halo TV show star Pablo Schreiber shares his honest response about season 1’s divisive John and Makee romance. Based on the popular video game franchise of the same name, the hit Paramount Plus sci-fi series was first released last year, featuring Schreiber suiting up as Master Chief as a war rages between humanity and alien forces known as The Covenant. The show earned mostly positive reviews from critics, but a more mixed response from audiences, with some expressing dissatisfaction with, among other things, John and Makee (Charlie Murphy) having sex.
Now, ahead of the Halo season 2 release date on Paramount Plus, Schreiber addresses the John and Makee romance from season 1 during an interview with SFX Magazine (via GamesRadar). The actor reveals that he was actually also critical of the romance storyline and that he even attempted to have it altered. Check out Schreiber’s full comment below:
“The decision to make the connection between Makee and John a romantic connection was a huge mistake. 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.”
Why John & Makee’s Halo Season 1 Romance Was So Divisive
In the Halo video games, Master Chief is a faceless hero, never removing his helmet and largely serving as an empty shell through which players get to experience an epic, action-packed, sci-fi adventure. While this approach is effective for a video game, it was deemed by season 1 showrunner Steven Kane and the show’s creative team that it wouldn’t quite be as effective in the medium of television. As such, a conscious effort was made to make Master Chief more of a three-dimensional character.
Kane is not returning as showrunner for season 2, with David Wiener instead taking on showrunning duties.
While this idea certainly makes sense in theory, John and Makee consumating their relationship didn’t work for all audiences. In the video games, after all, Master Chief never has any romantic interests. What’s more, Makee was also a Covenant spy, and some viewers didn’t buy that John would be so easily duped.
On the flip side, it’s easy to see why a John and Makee romance does make some sense from a story and character perspective. They both had shared visions of the Halo ring, and John, who had essentially been trained as a robot soldier, was discovering what it meant to be a human with feelings. The Halo season 1 finale saw Makee seemingly die, but Murphy has been confirmed to return in season 2 in some capacity. So far, however, Halo season 2 trailers have provided no indication of what might be to come for the divisive character.
Halo season 2 premieres on Paramount Plus on February 8.
Source: SFX Magazine (via GamesRadar)