Halo Episode 1 (Spoilers) (Fan Creations)

by EffortlessFury , Saturday, March 26, 2022, 01:14 (976 days ago) @ Cody Miller

Nothing makes sense unless you know from Fall of reach that Halsey kidnaps kids and wipes their memories to turn them into Spartans. If you don't know this… nothing will make any sense at all because this is not established despite being a major thing to know to decipher character motivations.

Except Halsey never wiped anyone's memories in the original canon. It has happened in this timeline, however, and has yet to be established by the show.

So… even worse. I was only able to guess that because I had read Fall of Reach.

If you somehow think that's "even worse," I question your media literacy, considering not explaining everything up front is an incredibly common and valid technique in storytelling. We're not meant to understand that fully yet. Duh.

It’s about having the required information as an audience to understand character choices which are supposed to be important. Even in mysteries, where lack of information is almost a given for the genre, character motivations are always crystal clear in the good ones. The motivations may change in retrospect, but as you see it you have clear stakes, goals, and emotional continuity from characters.

Withholding this information, yet having said information be crucial for the motivations of characters is not good. Ask yourself what you get by teasing yet withholding. You get nothing but undercut the drama of the choices made in episode 1.

I think far enough is implied regarding "memories" to sustain the drama. I haven't really seen anyone unfamiliar with the series be confused about that aspect.