Halo: Nightfall Episode Three Draws The Short Straw

We’ve had an early look at Halo: Nightfall’s third episode, and we wish we had better news. After a strong start in episode one, the story begins to stall out at the mid-way point.

Note: There are no spoilers for this episode, but we will freely discuss items from the first two.

As we learned in Nightfall’s second episode, the monstrosities that attack Locke and Aiken’s team are something we’ve seen before in Halo lore. The hunter worms are identified explicitly as “Lekgolo” (the hulking twin Hunters for those that have just played the games).

The first half of the episode is simply a recap of the terrible situation in which these soldiers find themselves: stranded on a fragment of a Halo ring with time running out before the blazing sunrise. Tensions start to rise between the soldiers and the pair of smugglers captured harvesting the deadly, human-killing element, as the team makes its way to the crashed Condor to secure the Havoc nuke.

There is a bit of action in the second part, but nothing that advances the plot significantly. All told, nothing much happens in this episode, which is disappointing after the series’ fast start. 

There are still two episodes left in the Halo: Nightfall saga, but our hope is starting to wane. The sets, props, and acting are certainly enjoyable, but there isn’t nearly enough story to sink our teeth into.