Master Chief actor Pablo Schreiber has issued strongly worded comments on one of the most controversial scenes in Halo Season 1, insisting it was a “huge mistake” for the iconic super solider to have sex.
In Halo Season 1, Master Chief has sex with human covenant spy prisoner Makee in a scene that sparked a vociferous debate about just how far from the video games the live-action TV show had veered. Halo fans were already put off by Master Chief removing his helmet in the show (something they’re once again upset about ahead of the launch of Season 2). Master Chief’s sex scene then pushed many core fans of the video game over the edge.
Here’s what happens: the series has introduced a brand new character in Charlie Murphy's Makee, a human who was kidnapped by the Covenant at a young age and elevated to a position of power in that alien theocracy. John and Makee are seemingly the only two beings in the galaxy who can interact with mysterious artifacts. After experiencing a shared vision of a Halo station in Episode 6, the two characters have sex in Episode 8. And just to make things extra weird, Cortana is watching the entire time.
Now, Schreiber has called into question the wisdom of the sex scene, suggesting a behind-the-scenes difference of opinion about Master Chief’s story.
"The decision to make the connection between Makee and John a romantic connection was a huge mistake," Schreiber told SFX magazine, via GamesRadar.
“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."
While Schreiber appears to share Halo fans’ feelings on Master Chief’s sex scene, he seems in agreement with the decision to remove Master Chief’s helmet.
In March 2022, Schreiber explained why the decision was made for Master Chief to remove his helmet, saying: “One thing I learned very early on is that there's as many different opinions in the Halo universe as there are Halo fans. So obviously, you're not going to be able to please everybody. But what I would say is that we are tailoring an entertainment experience that's tailored to the medium that it's for."
"When you play a first-person shooter, the way that a character is developed is very different than what's necessary when you're making long-form television," Schreiber added. "To go on this journey with your protagonist, you're not going to be able to bring an audience along in a long-form story without having access to a character's face, which tells you what they're feeling, how they think about everything. That access to a character's emotional life, over the course of time, is what makes you empathise and connect with a character.
"I'm sorry, but it's the only choice for long-form storytelling in television. What I would say to anybody who disagrees with that, I totally respect that opinion. But it's a pretty basic place to start when you're talking about making a television show of quality."
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
