Halo Season One Blu-Ray Review

After streaming exclusively upon release on the Paramount+ streaming service, the first season of Showtime and 343 Industries’ big budget live action television adaptation of the ‘Halo’ series has finally arrived on home video with DVD, Blu Ray, 4K Blu Ray, and 4K Blu Ray Collectors Steel book releases.

This review will be exclusively for the regular Blu Ray release of the first season, although, with the obvious exceptions of video and audio quality, there thankfully is not much difference between each home release of this first season.

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With this Blu Ray release, the season is packaged in a standard Blu Ray case that comes with it’s own protective slip cover, and both the insert inside the case and the slip cover feature the standard home release key art showing the lead cast members on the front, with the back showing several key art stills from the season along with a description and a list of the special features included in this release.

In addition, each physical home release of this first season comes with seven exclusive art cards featuring the Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber), Doctor Halsey (Natascha McElhone), Kai-125 (Kate Kennedy), Kwan (Yerin Ha), Soren (Bokeem Woodbine), Vannak 134 (Bentley Kalu), and Riz -028 (Natasha Culzac).

Delving then into this Blu Ray release, the season has been split across all five discs of this release with the first four discs containing two episodes each along with their respective ‘Halo The Series: Declassified’ behind the scenes featurette. While the fifth and final disc contains the 1st Season finale and the remaining bonus behind the scenes special featurettes:

Disc 1:
Episode 1 – ‘Contact’
Episode 2 – ‘Unbound’
‘Halo The Series: Declassified 101’
‘Halo The Series: Declassified 102’

Disc 2:
Episode 3 – ‘Emergence’
Episode 4 – ‘Homecoming’
‘Halo The Series: Declassified 103’
‘Halo The Series: Declassified 104’

Disc 3:
Episode 5 – ‘Reckoning’
Episode 6 – ‘Solace’
‘Halo The Series: Declassified 105’
‘Halo The Series: Declassified 106’

Disc 4:
Episode 7 – ‘Inheritance’
Episode 8 – ‘Allegiance’
‘Halo The Series: Declassified 107’
‘Halo The Series: Declassified 108’

Disc 5:
Episode 9 – ‘Transcendence’
‘Halo The Series: Declassified 109’
‘Dissecting The Battle of Madrigal’
‘The World of Halo’
‘The Culture of The Covenant’
‘Adapting Halo’
‘Becoming Spartans’
‘Creating the Costumes of Halo’
‘Weapons and Vehicles of Halo’
‘The Making of Cortana’
‘The Lake of Eternal Life – A Song From Halo’s Score’

Playing each episode, it’s not hard to see that high definition (and I would imagine, the 4K release especially) is how the show’s creators ideally want viewers to experience it. As the action feels incredibly cinematic and epic, and at times, as if you’re actually watching a cut scene from the games.

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As in high definition, you can really appreciate the time and detail that has been put into every aspect of the season’s production from the cinematography to the costume and prop design to the audio design, especially when watching the episodes using the Blu Ray’s included English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.

If you have a home theatre setup that allows you to watch the episodes with the DTS-HD Master Audio enabled, you’ll feel a greater sense of immersion as you hear the distinctive roar of the UNSC Warthog’s engine, or the unmistakable sound of the Chief’s Spartan Mjolnir armour regenerating, in addition to feeling every explosion and shot of gunfire that ring out in the show’s many action scenes.

Now, it’s hard to to discuss this first season of Halo without acknowledging that despite the anticipation and excitement for the release of the series. The initial reactions to it saw divided opinions from viewers and long time Halo fans at the showrunners’ decision to feature established Halo lore and characters but in a story that while inspired by the flagship videogame series, has instead chosen to tell its own version of the Master Chief and UNSC’s war against The Covenant.

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However, if you are interested in purchasing the first season on Blu Ray, then there is a strong likelihood that you are already a fan of it, are considering giving the series a second chance, or you’re interested in watching it for the first time.

And if you are any of the above, then I personally recommend buying this release. As it hearkens back to the early years of home video releases for movies and TV when fans could watch the main content and then dive right into hours of in-depth behind the scenes material that showed just how what you were watching was created.

Sadly, the trend of including in-depth behind the scenes content for home video releases has dwindled in recent years due to the rise in popularity of streaming platforms. But, this release features over 5 hours of behind the scenes content that delves into everything from the show’s set design, to props and costumes, to the training undertaken by the Spartan actors, to breaking down the epic battle of Madrigal that opens the series in the very first episodes and introduces us to the Master Chief and Silver Team.

I would even go so far as to say after viewing these behind the scenes featurettes that even Halo fans who didn’t enjoy or agree with this first season, would still appreciate the insights given in these featurettes as they show an incredible dedication by the show’s costumes, props, and visual effects team to faithfully bring the world of the videogames to relief in truly stunning detail.

In short, this home release of Halo Season 1 won’t change the minds of anyone who disliked the series for deviating so much narratively from its source material. But, its extra features may just give them a new appreciation for the work of the shows’ creative teams.

And, for everyone who enjoyed or loved the first season of Halo. Then you will absolutely love this Blu Ray release as it includes a wealth of insightful content exclusive to the home releases, and should help ease the wait a little for the 2nd season of the series.

Halo Season One Blu-Ray FAQ

When did the Halo Series start?

The series premiered on 24th March 2022.

Is Halo season 1 only 9 episodes?

Yes, there are only 9 episodes in the show’s first season.

What channel is Halo on UK?

Apart from this home video release, the only other way to watch the series in the UK is on the Paramount+ streaming service.