As the old adage (or at least a slight twist on it) goes: Is it really an insult if it’s true?
In doubling down on arguably the worst creative liberty taken in a series almost entirely comprised of them, Halo star Pablo Schreiber has insultingly affirmed that he has no interest in listening to critics who are unhappy with the series’ decision to constantly depict his character, Master Chief, without his helmet.
Schreiber offered his latest defense of the series’ controversial costuming choice while speaking with SFX Magazine in promotion of the Paramount Network exclusive’s upcoming second season premiere.
Pressed for his thoughts on those critics who still take issue with Master Chief’s elevated face time, the Orange is the New Black star opined, “People who don’t feel the helmet was necessary to come off, they’re at such an early conception of what the show could be.”
“In order to examine the discrepancy between these two versions of the character [his Spartan and human sides], you can’t tell that story without taking the helmet off,” He continued.
However, rather than even offer acknowledgment of his critics’ completely valid issue, Schreiber instead insulted them by declaring, “If you don’t agree with the helmet coming off in the show, you don’t like our show So, there’s no point discussing it.”
As noted above, this is not the first time Schreiber has stood behind the series’ decision to have the Chief feel the wind blow through his hair.
Discussing the topic with Slasfilm’s Ryan Scott following the series’ world premiere at the 2023 South by Southwest festival, the actor opined, “I always knew that the helmet off was going to be a big part of the show because, just quite frankly, it’s the only way to tell this story in long-form television format.”
“The game was made as a first person shooter, where you’re meant to believe that you’re the Master Chief,” he told Scott. “So the character was kept vague for that reason, and you infuse the character with your own personality and your own subtleties. This is a TV show being made for long term success. In order to do that, you have to bring the audience along with you.”
“And really, the only way of doing that is seeing the face, knowing how the character’s feeling about things,” the actor then asserted. “That’s how you empathize with them. That’s how you go along with them on the journey.”
He further elaborated, “So it was always a necessary thing, and it was a necessary thing to do early, to get the audience comfortable with going on this journey. Also because the character has been kept vague for so long.”
“The process of the first season is really the process of John learning who he is as a human being,” he ultimately concluded of his defense. “So, ‘Who is the Master Chief?’ is kind of the big question that we’re going to fill in, in the first season. It’s through the process of him learning about himself, and therefore, we, as audience members, will all learn about that along with him.”
For the morbidly curious, the second season of Halo is presently set to crash onto the Paramount Network on February 8th.