When the live-action Cortana first showed her face in the Halo trailers, many fans found the design change to her holographic apparatus an inconsolable deviation from the source video games. But it seems that Jen Taylor has managed to win their hearts over after finally making her debut in the latest episode.
Episode three, titled “Emergence,” introduced viewers to Cortana, Dr. Halsey’s flash-cloned artificial intelligence, who serves as Master Chief’s sidekick in the Halo video game series. Of course, that is when she isn’t busy saving the world all by herself, so the character will probably grow to be one of the main protagonists in the Paramount show as well.
Given her importance in the context of this sci-fi narrative and Master Chief’s personal history, a lot of fans are just glad that Cortana has finally made her debut. In fact, many of them are saying that she was actually great in the episode despite the changes made to her appearance.
Others, meanwhile, are just glad that Paramount brought Jen Taylor, Cortana’s voice actor in the game series, to portray this live-action version.
Many fans also point out that this final version is more polished than the one we saw in the trailers, which could explain the positive reception to a degree.
And for those who know where Halo‘s story is roughly heading, the exploration of the dynamic between Master Chief and Cortana is definitely exciting in and of itself.
While Cortana admittedly looks a lot different from her video game counterpart, Jen Taylor has managed to channel all of the character’s mannerisms in her portrayal, which truly brings her to life on the small screen. Let’s hope she manages to continue this streak in the forthcoming Halo episodes as they premiere every Thursday on Paramount Plus.