The Halo show may not have had the smoothest of productions, and the decision to make it a separate canon from the pre-existing games and books is sure to have rubbed some fans up the wrong way. Still, the series is consistently above-average and while not being seen as anything groundbreaking, the potential is there for the series to improve into something the fandom can be proud of.
The Halo series has had a few episodes released now, but the pilot contained many great elements that got fans hooked on the series and the new retelling of the story and Master Chief. Some of the best Xbox games ever made include, so there's definitely pressure on for the series to deliver.
6 Game Sound Effects
Being an adaptation of a game series it isn't surprising that the series chose to re-use sound effects that the fans know and love from the series. The most notable sound effect is of course the shield recharge when Master Chief is in a skirmish against a party of Covenant. This sound effect became iconic right from Halo's first mission.
The pilot also had the same sound effects for weapons that were faithful to the games. While it's a shame that the show can't feature any of Martin McDonnell's music due to a lawsuit he and Microsoft are currently engaged in, fans appreciate the original game sound effects being used in the show.
5 Covenant Holding A Human
Makee is a human who was taken by the Covenant as a child, now elevated into a powerful position within the alien collective, commonly standing watch and discussing overall plans with the Prophets of Truth. The Halo games have characters with great backstories, but fans will be excited to learn about Makee's.
The game and book lore has never had a human being part of the Covenant, so it's interesting that the show took this route because it helps to differentiate the different canons. Makee most likely has a further role to play in the Human-Covenant war, and fans are very excited to see this play out across the series.
4 Other Spartans
Something that the games and books have only recently adopted is showing more Spartans and having Chief be part of a team. In the early days of the first few games, Master Chief was considered the last Spartan left before this was changed in the canon. Master Chief is frequently compared to other Halo Spartans favorably, so it's a good thing they focused on Chief as the star character in the show.
In the Halo series, there are multiple Spartans. While it doesn't seem like all of them will be getting much expansion, the pilot episode did a good job of making it clear to the audience that we'd see multiple Spartans in action and not just focus on Chief.
3 Master Chief Unmasked
While it's an integral part of the Halo series that we've never seen Master Chief's face fully (apart from a brief look in the Legendary ending of Halo 4), we love that they have unmasked him for the Halo series. There was the worry of it coming across as a Mandalorian clone if the show took the same route, so it's good to see the show humanizing Chief by avoiding this.
Even the games have tried to focus on humanizing Chief over the last couple of entries, which is some of the best things added to the Halo lore. By unmasking him in the show and having him talk a lot more, it's arguable that the show has already succeeded in this.
2 Slow Burning
Despite the fact this show is an adaptation of a pre-established franchise, it's good that it isn't rushing to tell its story. For a lot of people, the series may be the first exposure they've had to the Halo universe. There are tons of Covenant species, for instance, while we've only seen a couple.
The fact that all of the many plot threads of the story are being developed slowly, with the pilot focusing on establishing the Human-Covenant war and the UNSC being a questionable force means that the audience can take the various plot elements in slowly as they grow and develop over the series.
1 Insurgent-UNSC Conflict
Something that the games have often skirted over is the unethical nature of the UNSC. The books have done a good job of exploring this and how many human insurgents on colony worlds see them as the enemy. The pilot really delved into how the UNSC can be seen as the space marine villains, and fans loved it.
There's so much time to tell the Halo story and it's so large that it's great the show isn't rushing in to make it about the humans and Covenant war. By first showing that the UNSC and humans often have skirmishes, but then showing how humans will all rally together when the Covenant arrive introduces an interesting dynamic to the universe.