When it comes to the Halo franchise, the one name that really stands out ever since the game was first released in 2001 is Master Chief. The Halo TV series is just as focused on Master Chief’s story but adds a supporting character in the form of Kwan Ha, who has her own story and plot in the series. However, Kwan Ha hasn’t been received well by the fans even as we’ve crossed the halfway point of Halo’s first season. So, why do fans find Kwan Ha annoying?
Fans find Kwan Ha annoying because her story is yet to make any sense in the larger scheme of things in the Halo universe. On top of that, Kwan Ha is also very illogical in her approach to trying to free Madrigal because she doesn’t understand simple reason and has caused the deaths of other characters as well.
At this point in Halo, there still aren’t a lot of developments in Kwan Ha’s story when compared to the greater scheme of what’s happening between the UNSC and the Covenant. Of course, her approach to handling her own subplot is what annoys fans as well. That said, let’s look at more about Kwan Ha and why fans haven’t received her well.
What Is Kwan Ha’s Purpose In The Halo Show?
When the Halo TV show premiered, Kwan Ha was one of the first characters introduced. She was the daughter of a freedom fighter over on a planet called Madrigal but somehow got herself involved in the mess when she and her friends stumbled on a group of Covenant Elites that massacred her entire camp. She got saved by Master Chief’s Silver Team and was about to get executed until John-117 escaped from the UNSC and took her with her to learn more about the artifact that he and Silver Team recovered over at Madrigal.
As Master Chief decided to return to Reach to tell them about what he learned about the artifact, he left Kwan Ha over at Rubble with his old friend, Soren. Since then, Kwan Ha’s story has diverged from the larger scheme of things that Master Chief was in the middle of as she ended up focusing more on what’s happening on Madrigal. So, what is Kwan Ha’s purpose in the Halo TV show?
Kwan Ha seems to be the representation of the “other” characters that tend to be overlooked when it comes to a story that involves larger elements, such as entire armies and powerful forces that are engaged in a war. In the middle of a war between powerful forces, there are smaller elements, such as the simple people who are forced to live with the fact that they have to be drawn into something that they have nothing to do with.
In Kwan Ha’s case, she is a freedom fighter trying to fight for the independence of Madrigal from the UNSC, which has had an iron hand on the human colonies found all over the universe. She represents the people who just want to stay away from the entire mess involving the UNSC and the Covenant. However, the UNSC installed a puppet leader on Madrigal so that they could easily control the planet and prevent the people from rising up.
So, ever since Kwan Ha got separated from Master Chief, her goal was to overthrow this puppet leader so that Madrigal could continue its pursuit for freedom from the UNSC. In that regard, she is supposed to be the more human side of the Halo series, which explores the story of emotionless super-soldiers fighting aliens in a war for the universe.
Why Do Fans Find Kwan Ha Annoying?
While Kwan Ha does have a specific purpose in the series, she hasn’t been received well by the fans. There are those who just don’t see the value that she adds to the story and even believe that she is the most annoying character in the series.
So, why is it that fans find Kwan Ha annoying? Well, there are a lot of different reasons why that is so, and they all lead to the fact that she is supposed to be the more human side of the entire Halo series.
One of the reasons why fans find Kwan Ha annoying is the fact that she doesn’t seem to contribute to the larger narrative. Remember that the entire Halo franchise has always been about Master Chief trying to find a way to stop the Covenant from achieving their goal of activating the Halo weapon that could annihilate all beings in the galaxy.
Meanwhile, Kwan Ha’s story revolves around her fighting for the freedom of Madrigal, a single planet that doesn’t even seem important in the larger scheme of things when you compare it to what’s happening between the UNSC and the Covenant. Yes, it makes sense that Kwan Ha is trying to keep her planet away from the UNSC and is trying to find a way for her people to become independent. But all that doesn’t make sense when you look at the fact that both the UNSC and the Covenant are fighting a war for something that could literally wipe out all life in the galaxy.
Moreover, there’s the fact that Kwan Ha doesn’t seem to be the most sensible character out there. While she was at Rubble, she tried to find a way to get back to Madrigal by stealing Soren’s ship, which she didn’t even know how to use. If it weren’t for Soren getting convinced that there was some money involved in taking Kwan Ha back to Madrigal, he wouldn’t have helped her.
When she got to Madrigal, Kwan Ha put a lot of people in danger by constantly convincing them to take arms against the puppet leader of the planet. Even when the former freedom fighters had already given up, Kwan Ha inadvertently got them killed by pulling them into a war of freedom they no longer wanted to fight. This included getting her own aunt killed even after she had tried her best to convince Kwan Ha that there was no longer a reason to rebel.
Then, in episode 5, she attacked Soren after he had tried his best to keep her alive and to find a way to get off the planet because he already realized that staying on Madrigal was a lost cause. In that regard, Kwan Ha is all emotions and no logic. She fails to understand simple reason despite the fact that the freedom fighters had already convinced her that they no longer had any warriors and money to fight the war. On top of that, she isn’t a sensible character that can be reasoned with. That led to fans getting annoyed whenever she shows up on the screen, as she doesn’t seem to add any value to the story whatsoever.
Will Kwan Ha Become A Better Character?
At this point, there is no arguing against the fact that Halo fans aren’t very high on Kwan Ha as a character, especially when it comes to her subplot and personality. But is there a chance that she would become a better character in the entire Halo narrative?
It was hinted in episode 4 that Kwan Ha might have a larger role in the Halo series. This happened when her aunt told her the story about how her father changed when he met the mystics that lived in the deserts of Madrigal. These mystics seemingly told her father that Kwan Ha’s family had a larger role to play in the greater scheme of things.
In that regard, there is a good possibility that Kwan Ha could indeed be a special character that may end up contributing to the entire narrative against the Covenant once she discovers her true purpose.
Of course, fans should also understand that Kwan Ha is as human as any human can get. She had just lost her father and friends and had been forced to watch her people suffer against a puppet leader that doesn’t seem to care about Madrigal at all. On top of that, she is a young character that is still in the middle of finding herself and understanding how to control her own emotions.
All of those mean that Kwan Ha can become a better character in the future, depending on how the writers decide to include her subplot into the bigger plot of the Halo TV series. But fans just can’t wait for that to happen anytime soon.
