I'll admit, I had a bad feeling about this episode right when the first-look images dropped, featuring a glaring absence of the Master Chief, Dr. Halsey, or anyone else that the overarching storyline of "Halo" has focused on up to this point. Those concerns only increased as early as the "Previously on 'Halo'" segment, which took us all the way back to the opening minutes of the premiere to remind us of the situation taking place on the planet of Madrigal in the aftermath of the Covenant invasion.

Every fan has their own specific reasons for what drew them to "Halo" in the first place. For many, the clean and simple gameplay of "Combat Evolved" held plenty of appeal all on its own, rewarding intuitive gamers who swapped guns and employed various strategies depending on the needs of specific situations and level designs.

After such a long and tortured path to making its way to a screen near you, you didn't think the creators behind "Halo" would neglect to include all sorts of Easter eggs and references -- no matter how obvious or how niche -- throughout the long-awaited premiere episode of the new Paramount+ series, did you?

After such a long and tortured path to making its way to a screen near you, you didn't think the creators behind "Halo" would neglect to include all sorts of Easter eggs and references -- no matter how obvious or how niche -- throughout the long-awaited premiere episode of the new Paramount+ series, did you?

There are very few video games of any kind that have managed to establish a global audience and pop culture awareness in the way that "Halo" has since its inception in 2001. The original "Halo: Combat Evolved" helped to turn Microsoft's Xbox into a huge hit, and almost single-handedly ensured the company's place in the 21st century console wars. Now, after more than 20 years, the franchise is making the jump to Hollywood with a big new "Halo" TV series for Paramount+.