Much better than last episode. One of the best, in fact. There are still some things in this one that I don't think fit in the Halo universe and Master Chief being humanised as much as he is doesn't fit the games at all, but this is a TV show and as far as the show is concerned, this is a very good episode. Visuals are very nice, decent action and surprisingly entertaining choreography. Some genuinely good dialogue too. UNSC plotline is getting interesting, and for the first time I've left an episode wanting more. If only the show started with this quality maybe there wouldn't be such a hatred for it. But I will still praise the show for improving.
I've come to terms with the fact that Master Chief never wears his armour now (and if he does his helmet is almost always removed), but I still wish they showed off his armour more. It's a very faithful recreation of his Mjolnir armour and they barely ever use it. There is a scene in this episode that would have worked amazingly if he wore his armour. Unfortunately, the actor is probably getting paid millions to have his face everywhere even though he delivers his lines almost exactly the same each time and we don't really benefit as an audience by seeing his face, as it doesn't really add much but takes away so much of his mysteriousness.
No Kwan in this episode! Hallelujah! Having her in the show has left such a bad first impression for people. If and when she ever comes back, the show will immediately get worse. It seems like the Kwan writers don't really know what to do with her and are just writing because the producers wanted a subplot with a teenage rebel girl, but the UNSC plotline has way more budget, focus and quality. It's not amazing, but it's starting to get decent and I can appreciate the effort to improve and create an entertaining storyline.
I hope for season 2 they really look at all the criticism and take it to heart. I think the show could be something really special if they did. Imagine if they ditched Kwan and put all the effort and budget into Master Chief and the Covenant, take a lot of inspiration from the games, actually made Master Chief more like Master Chief (to an extent, I know this is still a TV show), and maybe even get the soundtrack from the games too. I think it could be really powerful.
Overall, good. Forget Kwan, let's get back on track!