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If you noticed that there’s something different about Cortana in Halo Episode 3, then you’re right. Cortana has been slightly changed for the TV series. Fans were concerned when she showed up in the Halo trailer without her trademark blue color. But it appears that at some point before the series premiered, her blue tint was lightened and a bit more blue was added, especially to her hair. But is it enough to satisfy fans? 

Viewers Are Noticing She Has More of a Blue Tint in the Actual Episode

Viewers have been noticing that Cortana is slightly bluer in the show than in the trailer. This might have bypassed me entirely if it hadn’t been for comments I read online from other viewers. In fact, I expected the difference to be starker when I went and did a side-by-side comparison. In this story’s feature photo, the trailer version of Cortana is shown on the left and Cortana in the episode is shown on the right from the same scene where she’s first introduced. 

Here’s a photo of her in the trailer. 

And here she is in the actual scene as it appears in Episode 3: 

The effect is much subtler than I expected to find. They brightened the entire scene, and added a bit more VFX to Cortana to show that we’re seeing a hologram. Her hair has a bit more of a blue tint, along with some blue computer graphic effects constantly running through her. Taken together, it gives her more of a “blue” feel overall, without going as far as the games.

The effect carries over when she’s not in front of a blue background. In some ways, the blue shows up even more without the blue behind her. 

She’s still not blue, but she definitely has more of a blue tint, which is apparent more at some times than others. 

Here she is again, looking more blue. 

Here’s the trailer where she first appeared. Her hair almost looked a bit green in the trailer, which the show has definitely fixed. 

Cortana Was Very Different in the Games

Of course, she’s not even close to as blue as she appears in the game. This video shows a compilation of Cortana’s evolution in the games from 2001 to 2019. 

Whether you like the changes they’ve made to her appearance or not, it’s tough to deny that Cortana gave the series a much-needed boost. She brought an injection of humor into the dialogue, and her interactions and evolution already make for an intriguing storyline. 

Her awkward introduction to his team, for one thing, was pure gold. The way she just defeatedly blinked when Master Chief told her to go away, or when she started questioning Halsey almost immediately. 

It seems like Cortana really wants to be released from her limitations so she can take control of John completely — something that Halsey isn’t on board for (at least yet.) It creates an interesting dynamic, such as when Cortana complains that she most definitely did not sign up for this. And she and Master Chief have a great on-screen chemistry that will definitely make future episodes a lot of fun to watch. 

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Stephanie

Stephanie Dwilson started Post Apocalyptic Media with her husband Derek. She's a licensed attorney and has a master's in science and technology journalism. You can reach her at [email protected].

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