Episode 8 of Halo Season 2 could introduce another well-known alien faction from the wider Halo universe, an ancient alien parasite called the Flood. This species is incredibly powerful and could shake up the status quo in the Silver Timeline. Right now, it seems like the Covenant is poised to beat humanity due to its overwhelming force and technological supremacy. The arrival of the Flood however would alter the balance of power, helping to set the conditions for humanity to triumph.
The episode also teases a huge space battle between the United Nations Earth Space Command (UNSC) and Covenant naval forces, however, it’s unlikely to be as packed with explosions as audiences might want. Halo has set the conditions for this battle to be decided in close-quarters combat, giving Chief and the SPARTAN IIIs a chance to fight the Covenant and to defeat them with unconventional force.
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Will Miranda Keyes unleash the Flood?
As Halo Season 2 Episode 7 ends, Miranda Keyes begins to investigate the Forerunner artifact that she managed to grab in the ancient lab. However, by doing this, and taking it overground, she may have just introduced another faction into the Human-Covenant War, and it will devastate both: The Flood. These parasitic lifeforms are extremely powerful.
While it’s never explicitly stated what the Forerunners are researching, they were likely examining Flood particulates and were trying to find a way to defeat them. While Halsey thought that the orange spread on the star map was the Forerunner Empire, it’s more likely to be the spread of the Flood, who fought an apocalyptic war with the Forerunners. The words “growth” and “decay” fit this, as the Flood are the Halo equivalent of a zombie hivemind. If left unchecked, a Flood outbreak can form a Gravemind, which is the mouthpiece for the shared Flood intelligence, and something that directs the spread of the Flood. One appeared in Halo 2 on Delta Halo (Installation 05), and its dialogue is extremely poetic. The Flood first appeared in Halo: Combat Evolved on a Halo (Installation 04) and attacked both the humans and the Covenant.
The Flood Could Get A New Origin
The TV show Halo looks like it might similarly handle this origin, though in a different location to Halo. The Flood was still sealed away in lost Forerunner labs, with scientists performing research on samples. It’s unclear how the scientist in the TV show died, but, likely, the device Keyes took probably has Flood particulates on it. These are the most basic of Flood lifeforms, and if they manage to get inside someone, then they can transform their host into a Flood lifeform, who will attempt to spread the infection further. A Flood particulate can devastate an entire civilization.
In the final episode of Halo, some poor unsuspecting scientist with an open wound might investigate the device Keyes brought back, and be turned into a creature of nightmares. The fighting could spread across the UNSC base on Onyx, overwhelming the local garrison since the SPARTANS are all gone. Margaret Parangosky or James Ackerson might die. This could set up a third season of the show, as the Flood become a major player. Alternatively, the device might carry on it a warning about what’s really on Halo and its true purpose, something that could equally set the Flood up for the future.
Will Master Chief get to Halo?
The other conflict going on at the moment is the fight in the Soell system for control of Halo. In Halo lore, this fight played out a lot differently. There was only one UNSC ship, the Pillar of Autumn, which had made it to the Halo in the Soell system after fleeing Reach. The Covenant was already in the system, but the Prophet of Stewardship forbade the Covenant fleet from using plasma torpedos, as he feared they might accidentally hit Installation 04, which would be blasphemy of the highest order. Instead, the Covenant boarded the ship. Captain Keyes crashed the Autumn on Halo, and the Covenant followed him, bringing the fighting with them.
The TV show is having events play out differently. The Arbiter isn’t acting under the orders of a Prophet, but due to his reverence for the Halo, he might issue a similar order. This would certainly cut down on the show’s VFX budget. The UNSC is unlikely to have this reverence, but because they’re relying on teams of SPARTAN IIIs to infiltrate Covenant ships, they wouldn’t want to accidentally fire on them. Most of the SPARTAN IIIs will probably die before they make it to a Covenant ship, countless more will undoubtedly die if they make it aboard. But, Parangosky only needs one to complete the mission and turn a Covenant ship into a bomb.
And Chief will probably be instrumental in making that happen. He has flown to the system to help, so he will likely be the reason a SPARTAN III — likely Perez — can complete the mission. It’s unlikely they will target the Covenant Command ship, because while that would allow for a final confrontation between Chief, the Arbiter, and Makee, unless the latter two flee to Halo then they’d die in the resulting explosion. They then couldn’t be about in future seasons.
Instead, a different ship will be turned into a bomb, and it will severely damage both the UNSC and Covenant fleets. Many SPARTANs will likely die in the fight. The UNSC, including the Chief, will make for Halo until help arrives, showing it for real. This sets up a possible Season 2, as the fighting will erupt again on Halo’s surface when the Covenant lands, along with the continuation of Makee and Chief’s weird relationship and Chief’s and the Arbiter’s rivalry. This would also set the story up to adapt Combat Evolved.
Halo Season 2 Episode 8 Release Date and Where to Watch
The final episode of Halo is scheduled to release on Paramount+ on Thursday, March 21, 2024. The release time is 12 AM PT/3 AM ET. Episode 8 is titled ‘Halo’ and its runtime is unknown.
Halo is available exclusively on the subscription-based streaming service Paramount+.
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