Summary
Full of pulsating action, Halo’s Season 2 finale introduces a major antagonist to the show with brilliant effect.
Halo Season 2 Episode 8 brings the uneven season to a close with a bang, full of excellent action that finally brings audiences to the titular Halo. The ending finds The Flood — a major antagonist in the Halo franchise — unleashed, just as we suspected in our preview of the finale.
Chief’s arc is a bit muddled. He again decides to disobey orders after recommitting himself last season, but it’s fantastic to see him in armor again. The scope of the space battle is done very well, and there are moments of quiet introspection.
Chief is in a dark room, talking to an unknown figure. Chief asks what happened, and the figure warns him dark things lurk in dark places, and death is happening. Spores build up under Miranda Keyes’ microscope. She asks a scientist, Janine, what caused them to wake from their dormant state, and Janine says that it could be the presence of a food source.
She asks if Halsey is really Keyes’ mother, and starts to fangirl over her. Keyes asks if she touched the artifact while she was away, and Janine lies and says no. Keyes asks Janine to leave, saying she’s a distraction. Janine becomes ill. She murders a scientist and is restrained.
Perez tries to calm herself before they jump. Before they can jump, their Condor is hit, splitting everyone up. Perez panics in space but rejoins the rest of the SPARTANs. They fly through the debris of other waves. Most make it to the Covenant corvette with Kai-125, and they spot a Covenant supercarrier overhead.
The Covenant Strike
Parangosky speaks to Chief over comms and pretends to be thankful he’s still alive. She orders him to secure Halo, but Chief ignores her. On Onyx, Kwan begs Soren-066 to leave, saying that the monster is awake. Soren-066 says he’s going back for Laera and Kessler, and Kwan should follow, which she does. Kessler and Laera are in jail with Ackerson, and Janine is there too.
On the corvette, Kai-125 and the SPARTAN IIIs wander through corridors. They wonder where everyone is, and find the remains of other SPARTANs. Out of nowhere, the Covenant launches an overwhelming attack, killing SPARTANS and pushing them back to a hangar. It’s here that Kai-125 and the others see the rest of the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) fleet arrive. She requests ammunition from one of the cruisers but watches helplessly as it gets obliterated by the supercarrier.
Chief Disobeys Orders (Again)
Chief asks Parangosky if she will help the SPARTANs. She refuses. Chief ponders what Perez has said to him in the heat of battle, and flips a coin. He prepares to jump to the corvette to save Kai-125 and the others. Parangosky says he can’t save them, but Chief retorts she has no idea what he can do.
Makee’s ship is making for Halo. Cortana warns her the hull won’t last and the use of a drop pod. Makee asks if Chief will come, but Cortana is silent. This causes Makee to become frustrated, and she smashes Cortana’s containment unit to erase her.
Kai-125 and the others use Covenant weapons when they run out of ammunition, and Perez gets shot. She’s dragged to the bridge while dual-wielding needlers. There, Kai-125 sets her down and says she did good. Kai-125 gets the spike out, looking around at the chaos. She considers whether to implant it. Perez urges her to, and while Kai-125 says Perez doesn’t know its true purpose, Perez says this was always a one-way trip.
Chief busts his way through the corridor, killing the attacking Covenant. He and Kai-125 have a moment of introspection as they realize they’re the last SPARTAN IIs. Kai-125 says that SPARTANs really do die, despite the propaganda saying they don’t. Chief says today he won’t leave anyone behind. He helps Perez and another SPARTAN III get to a Condor, but Kai-125 stays behind.
Ackerson’s Close Call
Kwan and Soren-066 enter the base and see people frozen in place. As they leave, an infected woman turns her head to them. In jail, Janine attacks Kessler, and a tendril pops out of her shoulder, reaching for them. Ackerson calls the guard to intervene, but he’s frozen in place. Ackerson takes his gun and shoots Janine. The guard turns to attack Ackerson, as he’s also infected. Ackerson runs out of bullets to shoot him. Soren-066 and Kwan witnessed this on security monitors. They make it to Laera, Kessler, and Ackerson to release them.
Halsey is brought to the war room, and Parangosky orders her to tell Chief to go to Halo and stop chasing an empty Covenant ship. Halsey warns him it’ll be ripped apart by Halo’s gravity. Parangosky is confused by Chief’s actions until she realizes Cortana is on that ship. Chief won’t alter his course, so Halsey tells him where to breach.
Chief is asked by the voice why he deviated from his mission, saying he had a responsibility to Cortana. On the ship, he reaches the bridge, and Cortana says she’s inside the ship’s systems. She predicts they both will die, but Chief refuses to accept that. They crash on Halo. Chief sees Halo is repairing itself. Cortana says it’s the perfect fusion of AI and organic life. Chief picks up his helmet, with the angle echoing an image from Halo Infinite. They make towards a structure, finding an energy sword. Makee and Arbiter are making their way to the same structure.
The shot from Halo Infinite referenced above | Image via Microsoft/343 Industries
Kai-125 Makes the Ultimate Sacrifice
Perez wakes up on a Condor and realizes Kai-125 stayed on the corvette. On the corvette, Kai-125 watches the supercarrier pummel the UNSC fleet. Instead of spiking the corvette, Kai-125 drives the corvette into the supercarrier, sacrificing herself to destroy it. Chief watches the explosion from Halo.
Parangosky announces they now have the upper hand. Keyes calls Halsey to warn her that what they brought back from the Forerunner lab was a sample container that contained inert spores, but those spores woke up. The infected attack the war room, and one tackles Halsey, and tendrils come out of his mouth. A UNSC guard shoots it off, and Halsey flees, shutting the door behind her. Parangosky gets infected.
What are the Flood?
Elsewhere, Soren-066 and the others are attacked by a horde of infected. Kwan gets surrounded, with no bullets. She sees the mystic, who explains she was Kwan once and all her ancestors are within, and the infection desires Kwan’s submission. She reveals this enemy is the Flood, and describes them with meaningless phrases. She tells Kwan she’s holding them back. It’s very vague and confusing.
The Flood are a key villain in Halo. They fought with the Forerunners, consuming all life forms. When they infect someone, they absorb all their knowledge into a greater Flood hivemind and can turn into grotesque forms. A Flood infection takes many stages, but eventually, a Gravemind is formed, directing other Flood. The Forerunners defeated them by destroying all life using the Halo Array.
Halsey and Laera Are Infected
Halsey gets to Keyes’ lab, and they go over what they know about the Flood. Halsey praises them. Humans have a connection with a species that existed alongside the Forerunners, which horrifies Keyes. Halsey freezes, and Keyes realizes she’s infected. Keyes puts Halsey into cryosleep to slow the infection and find the cure, though how she survives a base full of Flood is unclear.
Soren-066 and the others exit of the base, but Laera shuts herself in, revealing she’s been infected. They fly away. Soren-066 comforts Kessler. He accepts the monster is real.
Chief Kills Arbiter
On Halo, Chief duels and kills Arbiter. Makee disappears inside the structure, with more rising out of the ground. Chief speaks to the voice in the dark, saying he took his image and armor back from those who bent it to their purpose. A voice says something wants to meet Chief, and he’ll be watching. The voice belongs to 343 Guilty Spark, a character from Halo: Combat Evolved. Chief puts his helmet back on, which is now smashed.
What did you think of Halo Season 2 Episode 8 and the ending? Comment below.#
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