A lot happened in Halo Season 2. Reach fell, Chief got to a Halo, the Flood were released, and several notable characters died. We recap everything that happened with full spoilers below.
While some of these episodes dragged on and on, others found their mark, especially Episode 1, Episode 4, and Episode 8. The action was noticeably improved from Season 1, along with the removal of the weird romantic subplot between Chief and Makee.
Halo Season 2 Recap (Episodes 1-8)
Episode 1: “Sanctuary”
Chief and Silver Team assist with an evacuation on Sanctuary. Chief and Marine Corporal Perez spot mysterious Covenant activity near the communications relay on the planet, but when he attempts to tell Doctor Halsey’s replacement, James Ackerson, of this, he’s accused of making it up due to mental instability stemming from Cortana’s removal. On the Rubble, Soren-066 gets a lead on Doctor Halsey but is betrayed by his crew and is captured by the United Nations Space Command (UNSC). Kwan tells Soren-066’s son Kessler about a monster.
Episode 2: “Sword”
Doctor Halsey finds out she’s in UNSC custody, and that Ackerson has Cortana. Riz-026 continues to push her body to the limit despite her injury, which leads her to fail a training course and be scolded by Master Chief. Former SPARTAN Louis-036 suggests she consider life outside the military and takes her to a healer, who helps to ease her pain. Chief’s mental debilitation continues in Episode 2, as Ackerson forbids Silver Team from going on combat missions until his condition improves.
Perez refuses to corroborate Chief’s story from Sanctuary, and when Chief confronts her about this she says it’s because she doesn’t understand why she survived the battle. On the Rubble, Kwan takes out her slavery tag and fights off her “owners.” Laera starts to question the loyalty of Soren-066’s crew. Cobalt Team goes missing investigating Visegrád Relay on Reach, prompting Chief to take Silver Team on an unauthorised mission to find them. Makee and a Sangheili leader steal a Forerunner artifact from the UNSC.
Episode 3: “Visegrad”
Chief and Silver Team find no evidence at Visegrád Relay of Covenant presence or Cobalt Team. UNSC forces bring them into custody for disobeying orders. Admiral Keyes relieves Chief from active duty. Silver Team are frustrated that Chief didn’t tell them their mission was unauthorised. Ackerson goes to see his senile father, eventually letting him pass away peacefully. Riz-028 explores the possibility of life outside being a SPARTAN with Louis-036 and his husband. Kai-125 makes a deal with Ackerson to temporarily go on missions without Silver Team. Chief attempts to confide his theories about the Covenant with Margaret Parangosky, but finds out that she’s still affiliated with the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI).
On the Rubble, Soren-066’s crew make their move against Laera. Laera attempts to escape with Kessler and Kwan but is forced to give herself up so Kwan and Kessler can escape on a transport. Kwan returns to save Laera but loses Kessler in the process. Ackerson covers up Cobalt’s death and reveals to Keyes that Reach is lost, though Keyes refuses to flee like Ackerson. Soren-066 is put in the same cell as Halsey. Corporal Perez decrypts the Covenant message left on Sanctuary by the Sangheili Var ‘Gatanai as Episode 3 ends with the Covenant beginning their attack on Reach.
Halo Season 2 | Image via Paramount+
Episode 4: “Reach”
Reach City falls under Covenant attack. Chief, Perez, and Riz-028 fight their way back to FLEETCOM to link up with other UNSC forces. On their way, they link up with Riz-028, Louis-036, and his husband, but the latter two perish saving the others from the Covenant. When Chief, Perez and Riz-028 make it back to base, they find Vannak-134 and Admiral Keyes coordinating the defense. Chief and the other SPARTANs realize that the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) left them without their suits. Halsey and Soren-066 are forced to work together to escape ONI and witness Makee capturing Cortana. Keyes sacrifices himself so Perez can pilot an evacuation ship. Chief is injured during a duel with ‘Gatanai at the top of FLEETCOM. Vannak-134 dies in the attack.
Episode 5: “Aleria”
Laera and Kwan save Soren-066, Halsey, Riz-028, and Chief from Reach, though the latter two are badly injured. On the planet Aleria, Riz-028 gets medical attention but says she will leave the SPARTAN life behind and stay on Aleria. Vannak-134 is buried, and during the funeral, Chief swears revenge on ONI. Kwan sees the mystic from the first episode, known as the Mother, who warns her of the monster and says she needs to take her role as the Protector. Soren-066 and Laera learn that Kessler has been taken by the UNSC. At the end of Episode 5, Onboard the Covenant warship, Makee and Cortana form a tenuous alliance as they convince ‘Gatanai to disobey orders and seek out Halo.
Episode 6: “Onyx”
In Episode 6, Corporal Perez starts her training as a SPARTAN III along with several other recruits at a UNSC base on the planet Onyx. Kai-125 is their teacher, and she’s attempting to train them to storm a Covenant ship. The recruits struggle to work together, but eventually manage to complete the training, although this is because Ackerson made the simulation easier to give them a false sense of hope. Chief, Soren-066, and the others manage to land on Onyx, but they’re split up. Halsey and Kwan investigate a mystical well that leads them underground, where Miranda Keyes is working to finish Halsey’s research. It’s somehow connected to the portal on Madrigal.
Soren-066 and Laera attempt to search for Kessler. They come across a SPARTAN training ground called Thermopylae but are unable to find their son. On the Covenant ship, tensions rise as ‘Gatanai forbids the other Sangheili and Makee from sending any transmissions. Makee confides in Cortana that she’s unable to locate Halo like she told ‘Gatanai, so Cortana gets her to send a transmission to the base on Onyx so Chief can help. Chief is captured by the UNSC but he escapes and searches for Parangosky and Ackerson. Kai-125 finds him first, and she reluctantly follows orders to take him out. She heavily injures him.
Cortana finds Chief and leads him to the remaining keystone. Kai-125 confronts Ackerson about her fight with Chief and the manipulated simulation, resulting in her defection. On the Covenant ship, the priest Uto’ Mdama suspects Makee of breaking the no-transmission order, but Arbiter steps in to protect her, and duels anyone who refuses to follow him. Makee can see the keystone light up, so she moves to touch it.
Episode 7: “Thermopylae”
Chief and Makee reunite in a vision of Halo, and she tries to convince him that neither the Covenant nor humans should use it, but Chief doesn’t agree. They’re both dragged out of this vision, Chief by Ackerson’s black ops goons and Makee by the warring Sangheili. Chief escapes the men and Makee and Cortana kill the priest Uto ‘Mdama. Parangosky and Ackerson watch a Covenant fleet amass in the Soell system where Halo is, and Parangosky orders a UNSC fleet and the SPARTAN IIIs to respond, much to Ackerson’s indignation. After the first wave of SPARTAN IIIs is wiped out, Parangosky orders another wave, again to Ackerson’s horror.
In the caves below, Halsey, Miranda Keyes, and Kwan discover a Forerunner city. They investigate a Forerunner lab, but everything begins to shut around them, forcing them to flee. Keyes reveals to Halsey that she managed to get a Forerunner item before they left, and she returns to the UNSC base to research it, opening it in a containment chamber. Soren-066 and Laera attempt to free Kessler from SPARTAN training, but Laera and Kessler are captured and put in jail.
Chief is attacked by Captain Briggs, but he and Kai-125 take her out. They confront Ackerson, who reveals that the spike will cause a Covenant ship to violently explode, destroying the Covenant fleet, the UNSC fleet, and possibly even Halo. This is why Parangosky is so intent on having even a single SPARTAN III succeed. Ackerson leads Chief and Kai-125 SPARTANs to their suits and is arrested after he goes back to the war room. Kai-125 says she will go with the next wave of SPARTAN IIIs to the fight, and at the end of Episode 7, Chief steals a Condor and makes his way to the fight.
Episode 8: “Halo”
Kai-125 and her group of SPARTAN IIIs make it to the Covenant corvette, and watch as a CSO class Covenant supercarrier flies overhead. They make it to the bridge, but they run out of ammunition. Several SPARTANs die and Perez is injured. Chief comes and rescues them, except Kai-125. She sacrifices herself, not by implementing the spike but by ramming the ship into the CSO class as it was decimating the UNSC fleet. Chief saves Cortana who was abandoned to die by Makee, and the two of them make it to Halo. There, Chief kills Arbiter, and Makee activates Halo and goes deeper inside. Chief follows and meets 343 Guilty Spark.
On Onyx, Keyes researches the Forerunner item, noting the presence of several growing spores. A scientist called Janine touches the item with her hands without Keyes noticing. These spores are the Flood, a race of parasitic aliens. They infect Janine, who kills a fellow scientist. She’s put in jail where she threatens Laera and Kessler, but Ackerson saves her. Several others are infected. Halsey is brought into the war room in an attempt to convince Chief not to go after Cortana but instead helps Chief. She gets a worried message from Keyes about the item they brought back, just as the Flood infection spreads to the war room. Chaos erupts, and Parangosky is overtaken. Halsey escapes and goes to the lab where Keyes is, but Keyes notices her mother has been infected and so puts her into cryosleep to eventually find a cure.
Soren-066 and Kwan save Laera, Kessler, and Ackerson from the Flood and jail. Just as they make it out, Laera shuts herself in the base, revealing that she too has been infected by the Flood. As Ackerson, Kessler, Kwan, and Soren-066 fly away, Soren-066 comforts Kessler, acknowledging the monster is real.
That was our recap of Halo Season 2 (Episodes 1-8) on Paramount+. What did you think of the story? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
RELATED:
