As the second episode of Halo begins, a teenage John (Logan Shearer) is shown at the UNSC Spartan training center 22 years ago. He leaves his bed and realizes one of his comrades has gone missing. He meets with Soren (Jude Cudjoe) who asks where his armor and ditch bag are, but John says he isn’t going. John has changed his mind and he isn’t going to let Soren leave either. Soren tells him that they’ve been programmed instead of trained. Soren asks whether those dreams meant anything. When John says he doesn’t have dreams, Soren argues he can dream for both of them. Soren reminds her that he lost an arm for this place and Halsey has taken even more from John although he doesn’t seem to realize it is gone.

John is ready to shoot him if he tries to leave. Soren says he’d prefer it be him if it has to be anyone, but he is going to be a free man regardless. John lowers his gun and says it appears the firearm has jammed at this moment. He refuses to go with Soren although he gives him five minutes to run. Then, we return to the present with John (Pablo Schreiber) and Kwan (Yerin Ha) in the ship together. He tells her they’re taking a more direct path through space. She asks him about the thing he took from Madrigal and how he made it start the ship. John doesn’t have answers to those questions. She asks why he is doing this and why he didn’t just let them kill her.

John questions whether she’d let a kid be executed. She says no because it is wrong. That is what John was thinking too. She thanks him. After the intro, we’re taken to the Epsilon Eridani System where Dr. Catherine Halsey (Natascha McElhone) confirms the Silver Team is gearing up to bring in Master Chief peacefully. Fleet Admiral Hood (Keir Dullea) wants to know why he escaped. Although Catherine isn’t positive, she believes it has something to do with the item from Madrigal since it can create enormous energy fields. The Covenant sent two ships and 20 Elite warriors to try to retrieve the item in question. He says they want it to. He also questions what they should do with a superhuman they cannot trust.

Catherine insists she can trust him. Just to be safe, she has created an insurance plan for the future with Admiral Parangosky (Shabana Azmi). Hood reveals he rose to this position by keeping his head clear of unnecessary concerns. If she has a plan, the committee should hear it although she needs to keep it light. Vannak (Bentley Kalu) and Kai (Kate Kennedy) discuss Master Chief and what he’ll do. Riz (Natasha Culzac) tells them that the slip space vector tracking on the Condor just came back in so they’ll know more about his location. Kai asks Vannak why they’re going about Chief if he has a plan. He says those are Halsey’s orders and they’ll find out what they need to. Chief and Kwan find themselves in an asteroid field.

Master Chief manages to navigate the ship through the asteroid field and approach a city in the distance. When they enter the city, Trokan (Anna Trokan) and Squirrel (Gabor Nagypal) are surprised to see Master Chief. He tells her to get the boss as everyone points their guns at Kwan and Master Chief. When they put a bunch of boxes in the way using a forklift, John pushes them out of the way easily. Soren (Bokeem Woodbine) tells everyone to put their weapons away because they’d already be dead if John wanted them dead. Then, he greets John and welcomes them to the Rubble. Master Chief says he is looking for a place for Kwan. He learns that Vinsher has put out a bounty for her. Soren tells them this is the home to all outlaws and misfits.

It is absolute freedom like Soren always promised. As they ride to their destination, Soren explains that he does whatever he wants. He looks at the box John is carrying and says there are so many secrets. Once they arrive, they’re introduced to Soren’s son Kessler (Tylan Bailey). They go inside and meet his wife Laera (Fiona O’Shaughnessy). Laera says Soren speaks of John often although Soren suggests otherwise. Makee (Charlie Murphy) meets with the Elite warrior that saw Master Chief touch the artifact. He tells her that he saw a ring after he touched it.

Mercy (Julian Bleach) is convinced they’ve finally spotted one of the keystones. Makee wants to go get it herself, but they’re worried about sending someone of her importance on such a dangerous mission. Makee argues she can move among the humans when they can’t, but they still think it is too dangerous. She reminds Mercy that he took her in, saved her, and taught her about the Great Journey. Makee offers to repay the favor and help lead them to the sacred ring. During a committee meeting, they learn that Vinsher has control of the situation on Madrigal. Captain Jacob Keyes (Danny Sapani) admits he has had more of an iron fist than they wanted. Regardless, he is a reliable business partner so the deuterium will be flowing soon and the relative calm has had a positive impact on the fuel prices across the galaxy.

Then, Keyes is asked about the Master Chief. The search continues. He promises his punishment will be commensurate with his crimes when they find him. Hood wonders if that is wise since Master Chief is a battle asset and a symbol for the whole war effort. Putting him out of commission could be bad for morale. Jacob wonders if he is good for the war effort if he can’t be controlled. Catherine explains she has developed a new system to correct John’s issues and expand Spartan capability across the board. The system is called Cortana. The Spartan bodies have been enhanced to the limits of their current technology so Cortana will do something similar for their minds. It will overwrite their consciousness and replace it with artificial general intelligence.

She goes on to say Cortana is the next stage of human evolution. While she continues talking about it, Adun (Ryan McParland) enters the room with Cortana (Jen Taylor). Catherine suspects they can use Cortana to create more lethal Spartans with error-free judgments. Jacob says they can’t just replace John’s mind since they’re talking about a person. Catherine says he is more than a person because he is a Spartan. John doesn’t feel as they do. Hormonal pellets have been used to suppress his emotions. John was trained to fight for them so he and the other Spartans are the only effective weapons they have against the Covenant. She believes they can win this war with help from the Cortana system. She is asked whether it relates to the illegal practices of flash-cloning humans.

Catherine confirms that is the case, but she won’t say whether she has found a way around it. Instead, Fleet Admiral Hood changes the subject by asking Parangosky about Section Three being her responsibility. He asks if she is on board. Margaret admits she believes Master Chief provides them with an opportunity to try the system. The meeting ends after Hood instructs them to get Master Chief back. Then, we’re taken to Madrigal where Vinsher Grath (Burn Gorman) executes rebels to teach them a lesson. He claims Jin led them into a costly war and stole their hydrogen. When he sees a ship approaching, he shoots it down. Kwan watches the video and says Vinsher hated her father and was always looking for a way to make a deal with the UNSC.

Now, Madrigal belongs to Vinsher. Laera knows how she feels because she lost her whole family when she was young. She lost her planet to the Covenant and everyone she loved until she met Soren. When Laera asks if she wants revenge, Kwan says she wants justice. John tells Soren he didn’t get a big enough jump on the UNSC and only gives them a day. Soren admits he doesn’t get it. He doesn’t understand John showing up here with a fugitive so he wonders who he is. Soren believes it has something to do with whatever is in the box. Kessler tells Kwan he can name all the planets in the sky. John confesses he didn’t think it was possible to have what Soren has because of the treatments they gave them. Soren doesn’t believe they were treatments though.

There is something John needs to know about the treatments and the Spartan program. Soren argues nothing is permanent unless you let it be since you can remove the pellet from your back that mutes everything. It makes you numb to life as John is to the food. Soren tells him it is like opening your eyes for the first time when you lose the pellet. Laera encourages Soren to leave John alone since he has a lot on his mind. Moments later, Laera realizes John isn’t going to stay. Kessler places a stamp on his hand that means he can count on John and John can count on him. John thanks him and accepts before the others go to bed. Then, we see the Stalwart Dawn UNSC Frigate where Vannak, Kai, and Riz try to track John. Dr. Miranda Keyes (Olive Gray) asks Margaret about Halsey getting sole access to the object from Madrigal.

Miranda gives her a rundown of everything she has accomplished in hopes of changing Margaret’s mind. Since she is making progress in understanding Sangheili language, she believes she is the one who will untangle the artifact. Margaret says she is a lot like her mother, but she lacks polish. She tells Miranda to get back to work because she has been manipulated enough for one day. Meanwhile, John shows Soren the Covenant artifact which Kwan says powered the ship although John doesn’t know how it happened. Soren touches the artifact, but it does nothing for him. Then, Soren tells John about Reth who got taken into a Covenant ship and lived to talk about it. He has seen things and knows things that others do not. John asks where he can find him. Soren begins leading them to Reth (Johann Myers).

John learns that Reth is insane although Soren likes to call it sensitive. He admits it is not a jail and instead is a refuge for Reth. They’re warned not to make any sudden moves, but Soren reveals he is just kidding. The people in the cells yell at them and take their items as they get closer to Reth. Once they reach Reth’s cell, he crawls around on the ground and yells for them to quickly shut the door. He asks John whether he has seen them too. John believes he is talking about the Covenant. Reth learns that John fought them, but he hasn’t won yet. Soren says John can be better with a little inside information. Once Kwan enters, Reth asks her to come closer.

Reth becomes infatuated with Kwan until Soren tells him there is something John wants to show him. John opens the box and tells him the object was found on Madrigal. Reth says any area that has been visited by the Covenant has his sympathizes. The Covenant’s whole religion is based on things like this. They roam the galaxy looking for things like this. When Reth was on their ship, he was asked to see if he could make it work. Although he is sensitive, he couldn’t. He touches the object. Once it does nothing, Reth says he is not a blessed one who is a human and more than that. He goes on to say that a blessed one has an obligation. John has to calm Reth to find out what the thing is.

Reth asks if he wants to help the Covenant destroy them, but John says no. He picks up the object and forces John to touch it. It turns on and unleashes a ring of energy. John sees more memories from his childhood before putting the object back and closing the lid. Reth wonders what John is since he brings it to life but is different from the one the Covenant has. John wants to know what he is. Reth isn’t eager to tell him. John slings him around as Reth says they want the ring because it is a door to the end of life as we know it. Then, he confirms it is a weapon. Once John says he felt the darkness, Reth argues he can stop it by destroying the artifact and destroying himself. As John storms out, Soren and Kwan follow him.

John argues he has to go back although Kwan believes that would be a bad idea. Soren believes they can fix it here, but John says he needs the other Spartans. Soren suspects he is running back to Halsey because mommy is always there to fix his problems. When Soren says John is just a machine to her, John calls him a coward who ran away when things got hard. It is revealed that Soren got shot down and had to live off bark and beetles because John only gave him five minutes. They were on his butt for months until he got free. Soren insists he was wrong to stay, but John says he was wrong to run. John has seen what Covenant weapons do and they can turn entire planets to glass.

If they’re going after something bigger, he doesn’t have a choice. John wants to leave Kwan with Soren who is the only person he can trust right now. Soren promises to take care of her although Kwan doesn’t want to stay. John insists it is the best he can do. Once John gets back in the ship and turns the beacon on, the other Spartans locate his ship on the radar system. Jacob orders them to bring him in. John is taken in while Halsey makes sure the artifact goes with her. After checking on the artifact, Catherine visits John in his cell. She has never seen anything like it. John asks whether she told them the Covenant wants it too and it could be some type of weapon. Catherine admits his actions have created a handful of problems for himself, the Spartan program, and her personally.

People depend on him for protection and hope so she isn’t sure how to defend his reckless behavior. He felt something that he has been going over and over in his head, but she doesn’t think that is a constructive place for them to go. Catherine believes it is best to focus on the lab results. She asks what about the girl made him run. Meanwhile, Kwan watches a video of Vinsher saying they will return as the gem of the outer colonies with help from the UNSC. John admits he couldn’t let Kwan die. Catherine wonders why the situation is any different after he has seen many people die. Then, we see Makee getting undressed as John says he is different instead of the situation.

John says he feels connected to something, but he doesn’t know what it is or why it picked him. He knows it is out there though. When Catherine asks if he has felt this way before, John confesses he usually doesn’t feel anything. He looks at the stamp on his hand after Catherine questions why he came back. There was no one else he could trust. Catherine thanks him and insists he made the right choice. She grabs his hand and says she sees this as a new beginning. She goes to Cortana, opens the case, and says they’re going to do great things together. Cortana opens her eyes before the episode ends.

 

Halo Review

While the first episode of Halo was full of action, the second was much slower and primarily focused on the lore of Halo. Although it was necessary to learn more about the Covenant and the artifact, the episode felt a bit boring compared to the first. Once again, the episode was filled with cliches and stuff you’ve seen countless times before.

Truthfully, this isn’t bad but it needed to be a lot better to live up to the Halo name and it hasn’t come anywhere close to getting there. It feels like a blend between the Super Mario Bros movie and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. Unfortunately though, it isn’t as good as the latter. The series still has time to get better.

I sincerely hope it does considering how much money was put into the series and its legacy. The episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Halo are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support Reel Mockery by following this link.