This article contains spoilers for Halo episode 6.
Paramount+’s Halo TV series has finally unveiled its version of the Sacred Rings. In 2001, gamers were introduced to the world of the Master Chief in Halo: Combat Evolved. The first game in the franchise is generally considered one of the best first-person shooters of all time, in large part because it has a surprisingly sophisticated science-fiction plot running through it – one centered upon the Halo Rings.
In the world of Halo, millennia ago an ancient race remembered as the “Forerunners” faced a galactic crisis; a parasitic infection known as the Flood threatened to consume all life in the universe. To defeat the Flood, the Forerunners created the Halo Rings, powerful facilities designed to sterilize portions of the galaxy of all life. The Forerunners used the Halo Rings to destroy the Flood’s food source, while survivors were protected on so-called “Shield Worlds.” These Halo Rings lie at the heart of the entire franchise, because the alien Covenant are pursuing them with a religious zeal, convinced that activating the Sacred Rings will allow them to ascend to a higher plane of existence. Paramount+’s Halo TV series has been teasing the introduction of its version of the Halo Rings throughout the first five episodes, but finally the Master Chief has had his first look at one of them.
The Master Chief finally uses the Forerunner Keystone as it was intended in Halo episode 6, pushing through the visions it projects into his mind until his consciousness is transported to one of the Halo Rings. The Halo TV series attempts to recreate the iconic landscape from the first game, with the Master Chief initially looking around at an Earth-like environment before his gaze is captured by the sweeping arc of the Halo Ring above him. It’s a faithful recreation of an iconic shot from the games, albeit it doesn’t quite feel as spectacular or impactful as it does in the games. This may, however, simply be because the Master Chief is experiencing a vision, a sort of “mystical experience,” rather than actually standing on the Halo Ring.
The first season of Paramount+’s Halo TV series has increasingly diverged from the games, establishing a more personal connection between the Master Chief and the Halo Rings. In the TV show, only a minority of humans – referred to as “Blessed Ones” by the Covenant – possess the distinctive genetic markers to use Forerunner technology. Only two Blessed Ones have been discovered to date, the Master Chief and the Covenant spy Makee, and intriguingly they appear to be linked in some way; when the Master Chief touched the Forerunner artifact she reacted with an apparent seizure, and both subsequently experienced a vision of the Sacred Ring.
It’s reasonable to assume the rest of Halo season 1 will focus on the quest for the Halo Ring, with the Master Chief and Makee both trying to figure out its coordinates from the Keystone. Given that’s the case, it’s quite possible viewers will get more glimpses of the Sacred Ring, giving them further opportunity to assess how well it’s been brought to life. It’s likely the Ring will only be discovered by the finale, and it will only be explored in Halo season 2. Season 1 has had some stunning environments, but the challenge facing Paramount will be to make sure every moment Halo spends on the Sacred Ring feels truly iconic.
