Spoilers are ahead for Halo season 2, episode 2, “Sword.”
In its opening episode, Halo season 2 drops Pablo Schreiber’s Master Chief into the middle of a fraught evacuation on Sanctuary. While the UNSC tries to coax Sanctuary’s inhabitants off-world, the Chief takes on a pack of energy sword-wielding Elites. After reuniting with Talia Perez (Cristina Rodlo), a corporal in the Marines communications unit, John-117 and his new comrade watch dozens of energy swords ignite in the fog before them. For some reason, the Elites let the human soldiers live — a move that haunts the Chief more than the Covenant’s glassing of the planet.
Back on Reach, John and the rest of Silver Team meet Dr. Halsey’s replacement, James Ackerson (Joseph Morgan). Unwilling to believe the Chief’s story about the Covenant forces on Sanctuary, Ackerson actively thwarts Silver Team’s efforts by claiming he can’t clear the Spartan program unit for combat due to John’s allegedly fragile mental state. While it’s unclear if Cortana’s separation from Master Chief’s mind did any lasting damage, it’s evident that Ackerson has something sinister in the works. By episode 2, “Sword,” the interpersonal friction and John’s frustrations come to a head, putting Halo‘s Fall of Reach plot into motion.
How Is Makee Alive & What Does She Find?
A lot happened in the Halo season 1 ending. Notably, Master Chief allowed Cortana to hijack his mind and body, transforming him into the war machine Halsey dreamed up. While Cortana is removed from Master Chief’s body between seasons, Ackerson insinuates that John’s mind may not be reliable after the trauma of Cortana. At one point in “Sword,” the Chief reveals to fellow Spartan Kai (Kate Kennedy) that he saw Makee (Charlie Murphy) before Sanctuary was glassed. Since Kai herself shot the Covenant’s human “blessed one” during the Battle of Raas Kkhotskha, the Spartan begins to doubt the Chief’s judgment.
Halo season 2, episode 2 proves that John-117 isn’t completely wrong. At the end of the episode, the Covenant storm a USNC facility on Reach. After an energy sword-wielding Elite manages to slaughter the Marines who were guarding the installation, Makee appears and asks the Elite to open the door to a secret vault. Inside, Makee sees the larger Halo Keystone that was found on Eridanus II. The second episode doesn’t delve into how Makee is still alive, but it reaffirms that Halo‘s “blessed ones” plot point will remain crucial to the story going forward.
Visegrad Relay: Where Master Chief’s Team Is Going
The second episode also reveals Dr. Halsey’s (Natascha McElhone) whereabouts in Halo season 2: Ackerson is holding her captive in some kind of virtual reality cell on Reach. Meanwhile, Ackerson has also stowed Cortana (Jen Taylor, Christina Bennington) in a vault that also contains the Halo Keystone that Master Chief found on Madrigal. While Cortana and Ackerson chat, Master Chief goes above his new superior’s head and uses the USNC computers to track the flight path of Cobalt Team’s ship.
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After realizing that Cobalt Team never left Reach, the Chief decides Silver Team needs to suit up and investigate. While the other Spartans (especially Kai) are hesitant, John-117 assures his team that they’ve been cleared for combat. To distract from his lie, John explains that the Covenant Elites took down the communications tower on Sanctuary before glassing the planet, which is why Perez’s team of Marines was so far from the evac point. With the Visegrád comms relay on Reach down for the count, Master Chief fears the Covenant have already begun invading the planet.
What Happened To Cobalt Team?
To Silver Team’s frustration, Ackerson clears Cobalt Team for deployment and puts them on standby. Before Cobalt heads out, Master Chief warns Ackerson, the new head of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) and Spartan program, that Cobalt Team needs to be made aware of what really happened on Sanctuary. Ackerson continues to dismiss John’s concerns, chalking the Spartan’s worries up to his fractured mental state. While it’s not entirely clear yet what happened to Cobalt Team, they never returned from investigating the downed Visegrád comms relay, further implying that the Covenant forces are already on Reach.
Cortana’s 97% Prediction: What Does It Mean?
Cortana may look recast in Halo season 2, but the highly advanced artificial intelligence (A.I.) construct is as tuned in to the task at hand as ever. Instead of working with Master Chief or Dr. Halsey, however, Cortana is being kept in a secure location on Reach by Ackerson. Although Cortana is cut off from the larger network, Ackerson asks her to report back to him on some simulations he asked the A.I. to run. The conversation keeps said simulated scenario vague, but it likely has to do with the Covenant’s impending attack on Reach.
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With the information she has access to, Cortana calculates that there’s a “97% probability” rate of a negative outcome. When Ackerson asks for a “viable strategy” to prevent that almost-certain outcome, Cortana reiterates that whatever is about to happen — again, likely Halo‘s Fall of Reach — is imminent. Given that she’s cut off from the larger network of information, Cortana’s predictions aren’t entirely accurate, but the whole exchange, including Ackerson’s relatively calm demeanor, strongly imply that the new head of ONI is simply allowing the Covenant invasion to play out.
Halo Season 2 Episode 2 Sets Up The Fall Of Reach
The team behind the show has confirmed that Halo season 2 adapts the tragic events that lead up to the original video game, Halo: Combat Evolved. As the name “Fall of Reach” implies, the battle sees the Covenant launching a devastating assault on humanity’s greatest stronghold. Clearly, the well-off inhabitants of Reach don’t fully grasp that the Human-Covenant War is on their doorstep. Given his dismissal of the Chief, Ackerson seems well aware of the Covenant invasion. The iconic Halo plot may even provide him with the opportunity to kill off his rivals and sink the Spartan program.
