Warning! Spoilers ahead for Halo episode 5
While Paramount’s live-action Halo series just pitted a Covenant Brute against Master Chief, the early debut of the alien race doesn’t break the pre-existing canon of the games. In fact, it might even provide a stronger integration of the powerful warriors in the TV show’s new continuity known as the Silver Timeline. Although the Halo TV seems to be going in a different direction with Brutes, it could still fit within the context of what’s known about the imposing race from the games and novels.
In Halo episode 5, Master Chief and the UNSC are attacked by the full might of the Covenant. Seeking the Forerunner artifact Doctor Halsey and John-117 discovered, the alien empire deploy several Banshee aircraft to strafe the dig site while ground troops comprised of Grunts, Jackals, and Elites engaged the soldiers on the ground. Although Master Chief and his fellow SPARTANs attempted to get the artifact to Halsey, they ultimately failed after their Warthog was blown up, leaving the artifact in the middle of the battlefield to be claimed by the Covenant.
In a surprise move, a Covenant Brute (also known as Jiralhanae) entered the battle, proving himself to be more than a match for John-117 with one swing of his gravity hammer. What’s so surprising about this Brute appearance is that the species didn’t truly debut in the games until Halo 2, replacing the Elites as the favored Honor Guard of the Covenant’s leading Prophets. While this was due to the Elites’ failures in the first Halo game following the destruction of the first ring, the live-action series exists as a prequel and takes place before the events of the prequel game Reach. That being said, the pre-existing canon confirms that Brutes were a part of the Covenant long before the events of the games. They just weren’t as prominent until Halo 2. As such, it looks as though Paramount’s Halo may be fast-tracking their rise to power, especially after this particular Brute succeeded in securing the artifact for the Prophets.
It should be noted that a Brute claiming the artifact is significant. The Jiralhanae and Sangheili Elites have a bitter rivalry with one another in the original canon, one that would be largely responsible for the Covenant falling apart in the later games due to a civil war. Many Elites eventually choose to join humanity against the Covenant. While the events of the first Halo saw the Elites’ failure giving way to the Brutes becoming the Covenant’s Honor Guard, perhaps the Brutes’ success here in the series will be what puts them on top.
While earlier than anticipated, there was only one Brute featured in the new Halo episode. This perhaps indicates that the rivalry between alien races does exist in this new continuity and that the Brutes have yet to gain favor with the Prophets. However, that could all change in the episodes to come or in a future season thanks to the Forerunner artifact which will no doubt guide the Covenant to the first Halo ring. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how Paramount’s new series intends to use Brutes going forward as Halo continues.
New episodes of Halo release every Thursday on Paramount+.
