How Ackerson’s Halo Season 2 Alliance Change Could Impact Season 3 Explained By Star

Joseph Morgan breaks down how James Ackerson’s journey across Halo season 2 has shaken him and left him on a new path for potential future seasons to explore. The Paramount+ series based on Microsoft’s iconic video game franchise explores a battle between humanity and an alien alliance known as The Covenant over ancient, powerful relics hidden across the galaxy. Morgan’s Joseph Ackerson was the head of the Office of Naval Intelligence and director of the SPARTAN program following Doctor Halsey’s (Natasha McElhone) betrayal and arrest in season 1.

Following Halo season 2’s cliffhanger conclusion, Morgan spoke to Screen Rant about where Ackerson may find himself in the rapidly changing galaxy. With Ackerson’s surprising demotion and later alliance following his escape from the overrun Onyx facility, the former SPARTAN program head has been left with no set path forward that future seasons can feel free to explore, including the aftermath of his complex, morally dubious actions on Reach across the early season. Check out Morgan’s full explanation below:

No, I didn’t know fully about it. I knew that Ackerson was going to be painted as the villain in the beginning, and then we were going to find out that he wasn’t actually the antagonist and that he’d been led to a certain extent. But no, I wasn’t aware of the unlikely allies that he would have later, I think sort of allies of convenience when in the situations with them, so that was exciting to me.

And then also, of course, the new threat that comes in the finale. I wasn’t aware of that until I read the script and was like, “Oh my God.” Yeah, very, very excited about that. And who knows, should we go for a season 3, where Ackerson will end up, because he’s been left on this ship with Soren and he’s got no organization anymore. He’s got no allegiance, he’s got no job. So he’s in the market for a new career, and I think he’s also been through something which is quite life-changing, he’s sacrificed everything for an organization that ultimately betrayed him. I’m really interested to see where it could go from here.

I don’t know, it depends what redemption means to you really, because I feel like those two things were justified. [Laughs] But that’s maybe because I’m very much seeing things from Ackerson’s point of view, but the cloning of his sister was to show Halsey how much she took from his family and to demonstrate to her what she was doing time and time again, stealing these children away from people, ultimately most of whom wouldn’t survive. And then his father, that was asked for by his father. It was a mercy, I think. I don’t know.

I mean, you have to see things from the point of view of your character, I think, when you play them, or at least try to understand where they’re coming from. But yeah, I do think that what happened on Reach has had a huge influence on Ackerson. I think it’s changed the way he thinks about everything. The way that Parangosky hung him out to dry, I think that changed his world view. So yeah, I think there is hope for redemption. He’s just got to find someone or something that he cares about now.

James Ackerson Had A Drastically Different Fate In Halo’s Original Canon

While the Halo series’ new Silver Timeline has left the show the freedom to play loose and explore its own retelling of the franchise’s story, season 2 made many surprising changes to the overall narrative. Alongside Ackerson’s tragic ties to Reach and the SPARTAN program, the sacrifice of Jacob Keyes (Danny Sapani), and the origins of the Flood’s outbreak marked major shifts that set the series apart from its source material. While Ackerson’s position at the end of the series does align in some areas, his status at season 2’s end is a far cry from where his character would find himself in the original canon.

While Ackerson did head the SPARTAN-III’s development and would find himself leaving his leadership role within the video game’s continuity, the comic book series Halo: Uprising revealed his fate between the events of Halo 2 and Halo 3. Captured and brutally interrogated for intel, Ackerson makes a grand ploy to distract the Covenant during The Battle of Earth while also exposing key Covenant leaders with the help of his brother, Ruwan, at the cost of his life. With Ackerson’s status and new family history in the Halo TV series, the show has set up the character for an all-new role.

Morgan’s Ackerson in the Halo TV show is a drastic departure from the more antagonistic figure seen within the series’ source material. While his disdain for Halsey and her SPARTANs and later role in the follow-up program aligns with moments in key Halo novels, the Silver Timeline’s Ackerson is a more selfless, sympathetic figure who holds a greater sense of regret over what he saw as necessary actions. With the series leaving Ackerson in new alliances with knowledge of the newly emerged Flood, future seasons could see Morgan’s former colonel step up to give humanity a chance against the parasite.

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