Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Halo season 2, episode 4, “Reach”
Halo season 2, episode 4 prominently features a battalion of Covenant Jackals during the show’s take on the Fall of Reach. Armed with plasma weapons and energy shields, the Jackals are a smaller alien race compared to the more predominant Elites. However, that doesn’t mean that they are less intimidating or deadly to the UNSC’s marines and their Spartan heroes.
While this particular faction of the Covenant is most commonly referred to by humanity as Jackals, their true name is the Kig-Yar, a reptilian/avian species most often serving as Covenant snipers and scouts. During Halo season 2’s Fall of Reach, a significant number of Jackals armed with energy shields are dispatched to attack a group of civilians attempting to evacuate the Covenant’s devastating invasion. This provides an opportunity to see just how tall the Jackals are compared to humans in Paramount’s Halo series, and whether they match their depiction from the original games and books.
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Jackals Are Just Taller Than Most Humans
But Shorter Than Elites
According to the existing Halo games and books, Jackals can be anywhere between 6’3″ and 6’8″ on average. In terms of canonical height, it does appear as though the Halo show’s Jackals are close to the same, appearing to be just about a foot or so taller than most of the humans fleeing Reach. This notably includes Admiral Keyes who faces down the entire battalion of Jackals before killing them all in a fiery explosion, sacrificing himself.
The Covenant’s predominant warriors are the Sangheili Elites who are much taller than Jackals with an average height that’s closer to 9ft. That said, it’s worth noting that the UNSC’s Spartans are typically taller than the average Jackal thanks to their augmentations as super-soldiers with an average height of 7ft. For example, Master Chief John-117 in particular is canonically 7’2″. In general, it seems as though most of the character heights seen thus far have been pretty close to matching the games and books.
Average Jackal Height Compared To Other Covenant Aliens
Not The Tallest But Not The Shortest
Grunts | 4’6″-5’6″ |
Jackals | 6’3″-6’8″ |
Elites | 7’4″-8’6″ |
Brutes | 8’6″-9’2″ |
Hunters | 12’1″-12’3″ |
The only Covenant race that’s shorter than the Jackals are the Unggoy aka Grunts, the lowest-ranking species among the Covenant who are often mistreated the most by the Kig-Yar, though they aren’t much higher up within the Covenant hierarchy. In terms of height, the Elites, Brutes, and Hunters are all taller than the Jackals, though only the Jackals and Elites have been seen thus far in Halo season 2. With any luck, perhaps more of the Covenant forces will be featured in the episodes that are still to come following Halo season 2, episode 4.
Halo
A live-action adaptation of the video game franchise of the same name, Halo follows Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 (Pablo Schrieber) as he fights his part in a war between humanity’s United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and the Covenant, an alliance of multiple hostile races of aliens intent on destroying the human race. The Master Chief is supported by Cortana (Jen Taylor) – an AI construct based on the personality of Dr. Catherine Halsey, who created the Spartan supersoldier program – implanted in his brain.
