Noble Team’s Role In Halo Season 2 Seems Impossible Now

Spoilers are ahead for Halo season 2, episode 4, “Reach.”In the wake of Halo season 2, episode 4, “Reach,” the inclusion of Noble Team in the Paramount+ series seems like a pipe dream. Ahead of the highly anticipated fourth entry in the show’s sophomore season, which chronicles Halo‘s Fall of Reach plotline, the series gave no indication that Noble Team would join the fray. However, given that the Spartan squad plays a central role in the Halo: Reach video game, long-time fans of the franchise remained hopeful about Noble Team’s eventual inclusion. While it would’ve been a nice bit of fan service, Noble Team was absent from “Reach.”

Even though the characters of Noble Team are most closely associated with Halo: Reach, the fan-favorite Spartans figure in other Halo stories set before the fall of the human stronghold. It’s also true that TV’s Halo is set in the Silver Timeline — a standalone variant of the Human-Covenant War that unfolds separately from the core canon of the games and books. Still, the possibility of Noble Team being drafted into the series post-“Reach” seems slim to none. Already, Halo has whittled away at other Spartan characters to focus more on Master Chief’s (Pablo Screiber) Silver Team.

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Noble Team Plays A Key Role In Halo Games’ Fall Of Reach Plotline

In the lead-up to episode 4, it felt like Halo‘s Fall of Reach needed the Spartan team. However, “Reach” proved to be one of the series’ best outings — even without Noble Team. In Halo: Reach, a direct precursor to the events depicted in 2001’s Halo: Combat Evolved, the player assumes the role of Spartan-B312 — a Spartan III who’s predominantly known by his call sign: Noble Six. After Noble Team investigates a disruption at the Visegrád comms relay, the UNSC and ONI confirm their worst fears: the Covenant has landed on Reach.

While Noble Team is tasked with defending ONI’s Sword Base, the Spartans splinter off into different teams to further the humans’ strategic aims during the Battle of Reach. Later on in Halo: Reach, Dr. Catherine Halsey (played in the show by Natascha McElhone) tasks Noble Team with delivering an important package to the Pillar of Autumn — a UNSC ship that plays a crucial role in Halo: Combat Evolved. Ultimately, Noble Six delivers Halsey’s all-important parcel to Jacob Keyes (played in the show by Danny Sapani), and even sacrifices himself to ensure Captain Keyes’ Pillar of Autumn escapes Reach.

Halo: Reach’s Noble Team Serves No Further Purpose Since The Covenant Already Have Cortana

In many ways, Master Chief and Silver Team act as stand-ins for Noble Six and his squad of Spartans. Moreover, the reveal of what really happened to Cobalt Team at the Visegrád comms relay echoes Noble Team’s discovery of the Covenant in Halo: Reach. In Halo season 2, episode 4, John-117 (Schreiber), Riz-028 (Natasha Culzac), and Vannak-134 (Bentley Kalu) hold the Covenant at bay alongside the UNSC’s Marines, allowing Keyes and Corporal Talia Perez (Cristina Rodlo) to orchestrate a civilian evacuation. While not a one-to-one adaptation of Halo: Reach, the episode holds many echoes.

For starters, Halo season 2 changes Jacob Keyes’ story in a major way: not unlike Noble Six, Keyes sacrifices himself so that Perez can fly Reach’s civilians to safety. Even Vannak, who dies in Halo season 2, episode 4, recalls the sacrificial efforts of Noble Team’s Spartans. Odes aside, Noble Team wouldn’t serve much of a purpose moving forward because the Covenant and Makee (Charlie Murphy) already have Cortana, Halsey’s A.I. construct, by the end of “Reach.” In the game, Noble Six delivers Cortana to Keyes, ensuring the powerful artificial intelligence doesn’t fall into the Covenant’s hands.

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Halo Season 2’s Fall Of Reach Doesn’t Lead Directly Into Halo: Combat Evolved’s Story

Instead of pulling a Rogue One and leading directly into the first-ever Halo story, the show takes a different approach. Some of the biggest moments in Halo‘s Fall of Reach reiterate that the Paramount+ series is its own animal. From Makee’s continued existence and the Covenant’s acquisition of Cortana to Keyes’ unexpected death, the Halo TV show drastically changes elements that are crucial to Halo: Combat Evolved. That said, unless Halo season 2 plans to introduce an entirely different take on Noble Team, the series has pretty much eliminated the Spartan squad’s role.