What Happens To Miranda Keyes In Halo After The Season 2 Finale

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Halo season 2, episode 8, “Halo”

The conclusion of Halo season 2 leaves Doctor Miranda Keyes (Olive Gray) in a very interesting position, especially considering her history in the core Halo franchise canon. The daughter of Doctor Catherine Halsey and UNSC Commander Jacob Keyes, Miranda Keyes is a leading military scientist in her own right with a particular focus on the Covenant as well as linguistics. However, the new threat of the Flood following Halo season 2’s finale will likely launch Miranda’s career and role in the Halo show to even greater heights.

Despite her estranged relationship with her mother who was in charge of the UNSC’s Spartan Program, Miranda takes after Halsey in Paramount’s Halo show and its unique “Silver Timeline”, having her own fields of study as a scientist as well. This is a departure from the core canon of the games and books where Miranda is a full-fledged UNSC commander following the first Halo game, the events of which the show has finally reached. Combined with a notable twist for both Halsey and Miranda, it’s clear that Miranda Keyes’ future following Halo season 2’s finale will be very exciting.

Miranda Keyes Follows In Her Late Father’s Footsteps

Becoming A UNSC Commander

Making her game debut in Halo 2, Miranda Keyes accepts her father’s posthumous medal for his sacrifice during the events of the first Halo game. Having become a UNSC commander just like her father in the final months of the Human-Covenant War, Miranda plays a major role alongside Master Chief John-117 during the various conflicts to secure the Halo rings and prevent them from being fired in the face of the parasitic race known as the Flood. However, Keyes eventually dies near the end of Halo 3, having been shot by one of the Covenant’s leading Hierarchs, The Prophet of Truth.

In the Halo show, Jacob Keyes dies during the Fall of Reach before the events of the first game and the battle for the first Halo ring. Likewise, Miranda is not a commander in the Halo show’s timeline, having been charged with picking up where her mother left off with Forerunner research on the UNSC world of Onyx. That said, their reunion in Halo season 2 and the inadvertent release of Flood spores may shape Miranda’s future to be more aligned with the Keyes of the original Halo games and books.

Miranda Keyes Is A Reclaimer In The Halo Games (Like Master Chief)

Is The Same True In The Halo Show?

It’s important to note that Miranda Keyes is a Reclaimer in the core Halo canon, meaning that she is a member of the human race who can interact with Forerunner technology. This means that she can activate the Halo rings just like Master Chief John-117. That said, that doesn’t seem to be the case in the Halo show which uses the term “Blessed Ones” as well as being an even rarer genetic trait among humans.

By the end of Halo season 2, John-117 and Makee are the only confirmed Blessed Ones capable of interacting with Forerunners technology, though Kwan Ha has been teased as having crucial connections to the Forerunners as well. To that end, Miranda could be revealed as a Reclaimer/Blessed One in future seasons of Halo via some sort of new reveal or recon. Regardless, a greater role for Miranda Keyes should be expected in a potential Halo season 3, especially after the Flood outbreak on Onyx she seems to have survived by the end of Halo season 2’s finale.

What Does Halo Season 3 Have In Store For Miranda?

Saving Halsey And Fighting The Flood

By the end of Halo season 2’s finale, Miranda Keyes was not infected by The Flood she and Halsey inadvertently released. However, her mother was revealed to have been infected near the end of the finale, a shocking twist and exciting deviation from the core canon. Placing Halsey in cryo-sleep to delay the effects of the infection, Miranda claims that she will find a way to save her mother in the future.

Considering how much of the UNSC’s leadership was also overtaken by the Flood, it does seem as though Miranda Keyes is in a unique position to finally become a commander as she is in the Halo games and books. It stands to reason that Miranda Keyes will be working to save her mother and fight the Flood in the future. However, Keyes can also take after her late father by also becoming a commander in a potential Halo season 3.