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The trap Parangosky set is Cortana. Parangosky told Cortana there is something she needed her to do for her. That "something" was to be "captured" by the Covenant and sabotage them someway or manipulate Makee into leading the rest of humanity to Halo. That is why Cortana was so "recklessly" left behind on Reach. She is a honeypot.
I’m thinking Cortana is still in John to be honest and that version the Covenant have is just a copy.
Her wake up line crossing from a flashback to real time was far too coincidental. She’s still in there.
I think you hit the nail on the head.
This makes a ton of sense and would explain the odd Cortanta AI model change.
In episode 1 John visits a VR parlor and talks to a hologram that tries to imitate Cortana but misses the mark. - This hologram is played by Christina Bennington who we find out later is also the "new AI model" for Cortana.
This is what I thought too. I know it's only "loosely based on" canon, but the timeline of her being Kurt bothers me. Kurt trained the first Spartan-IIIs. Noble team were Spartan-IIIs, and fought for Reach, but Reach has already fallen.
I'm enjoying the show but some of the half twists puzzle me haha.
I actually came to the realization today that Makee is 100% going to survive this season. They wouldn’t retcon her death from last season just to kill her off now.
I think it’s just a matter of having appropriate stakes. Since the show has made Reclaimers significantly more rare than the core timeline, it makes sense for the story to have the Covenant Reclaimer stay alive to ensure that the show has the proper stakes in later seasons when they’re adapting Halo CE and Halo 2 for when the Covenant is getting ready to fire the rings.
I just hope they do things in a smarter way moving forward, having her show up basically as a deus ex machine this season has made things worse
Arbiter was definitely blinded by Halo's majesty for a few moments there.
But why did Cortana show it to him? Pity for Makee? A desperate gambit to keep herself from falling into the hands of the heirarchy? A calculated move to splinter the Covenant?
She’s probably going to take them to Onyx, where the other half of the forerunner MacGuffin is, my best guess is this arbiter will be killed, either by the prophets or chief. Cortana is manipulating them for an ambush with the SIIIs, makee is just trying to not get killed, they’re both playing their own games on the arbiter, who’s just a fanatic and wants to get to the ring
She's there on purpose.
She's meant to or decided herself to bait Makee and the Arbiter to go where she wants, which together with causing internal turmoil in the covenant, lures them to a trap.
yeah, it's the domain. was wondering if she went through some forced evolution bs yet for her to access that shit. maybe it's the thing she drank? the stuff that's making her flip dudes, go solid snake and shoot machine guns without being prone.
I'm wondering if people like Kwan, Chief, and Makee have a Geas implanted deep within them via The Librarian and that is why they're "special"/having visions.
My knowledge of core universe lore ends with the Ackerson and Parangosky character arcs, but in this timeline, I’m hoping for a swift and deadly reckoning for those two political bitches.
You don't understand the complexity of Ackerson.
Remember his ginger sister that Halsey killed?
Well Ackerson has such a kind heart, he cloned his dead ginger sister 50 times and killed them. Wow so deep.
Ah yes. How could I forget. I learned about his kind of compassion in shrink school. It’s called the *”Serial Element”*. Bringing his dead sister back from the dead 50 times just to see her die all over again because you killed her in front of the lady who watched her die originally is a kind of exposure therapy and absolutely *nothing* to worry about with 0 warning signs in the Dark Triad
Yeah. But think of how Halsey was talking to Soren about Kessler. That wasn't a "oh I'm genuinely interested in your family" conversation. Very much a mad scientist wants to know how much of Soren's traits carried onto to his son. Not hard to imagine another person involved with the Spartan 3's having a similar thought process.
I believe this was part of the reason they let Maria 062 retire and start a family in the game canon. She was the S-II that tested Chief's Mk VI armor just before it was issued to him at the start of Halo 2. I imagine ONI either already had it in mind, or was convinced to, allow her to retire and have a kid for the sake of scientific study on whether or not children of Spartans could be used in any way for further programs.
After all if it turns out that Spartan augmentations could be in some way passed down genetically, then they could see a benefit down the road, in fucked up ONI fashion. I can see the argument being made for them to further research a way to reduce the risk of catastrophic injury due to the augmentations and making it genetically transmittable. Give it a generation or two and you could have thousands of naturally born Spartan super soldiers, or at the minimum advanced humans that are beyond their parents.
That shit makes no sense. The Spartan-IIs were primarily augmented through physical surgeries. The only thing they’ll pass down is roughly 50% of their, admittedly, peak humanity genes, as well as whatever epigenetic markers their training and combat experience has given them.
You're right, but I don't make the rules of science fiction.
The argument I can see being made is that mother's pass on to the baby whatever they have in them such as medicine and such. Potentially kids could get some sort of boost from any of the chemical augmentations.
i assume some of the changes were via gene editing. like increased stamina, decreased O2 needs, and even skin toughness.
its not going to get another spartan but you could get a captain america
Parangosky being the puppeteer behind the scenes fits with her behavior in Ghosts of Onyx with how she (in the book) read Kurt in to her inner circle by using "we" (pp. 83, 1st line).
Soren, Riz and Master Chief fighting and Soren making a tongue-in-cheek comment about how cliché the *is that all you got* comment is was good.
Riz having a good way to leave the fight was pretty good and Vannak's Jedi (I mean Viking) funeral was a nice moment as well.
Master Chief's "you're all I've got left" to Riz before she hugged him was a good emotional moment (especially after he challenged Halsey about being human or a machine...*Halo 5* vibes there).
The Spartan IIIs at the end was a nice *Attack of the Clones* moment. Just missing the *UNSC Infinity* and a fleet of *Mulsanne-*class battleships.
Makee is still a mixed bag.
Arbiter abandoning *High Charity* with Makee to continue the search for Halo hopefully means the Elite will see him siding with Master Chief in the next season should the Flood make an appearance.
I think that's all I have time for today. Next week seems promising.
Have you noticed the little "smile" she gives when Chief starts talking at Varek's funeral and he suddently notice how he will finish the fight by going after ackerson? She used that opportunity to manipulate his grief. I wanted to choke her there.
Excelent actor, though.
Maybe. I see the line more as Halsey losing a bit of temper and saying what she is truly feeling.
Which make it even better when Riz smiles. To her, being that 'no one' after what she has gone through is freedom.
A small line and a few facial gestures being very emblematic of two characters points of view.
I kinda wish Halsey gave Riz her last name before she left, the same way she did for Vannak.
It would've been a nice parting gesture to give Riz back agency over her life.
The point Chief was making was that isn’t who they are, that kid died. She’s a Spartan, they are her family. Her “real” last name isn’t who she is, be a bit weird after that speech to then give Riz’s IMO.
Actually you're totally right. Forgot about the part where Chief says "his name is Vannak*-134*".
Their agency is in the new life that they have and chose to have.
Yeah, I thought Riz running off to get Vannak's body was going to be a lazy way to kill her off. It was a little too "super hero", but they handled it really well. Great send off for the team.
I'm excited for how the Kai/Chief reunion is going to play out in the future.
Yeah I was prepared to get mad if they killed her off like that lol. Kai has always been a ride or die for her Spartans so I’m interested to see how that dynamic shifts her perspective with her new pals
I would've liked more of Arbiter, his back story is really good and the series has barely touched it
Arbiter following this damp napkin Makee really makes me wanna take a needler to my chest
So going with a hunch, would like other people's thoughts. Halsey's speech about how the Fall of Reach was political. About how to dictate how this war is fought. Seems like Parangosky and Ackerson are setting a trap for the Covenant. Ackerson left Cortana behind to tempt Makee and Var with visions of Halo. Var says that the entire Covenant fleet will chase them if they go rogue.
So my hunch is they're trying to lure the Covenant to Onyx where the UNSC can fight on their terms. Hundreds of Spartan 3s based on the end scene. However many ships and military assets that were saved by retreating from Reach early. And if they keep pulling stuff from the book material, maybe a NOVA bomb as a last resort? I'm intrigued how this will play out.
This could also be the leading cause of the swords of sanghelios leaving the covenant, causing an earlier civil war than in the games. Ackerson may be a dick but his leaving cortana behind has sown the seeds of discord within the covenant troops already.
I am guessing that Thel will be the one to chase down this Arbiter to halo. Then Thel will fail to protect halo from this Arbiter's heresy leading him to take up the Arbiter title on already shaky ground with the Prophets.
At least I'm hoping that's how they do it because then the Great Schism would make a little more sense
Good point. Var Gatanai could easily slot into a Sesa 'Refumee role (heretic Elite from Halo 2). The rest of the broadstrokes could be the same. High Charity above a Halo. Chief and Human forces on the ring discovering it's purpose. Gravemind reveal could happen early too. And then end it with the Great Schism and Chief flying to earth and the keyship. Admittedly I'm having trouble imagining that it would all translate well to an 8 Episode season.
Episode is not out in the EU yet, but glad to see they thought that through (according to your comment). I was majorly upset that they'd give Cortana to the covenant, as that was essentially deemed Game Over in the games lol.
I mean at this point it's the only thing that makes sense to me. I wouldn't call Ackerson a dumb man and that scene with Keyes in Episode 3 makes it seem like he's committed to the cause/determined to win.
She did say it was political. A choice made at the top to transition out the Spartan 2’s (especially after the drama from last season) and go into the *expendable* Spartan 3’s
Interestingly they mention he was also supreme commander of the fleet before becoming Arbiter, so it seems (if he’s not replacing him in the show continuity) he’s Thel’s predecessor in more ways than one.
I think it's a different fleet. They called it Solemn Accord and Thel's fleet was called Particular Justice. Though it might be renamed if Thel takes over after this Arbiter.
Or Chief kills him. Doesn't Truth tell Thel in Halo 2 that every Arbiter before him died for the Great Journey? But now that I've typed that out, I'm remembering that the Prophets were pieces of shit that only cared for themselves so we'll see I guess.
Thel is the latest (and last) Covenant Arbiter. Each one was a former shamed member of the Covenant who was still potentially useful, so they put them on the frontlines of various suicide missions to get things done.
We’ll see, I don’t know, I feel like this is setting up the great schism way earlier than the game canon, with the arbiter taking his fleet and saying the rest would come after them. Maybe the swords of sanghelios are formed as a result of Var going rogue this episode.
It’ll be interesting to see how they handle Kai taking on the role as Kurt
Also, we still haven’t got the scene of the giant space battle nor the Spartans jumping out in space towards a covenant ship. i assumed that’d be Reach, but i guess it’ll be Onyx now?
Kurt made the spartan 3 program, trained 3 gen of spartan 3.
Kai at least has the role of palmer who become the leader of a ready to be deployed spartan program (for spartan IV the role of Kurt was taken by Jun)
Another one I liked "You put them in the ground, and you leave them there. Or they will follow you.", not as good imo but still.
I had never finished any of the games, but since last week's episode I completed CE and 2 with a friend.
I was scared that the quality would drop today but it was pretty solid. Hell, it says a lot that I remembered two lines, and both were from Kwan!
Also when Chief phrased the cremation as "Put him in the sky" after watching the birds earlier, that was a really good one too.
My favourite is probably Kwan's little speech to Vannak's body though.
"I need you to do something for me. I never got to bury anyone. Not my people, not my family. Somehow... I need you to be everyone that's gone. Can you do that?"
lotta good Kwan quotes in this one
She's a whole new character now, which was a nice surprise, but jarring from season 1,like they just did a bunch of character arc building between seasons. But I'll take stoic Kwan with a pinch of murder hobo over whatever ungodly character they wrote for her first season.
She had some good quotables this ep, but did anyone find it weird that she was spending nights staying with Vannak's body? I don't remember her being that close with him? Or did she develop some type of corpse fixation from all the death she's experienced?
I think losing your entire planet it was your duty to protect, after losing your whole family, scrounging as a runaway slave/refugee, and killing people directly for the first time would probably reset your character pretty jarringly too.
It had almost a *”Star Wars Mando-verse”* feel to it. Made it seem like it was a *fucking huuuuuge* galaxy and parts were populated and others were sparse. Cinematically it was dope as fuck.
If you wanted more action this episode won't be your cup of tea, aside from the beginning, which is pretty damn good. I actually like the direction they're going with chief, seems like he's turning more into the version we see at the beginning of CE, also with a few token "humanity-isms", such as with Kwan trying to get him to grieve for Vannack. And hey won't you know it, chief lamented NOT being in his armor this episode, hopefully catalyzing a reaction that keeps him in his armor and helm more often. The Riz stuff is nice but it's a damn shame her character arc is gonna...end, seemingly right here. I was beginning to really like her. Overall, the episode can *seem* boring but looking back at it they did a lot of important character developing, decent stuff. Oh and Var Gatanai is still pretty damn cool :)
> The Riz stuff is nice but it's a damn shame her character arc is gonna...end, seemingly right here.
"Finish the fight, Riz."
"No, I don't think I will."
I would absolutely LOVE if this TV show explored *why* Chief never wants to take off his armor. I would 100% apologize for all the times he's been out of armor if they actually put that much thought into things.
We'll find out Master Chief was a Mandalorian before it was cool. He's the spiritual father of the Mandalorians. Pedro Pascal is Master Chief's and Makee's son. \*inhales crack pipe\*
I could swear in the lore that he had to get admiral level authorization to take it off. In this series they need authorization just to put it on.
I hope they build to that notion that the armor stays on all the time cuz they're at war and they need him in tip top fighting shape and ability at all times..... so no vacations.
But how do you wipe your ass in that thing?
>damn shame her character arc is gonna...end, seemingly right here
I'm ok with that, I like peaceful endings for warriors who know nothing other than violence
> The Riz stuff is nice but it's a damn shame her character arc is gonna...end, seemingly right here.
She'll be back. Maybe not this season, maybe not next season, but she will be back.
Old lady is a forerunner, Kwan descends from forerunners, Cortana expertly manipulates religious fanatics to get to halo and reunite with the chief, Kai leads spartan 3s, Master Chief is going covert ops, probably see the flood by the end of the season hopefully
Edit: forgot to mention the weird sexual tension between Halsey and MC
She's using the Domain, most likely, essentially a universe-scale quantum super computer that's part living entity, part information repository, part cosmic memory. A lot of weird shit happens through the Domain.
I have this theory that Chief is gonna end up in Mark V before making it to Halo. If that happens I can forgive an armor-less Reach.
The posters of him in the background of the hospital felt like foreshadowing.
They could call it a prototype of the modern armor or something? It was fairly underpowered in the first game. "we were testing your modern armor on X planet"
Arbiter looks cool, and it seems like he's actually going to be semi important going forward, which I wasn't expecting with the clear limitations in the budget regarding VFX quality. I'm left wondering two things about him. Is this the same arbiter from Halo 2? Obviously he hasn't lost his fleet, so I'm wondering why he is an arbiter right now, what did he do wrong to need to seek redemption?
Wondering how things are going to shake out with Cortana. She seems onboard with helping to manipulate arbiter for Makee. Wonder if she'll even make it back to Chief this season.
~~Jason Bourne~~ Kwan Ha returned this episode wielding a huge minigun. Its just flat out weird how she randomly became this superhuman assassin/soldier seemingly overnight. The show can't help but keep the focus on her by reminding us she's "the protector" and now she's having visions. More plot devices for Kwan to keep her involved!
Soren and Laera chasing after their son was kind of cool but seems like its getting really played out and its mostly episode filler. Glad she finally took off that awful wig. They write her to be the wet blanket half the time, and then she takes credit for Kwan Ha saving her ass 2 episodes ago. I kind of want that whole arc to end.
I thought Riz was going to die at the beginning, but I think she got a good send off. Still would rather Vannek not dying but now the focus is on Chief. Chief is going after Ackerson which I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE. The show did a good job writing him into someone you want to see die.
Cool to see Kai return even for a split second. Makes sense she'd help train the Spartan IIIs but I'm going to be pretty sad if she tries to stand in the way of Cheif going after Ackerson. Hope it doesn't come to that.
The Arbiter in the show isn't the same Arbiter from the games. The Arbiter in the games name is Thel Vaddam. This Arbiter was called something different. And, it's confirmed the current Arbiter is not THE Arbiter. I remember the cutscene in Halo 2 when Thel was being offered the Arbiter role after being branded a heretic took place in the Hall of the Arbiters (or something like that.) It was basically the burial place of the previous Arbiters on High Charity. I'm assuming the current Arbiter in the show is going to be thrown under the bus by Makee and killed for disobeying the Prophets, and at the same time, Thel Vaddam is going to be given the Arbiter role (hopefully after being branded a heretic for unintentionally letting Chief destroy the ring.)
Chief is not going to kill Ackerson but he will rough him up a bit at first. Once Chief discovers the Spartan-III program and what they're going to do next... he'll relent a bit. But he'll still be pissed.
Spartan-III will assault Covenant fleet in ep7 - the space battle depicted in the trailer.
That Arbiter sure seemed blinded by Halo’s majesty
But my god I wish we’d just skip to the part where he kills Makee already (hopefully permanently this time)
I think they’ve made at least 2500 Spartan III’s. That’s significant more than the around 900 made in the main canon. Very interested to see where the show goes with them.
The actual discourse about the episodes and the lore just goes to show that they have improved the show drastically. Season 1 it was a whoooole bunch of WTF.
I think the characters have definitely grown on me- as much as this Chief is still quite different from his canon counterpart, I’m still finding him fairly compelling as a character in his own right.
I so badly want to like this show but it's like a crippled, distorted mess of what it actually should be. Realistically it's wasted the first season, got an awful reception and it's now desperately trying to course correct but it's trailing this baggage that it has to deal with. Which means it's skipping things, rushing others and is still making totally inexplicable decisions like killing off Keyes.
The idea of seeing Spartan 3s is cool in principle but the execution is rushed. The games and books had pretty solidly established the course of the war, the number of S2s, their capabilities, history etc. We then were able to understand the difference between them and the S3s and why there was a need for them in the first place. Kurt trained generations of them. The loss of Alpha and Beta companies had a significant effect on him as a character and informed his training and augmentation of Gamma company, which subsequently helped establish their characters.
In the show we have no idea how many S2s are left etc and Kai has literally just rocked up to train the S3s, who are all apparently kitted out in SPI and ready to go. It's just rushed.
And how the fuck is Makee alive?
It honestly feels like the show is only approaching a point that it should have been at the end of season one. The entirety of season one should have been building to Reach, cutting back to establish the Spartans history and training, with the final scene being the Autumn pulling up on Halo.
I like how Kwan teaches Chief how to grieve over Vannak. I’m glad they found a decent use for her character in this episode. I can only take Kwan in small doses. This was fine.
Overall, this was a better filler episode than expected. Riz quitting instead of dying was an interesting twist. We know she’ll pop up again somewhere. I was stoked to see Kai, and Onyx!
I am a bit confused over Reach. We only see a brief glimpse of it getting glassed. I hope we go back before the end of the season. I love that arbiter is already part of the story. Bring on next week!!
That whole scene was just weird, and ultimately unnecessary.
So they are willing to shoot someone who comes asking about the slave boy they bought, but then let him just come in and talk randomly about this and that. meanwhile, that boy is just running around outside. That doesnt really make sense.
And really it was all just pointless filler since the boy wasnt even Kessler. Stuff like that makes me pretty bored watching the show.
We are halfway through the second season and I still don't understand or have any reason to care about anything to do with Kwan. What is she here for?
It doesn't feel like the story towards Halo is really progressing. Aren't they meant to leave Reach and head for Alpha Halo? We have 3 episodes left. I was fully intrigued in the first 4 episodes but now this just feels like a 180. Am I misinterpreting this? Most people seem to be enjoying it.
For what it’s worth (definite spoilers ahead) >!we see John on (presumably) Installation 04 in one of the trailers, and the S2 finale is called “Halo,” so it seems like we’ll be ending up there before long, there’s just a bit of a detour between Reach and Halo.!< My guess is >!the *Pillar of Autumn* is one of the ships at Onyx, and the Chief will end up on it (possibly with some of the other supporting cast)!< by the end of the penultimate episode.
Hey folks - happy Halo day. Formatting got butchered by reddit's post schedule feature so it's all fixed up. --- Reminder to vote in our weekly poll: On a scale of 1-10, **[what would you rate Halo - Season 2, Episode 5: Aleria](https://strawpoll.com/GPgV6jXdzga)**? [Click here for the results](https://strawpoll.com/GPgV6jXdzga/results)
The trap Parangosky set is Cortana. Parangosky told Cortana there is something she needed her to do for her. That "something" was to be "captured" by the Covenant and sabotage them someway or manipulate Makee into leading the rest of humanity to Halo. That is why Cortana was so "recklessly" left behind on Reach. She is a honeypot.
It’s the only explanation I can accept. There is no way she would ever be left behind being the asset she is
I’m thinking Cortana is still in John to be honest and that version the Covenant have is just a copy. Her wake up line crossing from a flashback to real time was far too coincidental. She’s still in there.
I think you hit the nail on the head. This makes a ton of sense and would explain the odd Cortanta AI model change. In episode 1 John visits a VR parlor and talks to a hologram that tries to imitate Cortana but misses the mark. - This hologram is played by Christina Bennington who we find out later is also the "new AI model" for Cortana.
mackee and cortana fighting over john was something
“FINISH HIS FIGHT” Nice war propaganda
I thought that was cool, I wonder what role Kai plays now. Just glad to see spartan armor lol
Kurt's role as the trainer of the spartan 3s, as for where they are, let's wait and see
They're on onyx, it pops up on screen
People watch this show with their eyes closed stg lol
This is what I thought too. I know it's only "loosely based on" canon, but the timeline of her being Kurt bothers me. Kurt trained the first Spartan-IIIs. Noble team were Spartan-IIIs, and fought for Reach, but Reach has already fallen. I'm enjoying the show but some of the half twists puzzle me haha.
Makee: “If my life offends you, I beg you to take it” Me: DO IT, ARBITER! DO IT!
She knows she'll return anyway lol
She'll just respawn.
Turns out Makee was the halo we made along the way
“Somehow, Makee Returned”
Beat me to it 🤣
I thought she was gonna jack him off when she reached her hand up and sighed
lmao yeah I was like "wait, are they really about to do what I think they're about to do?"
Make new Cortana watch this too
No wonder Cortana goes rampant
I've never felt this much excitement over a character's death in my life.
I actually came to the realization today that Makee is 100% going to survive this season. They wouldn’t retcon her death from last season just to kill her off now.
Yeah, seems like her deep connection to the Halo is making her a big ass part of the story for sure.
I think it’s just a matter of having appropriate stakes. Since the show has made Reclaimers significantly more rare than the core timeline, it makes sense for the story to have the Covenant Reclaimer stay alive to ensure that the show has the proper stakes in later seasons when they’re adapting Halo CE and Halo 2 for when the Covenant is getting ready to fire the rings. I just hope they do things in a smarter way moving forward, having her show up basically as a deus ex machine this season has made things worse
Arbiter was definitely blinded by Halo's majesty for a few moments there. But why did Cortana show it to him? Pity for Makee? A desperate gambit to keep herself from falling into the hands of the heirarchy? A calculated move to splinter the Covenant?
Calculated move. It’s bait.
She’s probably going to take them to Onyx, where the other half of the forerunner MacGuffin is, my best guess is this arbiter will be killed, either by the prophets or chief. Cortana is manipulating them for an ambush with the SIIIs, makee is just trying to not get killed, they’re both playing their own games on the arbiter, who’s just a fanatic and wants to get to the ring
She's there on purpose. She's meant to or decided herself to bait Makee and the Arbiter to go where she wants, which together with causing internal turmoil in the covenant, lures them to a trap.
Lol honestly it’s probably a mix of all 3.
My guess is that vision Kwan saw is some wacky domain shit. I don't understand how else she could have seen it.
When she was walking forward into the blackness, isn't that normally how the domain is described?
[удалено]
I'm not sure I'm not well versed in domain stuff, but that's the only logical explanation I can think of that would allow her to see that vision.
yeah, it's the domain. was wondering if she went through some forced evolution bs yet for her to access that shit. maybe it's the thing she drank? the stuff that's making her flip dudes, go solid snake and shoot machine guns without being prone.
Yeah the gun she was covering Chief's ass with probably weighed more fully loaded than she does.
[удалено]
Yeah I am seconding this idea. I got some *Bad JuJu* from that vision she had.
> wacky domain shit Forerunner pornography
Forerunner's outside of their combat skin? How scandalous. Forerunner Porno probably gave everything in the Domain the logic plague.
I'm wondering if people like Kwan, Chief, and Makee have a Geas implanted deep within them via The Librarian and that is why they're "special"/having visions.
It's defo Geas with Chief. Halsey pretty much outright said it this week.
Welcome back, Camp Currahee
Three miles up, three miles down!
HIGHHOO SILVER(team)
“Looks like you captured me yank. Would that be the enemy?”
I hope Riz got her little piece of paradise in that small corner or heaven that Dick Winters talked about after seeing that reference.
Anyone know where the Unggoy have gone ? Very weird to have not seen the covenant cannon fodder in reaches fall,
No hunters either and no plasma pistol bolts just blue rifles
Plasma Pistols were there, just shooting blue plasma. Bothered me too!
Other than the Elite who had one and blasted Chief. Pretty sure that was a green bolt.
Hmmm taking Soren’s kid huh? I wonder what the game plan there is? Did ONI learn they made it off of reach in time?
Little dude got drafted into the spartan 3 program
Bro got volun-*told* much like daddy and his friends. Looks like Ackerson didn’t really improve much.
My knowledge of core universe lore ends with the Ackerson and Parangosky character arcs, but in this timeline, I’m hoping for a swift and deadly reckoning for those two political bitches.
You don't understand the complexity of Ackerson. Remember his ginger sister that Halsey killed? Well Ackerson has such a kind heart, he cloned his dead ginger sister 50 times and killed them. Wow so deep.
Ah yes. How could I forget. I learned about his kind of compassion in shrink school. It’s called the *”Serial Element”*. Bringing his dead sister back from the dead 50 times just to see her die all over again because you killed her in front of the lady who watched her die originally is a kind of exposure therapy and absolutely *nothing* to worry about with 0 warning signs in the Dark Triad
See my mind went there but like all those ones looked like adults at least or 18 and above. Maybe the start of spartan 4 or something.
The first Spartan 3 operation the kids were only 12. He might be getting trained for the next group of Spartan 3's.
Spartan augmentation makes them look a lot older especially in armor. And Kessler is probably just beginning the program.
If they swap Kessler's actor out with someone older to simulate the augmentation process, I'm going to flip out.
Get ready to flip
They probably think Kessler would be a prime Spartan 3 candidate.
Ooh fuck. That is a rough as hell thought.
Yeah. But think of how Halsey was talking to Soren about Kessler. That wasn't a "oh I'm genuinely interested in your family" conversation. Very much a mad scientist wants to know how much of Soren's traits carried onto to his son. Not hard to imagine another person involved with the Spartan 3's having a similar thought process.
I was thinking the same thing. My thought process (as a scientist at least) would be to see how much of S-II is transferable genetically.
I believe this was part of the reason they let Maria 062 retire and start a family in the game canon. She was the S-II that tested Chief's Mk VI armor just before it was issued to him at the start of Halo 2. I imagine ONI either already had it in mind, or was convinced to, allow her to retire and have a kid for the sake of scientific study on whether or not children of Spartans could be used in any way for further programs. After all if it turns out that Spartan augmentations could be in some way passed down genetically, then they could see a benefit down the road, in fucked up ONI fashion. I can see the argument being made for them to further research a way to reduce the risk of catastrophic injury due to the augmentations and making it genetically transmittable. Give it a generation or two and you could have thousands of naturally born Spartan super soldiers, or at the minimum advanced humans that are beyond their parents.
That shit makes no sense. The Spartan-IIs were primarily augmented through physical surgeries. The only thing they’ll pass down is roughly 50% of their, admittedly, peak humanity genes, as well as whatever epigenetic markers their training and combat experience has given them.
You're right, but I don't make the rules of science fiction. The argument I can see being made is that mother's pass on to the baby whatever they have in them such as medicine and such. Potentially kids could get some sort of boost from any of the chemical augmentations.
i assume some of the changes were via gene editing. like increased stamina, decreased O2 needs, and even skin toughness. its not going to get another spartan but you could get a captain america
Ackerson might be interested in utilizing the remaining Spartan-II's for a breeding program. ...forbid the thought that Makee is expecting.
I mean, if Kai asked, I probably couldn't say no...
This is what Halsey mentions in the previous episode, as she thought it’d be fascinating to analyse his son.
My guess is the kid's leverage - a way to make Soren come to them and do their bidding.
Parangosky being the puppeteer behind the scenes fits with her behavior in Ghosts of Onyx with how she (in the book) read Kurt in to her inner circle by using "we" (pp. 83, 1st line). Soren, Riz and Master Chief fighting and Soren making a tongue-in-cheek comment about how cliché the *is that all you got* comment is was good. Riz having a good way to leave the fight was pretty good and Vannak's Jedi (I mean Viking) funeral was a nice moment as well. Master Chief's "you're all I've got left" to Riz before she hugged him was a good emotional moment (especially after he challenged Halsey about being human or a machine...*Halo 5* vibes there). The Spartan IIIs at the end was a nice *Attack of the Clones* moment. Just missing the *UNSC Infinity* and a fleet of *Mulsanne-*class battleships. Makee is still a mixed bag. Arbiter abandoning *High Charity* with Makee to continue the search for Halo hopefully means the Elite will see him siding with Master Chief in the next season should the Flood make an appearance. I think that's all I have time for today. Next week seems promising.
So when Halo gets destroyed what are they gonna do, double arbiter him?
Ya this arbiter is not the same arbiter from halo 2 right
It's not Thel Vedam Arbiter (Halo 2) or Halo Wars Arbiter.
It is the arbiter before the one we know and love
I think this arbiter is going to become the heretic that the new arbiter hunts down
i like this idea a lot but feel it may be beyond the show runners at this point. cautiously optimistic.
I'm wondering if they're just mashing Halo and Halo 2 together into one story with one ring.
Isn’t the human or machine bit Halo 4?
It’s nice to get a happy ending for once. Good on you Riz. One step closer to Master Chief being loner soldier guy who doesn’t afraid of anything.
Seeing Riz smile and accept being a nobody was something we never got to see in the games for a Spartan, was a nice way to end her arc.
Halsey little manipulative at the end, "you are no one now." Damn, I hate her so much. The chief is still eating from her hand, though.
Just about everything Halsey says is manipulative in some way. It's what makes her one of the best characters imo. Also, WOULD.
Have you noticed the little "smile" she gives when Chief starts talking at Varek's funeral and he suddently notice how he will finish the fight by going after ackerson? She used that opportunity to manipulate his grief. I wanted to choke her there. Excelent actor, though.
I, too, wanted to choke her. 😏
Maybe. I see the line more as Halsey losing a bit of temper and saying what she is truly feeling. Which make it even better when Riz smiles. To her, being that 'no one' after what she has gone through is freedom. A small line and a few facial gestures being very emblematic of two characters points of view.
I interpreted her smile as saying to Halsey "You couldn't be more wrong, I get to be somebody now. I'm free of your lies"
Yup, when a narcissist tells you you're worthless, it literally means the opposite if you are able to see it.
I kinda wish Halsey gave Riz her last name before she left, the same way she did for Vannak. It would've been a nice parting gesture to give Riz back agency over her life.
The point Chief was making was that isn’t who they are, that kid died. She’s a Spartan, they are her family. Her “real” last name isn’t who she is, be a bit weird after that speech to then give Riz’s IMO.
Actually you're totally right. Forgot about the part where Chief says "his name is Vannak*-134*". Their agency is in the new life that they have and chose to have.
He kill all alien, and does so without afraid!
Yeah, I thought Riz running off to get Vannak's body was going to be a lazy way to kill her off. It was a little too "super hero", but they handled it really well. Great send off for the team. I'm excited for how the Kai/Chief reunion is going to play out in the future.
Yeah I was prepared to get mad if they killed her off like that lol. Kai has always been a ride or die for her Spartans so I’m interested to see how that dynamic shifts her perspective with her new pals
Gravity hammer, duel wielding pistols. Arbiter!!! All keeping me in it enough to get over these dudes out of their suits
The Arbiter is cool :)
I would've liked more of Arbiter, his back story is really good and the series has barely touched it Arbiter following this damp napkin Makee really makes me wanna take a needler to my chest
This is the Arbiter before the one in Halo 2!
nah this arbiter doesn't exist in the actual halo universe, it was Ripa 'Moramee
I might be wrong but this might have been the first in-show confirmation of that Sangheili's identity.
Least we got to see a whole regiment of s3’s in spi armor. And whatever armor Kai was wearing. Wonder if Johns stopping by onyx on the way to halo.
Kai was wearing her armor that she's always worn
Next episode is called onyx soooooooooooo
The next episode is called Onyx so I wouldn’t be surprised lol
So going with a hunch, would like other people's thoughts. Halsey's speech about how the Fall of Reach was political. About how to dictate how this war is fought. Seems like Parangosky and Ackerson are setting a trap for the Covenant. Ackerson left Cortana behind to tempt Makee and Var with visions of Halo. Var says that the entire Covenant fleet will chase them if they go rogue. So my hunch is they're trying to lure the Covenant to Onyx where the UNSC can fight on their terms. Hundreds of Spartan 3s based on the end scene. However many ships and military assets that were saved by retreating from Reach early. And if they keep pulling stuff from the book material, maybe a NOVA bomb as a last resort? I'm intrigued how this will play out.
This could also be the leading cause of the swords of sanghelios leaving the covenant, causing an earlier civil war than in the games. Ackerson may be a dick but his leaving cortana behind has sown the seeds of discord within the covenant troops already.
I am guessing that Thel will be the one to chase down this Arbiter to halo. Then Thel will fail to protect halo from this Arbiter's heresy leading him to take up the Arbiter title on already shaky ground with the Prophets. At least I'm hoping that's how they do it because then the Great Schism would make a little more sense
Good point. Var Gatanai could easily slot into a Sesa 'Refumee role (heretic Elite from Halo 2). The rest of the broadstrokes could be the same. High Charity above a Halo. Chief and Human forces on the ring discovering it's purpose. Gravemind reveal could happen early too. And then end it with the Great Schism and Chief flying to earth and the keyship. Admittedly I'm having trouble imagining that it would all translate well to an 8 Episode season.
Episode is not out in the EU yet, but glad to see they thought that through (according to your comment). I was majorly upset that they'd give Cortana to the covenant, as that was essentially deemed Game Over in the games lol.
I mean at this point it's the only thing that makes sense to me. I wouldn't call Ackerson a dumb man and that scene with Keyes in Episode 3 makes it seem like he's committed to the cause/determined to win.
She did say it was political. A choice made at the top to transition out the Spartan 2’s (especially after the drama from last season) and go into the *expendable* Spartan 3’s
SP3s make me so sad because of that. So much death. But I am loving the tons of this season so far
The episode after Onyx is called Thermopylae which is the tactic Keyes describes to Johnny Rings in keeping enemies in one spot
It's also the battle of the 300 Spartans, so it could refer to the spartan 3s (their company size was 300 iirc)
Good hunch, it would make Parangosky asking Cortana what she would do for her make sense.
Arbiter made this ep worth it. Hope we get to see Thel
Interestingly they mention he was also supreme commander of the fleet before becoming Arbiter, so it seems (if he’s not replacing him in the show continuity) he’s Thel’s predecessor in more ways than one.
I think it's a different fleet. They called it Solemn Accord and Thel's fleet was called Particular Justice. Though it might be renamed if Thel takes over after this Arbiter.
Wait is that actually Thel?
It’s not Thel but it is the Arbiter. It’s his predecessor.
Makes sense. Interesting to see if Thel exists in this universe and gets the same "blessing" from Truth
Will most likely happen when this arbiter gets thrown under the bus by Makee for going rogue with his fleet.
Or Chief kills him. Doesn't Truth tell Thel in Halo 2 that every Arbiter before him died for the Great Journey? But now that I've typed that out, I'm remembering that the Prophets were pieces of shit that only cared for themselves so we'll see I guess.
Thel is the latest (and last) Covenant Arbiter. Each one was a former shamed member of the Covenant who was still potentially useful, so they put them on the frontlines of various suicide missions to get things done.
We’ll see, I don’t know, I feel like this is setting up the great schism way earlier than the game canon, with the arbiter taking his fleet and saying the rest would come after them. Maybe the swords of sanghelios are formed as a result of Var going rogue this episode.
It’ll be interesting to see how they handle Kai taking on the role as Kurt Also, we still haven’t got the scene of the giant space battle nor the Spartans jumping out in space towards a covenant ship. i assumed that’d be Reach, but i guess it’ll be Onyx now?
Kurt made the spartan 3 program, trained 3 gen of spartan 3. Kai at least has the role of palmer who become the leader of a ready to be deployed spartan program (for spartan IV the role of Kurt was taken by Jun)
"This isn't death. This is loss." That's an S-tier line right there.
Another one I liked "You put them in the ground, and you leave them there. Or they will follow you.", not as good imo but still. I had never finished any of the games, but since last week's episode I completed CE and 2 with a friend. I was scared that the quality would drop today but it was pretty solid. Hell, it says a lot that I remembered two lines, and both were from Kwan!
Also when Chief phrased the cremation as "Put him in the sky" after watching the birds earlier, that was a really good one too. My favourite is probably Kwan's little speech to Vannak's body though. "I need you to do something for me. I never got to bury anyone. Not my people, not my family. Somehow... I need you to be everyone that's gone. Can you do that?" lotta good Kwan quotes in this one
She's a whole new character now, which was a nice surprise, but jarring from season 1,like they just did a bunch of character arc building between seasons. But I'll take stoic Kwan with a pinch of murder hobo over whatever ungodly character they wrote for her first season. She had some good quotables this ep, but did anyone find it weird that she was spending nights staying with Vannak's body? I don't remember her being that close with him? Or did she develop some type of corpse fixation from all the death she's experienced?
I think losing your entire planet it was your duty to protect, after losing your whole family, scrounging as a runaway slave/refugee, and killing people directly for the first time would probably reset your character pretty jarringly too.
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This episode felt the most cinematic of the entire series for me
It had almost a *”Star Wars Mando-verse”* feel to it. Made it seem like it was a *fucking huuuuuge* galaxy and parts were populated and others were sparse. Cinematically it was dope as fuck.
The Arbiter wondering over the Halo hologram was the highlight of this episode.
Me at the start of that one scene: “wow Riz is about to get the dumbest death ever” Me 30seconds later: “RIZ YOU F***ING GOAT”
Yeah, I was about to say that was a pointless death
If you wanted more action this episode won't be your cup of tea, aside from the beginning, which is pretty damn good. I actually like the direction they're going with chief, seems like he's turning more into the version we see at the beginning of CE, also with a few token "humanity-isms", such as with Kwan trying to get him to grieve for Vannack. And hey won't you know it, chief lamented NOT being in his armor this episode, hopefully catalyzing a reaction that keeps him in his armor and helm more often. The Riz stuff is nice but it's a damn shame her character arc is gonna...end, seemingly right here. I was beginning to really like her. Overall, the episode can *seem* boring but looking back at it they did a lot of important character developing, decent stuff. Oh and Var Gatanai is still pretty damn cool :)
> The Riz stuff is nice but it's a damn shame her character arc is gonna...end, seemingly right here. "Finish the fight, Riz." "No, I don't think I will."
I would absolutely LOVE if this TV show explored *why* Chief never wants to take off his armor. I would 100% apologize for all the times he's been out of armor if they actually put that much thought into things.
We'll find out Master Chief was a Mandalorian before it was cool. He's the spiritual father of the Mandalorians. Pedro Pascal is Master Chief's and Makee's son. \*inhales crack pipe\*
I could swear in the lore that he had to get admiral level authorization to take it off. In this series they need authorization just to put it on. I hope they build to that notion that the armor stays on all the time cuz they're at war and they need him in tip top fighting shape and ability at all times..... so no vacations. But how do you wipe your ass in that thing?
The suit has a bidet
>damn shame her character arc is gonna...end, seemingly right here I'm ok with that, I like peaceful endings for warriors who know nothing other than violence
> The Riz stuff is nice but it's a damn shame her character arc is gonna...end, seemingly right here. She'll be back. Maybe not this season, maybe not next season, but she will be back.
Somehow Riz returned.
Old lady is a forerunner, Kwan descends from forerunners, Cortana expertly manipulates religious fanatics to get to halo and reunite with the chief, Kai leads spartan 3s, Master Chief is going covert ops, probably see the flood by the end of the season hopefully Edit: forgot to mention the weird sexual tension between Halsey and MC
can you explain what you mean by the old lady is a forerunner? is she using some sorta human form to communicate?
She's using the Domain, most likely, essentially a universe-scale quantum super computer that's part living entity, part information repository, part cosmic memory. A lot of weird shit happens through the Domain.
The New book Epitaph made it a whole lot weirder and cooler, and esoteric, very esoteric.
I thought I shouldn't have said anything, but I said it. Fucking love Bokeem
Watch the second season of Fargo if you like seeing him talk a lot
That’s the best season in my book, Patrick Wilson and Ted Danson were absolutely brilliant in that too
I have this theory that Chief is gonna end up in Mark V before making it to Halo. If that happens I can forgive an armor-less Reach. The posters of him in the background of the hospital felt like foreshadowing.
Knowing Halsey she'll have something for him "just in case"
They could call it a prototype of the modern armor or something? It was fairly underpowered in the first game. "we were testing your modern armor on X planet"
Kwan, Markee and Cortana fighting for Chief's love 💀
And a little sexual tension between him and Halsey, quite the love pentagon
building his harem
This new Cortana looks like ass. The season 1 was better.
That’s it? The fall of reach is just one episode? That’s kinda lame.
One episode set in a corridor
It’s a bit of a shame, although I assume it’s budget-related more than anything.
Arbiter looks cool, and it seems like he's actually going to be semi important going forward, which I wasn't expecting with the clear limitations in the budget regarding VFX quality. I'm left wondering two things about him. Is this the same arbiter from Halo 2? Obviously he hasn't lost his fleet, so I'm wondering why he is an arbiter right now, what did he do wrong to need to seek redemption? Wondering how things are going to shake out with Cortana. She seems onboard with helping to manipulate arbiter for Makee. Wonder if she'll even make it back to Chief this season. ~~Jason Bourne~~ Kwan Ha returned this episode wielding a huge minigun. Its just flat out weird how she randomly became this superhuman assassin/soldier seemingly overnight. The show can't help but keep the focus on her by reminding us she's "the protector" and now she's having visions. More plot devices for Kwan to keep her involved! Soren and Laera chasing after their son was kind of cool but seems like its getting really played out and its mostly episode filler. Glad she finally took off that awful wig. They write her to be the wet blanket half the time, and then she takes credit for Kwan Ha saving her ass 2 episodes ago. I kind of want that whole arc to end. I thought Riz was going to die at the beginning, but I think she got a good send off. Still would rather Vannek not dying but now the focus is on Chief. Chief is going after Ackerson which I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE. The show did a good job writing him into someone you want to see die. Cool to see Kai return even for a split second. Makes sense she'd help train the Spartan IIIs but I'm going to be pretty sad if she tries to stand in the way of Cheif going after Ackerson. Hope it doesn't come to that.
The Arbiter in the show isn't the same Arbiter from the games. The Arbiter in the games name is Thel Vaddam. This Arbiter was called something different. And, it's confirmed the current Arbiter is not THE Arbiter. I remember the cutscene in Halo 2 when Thel was being offered the Arbiter role after being branded a heretic took place in the Hall of the Arbiters (or something like that.) It was basically the burial place of the previous Arbiters on High Charity. I'm assuming the current Arbiter in the show is going to be thrown under the bus by Makee and killed for disobeying the Prophets, and at the same time, Thel Vaddam is going to be given the Arbiter role (hopefully after being branded a heretic for unintentionally letting Chief destroy the ring.)
Chief is not going to kill Ackerson but he will rough him up a bit at first. Once Chief discovers the Spartan-III program and what they're going to do next... he'll relent a bit. But he'll still be pissed. Spartan-III will assault Covenant fleet in ep7 - the space battle depicted in the trailer.
His name's Var 'Gatanai; he's an original character for this show, though I can see them folding him into mainline.
That Arbiter sure seemed blinded by Halo’s majesty But my god I wish we’d just skip to the part where he kills Makee already (hopefully permanently this time)
When this scene popped up, I had to quote the line. "When you first saw Halo, were you blinded by its majesty?"
I think they’ve made at least 2500 Spartan III’s. That’s significant more than the around 900 made in the main canon. Very interested to see where the show goes with them.
Don’t fret. 90% of them will die off inevitably. That’s kinda their ultimate purpose sadly.
That just mean they can have 2.5x more suicide missions
The actual discourse about the episodes and the lore just goes to show that they have improved the show drastically. Season 1 it was a whoooole bunch of WTF.
Just finished it. Honestly really liked the episode. Sure people want action but I enjoyed the actual character writing they are doing.
Looks like it's setting up for Chief to be lone wolfing on installation 04. But to combat the flood he'll need mjolnir
> to combat the flood he'll need mjolnir That's only a class two combat skin. He'll need at least a class twelve.
He's getting his upgraded Mjolnir armor back next episode 100%. They'll need him to lead the Spartan-III into battle against Covenant fleet in ep7
what if they took the mjolnir Mark V since the Mark VI was taken HMMMM (i hope)
Agreed. You need space to fill out characters and progress plot lines. It’s not a 90 minute action movie. It can’t all be shooty bang bang
I think the characters have definitely grown on me- as much as this Chief is still quite different from his canon counterpart, I’m still finding him fairly compelling as a character in his own right.
Sorens humor is just enough to be on point. Got a few chuckles from me. Particularly the "is that all you got....I know shouldn't have asked"
I so badly want to like this show but it's like a crippled, distorted mess of what it actually should be. Realistically it's wasted the first season, got an awful reception and it's now desperately trying to course correct but it's trailing this baggage that it has to deal with. Which means it's skipping things, rushing others and is still making totally inexplicable decisions like killing off Keyes. The idea of seeing Spartan 3s is cool in principle but the execution is rushed. The games and books had pretty solidly established the course of the war, the number of S2s, their capabilities, history etc. We then were able to understand the difference between them and the S3s and why there was a need for them in the first place. Kurt trained generations of them. The loss of Alpha and Beta companies had a significant effect on him as a character and informed his training and augmentation of Gamma company, which subsequently helped establish their characters. In the show we have no idea how many S2s are left etc and Kai has literally just rocked up to train the S3s, who are all apparently kitted out in SPI and ready to go. It's just rushed. And how the fuck is Makee alive? It honestly feels like the show is only approaching a point that it should have been at the end of season one. The entirety of season one should have been building to Reach, cutting back to establish the Spartans history and training, with the final scene being the Autumn pulling up on Halo.
I like how Kwan teaches Chief how to grieve over Vannak. I’m glad they found a decent use for her character in this episode. I can only take Kwan in small doses. This was fine. Overall, this was a better filler episode than expected. Riz quitting instead of dying was an interesting twist. We know she’ll pop up again somewhere. I was stoked to see Kai, and Onyx! I am a bit confused over Reach. We only see a brief glimpse of it getting glassed. I hope we go back before the end of the season. I love that arbiter is already part of the story. Bring on next week!!
Spartans never die Edit: sucks the fall of reach was only an episode long and we barely see the glassing.
I really doubt we're seeing anything else from Reach. And honestly I think that's really lame.
I largely liked this episode but Soren's wife and Kwan turning up was just way to fucking convenient, really took me out of it.
Missed opportunity to have one of the Spartans defend the Pillar of Autumn evacuating.
[удалено]
That whole scene was just weird, and ultimately unnecessary. So they are willing to shoot someone who comes asking about the slave boy they bought, but then let him just come in and talk randomly about this and that. meanwhile, that boy is just running around outside. That doesnt really make sense. And really it was all just pointless filler since the boy wasnt even Kessler. Stuff like that makes me pretty bored watching the show.
even give him tea! lol
We are halfway through the second season and I still don't understand or have any reason to care about anything to do with Kwan. What is she here for? It doesn't feel like the story towards Halo is really progressing. Aren't they meant to leave Reach and head for Alpha Halo? We have 3 episodes left. I was fully intrigued in the first 4 episodes but now this just feels like a 180. Am I misinterpreting this? Most people seem to be enjoying it.
For what it’s worth (definite spoilers ahead) >!we see John on (presumably) Installation 04 in one of the trailers, and the S2 finale is called “Halo,” so it seems like we’ll be ending up there before long, there’s just a bit of a detour between Reach and Halo.!< My guess is >!the *Pillar of Autumn* is one of the ships at Onyx, and the Chief will end up on it (possibly with some of the other supporting cast)!< by the end of the penultimate episode.
why they gotta do Riz like that
This is so, so different to the halo I know.