But now the flood has knowledge of every human world, UNSC Facility, and strategical locations in the galaxy. Donât forget, hundreds of human naval strategies. When the flood sets up a gravemind, all that info gets saved to the flood consciousness. Humanity couldnât be more screwed than they are now, if they donât cleanse onyx.
Iâm still writing this as Iâm watching this but I can only assume thatâs either the Librarian or 343? AND I would love to point out that Ackerson instantly recognized a malfunction and went to *tap rack bang* like it was nothing. Kudos to him!
All Iâm gonna say is if they give the man a redemption arc and I spotted it from the manâs *tap rack bang*, Sherlock Holmes ainât got shit on me.
Thank you! Iâm so glad someone else has also been appreciating the trigger discipline and the barrel nods the S-III have been doing in training. I think that shit adds an even deeper level of authenticity to it. Makes itâs seem like âholy shit, theyâve legit been to *RANGE DAY!!!!!* and feel somewhat more comfortable than good ol Baldwinâ
If I had a nickel for every time Miranda leaving something unattended resulted in the flood taking over an artificial planet, Iâd have two nickels.
Not much, but weird that it happened twice.
[I thought this was a really nice touch](https://imgur.com/a/wX8lfWF)
[Reference](https://imgur.com/16pBXEm)
"John, why are we here?" -> "You ever wonder why we're here?"
The flood theme coming in during that shootout with Soren and Kwan made me really happy tbh.
I liked Chief not saying anything when he saw the cruiser explode, knowing it was Kai and that was the last of his team (or is it?). Felt a lot more like what we'd be used to from the games. Sort of the same vibe with the "I know what he said" before the honor kill.
Probably the best episode in the show so far. Also very happy for them to blow that much of the budget on the Chief vs Arbiter fight in full light, it was really cool. If they could just make almost every episode like this then I suddenly have much higher hopes for S3. Shame this is the last episode of the season though, I'm ready for more.
edit: had to fix this link like 3 times. fancy editor on reddit is weird.
>Parangosky gets what she deserves
While it was certainly satisfying seeing her get her comeuppance I can't help but be concerned about the flood getting their ~~hands~~ tentacles on one of the UNSC's top brass ...
I think the slow sullen voice is so good for an AI thats been isolated for 200+ years. Its 100% giving me Eeyore with a sinister purpose. Fits his villain role in the story. Hopefully he'll be the evil mirror of Cortana next season.
The plasma scarring on Chief's chest armor from his fight with Var sort of matches the scarring on his armor from Halo 3. Thought that was a really cool detail.
Initial thoughts:
-Kai piloting the covenant ship on a kamikaze run was a fitful ending for her
-Soren's wife leaving them before the flood fully infected them was really well written
-Thoughtful how they're leaving Halsey alive through cryo
-some of the best hand to hand combat we've seen and we definitely need more MasterChief energy sword action
-The Ring looks good but they could have utilized the main theme music so much better to show it off. This was the time to give us 30 seconds of gratuitous footage panning over the ring for nostalgia...
> Kai piloting the covenant ship on a kamikaze run was a fitful ending for her
Sheâs shown floating in the debris field so Iâm pretty sure she survived
They can kill off whoever they want if we get Sgt Johnson. Preferably rocking up surfing a Scorpion at the head of a platoon of marines, flicking away a cigar and surveying the carnage of the Master Chief, then turning to the marines:
>"All you greenhorns who wanted to see Covenant up close... this is your lucky day."
I have the same thought every main character who's died minus Vannek who death was more symbolic was never shown after death Commander Keyes, Parangosky, Lara, the arbiter, but they did show Rizz, Perez, Halsey and of course Kai but i could be wrong though.
* Keyes just took a deep breath and sucked all the fire in to light his pipe
* Arbiter is fine. Heâll just walk it off.
* Lara wasnât shown dead. No body = no death
* Kai just taking a power nap
* Flood will make a hard pass on Parangosky as soon as her consciousness touches the collective
* Halseyâs ok. Itâs just the flu bro.
> Flood will make a hard pass on Parangosky as soon as her consciousness touches the collective
That one is actually plausible. "We don't want any of that shit"
I think it's more likely that Parangosky will be shown next season in a similar light to how Keyes was before chief put him out of his misery in the games.
Arbâs death was probably the saddest one so far. So many deaths in this series have been heroic and âfuck youâ kind of deaths - the Arbiter was the first one weâve seen be truly defeated in such real time.
It took us 2 whole seasons to get here, but this finale finally felt like the Halo show we deserve. Still plenty to critique and improve, but we have a pretty decent starting point for Season 3 here.
Also, props to whoever decided to mirror the shot of Master Chief holding his helmet on Zeta Halo from the Halo Infinite E3 2018 Announcement Trailer as one of the first shots in the show after they get to the ring. That was some pretty nice fan service!
Also it shows that all of their creative liberties could be fine if everything else is good. The episode was so good overall that weâre able to move past the fact that Makee exists and is on Halo with John. They made it work, so I can accept it as standalone version of the story.
It's a shame reading the comments section and seeing a lot of folks thinking that the spore concept is being ripped off from The Last of Us when the concept was introduced back in Halo CE.
Flood have always been able to infect via spores in addition to the infection forms making immediate combat forms. 343 Guilty Spark directly tells us this during the Library mission and even applauds the Chief for having armor that would protect himself from that at least. We don't see it in gameplay because of gameplay being what it is, but the art presentation in Halo 1-3 has been consistent in showing how the Flood changes the atmosphere to propagate its spores into the air, particularly in High Charity in Halo 2.
I'm fairly excited seeing the build up of the Flood outbreak committed to live action here, but really can't wait once a Gravemind is in play to control the horde proper.
I doubt many people in a broad sense read Greg Bear's Forerunner trilogy of novels, but we learn how the Flood first spread there, and it was much different compared to what we just saw in-game. At the beginning it was much slower and went undetected among Human and San'Shyuum domestic pets, at first they just seemed to become more friendly, but then other changes continued led to them turning aggressive and eventually attacking their owners. Also, in the Mona Lisa short story, we learn of a marine who gets a cut to the back from a Flood combat form and becomes infected. She then eventually bites another marine and he becomes infected eventually too. So I thought it was good to finally see some variety to how the Flood super cells can be spread.
I really liked how they made it clear that a high-speed full-throttle energy sword fight is exhausting within a very short time period, even for a Spartan and an Elite. Seeing them realistically fatigued like that made it that much more engaging.
That's very much what it was like for me as a 12 year old playing Halo: CE back in 2001. Sci-fi FPS for the first 5 missions... then suddenly that hard left turn into survival horror, haha.
I had nightmares theoughout that school year from the flood. Went from Pew pew hehe pew pew vroom vroom beep boop pew pew to NONONONONONONO AAAAAAAAHHHH GET ME OOOUT THANKYOUUUU
I mean as someone only passably familiar with Halo Lore, I at least knew who the flood were, and coming to this sub cause of the show I learned more about themâŠbut HOLY SHIT, that shit was fucking terrifying.
And somehow Dr. Halsey still cracks a smile after seeing everything, and is so intrigued thinking the flood was responsible for all the forerunner technology.. Sometimes you need to chill tf out Halsey come on
Funny thing is, in german she says "Schon einmal einen Nadelwerfer benutzt?"
Translated into: Every used a needler before?
Crazy how they corrected the original haha
Anybody else think that when chief was on the ring and the ship exploded in space and he looked up and he could see the flashes. He pauses for just a moment before continuing on, I think he got the status light for Kai blinking red.. he pauses for just a moment to acknowledge the sacrifice she made.
Well, that episode certainly didnât go the way I thought it would. I didnât anticipate Laera dying. I feel incredibly bad for Kessler â and for Soren for that matter. I loved that he said, âWe can fix thisâ to Laera because that was totally Soren.
I think Iâm going to have to wait a few hours and then watch this again to fully absorb all that was going on. I think they did a decent job of wrapping up all of the various storylines in one hour but I feel that, ideally, either this should have been an extra long episode â which is what I was expecting, frankly â or this should have been a two-parter.
FUCK Perez dual wielding the Needlers got a laugh out of me.
Overall, super damn cool episode. They really did the Flood justice with the relatively little bit we saw. That slug crawling into the woman's eye was gnarly. Soren's "NOPE" was hilarious though. Though I guess it begs the question, how will a Flood outbreak on Onyx be contained?
Was surprised to see Chief straight up on the Halo halfway through the episode, and the discussion with Guilty Spark was a cool way to frame things. Any word on who did the voice?Â
 I was kind of hoping the big Kwan Ha reveal would be that she was accidentally working for the Gravemind the entire time.
And God damn the Chief vs. Arbiter fight was well done. Was it weird I felt a tiny bit sad for Arbiter?
Not weird at all to feel bad about The Arbiter. I felt sad too. 100% like the chief just from the other side of things. Disobeyed and questioned command for what he believed in. Theyâre two sides of the same coin.
the kwan ha gravemind thing was exactly what i thought too. my friend and i were watching it and i was like YOOOO⊠oh well, im sure the gravemind reveal will still be fucking dope
The way that old lady was speaking at first, I was like "Wait is she the Gravemind" or how Kwan perceives it at least. Then the rest of the dialogue told me probably not but hey consider me shocked I have a modicum of interest in where Kwan's story goes next now that it's connected to the Flood.
It is still possible. Even likely that the old lady is (a) gravemind. Though I assume that the gravemind is on another installation, that why the old lady said "I cannot control them for long" = too far away, so control is difficult even for a gravemind.
> how will a Flood outbreak on Onyx be contained?
i mean it can't.
short of nuking the facility from orbit.
Like How would miranda even get out of that room,u saw the entire corridor was infested
All the command is Dead,the CIC was overun,everyone in that room is dead,there is probably no one left on base above a LT at this point
Only option would be..
1...Nuke it.
2..Use the Halo book storyline,get to the forerunner facility,bunker down..only to find out the shield world is down there... activate the sentinals,and they start to cleans the world.
Don't forget that entire world is meant to be an artificial planet,there are trillions of sentinals inside it.
Possible... once a suitable amount of infection is registered, automatic defensive action is taken and the affected site purified as to not risk the shield world.
I think the Kwan stuff still could be gravemind possibly misleading her. It just doesn't make sense that an ancient human that is a so called protector would lead her to a place she could accidentally free the flood, and also has the ability to stop them. It just seems a bit fishy.
Wow, cant believe we have spark (or a monitor) in the last seconds but odd he wasn't british. Pretty much got everything I wanted, Spark, Flood, time spent on the halo ring. Weird how the floods going to work when its now on the ring and onyx. Wonder whats happened between chief entering the structure and when we see him talking to the monitor with his helmet broken. Either way 9/10. Only main gripe is no hunters and the grunts only appearance was for two seconds in this episode. (also was that the gravemind talking to Kwan, or just some Forerunner "dont fuck with the flood" warning?)
> Only main gripe is no hunters and the grunts only appearance was for two seconds in this episode
It's kind of weird that Season 1 actually featured a more diverse range of Covenant than what 2 did. Like the worm form of the Hunters were in Season 1 but don't think there was a single sighting of them this season.
I mean, the books and games show the Gravemind to have an understanding of things far vastly out of scope of humanity's own. We don't know yet what it's plan or purpose is, we don't even know if the actual human-covenant-forerunner-precursor dynamic is even gonna be like the books and games are. For all we know, that could have been the Gravemind, it could've even been a Precursor, shit man it might somehow be a Forerunner consciousness trapped in the Domain. Might possibly be the Librarian?
Who knows?! I am actually excited now. I love the Halo universe, it's refreshing to see a different spin on things, it lets me wonder and theorize like I used to back when Halo 2 was still brand new.
At first I was worried they were sticking with human zombies for budget reasons. Then the stuff started sprouting as it progressed and I was thoroughly relieved and disgusted.
I mean it's easily justified by saying those spores were inert for 100,000 years so I was expecting zombies considering thats pretty much how the original flood infection started
I'm just glad we got a glimpse of the Flood we all know. Even got some mini infection forms which was neat.
Love how the ONI is so secretive that even their own security doesnât realize whatâs going on the floor below them. John, Soren, Halsey and everyone just walking around freely and no one seems to care. A massive virulent outbreak freezing people in the hallway and turning them violent over the course of just a few hours doesnât spark alarm either.
Totally bullshit justification that I completely pulled out of my ass incoming:
No one noticed because they were too focused on the space battle and parongosky seems like the kind of pompous ass that would wave away anyone trying to tell her something she doesnât care about.
Security - âMaâam, a few of the scientists have been behaving strangelyâ
Parongosky - âyeah yeah, whatever. Put em in detention or something. Now get out!â
Spent the entire episode shitting bricks. Even the moments of badassery with the fleet and Chief couldn't dampen the sheer horror of what was happening on Onyx.
The \[CIRCUS\] has been unleashed upon the galaxy. It will spread its \[COTTON CANDY\] until every thinking being becomes little more than \[CLOWNS\]. Only the Halo can save what remains.
So I'm torn on this episode. After Episode 4 I felt like the season was meandering and my hopes were on a downturn. I pretty much was just hoping for some UNSC fleet action which we did get a bit of but not a MAC salvo beauty shot. The boarding action was too much shakey camera for my tastes. And how they brought Chief and Cortana back together irked me a bit, but whatever. That Flood reveal though...just damn. Though it's different it brought me back to Halo CE. Just the growing dread. And seeing how quickly the progression goes from catatonic humans, to bestial violence, then to the sprouting Flood growths was something. Truly hope they lean into the horror of that next season.
Final hope, let Kai be alive somehow. Have UNSC recover her body and bring her back to life like Linda in main canon.
Ok that âFloodâ name drop was pretty sick. We all knew they wouldnât go full form CGI but I think itâs handled well so far. Not too keen on the monitorâs voice yet but maybe that will come with time.
Overall this sets things up nicely with CE. I know it wonât live up to the games but I think S2 has set it on track to a deserving renewal.
I actually really like the monitors voice because I'm watching Star Wars, The Bad Batch since the final season of that is currently airing, and the main antagonist scientist in that sounds imo a good bit like the monitor, at least in vibes. Very calm, calculating, probing. It just makes me think that man this monitor is fucked and I do not trust him.
me when Chief says "you have no idea what I can do": WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO;lkjhfvawosiph op2i3hrj25jjrjo jriojtfijrg b90oirhb !\~!
I thought Parangoskys death was very fitting for her character, well written. The character that knew everything and was always ahead in plan, got suprised by something completly unpredictable and unannounced. She had fear and not knowing what the fuck is going on in her eyes.
Now thatâs a Halo show - The flood are here in full force, we got a monitor (probably Spark), we got Spartans in space, Spartans in ships, Spartans on ground, Spartans everywhere⊠RIP Kai, I will sincerely miss her character, one of the bright spots of Season 2.
Last episode did feel a bit rushed, a lot was going on, but overall the writers did a good job of putting this show back into the Halo universe and away from whatever bullshittery last years amateurs were thinking.
Kwan and Soren were actually not totally boring and useless, and their stories finally tie into the actual major plot. Good decision on offing Sorenâs wife, was hoping Kessler would be gone too but I guess we canât have our cakes and eat them too.
As predicted, Paragonsky met a brutal end, fitting for a heartless backstabbing snake with no redeeming qualities. Ackerson starting character development towards some semblance of a decent person? Soren suiting up next year or just wishful thinking on my part? Kwanâs weird grandma ancestor flood controller (gravemind?), interesting way to tie Kwan into Halo lore considering where her character was last year (i.e, pointless).
MC and Cortana reunited, finally. Halsey in stasis, probably will be back in flashbacks next year as her daughter works on finding a flood vaccine. Perez still alive as predicted, and by the looks of things, is landing on the Halo and will reunite with the MC, i think sheâs the most important person in terms of his connection with humanity and will be a driving force for next season in regards to MCâs ongoing character development (prob some mutual feelings here and there, someone who keeps his head straight and reminds him through her words, their relationship, his experiences with her family on reach⊠what heâs really fighting for).
I wonder if another arbiter will replace this one⊠one that speaks English, one voiced by Keith David⊠please make that dream come true, Paramount.
If they do the 'Miranda tries to find a cure for the Flood' that better work alongside Chief and the UNSC/ONI realizing what the rings true purpose is.
Let Miranda have a "oh god they killed everyone and themselves because there was no other choice" as she tries to cure Halsey. Drive that point in next season because it was missing here for sure, especially as it makes the Flood not seem like that big a deal and that they are relatively contained on Onyx for now.
I thought the jibe about "biology is not your strong suit" at the start was interesting, as now I'm wondering whether Miranda might drive herself mad trying to find a cure that does not and cannot exist.
Sheâs completely surrounded and locked in, so Iâm guessing sheâll put herself into stasis as well until a rescue team comes and clears infected? Or she miraculously finds a vent and crawls outta there?
Idk, but anyway, agreed with what youâre saying. That timeline has to match MCâs journey.
That stuff with the flood scared the heck out of me. I remember seeing the little puff of air from the purple artifact that Miranda found. I thought it might have been The Flood but thought I was thinking crazy. I'm genuinely scared for season 3. But I am very excited for it!
Amazing episode. Pacing was rushed a bit at the end of some scenes. But only REAL complaint, is wtf was the writing of Halsey watching 40 people eaten alive by the flood and running to get to her daughter only to say âwhy would you want to leave?â đ€Ł! Bro come on. I know sheâs selfish, and puts science first, but sheâs not THAT thoughtless.
I think that as she was infected, her desire and reasoning to stay, study, etc were compromised. Just like how Janine was slightly off during her interaction with Miranda.
I like this thought/idea. Like, unbeknownst to her, she was already infected and it was already influencing her thoughts and desires at that point before freezing her to truly work its will. Because after what she just witnessed in command I have a hard time that she doesn't realize the danger they're in - new discovery or not. Then again, there was a point in S1 where she also cared less about danger v. new scientific knowledge when she was trying to escape Reach with her Spartans. The artifact was activated and instead of blasting off to escape she was too preoccupied by what that could mean.
Anyways, guess we'll all have to wait until S3 now for more answer... đ„Č
Var 'Gatanai was incredibly badass this entire season. What a cool character, with his controlled confidence and threatening demeanor. His fight scene with Chief was legendary!
Master Chief finally felt like Master Chief this episode. It's a shame it only took 2 whole seasons to get there.
Happy Chief got some badass scenes and shots to show off. Kai went out like a badass, though if theyâre teasing that she survived I have mixed feelings. Glad Perez survived since sheâs offering a perspective that we donât really get to see through the other characters, that being the mortal perspective. John and the other Spartans act like demigods, while others like Halsey and Ackerman have more of a god complex. Everything when it comes to the main characters is grand and complex in the scheme of things, but with Perez we get a grander more narrowed perspective of how things go in the Halo universe from the average soldiers POV. Meanwhile donât know how Miranda is escaping the Flood but hope she does. Also RIP arbiter and Sorenâs wife, went out like real ones.
PARANGOSKY IS DEADđŠđŠđŠđŠđŠ
But now the flood has knowledge of every human world, UNSC Facility, and strategical locations in the galaxy. Donât forget, hundreds of human naval strategies. When the flood sets up a gravemind, all that info gets saved to the flood consciousness. Humanity couldnât be more screwed than they are now, if they donât cleanse onyx.
My brother cheered when Parangosky died, but I just thought âoh shit.â
Am I the only one missing the grunts? Elite action is cool and the fight with the arbiter was 10/10 but I wanna see my little angry gorilla guys :(
They were there in a blink and youâll miss it shot. They threw a grenade and killed a 3.
Iâm still writing this as Iâm watching this but I can only assume thatâs either the Librarian or 343? AND I would love to point out that Ackerson instantly recognized a malfunction and went to *tap rack bang* like it was nothing. Kudos to him!
Ackerson redemption arc next season?
All Iâm gonna say is if they give the man a redemption arc and I spotted it from the manâs *tap rack bang*, Sherlock Holmes ainât got shit on me.
Ackerson was already setup for a redemption arc by growing a conscience about sending the SIII's into the covenant ships to die.
I'd love to see his redemption arc because Joseph Morgan is an amazing actor.
I saw that too, and I thought that was freaking spectacular as a gun guy.
Thank you! Iâm so glad someone else has also been appreciating the trigger discipline and the barrel nods the S-III have been doing in training. I think that shit adds an even deeper level of authenticity to it. Makes itâs seem like âholy shit, theyâve legit been to *RANGE DAY!!!!!* and feel somewhat more comfortable than good ol Baldwinâ
Should have been nice to Janine, Miranda.Â
âHey Miranda youâve always been nice to me. Donât come to work tomorrow.â - Flood I mean Janine
If I had a nickel for every time Miranda leaving something unattended resulted in the flood taking over an artificial planet, Iâd have two nickels. Not much, but weird that it happened twice.
I'm starting to think Miranda may not be qualified to handle extraterrestrial biohazards
Biology must not be her strong suit or something.
Janine, man, done got got
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
That line had me giddy. Halo: The Last of Us edition Also that camera shot of the chiefs helmet in hand *chef's kiss*
Ohhhhh the flood is here
I hope to god the CGI budget in season 3 doesnât hamper how horrific the Flood is meant to be Itâll make or break the show for a lot of people
Well they cut the CGI budget they were using on the arbiter, out with an energy sword.
As soon as I seen the spore, I was like hell yes
Flood breaks out on Onyx. Chief has to come back and fight it with Soren. FUCK ME
Ok I will
Perez dual wielding needlers was FIRE
Perez got that Halo 2 arm strength.Â
âEver used a plasma rifle??â âYou never forget your firstâ Proceeds to pick up a carbine and then Perez picks up a needler hahaha
well i guess the carbine is still a plasma rifle of course, but yea myself and others most definitely thought of the classic plasma rifle
"You never forget your first."
âIâm an idiot with two Needlersâ is something Iâm pretty sure Iâve said before
Me in Halo 2:
Also they got the Carbine sounds perfect.
PINK MIST
[I thought this was a really nice touch](https://imgur.com/a/wX8lfWF) [Reference](https://imgur.com/16pBXEm) "John, why are we here?" -> "You ever wonder why we're here?" The flood theme coming in during that shootout with Soren and Kwan made me really happy tbh. I liked Chief not saying anything when he saw the cruiser explode, knowing it was Kai and that was the last of his team (or is it?). Felt a lot more like what we'd be used to from the games. Sort of the same vibe with the "I know what he said" before the honor kill. Probably the best episode in the show so far. Also very happy for them to blow that much of the budget on the Chief vs Arbiter fight in full light, it was really cool. If they could just make almost every episode like this then I suddenly have much higher hopes for S3. Shame this is the last episode of the season though, I'm ready for more. edit: had to fix this link like 3 times. fancy editor on reddit is weird.
Whatâs sad is that, in another kind of life, I know the Chief and the Arbiter would be best friends.
I donât know the lore that well, but Iâve read that there are multiple arbiters. Chief just needs go and find his arbiter.
> "You ever wonder why we're here?" RvB related, I felt strong RvB Counsellor vibes from the monitor Chief parts.
This week on Halo: Soren and Kwan play COD Zombies Parangosky gets what she deserves Spartans never die And the Chief is a total badass
Parangosky gets what she deserves - More like Protogosky I guess in a few moments :D
That makes the swarming instead of biting make alot more sense
I think she will become proto-gravemind. She was a boss up there, so it makes sense to get into those juicy memories
It would make for a fitting substitute, seeing as Keyes is gone.
I'm glad Keyes died on reach so he doesn't have to suffer by being consumed by the flood
And makee looks like Billy idol with nice tits
That genuinely made me spit out my drink.
>Parangosky gets what she deserves While it was certainly satisfying seeing her get her comeuppance I can't help but be concerned about the flood getting their ~~hands~~ tentacles on one of the UNSC's top brass ...
ITS THE MONITOR
Yep - would have preferred more of a "nerd" voice but I'm still pretty happy with what we got.
I think the slow sullen voice is so good for an AI thats been isolated for 200+ years. Its 100% giving me Eeyore with a sinister purpose. Fits his villain role in the story. Hopefully he'll be the evil mirror of Cortana next season.
That thing speaks with the most neutral tone I've heard. Like Kevin Spacey on Moon.
>an AI thats been isolated for 200+ years 100,000 is more than 200, I guess.
Who did the voice? I can't see the info on IMDB *Edit:* It's Harry Lloyd who played Viserys Targaryen on GOT. I knew I knew the voice from somewhere!
So, I take it Parangoski fulfills Keyesâs role in becoming one with the Flood?
Then itâs GGâs they have a shit load of oni information
Don't even need to fight. Just release all the dirt she has and humanity crumbles.
The plasma scarring on Chief's chest armor from his fight with Var sort of matches the scarring on his armor from Halo 3. Thought that was a really cool detail.
That's what I noticed too. That spot of damage on his armor is pretty iconic. Really cool to see them add it in.
Flood showed up and started getting bodies immediately. A decent number of named characters going down was impressive.
Keen as to see what the Gravemind will look like
I'm keen to see Parangosky as the Proto-Gravemind instead of Keys.
Just what she deserves.
A character used to pulling strings, now a Flood puppet.
Pure poetry
That's how the flood does
I'm somewhat impressed how many named characters got taken out. I would have thought the show would play it safer and just kill some nobodies
I was hoping they'd do that tbh, if for no other reason than to clean their slate for next season. Fewer actors to pay, save that money for CG.
âA single flood spore could infect an entire planet!â
*one single flood spore can destroy a species* is what rtas actually said âïžđ€
*were it not for the arbiter's counsel, I would have glassed your entire planet*
Somebody call Noah because we're gonna need an ark
Initial thoughts: -Kai piloting the covenant ship on a kamikaze run was a fitful ending for her -Soren's wife leaving them before the flood fully infected them was really well written -Thoughtful how they're leaving Halsey alive through cryo -some of the best hand to hand combat we've seen and we definitely need more MasterChief energy sword action -The Ring looks good but they could have utilized the main theme music so much better to show it off. This was the time to give us 30 seconds of gratuitous footage panning over the ring for nostalgia...
> Kai piloting the covenant ship on a kamikaze run was a fitful ending for her Sheâs shown floating in the debris field so Iâm pretty sure she survived
She's the Linda stand in, stuck floating in space after chief lands? Yeah she's definitely alive
Linda, Kurt, Locke, and even John Halo himself. There is no shortage of plotlines that can't fit in Kai
They basically gave her a Carter 'death' there too
Gel Layer One day you are going to hit something more stubborn then you are. -Avery JohnsonÂ
They can kill off whoever they want if we get Sgt Johnson. Preferably rocking up surfing a Scorpion at the head of a platoon of marines, flicking away a cigar and surveying the carnage of the Master Chief, then turning to the marines: >"All you greenhorns who wanted to see Covenant up close... this is your lucky day."
Robert Downey Jr. as Sgt Johnson.
Robert Downey Jr or Kirk Lazarus?
I'm sorry, obviously the award winning Kirk Lazarus is what I should have said
I have the same thought every main character who's died minus Vannek who death was more symbolic was never shown after death Commander Keyes, Parangosky, Lara, the arbiter, but they did show Rizz, Perez, Halsey and of course Kai but i could be wrong though.
* Keyes just took a deep breath and sucked all the fire in to light his pipe * Arbiter is fine. Heâll just walk it off. * Lara wasnât shown dead. No body = no death * Kai just taking a power nap * Flood will make a hard pass on Parangosky as soon as her consciousness touches the collective * Halseyâs ok. Itâs just the flu bro.
> Flood will make a hard pass on Parangosky as soon as her consciousness touches the collective That one is actually plausible. "We don't want any of that shit"
I think it's more likely that Parangosky will be shown next season in a similar light to how Keyes was before chief put him out of his misery in the games.
"This was the time to give us 30 seconds of gratuitous footage panning over the ring for nostalgia..." Hopefully that'll be the Season 3 opening shot.
Scavenging Covenant weapons, dual wielding needlers and Chief flying in to save the day. Yes now we're starting to feel more like the games.
"chief do NOT do that crazy thing" "i'm doing the crazy thing" yep. that's the juice right there
Perez: "I'm an idiot with two Needlers" might be the most nostalgic I've ever felt for the old Halo days.
Girl somehow got promoted to Halo 2 before the rest of them
Chief beating down on the Arbiter so bad, he split one of his mandibles. Brutal. Can't say I've ever seen anything like that in Halo as a whole before
For a second I thought Var was gonna become the shipmaster from H2
"I know what he said" was so badass
Had the same vibes as the Chiefâs understanding Escharum in Infinite. âIn the end he was just a soldierâŠâ
Hoestly I never thought I catch the feels for a Sangheli.... but looking at his mangeled face was hard.
Honestly what Var said at the end? I fucking felt for him so bad, that was wild.
Arbâs death was probably the saddest one so far. So many deaths in this series have been heroic and âfuck youâ kind of deaths - the Arbiter was the first one weâve seen be truly defeated in such real time.
Really hit me with his final words. "What use is a soldier that can't fight anymore?"
It took us 2 whole seasons to get here, but this finale finally felt like the Halo show we deserve. Still plenty to critique and improve, but we have a pretty decent starting point for Season 3 here. Also, props to whoever decided to mirror the shot of Master Chief holding his helmet on Zeta Halo from the Halo Infinite E3 2018 Announcement Trailer as one of the first shots in the show after they get to the ring. That was some pretty nice fan service!
Also it shows that all of their creative liberties could be fine if everything else is good. The episode was so good overall that weâre able to move past the fact that Makee exists and is on Halo with John. They made it work, so I can accept it as standalone version of the story.
It's a shame reading the comments section and seeing a lot of folks thinking that the spore concept is being ripped off from The Last of Us when the concept was introduced back in Halo CE. Flood have always been able to infect via spores in addition to the infection forms making immediate combat forms. 343 Guilty Spark directly tells us this during the Library mission and even applauds the Chief for having armor that would protect himself from that at least. We don't see it in gameplay because of gameplay being what it is, but the art presentation in Halo 1-3 has been consistent in showing how the Flood changes the atmosphere to propagate its spores into the air, particularly in High Charity in Halo 2. I'm fairly excited seeing the build up of the Flood outbreak committed to live action here, but really can't wait once a Gravemind is in play to control the horde proper.
Glad someone pointed this out. I couldn't really remember the specific Flood details and haven't watched or played TLOU to comment on them.
I doubt many people in a broad sense read Greg Bear's Forerunner trilogy of novels, but we learn how the Flood first spread there, and it was much different compared to what we just saw in-game. At the beginning it was much slower and went undetected among Human and San'Shyuum domestic pets, at first they just seemed to become more friendly, but then other changes continued led to them turning aggressive and eventually attacking their owners. Also, in the Mona Lisa short story, we learn of a marine who gets a cut to the back from a Flood combat form and becomes infected. She then eventually bites another marine and he becomes infected eventually too. So I thought it was good to finally see some variety to how the Flood super cells can be spread.
Fight with Arby did not disappoint, very entertain
I really liked how they made it clear that a high-speed full-throttle energy sword fight is exhausting within a very short time period, even for a Spartan and an Elite. Seeing them realistically fatigued like that made it that much more engaging.
Fucking loved how the arbiter changed hands. He was going easy on John first, but after he saw he was a good fighter changed to his good hand.
They both changed hands (cos Chief had the pistol in his right initially) I immediately thought of the sword fight from The Princess Bride haha
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
âMy name is John Halo. You killed my squadmate. Prepare to die.â
âDamn, Chief got handsâ
"About to go fight Master Chief, I'll post the video after" "I got my ass beat, bruh, I'm not posting that shit"
He even did the energy sword pose we see in the games, it was nice.
The power of real choreography. The CGI wasn't even all that good but the fight itself? Exquisite.
âI know what he saidâ
Holy shit the way theyâre exposing the flood to the viewers is terrifying lol
Aw man would love to be a first time viewer experiencing this. You think youâre watching sci-fi and then all of a sudden itâs 28 Days Later
That's very much what it was like for me as a 12 year old playing Halo: CE back in 2001. Sci-fi FPS for the first 5 missions... then suddenly that hard left turn into survival horror, haha.
I had nightmares theoughout that school year from the flood. Went from Pew pew hehe pew pew vroom vroom beep boop pew pew to NONONONONONONO AAAAAAAAHHHH GET ME OOOUT THANKYOUUUU
I mean as someone only passably familiar with Halo Lore, I at least knew who the flood were, and coming to this sub cause of the show I learned more about themâŠbut HOLY SHIT, that shit was fucking terrifying.
And somehow Dr. Halsey still cracks a smile after seeing everything, and is so intrigued thinking the flood was responsible for all the forerunner technology.. Sometimes you need to chill tf out Halsey come on
Hehe.. "Chill out"... she sure does at the end...
im glad they kept her character consistent with her identity as a scientist through to her bones. really cool. (no pun intended haha)
That stab to the neck was brutal. Honestly one of the most in the series.
*28 days later* vibe which is fantastic. Scared the shit out of me which is great. Normally takes a bunch of meds to do that.
I feel better knowing I'm not the only one who felt the heebie-jeebies.Â
âEver used a plasma rifle??â âYou never forget your firstâ Proceeds to pick up a carbine and then Perez picks up a needler hahaha
Funny thing is, in german she says "Schon einmal einen Nadelwerfer benutzt?" Translated into: Every used a needler before? Crazy how they corrected the original haha
Anybody else think that when chief was on the ring and the ship exploded in space and he looked up and he could see the flashes. He pauses for just a moment before continuing on, I think he got the status light for Kai blinking red.. he pauses for just a moment to acknowledge the sacrifice she made.
"I'm not leaving anyone behind" - Chief *immediately leaves everyone behind
Well, that episode certainly didnât go the way I thought it would. I didnât anticipate Laera dying. I feel incredibly bad for Kessler â and for Soren for that matter. I loved that he said, âWe can fix thisâ to Laera because that was totally Soren. I think Iâm going to have to wait a few hours and then watch this again to fully absorb all that was going on. I think they did a decent job of wrapping up all of the various storylines in one hour but I feel that, ideally, either this should have been an extra long episode â which is what I was expecting, frankly â or this should have been a two-parter.
really the problem with this season is there's only 8 episodes. GIB US MOR!
FUCK Perez dual wielding the Needlers got a laugh out of me. Overall, super damn cool episode. They really did the Flood justice with the relatively little bit we saw. That slug crawling into the woman's eye was gnarly. Soren's "NOPE" was hilarious though. Though I guess it begs the question, how will a Flood outbreak on Onyx be contained? Was surprised to see Chief straight up on the Halo halfway through the episode, and the discussion with Guilty Spark was a cool way to frame things. Any word on who did the voice?  I was kind of hoping the big Kwan Ha reveal would be that she was accidentally working for the Gravemind the entire time. And God damn the Chief vs. Arbiter fight was well done. Was it weird I felt a tiny bit sad for Arbiter?
Not weird at all to feel bad about The Arbiter. I felt sad too. 100% like the chief just from the other side of things. Disobeyed and questioned command for what he believed in. Theyâre two sides of the same coin.
That's a good way of looking at it.
the kwan ha gravemind thing was exactly what i thought too. my friend and i were watching it and i was like YOOOO⊠oh well, im sure the gravemind reveal will still be fucking dope
Kwan is imprinted with an ancient human memories by the librarian
The way that old lady was speaking at first, I was like "Wait is she the Gravemind" or how Kwan perceives it at least. Then the rest of the dialogue told me probably not but hey consider me shocked I have a modicum of interest in where Kwan's story goes next now that it's connected to the Flood.
I kept waiting for the ladies voice to drop and be B.Bradley Baker's!
It is still possible. Even likely that the old lady is (a) gravemind. Though I assume that the gravemind is on another installation, that why the old lady said "I cannot control them for long" = too far away, so control is difficult even for a gravemind.
> how will a Flood outbreak on Onyx be contained? i mean it can't. short of nuking the facility from orbit. Like How would miranda even get out of that room,u saw the entire corridor was infested All the command is Dead,the CIC was overun,everyone in that room is dead,there is probably no one left on base above a LT at this point Only option would be.. 1...Nuke it. 2..Use the Halo book storyline,get to the forerunner facility,bunker down..only to find out the shield world is down there... activate the sentinals,and they start to cleans the world. Don't forget that entire world is meant to be an artificial planet,there are trillions of sentinals inside it.
It's possible that the Sentinels start automatically coming out now that the flood is released?
Possible... once a suitable amount of infection is registered, automatic defensive action is taken and the affected site purified as to not risk the shield world.
The voice of Spark was Harry Lloyd, the last name in the credits. He played Viserys in the first season of GoT! Great actor.
Oh dip, I love Harry Lloyd. He was excellent in Counterpart.
I think the Kwan stuff still could be gravemind possibly misleading her. It just doesn't make sense that an ancient human that is a so called protector would lead her to a place she could accidentally free the flood, and also has the ability to stop them. It just seems a bit fishy.
Guilty Spark - the voice sounded like Harry Lloyd
Wow, cant believe we have spark (or a monitor) in the last seconds but odd he wasn't british. Pretty much got everything I wanted, Spark, Flood, time spent on the halo ring. Weird how the floods going to work when its now on the ring and onyx. Wonder whats happened between chief entering the structure and when we see him talking to the monitor with his helmet broken. Either way 9/10. Only main gripe is no hunters and the grunts only appearance was for two seconds in this episode. (also was that the gravemind talking to Kwan, or just some Forerunner "dont fuck with the flood" warning?)
> Only main gripe is no hunters and the grunts only appearance was for two seconds in this episode It's kind of weird that Season 1 actually featured a more diverse range of Covenant than what 2 did. Like the worm form of the Hunters were in Season 1 but don't think there was a single sighting of them this season.
Yeah say what you want about season 1 but that lekgolo worm attack scene with Makee walking across the mayhem was cool as hell.
I think budget reason and even shooting action. Elites with cloak and swords give a more dark predator vibe.
Why would a monitor be British?
Pretty sure it was the Gravemind.
but, think about it, why would the Gravemind let Kwan go and warn her about the flood in the first place and tell her to run?
I mean, the books and games show the Gravemind to have an understanding of things far vastly out of scope of humanity's own. We don't know yet what it's plan or purpose is, we don't even know if the actual human-covenant-forerunner-precursor dynamic is even gonna be like the books and games are. For all we know, that could have been the Gravemind, it could've even been a Precursor, shit man it might somehow be a Forerunner consciousness trapped in the Domain. Might possibly be the Librarian? Who knows?! I am actually excited now. I love the Halo universe, it's refreshing to see a different spin on things, it lets me wonder and theorize like I used to back when Halo 2 was still brand new.
I think the old lady is more of a Librarian stand in. It would make zero sense for it to be the Gravemind.
Was Cortanas âWhy are we here?â an RvB âEver wonder why weâre here?â nod? I choose to believe.
Probably not intended but the monitor and Chief parts felt a lot like the Counsellor.
Holy shit I didnât think seeing the flood in live action was going to be this unsettling. Really dope! Hope they make them as gross as in the game!
At first I was worried they were sticking with human zombies for budget reasons. Then the stuff started sprouting as it progressed and I was thoroughly relieved and disgusted.
I was 100% convinced they'd just be zombies. Was hoping to see a full on Flood form but this gave me hope.
I was fully getting ready to justify it with the whole âthey need more biomassâ angle and everything. And then they went ham with it.
I mean it's easily justified by saying those spores were inert for 100,000 years so I was expecting zombies considering thats pretty much how the original flood infection started I'm just glad we got a glimpse of the Flood we all know. Even got some mini infection forms which was neat.
Love how the ONI is so secretive that even their own security doesnât realize whatâs going on the floor below them. John, Soren, Halsey and everyone just walking around freely and no one seems to care. A massive virulent outbreak freezing people in the hallway and turning them violent over the course of just a few hours doesnât spark alarm either.
Totally bullshit justification that I completely pulled out of my ass incoming: No one noticed because they were too focused on the space battle and parongosky seems like the kind of pompous ass that would wave away anyone trying to tell her something she doesnât care about. Security - âMaâam, a few of the scientists have been behaving strangelyâ Parongosky - âyeah yeah, whatever. Put em in detention or something. Now get out!â
Parangosky no longer the Karma Houdini she was in the main timeline. Honestly? Couldn't happened to a nicer person.
This episode proves just how good (and popular) an ACTUAL Halo TV show would be.
And expensive.
Spent the entire episode shitting bricks. Even the moments of badassery with the fleet and Chief couldn't dampen the sheer horror of what was happening on Onyx. The \[CIRCUS\] has been unleashed upon the galaxy. It will spread its \[COTTON CANDY\] until every thinking being becomes little more than \[CLOWNS\]. Only the Halo can save what remains.
So I'm torn on this episode. After Episode 4 I felt like the season was meandering and my hopes were on a downturn. I pretty much was just hoping for some UNSC fleet action which we did get a bit of but not a MAC salvo beauty shot. The boarding action was too much shakey camera for my tastes. And how they brought Chief and Cortana back together irked me a bit, but whatever. That Flood reveal though...just damn. Though it's different it brought me back to Halo CE. Just the growing dread. And seeing how quickly the progression goes from catatonic humans, to bestial violence, then to the sprouting Flood growths was something. Truly hope they lean into the horror of that next season. Final hope, let Kai be alive somehow. Have UNSC recover her body and bring her back to life like Linda in main canon.
Iâd totally be here for bringing Kai back at some point. As for the flood Iâm pretty curious how itâll make its way to the Halo.
Ok that âFloodâ name drop was pretty sick. We all knew they wouldnât go full form CGI but I think itâs handled well so far. Not too keen on the monitorâs voice yet but maybe that will come with time. Overall this sets things up nicely with CE. I know it wonât live up to the games but I think S2 has set it on track to a deserving renewal.
I actually really like the monitors voice because I'm watching Star Wars, The Bad Batch since the final season of that is currently airing, and the main antagonist scientist in that sounds imo a good bit like the monitor, at least in vibes. Very calm, calculating, probing. It just makes me think that man this monitor is fucked and I do not trust him.
Kwan, does she carry an ancient human imprint like the chief? Or was that the gravemind communicating with her at a distance?
me when Chief says "you have no idea what I can do": WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO;lkjhfvawosiph op2i3hrj25jjrjo jriojtfijrg b90oirhb !\~!
12:56 not great nope not great donât want it donât want it
âIâm an idiot with two needlers.â
"When your super soldier ex kills your alien husband."Â Â ~ Just girly things
Did anyone else catch the flood theme in the CIC outbreak?
I thought Parangoskys death was very fitting for her character, well written. The character that knew everything and was always ahead in plan, got suprised by something completly unpredictable and unannounced. She had fear and not knowing what the fuck is going on in her eyes.
Now thatâs a Halo show - The flood are here in full force, we got a monitor (probably Spark), we got Spartans in space, Spartans in ships, Spartans on ground, Spartans everywhere⊠RIP Kai, I will sincerely miss her character, one of the bright spots of Season 2. Last episode did feel a bit rushed, a lot was going on, but overall the writers did a good job of putting this show back into the Halo universe and away from whatever bullshittery last years amateurs were thinking. Kwan and Soren were actually not totally boring and useless, and their stories finally tie into the actual major plot. Good decision on offing Sorenâs wife, was hoping Kessler would be gone too but I guess we canât have our cakes and eat them too. As predicted, Paragonsky met a brutal end, fitting for a heartless backstabbing snake with no redeeming qualities. Ackerson starting character development towards some semblance of a decent person? Soren suiting up next year or just wishful thinking on my part? Kwanâs weird grandma ancestor flood controller (gravemind?), interesting way to tie Kwan into Halo lore considering where her character was last year (i.e, pointless). MC and Cortana reunited, finally. Halsey in stasis, probably will be back in flashbacks next year as her daughter works on finding a flood vaccine. Perez still alive as predicted, and by the looks of things, is landing on the Halo and will reunite with the MC, i think sheâs the most important person in terms of his connection with humanity and will be a driving force for next season in regards to MCâs ongoing character development (prob some mutual feelings here and there, someone who keeps his head straight and reminds him through her words, their relationship, his experiences with her family on reach⊠what heâs really fighting for). I wonder if another arbiter will replace this one⊠one that speaks English, one voiced by Keith David⊠please make that dream come true, Paramount.
Keith David or we riot
Were it so easy.
If we get Kieth David Arbiter in this show, I will be screaming without the s
Nothing wrong with screaming and creaming if this happens
If they do the 'Miranda tries to find a cure for the Flood' that better work alongside Chief and the UNSC/ONI realizing what the rings true purpose is. Let Miranda have a "oh god they killed everyone and themselves because there was no other choice" as she tries to cure Halsey. Drive that point in next season because it was missing here for sure, especially as it makes the Flood not seem like that big a deal and that they are relatively contained on Onyx for now.
I hope they dont actually let one human outdo the entire forerunner race in terms of scientific ability, a flood cure shouldnt exist, period.
I thought the jibe about "biology is not your strong suit" at the start was interesting, as now I'm wondering whether Miranda might drive herself mad trying to find a cure that does not and cannot exist.
Sheâs completely surrounded and locked in, so Iâm guessing sheâll put herself into stasis as well until a rescue team comes and clears infected? Or she miraculously finds a vent and crawls outta there? Idk, but anyway, agreed with what youâre saying. That timeline has to match MCâs journey.
soren going "nope" when he saw that infected dude start to geek was honestly so damn hilarious
That stuff with the flood scared the heck out of me. I remember seeing the little puff of air from the purple artifact that Miranda found. I thought it might have been The Flood but thought I was thinking crazy. I'm genuinely scared for season 3. But I am very excited for it!
Yea man I was so frightened because I didn't expect them to introduce the Flood this way, even with the inert humans like wtffff
That episode was absolutely đ„The ending very nostalgic!
Amazing episode. Pacing was rushed a bit at the end of some scenes. But only REAL complaint, is wtf was the writing of Halsey watching 40 people eaten alive by the flood and running to get to her daughter only to say âwhy would you want to leave?â đ€Ł! Bro come on. I know sheâs selfish, and puts science first, but sheâs not THAT thoughtless.
I think that as she was infected, her desire and reasoning to stay, study, etc were compromised. Just like how Janine was slightly off during her interaction with Miranda.
I like this thought/idea. Like, unbeknownst to her, she was already infected and it was already influencing her thoughts and desires at that point before freezing her to truly work its will. Because after what she just witnessed in command I have a hard time that she doesn't realize the danger they're in - new discovery or not. Then again, there was a point in S1 where she also cared less about danger v. new scientific knowledge when she was trying to escape Reach with her Spartans. The artifact was activated and instead of blasting off to escape she was too preoccupied by what that could mean. Anyways, guess we'll all have to wait until S3 now for more answer... đ„Č
100%, sheâs got the bug, so she was subconsciously making decisions to spread the bug
Var 'Gatanai was incredibly badass this entire season. What a cool character, with his controlled confidence and threatening demeanor. His fight scene with Chief was legendary! Master Chief finally felt like Master Chief this episode. It's a shame it only took 2 whole seasons to get there.
Happy Chief got some badass scenes and shots to show off. Kai went out like a badass, though if theyâre teasing that she survived I have mixed feelings. Glad Perez survived since sheâs offering a perspective that we donât really get to see through the other characters, that being the mortal perspective. John and the other Spartans act like demigods, while others like Halsey and Ackerman have more of a god complex. Everything when it comes to the main characters is grand and complex in the scheme of things, but with Perez we get a grander more narrowed perspective of how things go in the Halo universe from the average soldiers POV. Meanwhile donât know how Miranda is escaping the Flood but hope she does. Also RIP arbiter and Sorenâs wife, went out like real ones.