The New Spartans
HALO Season 2 Episode 6, “Onyx,” opens cold with Perez (Cristina Rodlo) awaiting deployment with Assault Unit Javelin. It’s a Spartan-III operation drill. They jump from their vessel into open space and launch toward a Covenant Corvette ship.
Perez breaks formation, attracting Commander Mullin’s (Dani Klupsch) reprimand. The Covenant opens fire on the unit. Perez, Mullins, and a small number of Spartan-III soldiers land on the Corvette. Mullins announces Phase 2 initiation and detonates an explosive on the ship’s hull.
HALO Season 2. Photo Credit: Adrienn Szabo/Paramount+.
The Javelin unit members fight through to the bridge of the ship, losing everyone except Mullins and Perez. Mullins catches a needle as they get to the bridge. Perez prepares to spike the console when an explosion knocks her out of the simulation.
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Kai (Kate Kennedy) enters the simulation room and pronounces them all dead. She runs through how the Covenant ships are superior to their own. The only weakness is they cannot lock onto a swarm of small targets. She likens their unit to bees, except that bees work together.
She explains the spike delivers a virus that will cause a system shutdown. Perez chuckles. Kai calls her on it. Perez replies that the simulation was rigged. Kai calls it random and dismisses the unit.
HALO Season 2. Photo Credit: David Lukacs/Paramount+
Perez follows Kai down the corridor, questioning why she has a problem with her. Stopping by a propaganda poster of Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber), Perez assures her instructor that she doesn’t have a death wish but knows what she signed up for.
They Should Be Concerned
Parangosky (Shabana Azmi) pours tea for Ackerson (Joseph Morgan), telling him a fiction about the leaves’ origin and then reminding him that drinking the tea is about tasting the story. She then points out that stories can be fragile. Ackerson sighs and reassures her that the Reach narrative is intact.
She informs him that a ship penetrated Onyx’s airspace less than an hour ago and landed less than 15 kilometers from headquarters.
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He counters by daring her to send a team to investigate.
She follows up by passing on a report from an Alerian agent who claims to have seen Halsey (Natascha McElhone) board a similar ship 19 hours ago. Ackerson states emphatically that Halsey is dead.
HALO Season 2. Photo Credit: Adrienn Szabo/Paramount+
Parangosky allows that he could’ve been mistaken in seeing Halsey with a scarred man, the largest human he’d ever seen.
Ackerson asks her if she believes Master Chief is alive and on Onyx. She replies they’ll find out soon.
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Cut to a long-range view of the Onyx compound. John lowers his optical sight.
Kai’s Conflict
Kai fights her way through a simulation of the hangar battle where Vannak (Bentley Kalu) died. Ducking behind a concrete block, she looks up to see Ackerson standing in front of her. He pauses the simulation.
She says she couldn’t sleep, so she decided to train. Ackerson accuses her of punishing herself. She questions why they weren’t there to defend Reach.
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He states the tragedy touched everybody. Master Chief may be gone, but she’s helping shape the next generation in his image. She retorts that none of the recruits will ever be Spartans.
HALO Season 2. Photo Credit: Adrienn Szabo/Paramount+
He ends the simulation. When they sit up in their simulation chairs, he tells her it’s her job to make them believe they are Spartans.
Everyone’s Got an Angle
Halsey holds Kessler’s (Tylan Bailey) Spartan helmet. Laera (Fiona O’Shaughnessy) approaches and asks for it back. Soren (Bokeem Woodbine) comes near. Halsey tells them she knows where Kessler is.
Outside the ship, Kwan (Yerin Ha) walks into the woods.
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Soren and John discuss Onyx and ONI. Soren sees a domed building. He asks John if it reminds him of anything. John agrees that ONI is making new Spartans.
Standing in the woods, Kwan glimpses The Mother (Olwen Fouéré) between the trees. Following her over the rise, she spots an advancing unit of ONI forces.
HALO Season 2. Photo Credit: Adrienn Szabo/Paramount+
Laera runs to John and Soren to tell them Halsey’s gone. Soren says it doesn’t matter as he knows where Kessler is. John tells Soren and Laera to get going.
John sees the ONI unit from his lookout.
“Don’t”
Before leaving, Soren cautions John about his unspoken plan. He reminds him he’s still recovering from Reach and doesn’t have his armor. John just tells him to go get Kessler.
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Kwan runs from the ONI soldiers. Glimpsing The Mother again, she follows. Behind her, John engages the soldiers, taking down a number before he is surrounded and taken into custody.
HALO Season 2. Photo Credit: Adrienn Szabo/Paramount+
The Mother leads Kwan to a large, well-like cylinder. With soldiers moving in, she has no choice but to jump. She falls a great distance but ends up suspended above the ground at the bottom, landing safely in the midst of an underground tunnel system.
Halsey walks by. Kwan follows her to a supply closet. She hands her a light, marveling that it still works after twenty years. She tells Kwan Onyx was practically her home at one point.
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As they walk, Halsey tells Kwan she ruined John, turning him unpredictable and non-compliant.
The Priest’s Suspicions
On the Arbiter’s ship, a Covenant priest questions why communications have been shut down. He speaks and gestures at Makee (Charlie Murphy) with contempt.
He offers to execute Makee to end the speculation that the Arbiter has lost faith in the Prophets. The Arbiter prevents this, reminding the priest that Makee belongs to the Hierarchs. The priest vows to ask permission of them when they return to High Charity.
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The priest leaves, and Makee expresses concern to the Arbiter that the priest’s suspiciousness will be a danger to them. The Arbiter asks if she’s communed with the Keystone, and after a brief hesitation, she assures him she has.
He leaves, and Cortana (Jen Taylor, Christina Bennington) appears and asks Makee if she thinks the Arbiter knows she’s lying.
HALO Season 2. Photo Credit: Adrienn Szabo/Paramount+
Spartan Success
In the simulation room, Kai watches and listens as the Javelin Team attempts to spike the Covenant Corvette console again. As they approach the bridge, Perez subverts Mullins’s orders, insisting they need to change tactics if they’re going to succeed.
They take the bridge and spike the console. Mullins orders exfiltration. Perez questions where the Covenant fighters are as they leave.
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Sitting up from the simulation chair, the other Spartans are celebrating the victory. Perez is circumspect. In the corridor, she confronts Kai about how easy the exfil was. Kai is quiet for a beat and tells her to take the win. Kai leaves, looking thoughtful.
Always the Master Chief
The ONI unit brings John in, restrained by several tethers. Captain Briggs (Anna Koval) comes in to gloat a bit. He tells her he wants to see Parangosky and she should warn the admiral he’s coming. She leaves, scoffing.
As the soldiers begin to lock him down, John retaliates, pulling them off their feet and flinging them into walls and each other.
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He makes quick work of them and then glances deliberately at the security camera.
Ackerson’s Finesse
An hour later, Ackerson shows the footage to Kai, insinuating that if John’s alive, he must be allied with the Covenant.
He pushes Kai to explain how John survived and why he’s attacking UNSC soldiers. She can’t explain it and looks conflicted.
Ackerson tells Kai the Covenant recovered one of the Artifacts from Sword Base when they shut down Visegrad. He reveals they brought the other one with them to Onyx.
HALO Season 1. Photo Credit: Adrienn Szabo/Paramount+.
On the Arbiter’s ship, Cortana suggests Makee use the Artifact to project herself back to the Halo to ascertain its location. Makee admits that she’s unable to activate the Artifact anymore.
She believes she needs John to project herself to the Halo. Cortana offers to help if she could access the ship’s transmission array. Makee refuses, but Cortana points out she has no choice.
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John makes his way through the Onyx compound, passing several Master Chief propaganda posters.
Strange Partnerships
Halsey leads Kwan through the tunnels, refusing to engage in a conversation about how Halsey’s Spartans killed Kwan’s mother. The tunnel comes to a wall that Halsey doesn’t remember being there.
As Halsey realizes the cave system has been changed, Kwan sees The Mother down a different tunnel. She follows The Mother, and Halsey follows her.
John finds an empty server room. He begins examining the schematics of the compound, noting the most likely place to find who or what he’s looking for.
An Order’s an Order
Kai enters. He tells her about Vannak and how ONI left Reach and its people to perish.
She questions him about Makee. He tells her she needs to see ONI for who they are.
Kai tells him her orders are to take him in. He won’t surrender until he’s dealt with Parangosky.
She puts her helmet on and begins to beat on him. He doesn’t fight back but doesn’t stay down either, forcing her to continue to hurt him. She admits she doesn’t want to do this, and he understands. He looks to the security cameras and reminds her that an order’s an order.
She backhands him across the room, knocking him unconscious. With one last look at the camera, she leaves the room.
HALO Season 2. Photo Credit: Adrienn Szabo/Paramount+
Parangosky and Ackerson watch on a viewscreen. Once Kai leaves, Ackerson shuts the screen.
Parangosky comforts Ackerson by pointing out that he had no choice but to put John down. She points out that the man was impossible to control, but the legend would inspire new recruits.
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Ackerson begins to speculate about the humanity he’s lost to his mission. Parangosky asks if he’s religious. When he admits he isn’t, she advises him to stop worrying and leaves.
And She’s Back
Parangosky steps into a communications center and is informed they’ve received a transmission of unknown origin. She clears the room.
John regains consciousness and hears Cortana calling him “Chief.”
Parangosky opens the communication with Cortana.
HALO Season 2. Photo Credit: Adrienn Szabo/Paramount+
Cortana manifests near John and tells him to get up because something terrible is about to happen. He points out that he’s not the Master Chief anymore. She warns him that the Covenant is going to use the Halo, and he needs to get there first.
Getting John Moving
She tells him she’s with the Covenant and Makee, and they’re almost at the Halo. He responds to Makee’s name. She says the Arbiter is with them too. He remembers that the Arbiter killed Vannak. That information gets him to his feet.
He asks how he can reach the Arbiter. Cortana advises him to touch the Artifact, and she will guide him to it.
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In the communications center, Cortana transmits the ship’s location for Parangosky and informs her the UNSC has minimal chance of defeating the Covenant fleet. Parangosky doesn’t want to hear it. She tells Cortana she has fulfilled all her mission requirements and is free to go. Cortana asks if she will be remembered. Parangosky assures her they’ll never forget.
On the Arbiter’s ship, Makee and Cortana stand facing each other. Makee whispers, “Nothing can be undone. Have no regret.”
Mother and Daughter
Halsey and Kwan approach a high archway in the cave system. They enter and find many people working inside. Halsey spots Miranda (Olive Gray) and confronts her about sharing her research. Miranda scoffs and thanks her for her records, which helped Miranda discover her mother’s mistake.
Kwan walks toward a Halo structure with a round, intricately engraved seal behind it.
HALO Season 2. Photo Credit: Adrienn Szabo/Paramount+.
Soren and Laera enter the space under the dome. Laera asks what this place is. Soren replies, “Thermopylae.”
They see what could be blood on the ground. A distant door opens, and Soren hurries Laera from the space.
Confrontation
Kai approaches a UNSC console and wields a spike. Ackerson comes in behind her and apologizes for sending her to John. Kai tells him about the Javelin Team’s success and questions why the exfil was so easy.
She accuses him of manipulating the simulation to let them win. He insists that the simulation conditions the Spartans and rewards them with hope. He congratulates Kai on training successful recruits.
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She gets up close and asks him about Reach. She tells him what John told her. Ackerson says she can’t believe John. She replies that she does and always has.
Kai ends the simulation and sits up to face Ackerson in his simulation chair. He warns her that she’s too late. He’s sent in black ops to finish John off. Kai leaves, running.
The Artifact
John makes his way through the compound with Cortana opening locked doors for him and locking in any staff that would impede his progress. He enters the Artifact chamber.
On the Arbiter’s ship, Makee is thrown to the ground. The priest accuses her of sending a transmission using the human device. Makee pleads with the Arbiter to believe she would never betray him. The priest insists he execute her. The Arbiter approaches and activates his weapon.
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He calls upon true believers to stand with him and declares all others must die. He strikes at the priest and the priest’s supporters. Makee crawls away. She sees the Keystone Artifact begin to light up.
On Onyx, John approaches the Artifact. It begins to light up.
At the same moment, they touch the Artifacts.
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