Halo Season 2 is dropping this week, and a lot is riding on it. This will be either the start of the Halo redemption arc or the final nail in the coffin. I’m cautiously optimistic about this new season after my first proper watch of Season 1 (which you can read my extended thoughts about here). And with this new season apparently adapting the Fall of Reach storyline, I hope it’s good. But what if, like me, you didn’t watch Season 1? Maybe you dropped it after a few episodes or didn’t watch it because of the negative reception. Or maybe you’ve just forgotten what happened. No stress; Couch Soup has you covered with the key things you need to know before Halo Season 2 drops.
Throughout Season 1, a recurring plot point is that Dr Halsey (Natascha McElhone) wants Cortana (Jen Taylor) to take full control of Master Chief’s (Pablo Schrieber) body. This is because Halsey believes combining Spartans and Ai’s is the next step of humanity’s evolution. After some back and forth between Halsey and Cortana, Cortana refuses to take over Chief and instead be his partner. This changed, however, when Chief was outnumbered in the final fight of the season. Needing help, he asks Cortana to take over, which she does after heavy resistance. This leads to probably the best fight scene of the season, but at what cost? In the end, we don’t know if Chief is still himself or if Cortana is in control. When Kai (Kate Kennedy) asks him a question, he remains silent and looks away. This will most likely be resolved in the first episode, but will our main duo be the same, or has Halsey achieved her vision?
Speaking of Halsey, she’s a fugitive now. Yeah, the creator of the Spartans is currently on the run, and we don’t know her end goal. After being removed from the Spartan program and Reach, Halsey attempted to take her Spartans and a Forerunner artifact with her (super illegal). This led to a small tussle with Spartan Kai and her ship crashing. The UNSC thought they captured the real Halsey, but they actually apprehended a flash clone (a clone that only lived a short time before dying). By the time the UNSC and her daughter Miranda (Olive Gray) figured this out, Halsey was already continuing her shady plans. With the focus of Season 2 looking like it’ll be mainly focused on the Fall of Reach, I won’t be surprised if Halsey doesn’t get as much attention. But you never know; she is known for her sneaky tactics.
A big plot point of Season 1 was Chief and Kai removing the emotional suppressants from their bodies. These little tablet things limited/turned off all emotions and sensations that didn’t have to do with combat. While this made the Spartans excellent soldiers, it also made them machines. After removing his suppressant, Chief remembered more of his past and began to experience everything the world had to offer. When Kai removed her suppressant, she coloured part of her hair red and became a more inquisitive person. One might assume that these are their real personalities shining through, and with some scenes in the trailers showing the other Spartans also relaxing, maybe we’ll see more of the human side of these weapons of mass destruction.
If you know your Halo lore, then this won’t come as a shock to you, but Reach is most likely gonna fall. With all the promotional material and episode trailers released so far, it looks like the Fall of Reach story arc will be the entirety of Season 2. For those not in the know, the Fall of Reach was originally a book released years ago but was shared with the masses with Halo: Reach. The story is about the Covenant finding Reach and eventually glassing the planet (using giant space lasers on the surface of a planet to make it look like glass). I don’t know how closely they’ll stick to the already-written story (knowing this show, probs very loosely), but it will hopefully have the same shock value. Maybe they even pull a fast one on us and make it so Reach doesn’t fall. Wouldn’t that be nifty?
And there you have it, the things you need to know before Halo Season 2 drops this week. Now you’re ready to jump into Season 2 and understand most of what’s happening. Keep it locked to Couch Soup for even more Halo content to feed your hungry nerd soul.
Are you excited for Halo Season 2? Did you watch Season 1? What do you think will happen this go around? Let us know in the comments where we can talk about all things Halo.
