Here’s what the ending of Halo Season 2, Episode 8 means and how its story sets up future seasons.
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What Happened in Halo Season 2's Finale, Episode 8?
The Season 2 finale of Halo was jam-packed with crazy moments and revelations for all its characters.
For one, the deadly Flood contamination is released after Miranda Keyes recovers a strange artifact in an ancient city.
This leads to the entire UNSC ship being overrun, with nearly all its crew members getting infected. That includes Halsey herself, whom Miranda puts into cryosleep in hopes of trying to save her.
Soren and Kwan go on a rescue mission to save Laera, Kessler, and James Ackerson. While they are initially successful, they, too, get to see The Flood in action, leading Laera to sacrifice her life to save her family.
Sometime before that, Kai-125 also males the sacrifice play as she crashes her hijacked Covenant ship into one of their main cruisers, giving the UNSC a much-needed moment of victory.
In the meantime, after having helped to save Kai (before her sacrifice) and Talia Perez, Master Chief makes it onto the titular Halo installation. Here, he is finally reintroduced to Makee in the flesh shortly before killing her Sangheili guard and partner.
Then, in the finale's final moments, Makee and John separately made their way into a mysterious station on the surface of the Halo.
Who Are The Flood?
The Flood are virulent parasitic organisms that consume sentient lifeforms to survive, grow, and thrive. They are known for their overwhelming numbers and ability to expand at a terrifying rate.
It has been warned in the Halo lore that "one single Flood spore can destroy a species."
The Flood are almost like zombies in how they spread their infection. When a host is infected, the being in question becomes hideously deformed, akin to something in The Thing or Dead Space.
The Halo was built as a weapon to try and eradicate The Flood from the known galaxy. While the weapon was fired hundreds of thousands of years ago, killing the ancient advanced beings known as the Forerunners in the process, trace elements of the deadly parasitic race managed to survive.
While The Flood is destructive in any number, the more that amass, the potential for ungodly amounts of death and destruction increases exponentially. When enough of them get together, it can form a large hive mind, eventually taking the form of something called a Gravemind.
When a Gravemind exists, the Flood becomes more than just a mindless rampaging threat. This new, intelligent being has the sentience to control all of them through a hive-mind system, and it can act intelligently and complexly.
Who Was Master Chief Talking to in the Finale?
Throughout the finale, snippets of John speaking to someone offscreen are shown. It feels like a debrief of sorts, but it's unclear where Master Chief is giving it.
At the end of Episode 8, that detail is finally revealed: he’s talking to 343 Guilty Spark.
In the games, 343 Guilty Spark is a sentient robot (whose consciousness actually comes from an ancient living being) who is the monitor of Installation 04—otherwise known as the Halo itself. He was built by the Forerunners and tasked with maintaining his station after their demise.
Guilty Spark has been alone in Installation 04 for nearly 100,000 years.
In the games, the little monitor robot becomes an antagonistic figure to Master Chief. This happens for various reasons, mostly due to the split personalities it gained over the years, and John’s eventual desire to destroy Installation 4.
What’s to Come in Halo Season 3?
Interestingly enough, while most of the story content up until this point has been notably original, that could easily change in Season 3. The next batch of episodes could easily directly adapt the story of the first Halo game—with some notable quirks.
For one, a good majority of the first game was basically sped through in the Season 2 finale. This includes the whole element of crash landing onto the Halo and fighting the Covenant while there. The later parts of the game, however, could easily be the basis of several Season 3 episodes, if not more.
This would focus on Master Chief exploring the inner facilities of the Halo and eventually working to destroy it.
Though, it’s worth noting that there are still plenty of original narrative elements in play.
For example, Master Chief was alone when exploring Installation 4 in the game. Now, he’ll be with Makee as they explore the ancient station together, and fans learn more about what makes them special.
Then there’s also the fact that The Flood is on the loose outside of the Halo ring and Halsey is now in cryosleep due to her infection. In the original story, The Flood’s initial escape happens on the Halo ring itself and is not due to USNC scientists exploring long-lost ruins.
Season 3 of Halo could even end up touching upon events of the second game before it reaches its conclusion. Maybe audiences will see the fan-favorite villain, The Arbiter (not the one Master Chief killed in the finale) sooner than they think.
As of writing, a third season of Halo has not yet been greenlit.
Halo is now streaming on Paramount+.
Get to know some of the cast of Halo Season 2:
