Halo season 2 just launched on Paramount+ with a double feature premiere, and you’d better hold on to your energy swords, because Sanctuary and Sword, the first two episodes of the season, land with an impact that’s as powerful as a Spartan’s punch.
Season one left us with mixed feelings, didn’t it? From awe to confusion, it was a roller coaster that twisted our understanding of the Halo universe. We saw Master Chief, the Spartans, the Covenant and the Halo itself all tangled in a web of lore that left us scratching our helmets. Now season 2 is here promising to untangle those threads, with Debs Paterson directing and David Wiener as the new showrunner, and they’re reshaping the Halo TV experience with a bold vision.
The Cortana Question Gets Answered in the First Scene
The season kicks off with a direct bridge from the season 1 finale. Master Chief, played by Pablo Schreiber, is fighting for his life after the battle that closed last season, and the emotional core of the scene is the severing of his connection with Cortana. That immediately answers the question of whether this season was going to drag that out.
It’s a poignant moment. When they captured his tear I was like, okay. Okay. He did connect with her at the end of last season, but seeing that connection, seeing just how deep the bond with the AI was, it hit home for me. I really liked that. It gives the rest of the season a clear path.
I also thought having that entire opening sequence play without him taking his helmet off once was a bold move. It disarmed me, and it set me up to enjoy the premiere, especially after all the hoopla during the offseason, when the poster came out with Pablo Schreiber without his helmet and it was like, really, guys? You’re going to double down on the no helmet thing? And they do. He does spend a lot of these first two episodes out of the helmet. But that opening framed things in a way I liked, and it made the rest of what was coming very palatable for me.
Sanctuary and a Fight Brought Down to Earth
Fast forward six months to the namesake of the episode, the Battle of Sanctuary. Silver Team, including Kai, Vannak and Riz, is investigating a missing UNSC Marine unit and a possible Covenant attack. Since our last time with them, the entire team has removed their control chips, which adds a layer of complexity and shows off each of their newfound perspectives and, honestly, their personalities.
The Marines on the ground run into a local religious cult that’s resistant to outside interference. Their problem, specifically, is that the last time the UNSC told them it was helping and that an evac was temporary, their people were taken from their lush, idyllic planet and scattered across other worlds just as desolate as Sanctuary appears to be. That adds a unique dynamic to the whole situation.
The tension builds as Kai spots unusual lights flashing near a transmitter outpost up on a mountaintop, signaling what we all kind of assume is an imminent Covenant attack. Master Chief’s solo venture into the fog to find the missing soldiers is a daring move, and it culminates in a nail-biting battle against invisible Covenant Elites. Then, in a twist, the Elites abruptly stand down, with Master Chief briefly spotting what he believes to be Makee leading them. Oh yeah, remember her? She’s supposed to be dead.
I thought this whole fight scene was amazing. At the end of last season we got that neat run-through, very first-person perspective, and some people didn’t like it because they felt it was a CGI fest. Whatever. This feels like a much more grounded version of that. It was almost like they said, okay, we’re going to jump into this, and we want everybody to see that we’ve stepped up our game and come to an entirely new level. What you end up with is an intense fight where the camera follows him and chases him through it. Last season’s end battle was the big swing, and this took that CG fist and brought it down to earth in a way that made me happy.
Ackerson Just Needs a Mustache to Twirl
Back at Reach HQ we meet James Ackerson, the new UNSC intelligence officer, and he adds a whole other layer of intrigue. He’s played with a mix of respect for the Spartans and skepticism toward Master Chief’s testimony, which creates a subtle power struggle and raises questions about his true intentions. His scenes with the Spartans, especially Master Chief, are filled with tension and ambiguity, and he’s a big pro for me.
We also got to see Cobalt Team, another team of Spartans, which is great considering that last season I was under the impression Silver Team was kind of all that remained. I’m not sure where they were during last season’s skirmishes, but hey, it’s a big galaxy. They were probably off on a mission, right?
The second episode opens with Dr. Halsey interviewing a red-headed girl in a lavish kind of apartment, hinting at a larger plot. Halsey’s asking her questions, and the more she asks about who her captor is, because the girl keeps talking about this nice man, the more the girl starts to have a bloody nose. Her sudden death in the middle of the interview adds a dark twist and shows you Halsey’s frustration and the stakes of her research.
Then we find out who the nice man is. That’s right, Ackerson. He’s controlling Halsey’s whole scenario, and he’s been getting information from Cortana. His involvement goes so much deeper into the overarching plot than it looks at first.
When Chief confronts him about the propaganda machine and the possibility that something has happened to Cobalt Team, Ackerson is pretty quick to dismiss Chief’s concerns and point at his mental state instead. He’s also working on Kai, manipulating her into becoming an informant inside the Spartan ranks. Now, on her side it’s not on purpose. You have to remember the Spartans have only just gotten this level of mental freedom. She’s kind of like a child, and if Halsey was her mother, she’s looking to Ackerson to fill some kind of void. I don’t think she even understands what that void is supposed to be.
I’m just waiting for him to get his butt handed to him by Chief. That’s it. He’s a complete slimeball, and all these pieces shout it. There are so many times when Chief grabs him by the arm and Ackerson’s like, you going to let me go? And I’m just like, you know he could crush you, right? With minimal effort, without any thought.
If there’s a knock here, it’s that his eventual betrayal and manipulation can feel a bit predictable. I don’t know about you, but from the moment he walked into the room, no matter how polished he was being, I kept thinking all he needs is a mustache to start twirling. He’s a bad guy, right? We’re all sure he’s a bad guy. Seriously, who didn’t look at Ackerson and go, oh, he’s dirty for sure?
The Spartans Finally Get Some Room
Sword takes a slower, more introspective pace and focuses on character development, which means we’re being set up for plot lines further into the season. It’s a little bit of filler, but despite the slower pace the plot moves pretty quickly.
At UNSC command the episode gets into the Spartans’ personal struggles. Riz’s injuries, and her prideful refusal to acknowledge her limitations, show you the Spartans’ dedication and the physical toll of the job. Kai’s concern for Riz, and the fact that she misses Dr. Halsey’s leadership, adds an emotional depth to these characters that I think we lacked last season. Last season was very Master Chief centric. This season we’re starting to get a little more of what’s happening on the periphery, and that’s a good thing, believe it or not.
Master Chief’s mental state becomes the key focus, though. His confession about seeing Makee, despite her apparent death, brings his reliability into question and hints at a deeper psychological struggle. It’s a compelling storyline, because it shows even the strongest Spartan grappling with vulnerability. Chief also visits Perez, the lone surviving Marine he saved back on Sanctuary, and realizes she’s just a comms officer who’s in way over her head, with no part in any plot.
The episode ends on the big one. The Covenant, led by Makee, has infiltrated Reach. That sets the stage for an epic confrontation and raises the stakes for the characters we’ve come to care about. So we’re getting the Fall of Reach from a kind of unique perspective, and I’m so down for it.
The Pirates, and the CGI
Unfortunately we had to go back to the pirates and Soren-066’s storyline. I, for one, could’ve had a whole lot less of it. It’s just not interesting, to me at least, and it only serves as scene breaks between events with Master Chief. It feels disconnected from the main narrative and it disrupts the pacing. I felt more distracted by it than anything.
To be fair, the first episode ends on a cliffhanger that reveals Kwan Ha as a mentor to Kessler and hints at her mysterious past since we last saw her in season 1. I know her return is supposed to raise questions about her journey and her connections to Soren’s world, and I get that it’s meant to be intriguing. It falls flat for me. I found myself asking “who cares” one too many times during these sequences.
Then there’s the CGI. It isn’t bad, for a good cutscene from a game. But the marrying of the CG Spartans to their environment leaves a lot to be desired. There’s such a break between the two that it feels more like a high-quality game cutscene than a seamless part of the live-action world. It doesn’t take anything away for me, but it’s odd, considering I kind of think they did it better in season one.
The Verdict
Halo season 2’s two-episode premiere, Sanctuary and Sword, earns a solid 7 out of 10 on the Know-It-All Index.
These two episodes set a high bar for the rest of the season. The Cortana resolution comes right off the bat and it’s emotional. The Spartans, Master Chief in particular, are grappling with personal and psychological struggles that give them layers they didn’t have last year. Ackerson brings a fresh and complex dynamic to the show, Cobalt Team broadens the scope of the Spartan story, and the fight with the Elites is executed with intensity and skill. Sword is slower, but it sets up everything going on with Dr. Halsey and Ackerson and that ominous infiltration of Reach.
No bed of roses is without a few thorns, and the thorns here are the CGI integration, the pirates, Kwan Ha, and a villain you can see coming from the doorway. It’s not that bad. The pros far outweigh the cons, and Halo season 2 is shaping up to be a thrilling ride.
Don’t take my word for it. If you’ve seen the Halo season 2 premiere, jump down into the comments on the video above and let me know your thoughts, and we’ll have a conversation about it.
