Halo
Spoilers are forward for Halo season 2 , episode 3 .
Summary
The mystery of what happen to Cobalt Team has plagued Master Chief ( Pablo Schreiber ) , prompting him to take matters into his own armoured hand at the end ofHaloseason 2 , episode 2 , " Sword . " After going above James Ackerson ’s ( Joseph Morgan ) head and looking into Cobalt ’s flightplan , the Chief find out that his fellow soldiers never lead Reach . Instead , the squadron was sent to Visegrád , one of the planet ’s comms relays . When John-117 round up Silver Team , he bring out something he ’s felt in his gut since theglassing of Sanctuary : the Covenant is already on Reach .
Master Chief and Silver Team slip a Condor and question to Visegrád . The surround evidence are suspiciously muted . Even when Kai ( Kate Kennedy ) reaches out to Cobalt Team , none of the squad ’s element return her radio call . Silver Team fall upon the communications anatomical structure to find it equally empty . As Vannak ( Bentley Kalu ) points out , after seeing an desolate meal , whoever was stationed at the Visegrád comms relay race allow in a hastiness . In the end , Master Chief is bilk by UNSC forces who bring him back in on FLEETCOM ’s order of magnitude , leaving Cobalt Team ’s destiny a mystery .
Cobalt Team Was Killed By The Covenant As Master Chief Suspected
Although John-117 is relieved from dynamic duty after his Condor - stealing least sandpiper , it ’s revealed that the Chief is n’t incorrect about theHalocharacters ' fates . While Silver Team does n’t discover any grounds of plasma - scarring or other telltale Covenant signs , UNSC forces uncover the Sojourner Truth , which is revealed to viewers toward the ending of the episode . Admiral Keyes ( Danny Sapani ) assure John that he was nearly court - martialed for falsifying a flightplan and infiltrate Visegrád . agree to Keyes , Cobalt Team was sent to Aktis IV;John ’s eyes must have deceived himwhen he hack into the mission data .
Halo time of year 2 continues the Paramount+ show ’s exploration of the adult male beneath the Master Chief armour , save a gamy and improved experience .
After sending John-117 off to be evaluated by a psychological science team , Keyes ends up learning the truth : Cobalt Teamwassent to the Visegrád comms relay . Even though Cobalt is still listed as being on standby , the UNSC does know what happen to them . The members of Cobalt Team were found some 80 meter from the electrical relay , their dead bodies hanging in the trees . With blood plasma scarring marking the scene of the squad ’s murder , it ’s exculpated that the Covenant were responsible . When the trunk are bring to FLEETCOM , Ackerson decides that Cobalt Team should be officially list as MIA .
Briggs & Keyes Learn That Master Chief Was Right
Keyes is disturbed to learn the truth — and that John-117 was right . The Spartan ’s feeling about the Covenant being on Reach , which Keyes himself had dismissed as a " delusion , " was actually correct . discomfited withJames Ackerson , Halsey ’s replacement and ONI head , Keyes suggests they inform their high - ups of the disaster and its implication . “Your superscript are already in full mindful , " Ackerson tells Keyeswithout miss a meter . When Keyes suggests they initiateHalo ’s Winter Contingency — an evacuation plan of kind — Ackerson shrugs off the full admiral ’s idea .
Halo season 2 is prepare for the Fall of Reach , terminated with a Covenant baddie who may be a trade name - new Arbiter for the Silver Timeline .
Why Ackerson Lied About Cobalt Team’s Disappearance
As illustrated by Ackerson ’s conversation with Cortana ( Jen Taylor and Christina Bennington ) duringHaloseason 2 , instalment 2 ’s conclusion , the new manager of the Spartan program is well cognizant of the Covenants ' infiltration of Reach . The Cobalt Team reveal further explains why Ackerson was so dismissive of John ’s concerns about what he and UNSC Marine Talia Perez ( Cristina Rodlo ) witness on Sanctuary . The Covenant were using Sanctuary as a training ground by mounting an encroachment in the lead of glassing the major planet . Ackerson did n’t want to discourage Cobalt Team about the Covenant because he did n’t want the data to get out .
Had Cobalt Team been warned by Master Chief , they might have survived the skirmish at Visegrád , which would ’ve clued more people in to the Covenant ’s intrusion of the human stronghold . Ackerson , who ’s been ask Cortana to run model aboutHalo ’s Fall of Rach , knows that causing a affright will only have more issuance for the UNSC and ONI . Without the invasion data being public knowledge , key figures like Ackerson can safely ( and quietly ) make it off the planet . " We ’re going to fight , " Ackerson ascertain Keyes . " We ’re just not going to win . "
ONI Knows Reach Will Fall Even Before Cobalt Team Dies At Visegrád
Ackerson ’s reveal that he ’s part of a larger ONI / FLEETCOM conspiracy is a disturbing twist on the Fall of Reach plot line . Previously , Ackerson had take a firm stand that he was n’t replacing Halsey or interrupt her study on theSpartan program : the fact that he wittingly sent Cobalt Team to their decease proves that Ackerson andONI are willing to make sacrifices in order of magnitude to craft a good level . Keeping Silver Team grounded on Reach toy into the dodging too . Even if Master Chief and his squad do n’t survive , it will appear as though the UNSC did everything it could to protect civilian .
Before leaving Reach , Ackerson pay a net sojourn toDr . Catherine Halsey ( Natascha McElhone ) , who ’s still trappedin a practical reality - conjured prison cell . The implication is that Halsey wo n’t be evacuate ; theoretically , she ’s out - lived her " utility " to the UNSC ’s effort . Ackerson anticipate that Halsey ’s efforts were n’t in vain . In creating the Spartan program , Dr. Halsey work up " the groundwork of something extraordinary . " While it remain to be seen how , incisively , this notion will play out , it seems the heroicMaster Chief and his fellow Spartans are being set up as scapegoat and martyrs .
Halo Season 2’s Visegrád Directly Sets Up The Fall Of Reach
Sometimes dubbed The Battle of Reach , Halo ’s Fall of Reachmarks a major tactical profits for the Covenant . Notably , the fastness is thelast major full stop of resistance between the Covenant forces and Earth . With episode 4 , the aptly entitle " Reach,“Haloseason 2 is tackling the key event in the Human - Covenant War head on . However , it will likely represent out differently from the consequence in theHalouniverse ’s primary canon . Not only is Master Chief primed to be a key role player in the conflict , but the impending tragedy sets up an even more fraught moral force between John and Ackerson .
