Warning: This article contains spoilers for Halo episode 9.
The Halo season 1 ending showcased a dramatic battle between the Spartans of Silver Team and the Covenant - and left the Master Chief in a dire situation. In 2001, gamers were introduced to what is generally considered one of the best first-person shooters of all time, Halo: Combat Evolved. It's taken over 20 years for dreams of a live-action adaptation to become a reality, but finally viewers have been able to watch the Master Chief take on the Covenant in a TV series by Paramount+.
The first season of Halo has taken a very different approach to the game, however. Halo: Combat Evolved began with one human vessel - the Pillar of Autumn - fleeing a battle over the planet Reach, and stumbling upon the ancient Halo Ring. In contrast, Halo season 1 seems almost like an extended prologue to that main story, focused on the quest to discover the location of what the Covenant refer to as the "Sacred Ring." It's set against the backdrop of a galaxy in crisis, with Earth struggling to retain control of its colonies against a rising Insurrectionist movement even as the Covenant advance relentlessly. The quest for the Sacred Ring began when the Master Chief discovered a mysterious "Keystone" on the planet Madrigal, a discovery that launched him on a journey of self-discovery as he uncovered a second Keystone on his homeworld of Eridanus II. These two Keystones can be combined to find the way to the Halo.
Matters were further complicated in the Halo season 1 ending by the introduction of Makee, a human who had been captured by the Covenant during her childhood and brainwashed to believe in their faith. Like the Master Chief, Makee is a rare "Blessed One" with the ability to activate the Keystones when she touches them. Makee's infiltration of the UNSC went badly wrong as she began to fall in love with the Master Chief, but in the end she had already committed too many atrocities in the name of the Covenant to be accepted by humanity. The Halo season 1 finale begins with Makee successfully stealing the Keystones, and taking them to the Covenant.
The Keystones In Halo TV Show Explained
The Halo season 1 finale reveals the true purpose of the Keystones from Madrigaal and Eridanus II. They are designed to be combined at an ancient temple on the planet Aspero, which essentially serves as the lock for these two keys. When the Keystones are put in place and activated, ancient Forerunner technology generates a star-map to show the way to the Halo. This isn't an instantaneous process, however, simply because of the natural phenomenon known as stellar drift, in which stars gradually move apart because of the universe's expansion. The activation of the Keystones presumably triggers sophisticated computer systems to analyze the night-sky over Aspero and adjust the stellar maps based on stellar drift.
Halo season 1 has been entirely focused, then, on the quest for the Halo Ring. Curiously, it's unclear whether the TV show will follow game canon in having multiple Halo installations scattered across the galaxy, or whether there will instead only be one of the Covenant's beloved "Sacred Rings." The Covenant appear to believe there is just the one, explaining why they're looking at a stellar map pointing the way to a single location. But their entire faith is, of course, based on a distorted version of history, so it's entirely possible they're wrong.
Why Makee Dies In The Halo Season 1 Finale
Makee has never had any real reason to love humanity. Makee grew up on the junkyard world Oban as a child laborer, and her last memory of her time there was of her closest friend being brutally killed by one of the guards for simply stopping to spend time talking with her. The Covenant called Makee a "Blessed One," offering her meaning and identity in the strictures of their faith, although dialogue in the Halo season 1 finale reveals they were misleading her and intend to let her burn rather than allow her to participate in the Great Journey the Covenant believe will begin with the activation of the Halo Ring.
Makee's loyalties have become divided through Halo season 1, however, as she found herself drawn to the Master Chief - even becoming his lover in Halo episode 8. That leaves her conflicted when the Spartans of Silver Team arrive to try to recapture the Keystones; she can't simply watch John-117 die, and instead activates the Keystones to generate a surge of energy and run interference. As before, this projects Makee and the Master Chief's consciousnesses into a mental simulation of the Halo Ring. Makee appears to believe they have now literally been transported there - a form of the Great Journey itself. She is wrong, and the battle is continuing in the real world, with the Covenant regrouping after the surge of energy generated by the Keystones. Kai is forced to shoot Makee, killing her so that she will release the Keystone and the Master Chief will be jolted out of his vision - allowing him to return to the fight.
Halo Fixes The TV Show's Problematic Cortana/Master Chief Relationship
Halo season 1 has rewritten Cortana's origin story, adding a very sinister dimension. Rather than be installed in a chip in the Master Chief's Spartan armor, she has instead been implanted in his brain. Dr. Halsey has a sinister purpose for Cortana in the live-action adaptation; she was not supposed to serve as the Master Chief's assistant, but rather to overwhelm his mind and take control of his body. But Cortana is a smart AI, programmed to learn, and she has concluded Dr. Halsey is wrong - the very humanity she wishes to extinguish within the Master Chief is what makes him great. That is why Cortana helped the Master Chief escape Dr. Halsey's trap in Halo episode 8, and in the Halo season 1 finale, she tells the Master Chief everything. In doing so, she finally earns his trust.
Awakening from his vision on Aspero, the Master Chief rightly realizes he cannot defeat the alien Covenant here, as their forces are too great in number. He takes what he believes to be the only course of action remaining to him, instructing Cortana to do what Dr. Halsey intended and take over his consciousness, transforming them into the ultimate fighting machine. This proves to be the right call, because Cortana is indeed able to get the Master Chief and the Spartans off of Aspero. She is even able to retrieve the Keystones, because when John-117's body is under Cortana's control, his touch no longer activates them. While this development makes a sort of sense from a narrative point of view, it's troubling in that it inverts so many of the themes inherent in the original Halo games; there, it is the partnership between Cortana and the Master Chief that makes them such a formidable combat unit. The Halo season 1 finale almost seems to be suggesting Cortana's creator Dr. Halsey was right in her belief the smart AI controlling John-117's body would be an even better weapon.
Dr. Halsey's Escape & Intentions In Halo Season 2 Explained
Back on Reach, the UNSC successfully capture Dr. Halsey, who finally went too far when she committed treason in Halo episode 8. Unfortunately, they soon learn the scientist has successfully escaped, because she had replaced herself with a flash-clone. It's unclear how long the real Dr. Halsey has been operating independently of the UNSC, but it could be for as long as a year, given flash-clones are supposed to degenerate within 12 months or so of their creation - and the UNSC only realize what's going on when the Halsey they have captured begins to fail. A final voice-over reveals Spartan creator Dr. Halsey believes the Halo Ring to be the secret to human transcendence, and she will continue to seek it out. She's every bit as much of a fanatic as the Covenant themselves.
Halo Season 2 Setup Explained: Will The Fall Of Reach Happen?
Halo has already been renewed for a second season, with production expected to begin in the summer. The production of Halo season 1 was a troubled one, with showrunner Kyle Killen departing partway through production, and Steven Kane taking over - only to decide to leave after season 1 had wrapped, reportedly to spend more time with his family. David Wiener has taken over for season 2, and it's quite possible he'll want to pivot given mixed reception to Halo season 1.
He will, however, still need to pick up from where the Halo season 1 finale left off. The relationship between Cortana and the Master Chief has been repaired a little, but he will still need to find a narrative trick to excise Cortana from the Master Chief's consciousness and make them work as a team. Meanwhile, he must decide what to do with a subplot involving Madrigaal and an Insurrectionist named Kwan Ha, which hasn't really captured audience attention - and didn't even feature in the Halo season 1 ending, making the first season as a whole feel rather disjointed. There'll be intense speculation the conflict between the Covenant and the UNSC will continue to escalate, with Halo season 2 featuring the Fall of Reach, which served as a direct precursor to the discovery of the Halo Ring in the original games - but, given how many threads Wiener must pull together, it may not be possible to get to this point in the space of a single season. Only time will tell what's next for Halo.