Halo Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: Sanctuary

Halo Season 2's premiere episode Sanctuary arrives with some massive stakes. Season 1 of Halo was fairly divisive – especially by the time we got to the finale episode. The lore around Master Chief, the Spartans, the Covenant, and Halo itself was left in a somewhat confusing place – a bit of mess that is still waiting to be cleaned up by this second season. 

The Season 2 premiere of Halo was directed by Debs Paterson, and written by new showrunner David Wiener. Both writer and director make it clear from the jump: they are here to establish a very different Halo TV show experience then we saw in Season 1!

(FULL SPOILERS FOLLOW) 

Halo Season 2 Episode 1 "Sanctuary" Recap

The Breakup – The Halo Season 2 premiere opens with a scene that bridges the gap between the Season 1 finale cliffhanger and the start of Season 2. Master Chief John-117 (Pablo Schreiber) is seen on an operating table barely alive after all the damage he suffered during the Battle of Raas Kkhotskha. During the climax of that fight, Cortana took control of Master Chief's body to help him win, while a cliffhanger ending implied that Cortana was still in control afterward. The Season 2 opening scene dialogue from the medical team operating on Chief reveals that to save his life they sever his connection to Cortana. A close-up of Master Chief's face, and a tear rolling out of his eye, shows that even though he was immobile during the operation he felt the deep pain of losing his AI companion. Cortana's ultimate fate is never shown. 

Battle of Sanctuary – Cut to the present-day action of the Halo Season 2 premiere. Picking up six months later, Master Chief and the Spartan Silver Team (Kai, Vannak, and Riz) are deployed at Sanctuary, trying to investigate the disappearance of a UNSC Marine unit, and rumors of an imminent Covenant attack. There's a civil disturbance between the UNSC officers and a local religious cult, which doesn't want any outsiders interrupting life on their world. We get the update that the entire Silver Team unit has removed their control chips – even Vannak (Bentley Kalu) – and is seeing the world in different ways. When sniper Kai (Kate Kennedy) spots strange light flashes coming from a fog in the distance, the UNSC registers that a cataclysmic Covenant attack on the planet is indeed coming. With time quickly running out, Master Chief goes AWOL, scaling a ridge and disappearing into the fog, trying to locate and recover the missing unit of soldiers before evac. He finds a small group of them alive, only for the entire party to be ambushed by Covenant Elites who have been hiding in the fog, using active camouflage. There's an extended (impressive) action sequence as Master Chief has to battle the invisible squad of enemies, and ultimately it comes down to Chief and one surviving soldier, Corporal Talia Perez (Cristina Rodlo), nearly being wiped out until the Elites suddenly and inexplicably stand down. Chief thinks he spots Makee (Charlie Murphy) in the fog, leading the Elites, but never confirms it before he grabs Perez and narrowly escapes Sanctuary before the Covenant turns the planet to glass. The cult sacrifices itself to the dying planet rather than escaping, and the leader leaves Chief with some troubling questions about faith and sacrifice – or lack thereof. 

[Title Sequence Plays]

New Boss Alert – Back on Reach HQ in the Inner Colonies, Master Chief, and the Spartan Silver Team try to debrief and recover from the Battle on Sanctuary. The debrief meeting with Captain Jacob Keyes (Danny Sapani) reveals a major disagreement within the squad: Master Chief was the sole person to allege that the Covenant Elites were on Sanctuary before the annihilation attack and he can't shake the question of what they were doing there, operating in secret. The meeting is interrupted by the arrival of James Ackerson (Joseph Morgan), the UNSC Intelligence officer who is the replacement for Dr. Halsey. Ackerson comes in and delivers some very mixed messaging as the new boss: he knows each Silver Team member intimately and seems to respect them, but also refuses to take Master Chief's testimony at face value. Ackerson ultimately expresses his resolve to protect the colonies – although Master Chief questions whether they truly have any safety, at all. 

Too Good Of An Offer – Out in "The Rubble" we find former Spartan Soren-066 (Bokeem Woodbine) holding court for his subjects in the form of a pirate auction, where the prize is indentured servants. One young boy being sold catches Soren's attention when he makes the bold claim of knowing that Dr. Halsey survived, and where to find her. Soren doesn't believe the claim and has the boy dismissed. His wife Laera (Fiona O'Shaughnessy) knows Soren, and knows that he can't pass up the chance to get revenge on Halsey, despite what he said in public. 

Take It Up With HR – The Master Chief meets privately with Ackerson. Chief offers his new boss more respect after learning that he's been in combat; Ackerson starts out seeming to pay that respect back, listening to Chief's assessment that the Elites he battled were running a training exercise, to prepare for a bigger mission objective. Instead of believing Chief, Ackerson starts to question Master Chief's mindstate after his experience with Cortana. John wants Ackerson to warn the next unit of Spartans (Cobalt Team) about the danger waiting for them out in the field. Ackerson refuses to sound any alarm without further proof. 

The Bad Man Is Coming – Back in The Rubble, Soren suits up for work, only to be questioned by his son, Kessler (Tylan Bailey), about whether he's a good or bad man. Soren's son is still terrified about the thought of monsters out in the universe – but Soren (falsely) instructs his son that it's not true. Despite his initial disinterest, Soren approaches the boy "Felix" about finding Halsey, agreeing to investigate – and to punish harshly if it is not a legitimate lead.  

Covert Op – Master Chief takes an incognito 'field trip' into the streets of the Inner Colonies, only to be approached by former Admiral Margaret Parangosky (Shabana Azmi), who wants to know what Chief saw on Sanctuary, warns him against trusting Ackerson, and tasks him to find the truth about the Covenant's operations, and report it back to her. Chief agrees to the alliance. 

It's A Trap! - Soren and his crew accompany Felix off-world to find the ship where he claims he saw Halsey being held in cryo-stasis. The team finds the ship utterly destroyed, and put on spacesuits and go for a zero-gravity walk into the wreckage to investigate (an impressive set piece). When Soren finally locates "Halsey" it turns out to be a trap: Felix has a bunch of gunmen in tow, and their real objective is collecting the bounty on Soren, who gets sold out by his own crew and arrested for piracy and treason (among other crimes). 

Can't Quit You – Chief's urban stroll leads him to a club and private room where he gets to speak to a therapy-style AI – one that Chief has customized to look like Cortana (Jen Taylor). The conversation with his faux companion doesn't bring Chief peace – but it does help him focus on the memory of the Battle of Sanctuary, and the words he thinks he heard Makee speak: "You should've stayed with me." 

The Monster Is Out There – The ending of Halo Season 2's Premiere sees Soren's crew return to his wife Laera and son Kessler and deliver the lie of his bad fortune. A voiceover frames Kessler's reaction as it explains that we must never forget that monsters are indeed out there – and their greatest desire is to let us know that nothing we love is safe. The speaker is revealed to be Kwan Ha (Yerin Ha), who is revealed to be a friend and mentor to Kessler. Kwan was last seen in Season 1 Episode 7 "Inheritance", having taken on her family and the Madrigal community's obligation to find and protect a Forerunner portal. Her storyline got dropped, and this Season 2 premiere cliffhanger now raises a lot of questions about where she's been in the last six months – and what brought her back into Soren's orbit. 

How to Watch Halo Season 2

Halo Season 2 is streaming on Paramount+. You can watch the show if you are a subscriber – or try a one-week free trial of Paramount+ HERE.