This article contains spoilers for Halo season 2 episode 1, "Sanctuary". Master Chief Paramount Plus video game adaptation is officially back in action, but the stakes seem higher than ever in the UNSC's war with the Covenant.
Halo season 2 episode 1 reveals what had to be done to ensure the Chief's survival after the dramatic season one cliffhanger (wherein Cortana seized control of the Chief's body at Raas Kkhotskha).
We rejoin Silver Team in the present day, undertaking a mission that hints that the ongoing fight could be about to change for the worse. And as if that wasn't enough trouble, they've got a troublesome new boss to deal with back on Reach. Here's a full recap of everything that happened in Halo season 2 episode 1.
Seeking Sanctuary
In a brief opening sequence, we see the Master Chief on the operating table and overhear a medical team revealing they had to sever his connection to Cortana to ensure his survival. A tear rolls down the Chief's cheek, implying that he's not thrilled to have lost his connection to Halsey's AI creation.
Six months down the line, we join Silver Team (The Master Chief, Kai, Vannak and Riz) on Sanctuary, where they've been tasked with assisting on a UNSC civilian evacuation mission... a mission that's causing friction between the soldiers and the local people. They're also looking for Bravo Team, amissing UNSC unit, before evac takes place.
We learn that all four of the Spartans have removed their emotional suppressor pellets and see the world differently. A shamanic figure from the local populous ("The Mother") stands up to them, and the Chief eventually heads in to de-escalate the situation. Kai spots flashes in the nearby fog on the planet, and the Chief rushes off to try and reconnect with Bravo Team before it's too late.
He finds a few members of the unit, but they're soon picked off one by one; only Corporal Perez and the Chief survive. The Chief manages to fend them off. Several Covenant soldiers emerge from the fog, energy swords at the ready, but stand down at the last second. The Chief also believes he spotted Makee in the fog but escapes with Perez in tow.
He makes it back in time for the evacuation. En route, Master Chief receives an ominous warning to find his faith from The Mother, who remains with her acolytes on the planet as the Covenant begins to "glass" it (blasting it with heavy plasma weaponry, rendering it uninhabitable).
Back on Reach, Silver Team is debriefed by Captain Jacob Keyes, who reveals the UNSC has already lost two other worlds, and they believe another will follow suit soon. Master Chief tells Keyes about the covert Covenant operation, but the meeting is interrupted by Dr. Halsey's replacement, James Ackerson. He maintains that he wants the Spartans to be the best they can be, but refuses to take the Chief's theory seriously, and disregards Vannak when he argues for Silver Team to be "let off the leash" and sent on real combat ops. Silver Team are told they must be cleared by medical and Ackerson leaves the meeting.
We then head over to The Rubble, where ex-Spartan Soren is holding a pirate auction for indentured servants. A young man (Felix) catches his attention when he claims to know the whereabouts of Dr. Halsey; Soren dismisses the boy publicly, but his wife, Laera, suspects that he won't pass up the opportunity to seek Halsey out.
Fresh suspicions
Master Chief meets with Ackerson; having looked into his experience in the field, John-117 has gained a bit more respect for his new superior. He puts forward a theory that the Covenant attack on Sanctuary's comms relay might well have been a training exercise, to prepare them for a bigger objective (though he's not sure what that might be).
Ackerson turns the discussion around on Master Chief, as he simply refuses to believe John could have survived the odds he described on Sanctuary. Ackerson starts to question whether the Chief is fit to be in the field, asking whether he's suffering side effects of being connected to Cortana; John refutes Ackerson's accusations of being unfit for combat in any way.
Later, Master Chief learns that Ackerson has dispatched Cobalt Team to escort a tech squad on what they think will be a "nothing" mission to fix a comms relay elsewhere; Master Chief warns them not to underestimate this mission, and tries to get Ackerson to warn them of the Covenant threat, but Ackerson again refuses to believe his theory without any evidence.
Back on The Rubble, Soren is preparing to seek out Halsey, following Felix's clues about her whereabouts. His son, Kessler, is fretting about monsters in the universe; he tells him he's too old to believe that kind of thing. He then warns Felix that he'll be left out in the galaxy if his lead isn't true.
Incognito, the Chief takes a street-level walk on Reach. In an elevator, he comes across former Admiral, Margaret Parangosky. She warns him not to trust Ackerson, to gather more evidence about the Covenant's operations, and to report it back to her. She also hands over a device that he can press to allow her to find him. He subsequently heads to a club, where he speaks to an AI that has been customized to look like Cortana. His chat with the fake companion doesn't seem too productive, but he does reflect on the Battle of Sanctuary, where he's now sure he heard Makee saying "You should've stayed with me" before the Covenant fled.
Meanwhile, Soren and his crew fly off to find the ship Halsey was supposedly loaded onto in a cryo-tube. He steps aboard the wrecked vehicle with Felix and the pair begin exploring it. When they reach the crate Halsey was supposedly locked inside, Soren spots his crew flying off. Several gunmen then emerge from the shadows, and it's revealed Felix's lead was a ruse. Felix's men move in, and he replaces the Spartan deserter under arrest.
The episode ends with Soren's crew returning to the Rubble; Kessler sees his father is not with them and rushes off, seeking out Kwan, who speaks to him about the nature of monsters. Elsewhere, we see a huge Covenant fleet rising from the fog.
Halo season 2 is now streaming on Paramount Plus.
