Halo marches toward an emotional climax in "Thermopylae"

With only one more episode left in its second season, Paramount+'s Halo is setting up the battlefield for one last showdown between the forces of humanity and the Covenant. "Thermopylae" spends a lot of time on that set up, but it also ties together a few important plot points and gives several characters big moments. However, it still gets hung up on the same issues which have plagued Halo all season. FULL SPOILERS ahead in this review.

Halo Episode 207 review: "Thermopylae"

The penultimate episode of Halo season 2 is out now on Paramount+, and it sets the stage for an exciting race to the finish next week as the forces of humanity try to stop the Covenant from capturing the titular Halo, a derelict space ring which contains the means to destroy either race, as well as some other secrets. That more or less coincides with the start of the first video game, which sees John-117, aka the Master Chief, stranded on the Halo, where he has to unravel its secrets while fighting off the alien threat.

As such, it's not too surprising that most of the runtime of "Thermoylae" is dedicated to setup. The story is split between three plotlines: Master Chief (Pablo Schrieber) and the various factions of the human military getting in place for the battle; Dr. Halsey (Natasha McElhone), Kwan Ha (Yerin Ha) and Miranda Keyes (Olive Gray) unraveling the secrets of a subterranean city built by the Halo's creators; and Soren (Bokeem Woodbine) and his wife Laera's (Fiona O'Shaughnessy) quest to save their son Kessler from the Spartan training program.

The problem, as with every episode of Halo this season, is that not all of these plotlines receive the same level of depth. As a result, some of them are really compelling, while others feel like awkward, borderline non-sensical distractions from the high-stakes drama occurring elsewhere.

Let's start with the weakest link: Soren and Laera. Despite solid performances from both Woodbine and O'Shaughnessy, this plotline has had consistent issues this season which, in my opinion, boil down to the show just not really knowing what to do with these characters. While there were some good moments early in the season, the entire function of their story was essentially to get the Master Chief and his allies off of Reach. Now that this goal has been achieved, it has shifted so that Soren and Laera's entire purpose is finding their son.

On paper, that makes sense; they're parents, and they don't want to leave their kid to become a government science experiment. But in "Thermopylae" it starts to strain the bounds of disbelief. Soren and Laera have discovered an underground training facility where children are forced into a training exercise where they make a last stand against adult soldiers armed with batons. This gives everyone a glimpse into what kind of person the child is: are they the type who runs at the sight of insurmountable odds, or who makes a heroic last stand with their comrades?

As a thematic commentary on where the season is headed for other characters like Corporal Perez (Cristina Rodlo) or the Master Chief, it works. But as a standalone plotline it makes absolutely no sense. Humanity is about to enter into an extremely dangerous clash with the Covenant, but this training exercise is still proceeding as normal below ground? Moreover, the Spartans are now the purview of Ackerson (Joseph Morgan), but Ackerson spends the entire episode trying to make amends for his past mistakes after discovering that Admiral Parangosky (Shabana Azmi) is planning on sacrificing all of his newly trained Spartans. Is he really still pushing through this inhumane training exercise for recruits at the same time?

We have no idea, because Halo hardly spends two seconds explaining why this is all happening at this particular moment. So despite solid performances from the actors, and some cool monologuing, and atmospheric misty shots in an underground training facility, the whole sequence took me so far out of the episode that I ended up scratching my head instead of enjoying it. Which is a damn shame, because for the most part, the rest of "Thermopylae" is pretty solid.

While Soren and Laera's intervention in Kessler's training exercise goes awry, John-117 and the rest of the armed forces confront the ghosts of their past and prepare for the battle ahead. Here, the actors on hand are given much better material and really make the most of it. From Pablo Schrieber growling at a soldier to at least look him in the eye if he's going to shoot him, to Kate Kennedy portraying Kai's frustration at realizing she's been manipulated, to Ackerson finally having a heel turn toward becoming a decent person, there was a lot to enjoy.

The episode begins with John and Makee (Charlie Murphy) meeting on the planet which shows them visions of the Halo, courtesy of the artifacts they're each touching at their respective bases of operation. The visuals are beautiful, and this is a much-needed bit of face time for these two characters.

But it's short-lived. From there, John sets out with the help of Cortana (Jen Taylor/Christina Bennington) to find his suit of armor. Meanwhile, Cortana also helps Makee survive a coup on the Covenant ship, which in turn leads to her becoming even more deeply intertwined with the Arbiter, a rogue Covenant agent who is helping Makee search for the Halo. We don't see a ton of Makee in this episode, but in my opinion that's fine; we'll probably see a lot more of her in next week's finale, when the new Spartans and the Covenant go head-to-head.

John ultimately retrieves his suit but refuses to join the new Spartan mission despite learning that Parangosky is planning to sacrifice all of them in order to destroy the Covenant fleet. He has a different mission: beat the Covenant to the Halo. This serves as wonderful scene fodder, where Chief has to explain himself first to Kai and then to Perez, a soldier who basically idolizes him. A pair of scenes near the end of the episode see the Chief walk through the halls of Onyx, past propaganda signs which claimed he was dead, to the awed murmurs of the soldiers around him. Then he takes off in a mic drop moment which leaves Parangosky stunned.

Pretty much every scene involving the Spartans is great. Even Ackerson receives some of his best material to date. He's a character who has consistently bugged me throughout this season, because it's been hard to believe that he was so easily dismissive of the Master Chief's concerns. But here at the eleventh hour, Ackerson becomes a far more interesting character. I was all for it.

The final plotline of the episode, which revolves around Halsey, Miranda and Kwan delving into a forgotten ruin, is also pretty great. It emphasizes one of Halo's biggest strengths: its production values. Utilizing both stunning practical sets as well as extensive CGI, the ruins are wondrous to look at. It's easy to share in Halsey's awe as Kwan unlocks a mysterious door by manipulating an archaic solar chart, revealing a hologram-style bridge that crosses a sheer drop off.

So far during Halo season 2, it's felt like many of the interpersonal dramas haven't quite landed, primarily when they aren't directly tied to the overarching conflict. But with Halsey and Miranda, the show demonstrates that it can do good familial drama while maintaining a balance. I hope that the show takes some notes from this sequence, because Halsey and Miranda had me glued to the screen. They start by bickering and end by sharing approval for one another — which quickly sours a little when Halsey disappears right as Miranda discovers how to open the ancient scientist-mummy's log.

Props need to be given to Yerin Ha here as well. Kwan is another character that Halo hasn't always known what to do with, but using her as a space mystic seems to be working really well for both the show and Ha as an actor. She's riveting when she's on screen, leaving me wanting more. Considering that in season 1 I was eager for the show to sideline Kwan, that's saying something.

While Halsey and Miranda swoon over their finds, Kwan takes off to warn the Master Chief about a dire discovery: some sort of contagion which spread across the stars in ancient times. The show leaves things ambiguous, but game fans probably have an idea of what this portends: the Flood. We'll find out more next week during Halo's season 2 finale.

Halo Bullet Points

• With "Thermopylae," we've officially spent half the season without the Master Chief putting on his helmet. It's almost like the people behind this show heard the complaints from game fans that he took it off too much in season 1 and said "oh really?" I won't lie, I'm not mad about it; Schrieber has done a lot of good work with the face time.
• At the same time, it's built a lot of expectation for the finale, where we'll presumably see him fully geared up again for the first time since before Reach fell. Him donning the suit feels like it holds a lot of weight at this point, which is cool.
• I'm also eager to see the Master Chief and Cortana reunite. They've spent the entire season apart, but if the finale is going to line up with the start of the first game by stranding the Chief on the Halo, he'll need Cortana with him.
• I'm not quite sure what the deal is with Makee branding herself in front of the Arbiter.

The Covenant language deserves some props. Created by Game of Thrones veteran conlanger David J. Peterson, this fictional tongue is so easy to listen to that it sounds like a real language.

• Perez has become a great character; she and the Master Chief might have the two biggest arcs of this season, which I wouldn't have guessed going in. I'm nervous for her heading into the finale.
• Kudos need to be given for the show's excellent twist about the spikes the Spartans are trying to drive into the Covenant ships. They've been trained to think those will act as EMPs, shutting down the enemy fleet. But in reality, they'll trigger an enormous explosion which will eradicate everything nearby, even planets. This season has driven home that humanity is potentially even more awful than the Covenant.

Verdict

"Thermopylae" was another watchable episode of Halo that largely kept me on the edge of my seat. I have the advantage of not being a diehard fan of the games; so long as the show remains coherent on its own merits, I can enjoy it. It does that for the majority of the episode, even if a few parts drop the ball. All in all, Halo season 2 is scratching that sci-fi itch well. With the looming battle near the Halo coming next week, here's to hoping it can end strong.

Episode Grade B+

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