Season 1 episode 7 of the science fiction series Halo follows Kwan Ha as she sets out in the deserted landscape of Madrigal to find answers to the questions surrounding her family’s legacy. The series is currently streaming on Paramount+.
Recap
The episode starts with memories of a family dinner from a time when Kwan didn’t agree with her father’s visions and conveyed her disagreement with misinformation being spread for the purpose of the revolution. Kwan wasn’t always convinced that the war would result in liberation as General Ha claimed.
In the present day, Kwan continues on her journey to find the mystics and the real reason behind her family’s presence on Madrigal.
Soren is back on The Rubble boasting about his heroic survival on Madrigal. But the welcome doesn’t remain warm for long as Soren’s partner Squirrel confronts him for returning without the bounty that was placed on Kwan Ha.
Stuck in a sandstorm, Kwan is taken by the same mystics her aunt was talking about. She is introduced to the leader of the group, Desiderata. Kwan questions her about the secret that kept her family going for ages on Madrigal.
Vinsher is still looking for Kwan knowing that Soren left the planet alone on the cargo ship and Kwan Ha is alone now. He knows that General Ha’s association with the desert mystics made him dangerous and he doesn’t want the same to repeat with Kwan Ha.
Desiderata explains how Kwan Ha’s forefather met an ancient being who gave him his true purpose.
She gives Kwan a strange substance to drink which transports her to Master Chief’s ship where she follows him and later fights with him multiple times. Her ancestors, including her father, appear before her revealing that Kwan Ha’s real purpose is to show Master Chief the way.
Soren, meanwhile, attacks a UNSC freighter for loot with Squirrel and Trokan. He also uses the opportunity to set things straight with Squirrel and show him who’s the boss.
After the encounter with the mystics, Kwan returns to her aunt’s house in the deserted colony. She finds a letter about the portal, a mysterious well dug by Kwan’s forefathers that she saw earlier.
Vinsher tracks down Kwan Ha. But Soren has finally decided to keep his promise to John about keeping Kwan safe and returns to Madrigal to rescue her.
Guns ablaze and action ensues resulting in Soren being shot by General Vinsher. Just as Vinsher moves closer to Soren, Kwan Ha sets off an explosion using the hydrogen supply, killing Vinsher and his men in the process.
Desiderata watches the action from a distance and realises that maybe Kwan Ha has what it takes to fulfil the prophecy of her ancestors.
Kwan Ha and Soren part ways as Kwan is determined to follow her father’s path and no threat looms over her any longer.
Review
- After the first episode, the focus fully shifts to Kwan Ha for the first time with the story taking a respite from Master Chief’s endeavours.
- The sudden disconnect from the events at UNSC affects this episode as the series time and again fails to maintain a balance between the stories of the two main characters- Master Chief and Kwan Ha.
- Soren fuels the action and it’s interesting to see the former Spartan take on Vinsher’s soldiers in combat.
- After establishing the connection between Master Chief and Makee in the previous episode, this episode establishes the connection between Kwan Ha and Chief, slowly bringing together all the various threads of the story.
- The episode does disappoint a bit given the cliffhanger ending of the last episode but that was bound to happen as the makers chose to keep Kwan Ha at bay for the longest time, almost pushing the character to irrelevance with respect to the larger action ensuing elsewhere.
Rating: 3/5