Halo Season 2 Brings The Sci-Fi Thriller Series’ Biggest Battle To Life
Paramount Plus just dropped a new trailer for the second season of the Halo series, and it brings one of the most infamous battles in the Halo franchise to the live-action adaptation, the Fall of Reach. It would seem that Paramount decided to bring the live-action adaptation closer to the source material by depicting one of the largest and bloodiest engagements in the Human-Covenant War.
For those that aren’t familiar with the Halo canon, Reach was a world of major strategic importance to the United Nations Space Command. It was more than a nexus of the military and production might humanity relied on. It was an intergalactic doorstep towards Earth.
The Fall of Reach is a truly important event in the Halo canon.
It’s the very same world the Spartans are based on during Season One, and the showrunners behind Halo Season 2 decided to adapt the iconic battle into the series. And the stage was perfectly set, even back in Season One.
Season One of the Halo series can hardly be called a faithful live-action adaptation, given the significant deviations from the source material, and the closest we got to the original John-117 was in the final scenes of Season One when Cortana took over John and devastated the Covenant forces that had ambushed the Spartans.
Well, the Master Chief rescued the Silver Team, and they all escaped with the Forerunners’ keystones, presumably back to Reach, which sets the stage for the Battle of Reach depicted in the Halo Season 2 trailer.
This event could also save the entire series from the mixed reception Season One received upon release.
In the games, the Covenant managed to covertly establish a foothold on Reach while searching for the Forerunner relics, and the UNSC counter-attacked in an attempt to drive the Covenant off the surface before their reinforcements arrived.
The live-action adaptation sticks close to the source material by depicting one of the largest and bloodiest engagements in the Human-Covenant War.
That didn’t go according to plans for the UNSC, and the Covenant ended up breaching the UNSC’s orbital defenses and glassed Reach—”glassing” is the in-game term for the planet-wide heavy plasma bombardment carried out by the Covenant. This can be easily adapted into Halo Season 2.
The UNSC already suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Covenant in Season 1, and the internal turmoil associated with Dr. Halsey’s escape, paired with Spartans questioning their loyalties, makes UNSC into easy pickings for zealot aliens looking to get their hands on the Forerunner Keystones.
And it would seem that this is precisely what’s taking place in Halo Season 2, judging by all the death and carnage featured in the trailer. Of course, this is all speculative at the moment, and there’s no telling how the narrative will play out in the series.
With that said, the Fall of Reach is a really important event in the Halo canon; while humanity lost one of its major worlds, the battle’s aftermath eventually led to the ultimate defeat of the Covenant forces. Assuming that the showrunners adapt the Fall of Reach adequately in the upcoming season, this event could also save the entire series from the mixed reception Season One received upon release. Halo Season 2 is scheduled to premiere on February 8, 2024.
