Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Halo Season 2 episode "Halo." Read at your own risk!
Halo ended Season 2 by introducing one of the most feared enemies of the franchise, and the Flood already made a huge statement showing that they're not to be trifled with. In what was a surprise to me, however, the first two victims from the main cast to be infected were Dr. Halsey and Soren's wife, Laera. Season 2 newcomer James Ackerson managed to escape, and actor Joseph Morgan talked about his character's journey going forward, and the tense alliance he's found with Soren.
Morgan told CinemaBlend he didn't believe Ackerson was a bad guy, and to his credit, he was half-right. After deliberately sacrificing the planet Reach and the lives of millions, Ackerson finally made a stand against Admiral Parangosky after learning from Master Chief she intended to deliberately sacrifice the lives of thousands of soldiers to score a win against the Covenant. This landed him in prison alongside Laera and Kessler, but he was rescued from becoming a Flood host by Soren and Kwan Ha. Ackerson ultimately survived to potentially return if Halo Season 3 happens, so I asked Joseph Morgan what he'd like to see for his character in future episodes. The actor shared:
I mean, just the whole Flood storyline. Yeah. And then, the journey we took Ackerson on during season two, He's a guy who's kind of lost everything. I mean, he has no allies now, and he's lost his position and all of his power. He sacrificed millions, if not billions of lives as well as anyone he ever cared about. And so I think that's a really, really interesting place to start a story for him. I'd be very excited to see how that moves forward.
The actor hit the nail on the head about what's most interesting about his character's story going forward. His deliberate gaslighting of Master Chief that caused the Spartan soldier to see things differently, paired with the Fall of Reach, makes him no friend to any of the people currently working to save humanity while pushing back on ONI's methods. At least there were plenty of fans who loved seeing that horrific moment brought to life in live-action.
James Ackerson is in a weird place and forced into an alliance with Soren, who knows enough about him after reuniting with Master Chief during the Fall of Reach. I was half-surprised he even saved Ackerson or let him board the ship after losing his wife. I asked Joseph Morgan how this alliance between them is supposed to work, and he had a simple answer of why it essentially has to:
Well, I think if the Flood are involved, then it's gonna be a case of like, ‘We fight together.’ But I'm gonna watch my back and he's gonna watch his back. You know what I mean? It's like we're forced into this alliance but there's no trust there. So I think that's interesting. I think Bokeem [Woodbine] is a really, really dynamic, charismatic, talented actor as well. I loved his stuff in season one. I thought that was one of the season's highlights that I wasn't involved in. I would love it if that dynamic is explored in Season 3. I think that would be, that would be terrific for as far as I'm concerned.
Beyond the Flood threat, maybe Soren can find ways to respect Ackerson despite the terrible things that he has done. He did promise he'd turn himself in for his role in the Fall of Reach, and it's fair to say his work on the Spartan-III program was an integral part of helping humanity stand a chance against The Covenant.
Fans can only hope Halo returns for Season 3, as the real fun of the series has only just begun. Master Chief has finally tracked down the Halo and came face to face with the Guilty Spark at the end of the season. If that doesn't make viewers want to hold on to a Paramount+ subscription in anticipation of new episodes, I'm not sure what will.
Season 2 of Halo was undeniably a step up from the start of the series, and it's clear to see what Pablo Schreiber was talking about when he said new showrunner David Wiener improved on Season 1. Hopefully, Paramount+ will greenlight the series for Season 3 and maybe go ahead and do Season 4 after that. Hey, this show is only just now getting to the good part, so we need to make sure it survives long enough to get to the events of Halo 2 and 3, even if it'll be a bit different than the games!
Watch Halo's first two seasons right now on Paramount+. I've seen comments out there that people can jump right into Season 2, but I personally think going from start to finish is the best route, even if it isn't the perfect start.
