Here’s the Halo Season 2 Episode 8 ending explained and recap featuring spoilers about what happened in the finale. Dive into our breakdown and find out how the season ends, who dies, and what’s next.
What happened at the end of Halo season 2 episode 8?
Halo Season 2 ends with John and Makee surviving on the Halo, while Onyx gets taken over by the Flood parasites.
Makee managed to make it to the Halo along with the Arbiter. They were followed by John-117 and Cortana, who crashed on the Ring’s surface following John’s rescue of Cortana. Upon arriving on the Ring (built by the Forerunners), Cortana revealed that it was far too advanced for the humans. It was alive, being the perfect fusion of AI and organic matter. Cortana further described it as a living network.
While John moved towards Makee, things on Onyx got really out of hand. The artifact that Miranda Keyes and Dr. Halsey retrieved from the dead Forerunner scientist didn’t contain her work. Instead, it was a sample container that carried inert spores, which were later revealed to be a parasite.
When the parasite sample came in contact with the UNSC scientist Janine, it was stimulated by sensing a habitable host after lying dormant for thousands of years. Coming in contact with living tissue, it began to take over its host’s neural network and expand due to its self-replicating nature.
As a result, the inert spores became neuro-reactive and kept on spreading from Janine to other humans on Onyx. Very steadily, they infected every guard, scientist, and official, turning them into undead zombies.
This infestation continued while the human fleets and Spartans were battling the Covenant forces, and Soren and Kwan were rescuing Laera and Kessler. During the rescue, Soren also united with Ackerson and fought through the infected human zombies.
But as the zombies reached closer to Kwan Ha, she was able to control them through the power granted by her ancestor (The Mother), who had been guiding her until this moment. The Mother mentioned that all of her future descendants and Kwan’s ancestors lived within her. She called Kwan the “Protector” and revealed her special connection with parasitic aliens, whom she called ‘The Flood’ (significant villains in the Halo games).
With Kwan’s connection to The Flood, she could prove to be the protector of humanity in the future seasons by being able to control them. But for now, she managed to escape Onyx with Soren, Kessler, and Ackerson. Unfortunately, Laera was infected by The Flood and would likely die turning into its host.
Among other important individuals who got infected were Admiral Margaret Parangosky and Dr. Halsey. While Parangosky turned into a Flood zombie along with everyone in CIC, Miranda Keyes caught Dr. Halsey’s infection early. She put her in cryo-sleep to stop its progression. She vowed to find a cure to stop The Flood from spreading and taking over the galaxy.
Back on the Halo, the Master Chief gave the Arbiter an honorable soldier’s death and avenged Vannak. Following that, Makee told him what she was going to do to the rest of the galaxy.
In the right hands, the Halo can be used as a haven to preserve multiple species and stop The Flood. But in the wrong hands, it could destroy all alien races including the Covenant and the humans. While Makee wanted to end all war and start afresh by using the Halo to kill everyone and bring peace, John wanted to stop that from happening and give the galaxy another chance. But the show ended on a cliffhanger, with John speaking to a mysterious voice.
Who was John talking to at the end of Halo Season 2 Episode 8?
John-117 was speaking with the Monitor, aka Spark at the end of episode 8.
Towards the very end, it was revealed that the Master Chief was talking to 343 Guilty Spark (a character from Halo: Combat Evolved) throughout the episode. Whether its live-action version has a different name remains to be seen.
Also known as the Monitor in the game, the Forerunners designed this AI to be the caretaker of the Halo. John pleads his case with it and asks it to beware of Makee. Meanwhile, it tells him that the Halo was waiting to meet him.
As deduced, the Halo is a living network with its own organic AI. So, both John and Makee will likely try to convince it to stop the other. Now, it’ll be interesting to see whose side the Halo chooses in a potential Season 3.
Does Kai-125 die in Halo Season 2?
Kai-125 is likely dead with her body floating in space. But it is possible that she could survive after being saved by a UNSC ship.
Kai seemingly died while crashing a Covenant Corvette into the massive Covenant Assault Carrier, sacrificing herself to give the humans the upper hand. She and her damaged suit were revealed amidst the Covenant ship’s floating debris.
But since her suit has space sustainability, it’s possible that she was only knocked unconscious by the impact. She could have been saved by a UNSC ship (possibly Perez’s) in the nick of time. If she survives, then season 3 could bring her back to unite with Perez, and John eventually.
For more updates, learn why Cortana is different in Halo Season 2.
