This post contains spoilers for the Halo TV series and game.

The Paramount Plus original series Halo returns for a second season on February 8th. Based on the Xbox game from Bungie, the series received a lot of criticism from game fans during its first season. The protagonist 'Master Chief' was depicted differently from the game. Especially in the game, the main character never shows his face, but in the TV series, his face is shown from the first episode.**

However, viewers who had never played the game saw it as an SF TV series worth watching. Master Chief, played by Pablo Schreiber, really felt like a soldier, and the series, which was filmed with a lot of budget, had plenty to see. Paramount was also able to quickly move into production for season 2 thanks to securing enough viewers.

What happened in season 1

Halo season 1 focused on the protagonist 'John' (Pablo Schreiber)'s search for his self. John, also known as 'Master Chief', was raised as a war machine since childhood. Master Chief is a soldier with no ego, wearing artificially enhanced body and combat suits to fight against the alien race 'Covenant'.

But while infiltrating a rebel group attempting to secede from the UNSC (United Nations Space Command), he comes into contact with an ancient artifact that awakens his self. John discovers that he was kidnapped by the UNSC in his childhood and raised as a war machine.

Meanwhile, the Covenant alien race wants the artifact John discovered. They want to use the artifact to find an ancient space facility created by the Ancients called 'Halo'. The final episode of season 1 depicts a battle between the Covenant, which seeks to discover the location of Halo, and Master Chief.

In this battle, Master Chief allows the AI 'Cortana' implanted in his body to take over his body. Master Chief, under the control of the AI Cortana, fights bravely and wins, but his ego seems to have vanished.

Continuing conflict between John and Master Chief

In the final scene of season 1, Master Chief appears to have returned to a war machine. He doesn't respond to what his friends say, and he doesn't even take off his helmet. He seems to have become the game character 'Master Chief'.

However, Pablo Schreiber, shown in the season 2 trailer, is back as John who has found his self. Since the main conflict of season 1 was about Master Chief's ego, it seems that this story will continue in season 2. Pablo Schreiber also said in a press interview that he will continue to tell the story of the conflict between the two egos, 'John' and 'Master Chief'.

'Halo: Reach' brought to TV series

The important background in this TV series is the planet called 'Reach'. This planet has a large city and military facilities built by humans. The 2010 game 'Halo: Reach' dealt with the process of this planet being devastated by a Covenant attack. This game was especially loved by players for its high-quality story.

According to the trailer and synopsis, Halo season 2 will deal with this 'Reach incident'. Therefore, we can expect a larger scale action sequence than season 1. In particular, the production team said they would tell a story closer to the game original in consideration of the backlash from game fans during the release of season 1.

Two main Covenant characters

Producer Otto Bathurst has said that two main Covenant characters will appear in season 2. He knows that the first season was criticized for its ambiguous depiction of the alien force Covenant. He says that in the second season, he will show what kind of group the Covenant is through two central characters. As several Covenant aliens were prominently depicted in the original game, it is curious to see if they can satisfy game fans.

Halo season 2 premieres on Paramount Plus (Tving in Korea) on February 8th.