Halo Ep 8, “Allegiance” Review

This is one of the rare episodes that actually starts in the present, with John reflecting on what he just saw within the artifact. Both he and Makee now have a fully fixation on Rings, as well as each other. This is also both of them bonding to each other, plaining. John takes Makee out into the City, away from the Base on Reach.

 

Halsey lets some of her suspicions and speculations show. She knew there was more to John than anyone expected. She still stands above almost everything else, wanting to be the pioneer throughout. She still wants to prove herself to Parangosky (and keep the control she's had). She struggles to hold out as much as possible and makes her willingness to pay any price clear. She can lead humanity to the future and offers her whole self to that pyre of her ambitions. But there are still prices to pay, and some of the toll has come due with her loss of position within the UNSC, the strained relationship with her husband, and the estranged relationship with her daughter. The future is clearly the only thing that matters to Halsey. Nothing in the present can sway her from its light and promise. Things are left in a limbo at the end, her ship surrounded, and her Spartans in an unknown state.

 

John and Makee do get time to bond, exploring the Reach City together. For Makee, it's the first time in a very long time she's been around so many humans. Given what she grew up with, not a great thing, but now in a better setting. We see those long dormant memories in her mind showing. They both tell each other of their desire for the Halo Ring, the urge to return home. They share their opposing views on humanity, John hope and Makee despair John does go to bat for Makee, getting the commander's permission to allow Makee to use the Artifact to learn about where the Covenant are. Makee does still show she's not fully with the UNSC. But John does make offering of friendship, finding the book that Makee's friend would read to her back in her childhood. Then things get adult between the pair of them. Some of it is the connection between them as Chosen Ones/Blessed Ones.

 

Kai gets a fun little interlude, just being human. Seeing her bonding more with the other soldiers, gambling with them. Definitely not something she'd done before. She does show more the normal behavior of a person with a Spartan's capabilities. It's a good contrast for everything happened with John. It also got her taken out of the fight against John since she broke from the rest of the Spartan conditioning. This did reveal that break that Kai had with her hormonal deregulation. This works for her ultimately. It gives her the freedom needed to be separate from the other Spartans when Halsey's trump card is played. She got a great fight moment at the end of the episode. Seeing her doing what she can do is always impressive.

 

Makee gets a bit of alone time throughout the episode, sometimes praying, sometimes just thinking. Some of it is her own bit of wavering. She removes her knife fingernail and does manage to cover it up. Except the whole “the nail is gone.” Then there is the communication with Dr. Halsey. That mixed with the reveal of her involvement with the attack on the UNSC ship, and everything goes very poorly. She could have been helped more, but everyone else was a little to gun-ho to stop and actually listen to her. It is not John that could be seen as damning Reach, but everyone else who was watching over Makee. John was doing most things right. There was the less than satisfactory answer about what to do with the Halo Ring after defeating the Covenant. Everyone had something wrong, and Halsey only pushed Makee away from humanity when everything is said and done.

 

Miranda does make a very big discovery though. She's working hard to descramble the message. She and her Dad do show some recovery in their relationship. But it is hard to know just where things will go with them for now. Captain Keyes does help her confirm some of the accent or speech impediment that the speaker had. This is an accurate assessment of Makee speaking that language since her mouth shape is very different from any of the Covenant forces. Miranda has plenty to do, and just letting the decoder run, she hears Makee's voice.

 

Captain Keyes and Parangosky have a lot on their plates. Keyes needs to deliver the news to Halsey that Parangosky wants her off-planet as soon as possible. Parangosky is struggling with him to find the Covenant base of operations. This would cement the choice to remove Dr Halsey from her position as well as secure Parangosky's standing within the councils. Parangosky

 

Cortana is getting some interesting developments here. I see, and read, her expressions as sadder, more isolated than before. She is also witness to Halsey's ambition, watching her use a spoof of her daughter's eye to regain the information access she had. She cannot abide what Halsey is up to, and does her best to interrupt things. She does pull off the best surprise of the bunch. There is still the question of the communication blackout she caused and if that will have any longer term implications. Cortana is definitely more than Halsey designed. The “sentimentality” and attachment that Halsey didn't want is very much there. I do like Cortana has grown to be something more. She is better as someone independent than under someone's sway. I can see the relationship between her and John-117 as being something that is built up in the next season. It has had a turning point with Cortana choosing John-117 over Halsey.

 

So, this is the episode where everyone really needs to make a call on who their supporting. The inclusion of Cortana within this was a bit of a surprise. But thinking that she has been behind John's eyes throughout his “liberation” has to be something else. She has seen him come to appreciate life, find love, and truly bond with his squad mates.

 

When John and Makee were having their “intimate time” there were the odd intercuts between them and Cortana. In a way, it is telling of what Cortana wants, that she can't be touched and never can be. This does add something to Cortana, that is unexpected. She is meant to be an AI construct. She is also based on a human brain, Halsey's. It does seem, like with John, there are things that Halsey overlooked but have added a lot more depth to the construct. Cortana continues to help, making many helpful observations. For all the nudity we had throughout the series, they kept things simple this episode. Nothing is really seen, the scene focused on the augmentation scars that John-117 has and the singular large scar that Makee has on her back. Everything else was blurred since it was focused on Cortana.

 

The stage is set for the last episode of the season. John and Makee are separate again, both in their respective corners. There is a lot that can still happen. There are a few lingering questions about what happened with Makee touching the Artifact. Did she go to the Halo ring or did she choose to travel to a Covenant location? Will John and Makee continue to share their synchronization with the light years between them? What will the fate of Reach be after what Makee has suffered? At least a few of these will get answered in the next episode. The rest will likely be solved in the next season... if there is one.


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