'HALO' Episode 8: "Allegiance" Recap and Review

WARNING: Contains Minor Spoilers

After taking a week off from the Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber) central storyline, episode 8 of Halo; ‘Allegiance’ looks to answer some of the questions about the link between Master Chief and Makee (Charlie Murphy). Despite his initial reservations about Makee, Master Chief finds the shared connection between them and the artifacts too great to ignore. He takes Makee for a walk in the park outside UNSC headquarters in an attempt to get information from her. Their every move is watched by soldiers and cameras.

Master Chief asks Makee if the ethereal field the artifact transported Makee and Master Chief to is the Halo. She tells him it is and that there’s an ancient prophecy involving the Halo. The chosen ones will exist on the Halo as gods and the unworthy ones, regular humans, will be “cleansed.”

UNSC receives a transmission from what remains of the city of Agade on the planet Criterion. It was once home to 11 million people, but the Covenant attacked and destroyed everything. The video UNSC receives shows an Agade that appears to be covered with lava. Admiral Parangosky (Shabana Azmi) insists they must go on the offensive against the Covenant. Master Chief is certain that Makee can use the artifact to locate High Charity, the Covenant command. 

Master Chief visits Makee in her room to tell her of his plans for the artifact. She’s astounded that UNSC trusts her, but Master Chief tells her they’re going through with the plan because they trust him. He has brought an old book that he found in the archives as a gift for Makee. This act of kindness leads to the two of them kissing and spending the night together.

Captain Keyes (Danny Sapani) informs Doctor Halsey (Natascha McElhone) that Admiral Parangosky wants Halsey off the planet for good. Halsey is livid because she wants to continue to monitor Master Chief, but Captain Keyes insists that she leave. He asks Halsey what it would take to get her to give up her Spartan project because he can’t idly watch people be sacrificed for the sake of innovation. Halsey admits that her life’s work is more important than any relationship she’s ever had, including the one with Captain Keyes and their daughter, Miranda (Olive Gray). As further proof that Halsey cares so little about her daughter, Halsey steals Miranda’s biometric clearance to talk to Makee in secret.

“I love humanity, but humans are the problem,” Halsey tells Makee. She urges Makee not to let UNSC gain control of the two artifacts. Halsey says the only way to ensure that humans won’t use the artifacts for evil is to have them under the control of Makee, Master Chief, and Halsey. Makee refuses to work with Halsey because she trusts Master Chief more.

Furious, Halsey orders the Spartans to stage a coup to steal the artifact and kidnap Master Chief and Makee. Together, they will make a getaway on Halsey’s ship. Kai (Kate Kennedy), the only other Spartan who followed Master Chief’s footsteps and removed the pellet, doesn’t believe they should trust Halsey. Halsey then orders the other Spartans to render Kai unable to fight.

Throughout the episode, Miranda has been trying to translate a recorded Covenant message. The audio is garbled, but she finally cracks it and recognizes the voice speaking in the Covenant language. It’s Makee. Miranda tries to call Captain Keyes to warn him, but Halsey has cut the comms in preparation for her coup.

Cortana (Jen Taylor) has grown attached to Master Chief. She goes behind Halsey’s back to tell Master Chief that he’s walking into a trap. Even with the warning, Master Chief is attacked by the Spartans who are following Halsey’s orders. Cortana has fully sided with Master Chief and helps him fight the Spartans by accessing their medical files. It turns out this doesn’t help much as Master Chief is overwhelmed by the full force of two Spartans attacking him. Out of nowhere, Kai arrives to even the odds.

Miranda catches up with Captain Keyes, who is in the artifact room with Makee and Admiral Parangosky. Miranda warns them not to let Makee anywhere near the artifact because of what Miranda heard on the garbled transmission. It was Makee who killed an entire crew of UNSC soldiers in a previous episode. A guard attacks Makee, and Admiral Parangosky warns her that her actions will have consequences. Makee agrees, but says that it’s Admiral Parangosky who will suffer the consequences and lunges toward the artifact. Her touch makes it glow blue and knocks everyone to the ground.

Suddenly, it’s just Makee and Master Chief in the ethereal field of the Halo. She bids him goodbye and Master Chief is alone.

“Something special in humans. Something sacred. Something worth protecting,” Master Chief says early in the episode. It’s the main theme of the series, and an idea that many other series are currently delving into. It’s the idea that humanity, with its flaws, viciousness, and tragedy, is worth saving. Given the current state of the world and all of the ways society is fracturing, it’s only natural to want to make content that is hopeful. HALO, at its best, is attempting to prove that humanity is good, that there’s potential for humans if they lead with kindness.

Allegiance is another great episode for HALO, but it’s a shame that Makee’s entire growth and regression have been limited to a single episode. After she sleeps with Master Chief, she starts to see his belief in the goodness of humanity. Fairly quickly afterward, her allegiance shifts again, this time to Halsey. Makee and Master Chief have similar origin stories in terms of their indoctrination as children. Granted, they were taught very different ideals, but they still know the trauma of realizing the lives they were trained to lead are a lie. However, HALO doesn’t have time to really dig into their similarities and differences, given the uneven way the story has unfolded.

Grade: [A-]