âAurora.â She voiced the words subvocally.
âYes, Quinn?â the AI replied.
âWeâre going in, alert C&C weâll need exfil.â She reloads the needler and walks into the flood infected compound.
Halo, Season 1 - Episode 4Â âHomecomingâ
We open with the fire team was a kid, every single SPartan weâve seen and weâre pushed forward into the memory of John. The kids are march along singing a jody ( rhythmnic chanting during marching), and thus we see how the UNSC abducted and indoctrinated kids to make the Spartan IIs.
We jump back to the modern day as Halsey and her aide argue over what the Forerunner object is. Oh, wow, this woman is in a ride for her hell for what sheâs going to unsleash. Cortana pops up and we get a bit of an overload on whatâs going on, and Chiefâs having anxiety. Heh, tear out a fucking emotional suppression implant and this happens.
Eridanus looks like Madrigal in that it appears to be another craggy dirt ball, I thinkitâs just the spots they choose. Wait not, even the terraformed deciduous forest is kind of gnarly. Iâm going to call that itâs some sort of fall sitch. Oh, and the forest IS terraformed, called it. Plus some nice foreshadowing where John locates the spot where his plot mcguffin paper is! YAY PLOT PAPER!
Dig it up - up oh, HOLES! Back on Eridanus, John is gophering along w00t! Out comes a box, (A MAGICAL BOX!), filled with âdrawings and samples? What by the Nine is this wonderful weird shit! Welp, Foreunner tech is all kinds of mind-fuckery, so John drawing the same image plus Halo over and over again makes sense. Into the House! Cortana compiles images to provoke Johnâs memory. Giving us some shots of what his family home was.
Little John runs by with the dog and he hears his father speaking. This is something that really humanizes the Chief, and will make him more epic later on. A memory is unearthed, and we learn where John found the images. WHERE, he found the Forerunner tech! Baby John and big Jouhn as a scene was...adorable. And, he figures out that Halsey stole him. yup, fuck this lady.
Wow, Kai-125, is basically experience an existential crisis, and yup, sheâs gone and removed her chip. Fuck, go for you girl, just please donât go all murdery please. I wanna see this as a woman reclaiming her agency, not as another âemotional femaleâ soldier bullshit trope.
They are really placing up subtle bits of how the Spartans donât feel, and how they explore their awakened emotions in this story. Kai, spreads blood in her hair, and Iâm, not sure, how I feel on this. I think the dying of hair with youâre own blood is interesting, and it shows a small level of psychosis as well. I mean itsâ her fucking blood! Sheâs also a literal murder machine, so I guess this is okay as well.
The doc staring Kai after the hair, and Kai calls out her bullshit. Wow, please please just donât go all murdery. I just wana Kai to not go down that route! Okay, sheâs a kid, cuz you know they were stolen kids. Keyes getting some more knowledge drop as the Spartans talk like a bunch of 10 year olds discussing Halo Weapons (like when the game first dropped) was - pretty cute. Makes sense, it would be Kai who helped Keyes break Sanghelii. Iâm shipping these girls now, deal!
Keyes drops some reasons why she doesnât like Spartans II. Wow, Spartan II pets was...fucked up. Keyes really gives an idea of how shitty their children. Hooyay, your mom supported Child Abuse! Kai and Keyes are back working on things yeah, shipping this shit. Kaiyes ftw. Heh, Kai coinâs Halo, call it.
Our girl is off with kill-daddy Soren on Madrigal so she can spark the blood insurrection about Vinsher the Butcher. Soren relates on how he felt as an early escapee of the child soldier abuse system *COUGH* Spartan II program! Yup, and he killed his dad, wow thatâs not at all surprising. Ship design in this series is nice as it really does fit how things felt in the games.
The capital of Madrigal being carved from a mesa is pretty bad ass. And, I do like how itâs obviously this Colony is Korean founded. We see Hangul everywhere, plus, it emphasizes how much the colonies are evolving. There is also a definite Middle Asia and perhaps even Indian feel. Kwa runs into a contact, and I think this bitch is gonna betray her. Yup, betrayal runs on his face hardcore.
Oh Kwan has a bounty, looks to be about 100,000 bells!
The Folk gathering for Jinâs memorial is righteaously a mix of different rituals! A Madrigali (is it wrong I want to rename the planet Casita?) gather. Will Kwan find the generals? I mean, general in the weâre a bunch of bad ass hero commandos ala fantasy movie! Not, actual serious ranking army figures! I say this, because this is a fucking militia, genral doesnât mean the same thing!
Kwan welp, our girl, getâs reality dropped on her. Called it! Vinsherâs actions have quelled the rebellion, and Kwan isnât living in reality. Yup, in come riding the strongmen, and Sorenâ kicks some serious ass, and saves our delusion girl. I mean, yeah, this delusion makes sense, but damn, hope she gets a kick of grounding.
Meanwhile, at the Legion of Vinsher.
Kwan is...just stuck on this road, sheâs lying to Soren, I can see it. This is going to end bad. We split to Vinsher planning her death like a fucking Mafia Don. (Yup, fuck this guy he ainât getting his own POV section). At least heâs sending an assassin, and hopefully, theyâll realize how fucking dangerous an ex-Spartan is. Vinsher is wow, heâs like a slightly less imposing Baron Harkonnen, and not as smart.
Ah Soren, being a fucking Pirate! Kwan, girl, y ou need to stop hoisting this unrealistic dream. How her father basically got a prophecy for his family. Kwan, I think is starting to realize her actions has consequences,and that in a world of fucking colonists you need to think things out.
Yup, he keeps taking off that fucking helmet, Iâll just have to accept this Inferior Chief I guess. Lucky the actor isnât shit, and I actually like him.
Lol, the side quest feel of this episode was...fucking great. I love that they are hunting for a literal piece of PLOT PAPER!
Seriously Kwa, you better deliver girl, or youâre world is going to shatter.
Kai please donât go unhinged and get some agency BEFORE ALL THE SPARTANS DIE!
Vinsher and his bunch in pristine black as night costumes where as everyone else is in shades of grey, and orange and yellow is pretty great.
Lol, the exaggerate Spartan stompiness is...funny.
Kai dropping all the creds on Dr Keyes was...satisfying. I like Keyes, but sheâs also a bit on her high horse.
Master Boof (that white shepheard of kid John), is the best fucking boy!
Kwan is...just as disconnected as one could assume.
SNERK, the assassinâs name is Franco...best ever.
GO JOHN! Calling out his kidnapping shitt abusive mother figure!
I bet you Kwan has a link to Forunner tech, calling it.
More Halsey being shitty, yup yup, stripping kids of their humanity. Cuz we canât have a woman with severe empathy repression feel uncomfortabl when her hens come back to roost.
Seriously, I will sing and dance when this bitch dies. Fuck abusers, fuck Halsey.