Thermopylae (TV episode)

Thermopylae is the seventh episode of the second season of Halo. It premiered on March 14, 2024, on Paramount+.
== Synopsis ==
As humanity and the Covenant race to control the galaxy’s ultimate weapon, John comes face to face with Makee. A disturbing revelation leads Ackerson to question his loyalties. Soren and Laera’s relationship begins to fracture under the weight of Soren’s past. Halsey, Kwan and Miranda work to solve the mystery within an alien archaeological site.
==Plot==
Makee experiences the Halo with John. It's a place they both visited as children. He saw her on Reach with the Sangheili. She is responsible for the deaths of millions of people. She calls it a casualty of war and knows he wouldn't hesitate to burn High Charity. He sees it differently because she's human, a statement she questions for the both of them because of their statuses as Blessed Ones. He refuses to accept they are the same. He realizes she's found the Halo. He doesn't want her to bring the Covenant here as they'll annihilate humankind. She knows the humans will kill the Covenant if they get here first. It's all either side knows. She believes The Ring does more than destroy - it creates life. She wants to build a life of peace there. She sees their differences now because he doubts. They are both lurched away from their artifacts which emits a blast from John's.
The Arbiter saves Makee, who makes a move for Cortana's device. The priest chases her through the ship and slashes Cortana's projection. She speaks to him in Shangheili as she knows him. Makee then kills the Arbiter. Cortana materializes a map so Makee can point to where the Halo is.
Ackerson and Paraongksy argue about John and what it will mean if the truth of Reach unfolds. She's protected because she's not a member of the ONI. The entire first Fleet of Solemn Accord is active. Parangosky wants to dispatch the Spartans-III as she decides their usage. He disagrees as they aren't ready for such a mission.
John leaves the room and wanders through the ONI headquarters when Captain Briggs orders him to stop. He does and Briggs orders the soldiers to shoot Chief. The soldier hesitates and Chief talks him down by making him look him in the eyes first. The soldiers lower their weapons and tell Briggs to do it. She pulls a gun and Kai takes her out.
Kwan looks around the tunnels as Halsey explains that whoever built this place also built the Halo. It's a repository for knowledge, like a library. Miranda believes it's a religious site. The bicker over Halsey's mistake with the cipher. Miranda solves the cipher and opens a secondary alcove. Halsey found DNA in the first alcove - both "theirs and ours".
Parangosky and Ackerson connect with Commander Bookman on the lead Condor. She commands Arrow Team to take the fight to the enemy. The comms go out and the systems shut down. Parangosky orders a second wave which upsets Ackerson since the first wave got obliterated. She is willing to sacrifice all of the Spartan-III's. If the Covenant takes the Halo they will all die.
Soren tells Laera that the kidnappers took him and the other Spartan candidates to a place just like the one they're in now. Their objective was to defend the pass and learn what it meant to call themselves Spartan's. He fought hard and chose to stand and bleed instead of running. By the end of the night there were five left - Soren, Riz, Vannak, Kai, and John. They stood together, fought together, and lost together.
Perez and her team suit up for their deployment.
Laera wants Kessler back, but Soren knows they can't do anything. They have to let Kessler go through the night so he'll know what kind of person he is. Laera realizes Soren wasn't trying to get justice with Halsey, but a way back. He calls himself a Spartan which upsets her. He's a husband and a father to a son that Laera won't let anyone hurt. Their son doesn't belong there and she won't let anyone turn him into a killer.
Perez holds a coin while Mullins panics over messing up. Perez knows she'll be okay once she's out there. Perez will have her ass every minute, so Mullins better have Perez's.
Kai and John argue over her making the wrong call after his lies. He's going to get his suit back with help from Cortana.
Halsey explains to Miranda that the DNA she found had potential to unlock a new future for their species. They scoured the galaxy for people who exhibited traces of the mutated DNA. Halsey wants to know what Miranda found. She shows Halsey a device they haven't been able to unlock yet. Kwan touches the markings on a wall and it lights up under her touch.
Ackerson previews a simulation for the Spartan-III's taking on the Covenant forces. He starts to leave the room when John and Kai arrive. He grabs Ackerson by the throat and asks for one reason not to kill him. Kai doesn't have a reason. John demands the location of his armor. It's behind a biometric lock that requires his face to be attached to his body. Ackerson tells Kai that Parangosky lied about the spike. It doesn't override the system it compresses the ship's fusion drive, creating a reaction powerful enough to incinerate everything within a million miles. It will eliminate everyone's fleet and perhaps the Halo itself. She doesn't need all the Spartan-III's to make it but just one. The Spartans are Parangonsky's fail safe so no one can get the Halo. John questions when Ackerson started to care about Spartans. He calls Spartans his life work.
Miranda asks Halsey what happened to her father on Reach. She wonders if he's still alive like the other survivors. Halsey saw him die, which upsets Miranda. Kwan touches the wall again and removes a glowing orb. The room lights up with constellations. She places the orb in the constellations.
Ackerson leads Kai and John to the remaining Spartan armor. John stands in front of his then goes to Vannak's. He couldn't save Vannak. Vannak looked at him and didn't understand how he got there. He wasn't scared - he just didn't understand. Ackerson asks what they're going to do. John came to punch a hole in Ackerson's chest to watch the life drain out of him like he did with his friend. Ackerson didn't give the orders on Reach, but he did follow them. John wants Ackerson to tell everyone what Parangosky did on Reach and then the truth about what he did. John is the proof of everything that happened because he's alive and his suit. Ackerson knows it will destroy him. John reminds him that someone always pays. This time, it's Ackerson. He walks out of the room while John turns back to his suit.
Kwan moves the constellations around to form completions. Halsey thinks it's a test of their understanding of math, biology, and if they communicate the same way their ancestors did. Kwan remembers her life as an explorer. She states it's not a map, but a clock. It projects the stars as they see them, but this wasn't the sky as the ancestors knew them. She moves stars around to their former locations. She's seen their stars before. It was like a dream. This reveals the image of the Halo and opens the door in the wall. Halsey rushes in against Kwan's words. Once inside, the room lights up with a projected bridge that supports their weight.
Kai wants John to come with her to save the Spartan-III's. He can't go with her because the Halo in the wrong hands is a weapon. The Spartans are hers and she can't let them go alone. She has to be there, which he knows. If it comes down to it and it's Kai with the spike in her hand, she will get to the Halo no matter what.
Kwan, Miranda, and Halsey investigate the symbols on another door. Halsey places the object Miranda found in the door and unlocks it. They enter a laboratory that contains the body of a scientist. It's nearly human in its appearance. The creature is curled up in a fetal position clutching something in its hand. The ground starts to shake and the vials fracture. The doors start to close and Kwan runs out. The bridge is shrinking around them. Halsey freezes midway because she sees a city beneath them. Miranda calls out to her mom and they barely make it back to the hall in time. The constellations are shifting and changing around her. Kwan realizes it's real and panics, running out of the room. Miranda got what the creature was holding and hands it to her mom.
The Arbiter visits Makee to tell her the priests infidels are dead. He would have died for the truth she carries. The Fleet is attacking them and she's afraid of dying. She fears she has fallen. He sees her as his path to redemption. She brands herself with a Covenant symbol that binds the Arbiter to her.
Soren watches Kessler and the other child Spartans enter Thermopylae. Laera shouts for her son just as the attackers arrive. Soren takes them out while his son watches the brutality. Kessler steps away from his father and to his mom. Another wave of attackers arrives and takes them while Soren fights.
Perez looks at herself in the mirror when John arrives behind her in his suit. They both are surprised they're alive. She think he's coming with them, but he has a different mission. It would mean a lot to her and the other Spartans to have him fighting alongside them. They discuss what makes him different from all the others. She doesn't think he knew what the coin was when it was flipped - she thinks he made it come up heads or tails. He stops her before she leaves. She says she'll be alright, one way or the other.
Miranda and Halsey determine the artifact is the creatures work. Miranda spent five months down in the tomb working through the problems. She wants to meet the people who built that city just as much as Halsey does. She promises to get there even if Halsey never does. The P.A. system alerts to an unauthorized visitor. Miranda opens the artifact, but her mom is already gone.
John walks through the ONI as employees stop to stare at him as he walks past.
Parangosky and Ackerson discuss his analysis of the spike code and unauthorized simulations. He doesn't want to betray the Spartan-III's. An aircraft prepares to launch and the pilot identifies himself as Master Chief John-117. Ackerson thinks everyone will listen to John when the story of Reach gets told.
Master Chief takes flight while Kai armors up the Spartan-III's. She tells Perez to get John out of her head because he's not coming.
Master Chief picks up a coin from the dashboard then exits slip space.
Makee readies herself as the Fleet surrounds her.
Kai orders the first squad to the beam.
Master Chief finds the Halo.
== Cast ==
=== Starring ===
*Pablo Schreiber as John-117
*Natascha McElhone as Catherine Halsey
*Joseph Morgan as James Ackerson
*Shabana Azmi as Margaret Parangosky
*Christina Bennington as Cortana
*Natasha Culzac as Riz-028 (Credit only)
*Olive Gray as Dr. Miranda Keyes
*Yerin Ha as Kwan Ha
*Bentley Kalu as Vannak-134 (Credit only)
*Kate Kennedy as Kai-125
*Charlie Murphy as Makee
*Fiona O'Shaughnessy as Laera
*Cristina Rodlo as Talia Perez
*Danny Sapani as Admiral Jacob Keyes (Credit only)
*Jen Taylor as Cortana (voice)
*Viktor Åkerblom as The Arbiter
*Tylan Bailey as Kessler
*Bokeem Woodbine as Soren-066
=== Also Starring ===
* Jamie Beamish as Uto 'Mdama
=== Additional Cast ===
* Anna Koval as Captain Briggs
* Andrew Senesie as Commander Bookman
* Dani Klupsch as Lt. Mullins
* Tom Gaskin as Tech Jones
* Ailsa Davidson as Tech Smith
==Locations==
* Zeta Doradus System
** Onyx
*** Camp Currahee
* The Arbiter's Covenant Command Vessel
==Trivia==
* The term Thermopylae is also a video game achievement Thermopylae in Halo: The Master Chief Collection. This achievement is obtained when a player wins 300 multiplayer games.
==Gallery==
Halo 207 Ackerson Kai Master Chief-Still.JPG
Halo 207 Keyes-Still.JPG
Halo_207_Ackerson_Still.jpg
Halo_207_Perez-John_Still.jpg
Halo_207_Kai_Still.jpg
Halo_207_Kai-John_Still.jpg
Halo_207_Ackerson-John_Still.jpg
==References==
Category:Halo TV show
Category:Episodes (TV show)
Category:Halo TV show (Season 2)