Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Halo season 2, episode 7, “Thermopylae”
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Summary
Kwan Ha’s connections to the Forerunners and her visions are playing a pivotal role in “Halo” season 2, episode 7.
Dr. Halsey’s discovery links Spartan selection to Forerunner DNA found in an ancient library.
A theory suggests Kwan Ha is also a Blessed One/Reclaimer like John-117 and Makee, explaining her unique abilities and connections to the Forerunners’ knowledge and history.
A new Halo season 2 about Kwan Ha makes all kinds of sense. Played by Yerin Ha, Kwan Ha was from the planet of Madrigal who was saved by Master Chief John-117 (Pablo Schreiber) in Halo season 1. Since then, Kwan Ha has gradually become the center of a mystery regarding the Forerunners. Now,Halo season 2, episode 7 has provided some key clues regarding the Forerunners, the first ring, and Kwan Ha’s ultimate role in the Halo story.
Set in its own “Silver Timeline” apart from the core franchise canon, Halo season 2 has been predominantly focused on its own version of the Fall of Reach along with its aftermath as both humanity and the Covenant race to find and control the first Halo ring built by the ancient Forerunners. Within that overarching narrative, new secrets have been unlocked regarding the Forerunners along with critical teases when it comes to Kwan Ha. Thanks to Halo season 2, episode 7, a theory has emerged about Kwan Ha that does seem rather obvious in hindsight.
Related Halo Cast, Character & Video Game Comparison Guide Paramount+’s Halo TV show cast is led by Pablo Schreiber as the Master Chief – and here’s all viewers need to know about the rest of the cast!
Halo’s Kwan Ha Has Connections To The Forerunners
Visions And Warnings Of The Future
As seen in both Halo season 1 and season 2, it’s clear that Kwan Ha has connections to the Forerunners, and she’s been referred to as a “Protector”. Multiple scenes in Halo season 2 have depicted Kwan Ha experiencing visions from The Mother, a shaman on the world of Sanctuary who seemingly died when the planet was glassed by the Covenant. However, The Mother has repeatedly appeared in Kwan’s visions, leading her to the ancient Forerunner library on the planet Onyx. As a result, Kwan Ha and Doctor Katherine Halsey’s stories finally connect in Halo season 2.
Meeting with Halsey’s daughter Miranda who continued her mother’s work for the UNSC, it’s gradually revealed that this library served as the inception for all of Catherine’s work. This includes the Spartan program itself. Additionally, Kwan’s previous visions and apparent warnings of the future all culminate in Halo season 2, episode 7 as well, especially after it’s revealed that she can interact with Forerunner technology.
How Halsey’s DNA Discovery Connects To The Spartans
Spartans Were Selected Based On Forerunner Findings
In Halo season 2, episode 7, Doctor Halsey reveals that her initial research and investigation into this Forerunner library resulted in her discovering both human and Forerunner DNA. This prompted Halsey to search for human beings with the same rare genetic traits as the DNA left behind by the Forerunners, resulting in her strict selection process for Spartan candidates who were taken as children and forged to become the greatest weapons and defenders of humanity. As such, it’s clear that Halsey believed her Spartans were the key to unlocking more of the Forerunners’ history and their connections to humanity itself.
Halsey basing her Spartan program on the DNA she found from the Forerunners certainly explains why John-117 is a “Blessed One”. In the “Silver Timeline”, a Blessed One is a being who can interact and activate Forerunner technology. The only confirmed Blessed Ones in the Halo show thus far are Master Chief and the Covenant’s human servant Makee (Charlie Murphy), though other Spartans may hold the key to accessing Forerunner tech as well, considering Halsey’s genetic criteria for Spartan-IIs.
Halo Season 2 Theory: Kwan Ha Is One Of The Reclaimers
Does She Share The Same Traits as John-117?
Considering all of Kwan Ha’s visions and her proven ability to interact with Forerunner technology in the library, it’s certainly possible that Kwan Ha shares the same genetic traits as John-117. Not only does this mean that she could have become one of Doctor Halsey’s Spartans, but it seemingly confirms that Kwan Ha is also Blessed One in the Halo show, also known as a “Reclaimer” (a term that has yet to be used in the show but was common in the games).
While not all humans have this gene in the show, it seems as though “Blessed One” is simply the Covenant’s name for “Reclaimer”, with the terms being interchangeable.
In the core Halo canon, the Forerunners reprogrammed human genes with what they called a “geas,” or “genesong,” allowing them to use Forerunner technology. As such, they were referred to as “Reclaimers”. While not all humans have this gene in the show, it seems as though “Blessed One” is simply the Covenant’s name for “Reclaimer”, with the terms being interchangeable. To that end, it does seem as though Kwan Ha is also a Blessed One/Reclaimer just like John-117 and Makee.
Related What Exactly Does The Halo Ring Do? Although the series derives its name from the iconic ring, viewers might be wondering what, exactly, the Halo does ahead of Halo season 2’s finale.
Kwan Ha Being A Blessed One Makes Perfect Sense
Explaining Her Abilities and Fear of the Future
In hindsight, Kwan Ha being a Blessed One would make perfect logical sense given her family’s history as “Protectors”. However, her unique visions do suggest that could be revealed as something more down the line. A possible idea is that she holds the Forerunners’ memories encoded in her genes, explaining her ability to use the Forerunners’ technology on an almost instinctual level as seen in the library when she accessed the Forerunner lab and the entire city that was briefly revealed under the surface of Onyx.
Kwan Ha is a Blessed One just like Master Chief John-117 and Makee, albeit one who perhaps has even greater abilities and connection to the Forerunners’ legacy.
Possessing the Forerunners’ memories as a Reclaimer would explain Kwan Ha’s sense of foreboding about an imminent threat that is most likely The Flood, having received visions of terrible monsters who “take everything” which she teased via cave drawings made when she was still hiding out on The Rubble in earlier episodes of Halo season 2. It stands to reason that Kwan Ha is a Blessed One just like Master Chief John-117 and Makee, albeit one who perhaps has even greater abilities and connection to the Forerunners’ legacy due to the inherent and unexplained knowledge of their technology and history.
Halo
season 2 and the first season are streaming exclusively on Paramount+.
Halo
A live-action adaptation of the video game franchise of the same name, Halo follows Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 (Pablo Schrieber) as he fights his part in a war between humanity’s United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and the Covenant, an alliance of multiple hostile races of aliens intent on destroying the human race. The Master Chief is supported by Cortana (Jen Taylor) – an AI construct based on the personality of Dr. Catherine Halsey, who created the Spartan supersoldier program – implanted in his brain.
Cast Jen Taylor , Bokeem Woodbine , Charlie Murphy , Shabana Azmi , Kate Kennedy , Natascha McElhone , Yerin Ha , Bentley Kalu , Pablo Schreiber , Danny Sapani , Olive Gray , Natasha Culzac
Release Date March 24, 2022
Seasons 2
Writers Kyle Killen , Silka Luisa , Richard Robbins , Steven Kane , Justine Juel Gillmer
Directors Otto Bathurst , Jonathan Liebesman , Roel Reiné , Dennie Gordon , Debs Paterson , Craig Zisk , Jessica Lowrey
Showrunner Kyle Killen
Creator(s) Kyle Killen , Steven Kane