Halo Season 2 Episode 8 Release Time and Recap

This Halo article contains spoilers

While Halo season 1 ran for nine episodes in 2022, the second season is sticking to a neat eight episodes, meaning that this week’s installment will close out a much improved season of the show. Finally, this video game adaptation seems to be inching closer to the events of the games, with Master Chief (and the Covenant) closer than ever to reaching the mythical Halo ring. In fact, the season 2 finale may actually see John-117 actually step foot on the ringworld, kicking off the next phase of storytelling for the series. But first, there’s a battle to be fought and a few other Forerunner mysteries to solve.

Here’s everything else you need to know ahead of Halo season 2 episode 8…

When Does Halo Season 2 Episode 8 Come Out?

Halo hits Paramount+ in the US on Thursday, March 21 at 3 am ET/12 am PT and at 8 am GMT in the UK.

Halo Season 2 Recap

The last time we saw Master Chief in the episode “Thermopylae,” he was on the Halo ring’s doorstep. After all the puzzle solving, backtracking, fighting, betrayals, and the fall of Reach, John and Cortana are mere miles away from the ringworld that could turn the tide against the Covenant. Unfortunately, to get to the ring, John and the rest of the UNSC will have to first get through a Covenant fleet hellbent on taking the ring before humanity does.

The good news is, unlike the original Halo game, Master Chief isn’t the only Spartan on the battlefield this time. Admiral Parangosky and Colonel James Ackerson’s secret scheming has all led to the creation of a new generation of Spartan super soldiers, the Spartan-IIIs, who are leading the charge against the Covenant armada. The bad news is that Parangosky is essentially treating them as disposable units to blow a hole through the enemy so that the UNSC can get to the ring first. That means Spartan-II Kai and new Spartan-III recruit Talia Perez are essentially being ordered on a suicide mission: plant an explosive spike on a Covenant fusion drive, which will cause a chain reaction that destroys the rest of the fleet. If they make it to a Covenant ship at all during the charge, they almost certainly won’t make it back…

Of course, that’s not the only battle being fought in the galaxy. Infighting has broken out within the Covenant, with the Arbiter and Makee working to get to the ring at all costs, even if it means defying the Prophets. And at the secret ONI base on Onyx, Soren must also save his family from a UNSC shadow operation before it’s too late. How this storyline ties into Master Chief’s journey to the Halo remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, Halsey, Miranda, and Kwan are one step closer to unlocking some kind of Forerunner secret after discovering an ancient city in the depths of Onyx. Before the trio can really investigate its mysteries, they’re forced to flee the crumbling ruins. Fortunately, Miranda is able to recover a device from the remains of a Forerunner scientist. What it contains is anyone’s guess, but you can bet it’ll be something important. Perhaps it’s the key to understanding the nature of the ring itself?

We’ll find out soon enough!