Halo Season 2, Episode 4, ‘Reach’ Recap

Warning: The following recap contains major spoilers for Halo Season 2, Episode 4, “Reach.”

Halo Season 2, Episode 4 picks up where Episode 3, “Visegrad,” left off. We see the Covenant launch their assault on colony world Reach again, only from Vannak-134’s (Bentley Kalu) perspective. The off-duty Spartan is feeding his pet pigeons when he sees multiple explosions rock Reach’s skyline.

At the same time, John-117/The Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber) and Corporal Perez (Cristina Rodlo) sprint through the streets, urging bystanders to take refuge inside. Perez then makes a beeline for her family’s apartment, however, the building blows up. The Chief drags her away, knowing no one could’ve survived.

The Fall of Reach Begins

Meanwhile, in Dr. Halsey’s (Natascha McElhone) cell, she and Soren-066 (Bokeem Woodbine) feel the tremors from the Covenant’s attack. They share a tense exchange, during which Soren reflects on his years spent fantasizing about confronting Halsey. The cell is then hit by another tremor that cuts its power supply, allowing them to escape together.

Back on the streets, the Master Chief urges a distraught Perez to focus on getting to UNSC Fleet Command headquarters. As they make their way through a crowd of unsuspecting civilians, Perez tries to warn them over the Chief’s objections. Suddenly, a squad of cloaked Covenant Elites rampages through the crowd. The Master Chief and Perez take one of them down together, before fleeing the scene.

Halo Season 2, Episode 4 then shifts focus to Halsey and Soren. They’re navigating FLEETCOM’s maze-like corridors, which Halsey once called home. She highlights this fact after Soren attempts to go it alone, and he reluctantly agrees to follow her lead.

Related: Where Does Halo Season 2 Fit in the Franchise’s Timeline?

While that’s going on, the Master Chief and Perez hole up in an antique store. Perez questions the Master Chief about his near-superhuman composure during combat. In response, he recounts a childhood incident that seemingly proved he would make it out of any fight alive, no matter who else died. When Perez bitterly states such self-assurance must be nice, the Chief denies that it is.

The duo’s heart-to-heart is unexpectedly broken up by the store’s owner, who mistakes them for Covenant troops. They ask her to join them, but she refuses, giving an impassioned speech about the cultural significance of her wares. While Perez still wants the store owner to leave, the Master Chief accepts her choice and they leave without her.

Back across town, the Halsey/Soren buddy cop shenanigans continue. Halsey probes Soren about his son, Kessler, however, he rebuffs her. Changing tack, she reflects on Soren’s childhood, describing him as a born warrior. Soren reacts by berating Halsey for her actions as head of the Spartan program, before they stumble upon UNSC soldiers killed by Covenant weapons. Soren tools up and they trek on.

The Master Chief and Keyes Plan Their Last Stand

Things aren’t so quiet at street level, as Reach has become an all-out warzone. While Master Chief and Perez hunker down, the former notices spaceships evacuating personnel from FLEETCOM headquarters. They’re back on their feet again soon, and the Chief links up with Riz-028 (Natasha Culzac). Blind ex-Spartan Louis-036 (Marvin Jones III) and his husband, Danilo (Christian Ochoa Laverina), are on the frontline, as well.

From here, the Master Chief leads Riz, Perez, Louis, Danilo, and a small squad of UNSC troops into the fray. They quickly carve a path toward FLEETCOM, however, Danilo is killed. Heartbroken, Louis sacrifices himself to destroy a Covenant tank. Master Chief, Riz, and Perez make the most of this hard-won tactical advantage, racing in FLEETCOM’s direction unopposed.

“Reach” then jumps to FLEETCOM, where – true to form – it turns out Halsey is following her own agenda. Rather than leading Soren to the nearest exit, the good doctor has actually charted a course for AI program Cortana’s (Jen Taylor) location. Before Halsey can retrieve Cortana, the Covenant’s human mole, Makee (Charlie Murphy), shows up and snatches the AI away.

Related: What Is The Fall of Reach in Halo Season 2, Explained

Elsewhere at FLEETCOM headquarters, the Master Chief and Perez part ways. Before he goes, the Chief gives Perez a coin for luck – a nod to the childhood anecdote he shared earlier in the episode. The Master Chief and Riz then reunite with Vannak, who informs them that FLEETCOM already shipped their Spartan suits of armor off-world.

Vannak also confirms that the UNSC top brass left Reach at the same time, except for Admiral Jacob Keyes (Danny Sapani). The Master Chief then approaches Keyes, who acknowledges that intelligence outfit the ONI covered up the Covenant’s presence on Reach. The Chief also learns from Keyes that the UNSC’s strategy is to allow the Covenant to obliterate Reach unopposed – something Keyes won’t allow.

Their differences now patched up, the Master Chief and Keyes resolve to save as many innocent lives as possible. To do this, they plan on coordinating the UNSC forces still on Reach to create a “choke point” that will counter the Covenant’s numerical advantage.

Silver Team Lose One of Their Own Defending Reach

Meanwhile, Halsey and Soren are back on their feet after barely escaping from Makee’s Covenant Elite enforcer. Halsey is fixated on the potential threat that Cortana falling into enemy hands poses, however, Soren is more focused on unpacking their shared history. Pressed on comments she made earlier, Halsey claims she facilitated Soren’s escape from the Spartan program.

Back at Keyes’ makeshift command post, Perez helps move wounded UNSC troops to ships prepping to evacuate Reach. The Master Chief watches her go, as Keyes steps up to deliver a rousing speech to the marines still standing. He calls the Master Chief up to join him – marking the first time most present have seen the Chief out of his armor.

After Keyes wraps up, the Master Chief convinces him to evacuate alongside the wounded troops, reasoning that humanity will need Keyes’ skills and integrity to win the war. The Chief, Riz, and Vannak then take up their positions on the bridge outside FLEETCOM. They’re soon swarmed by Covenant infantry.

Related: Halo Season 2 Delivers a Stronger Second Campaign (Review)

This is intercut with Halsey and Soren’s subplot, with the twosome entering Keyes’ command post and encountering the man himself. Keyes escorts them to the hangar where the evacuation is about to commence. When they arrive, Soren senses something is wrong, but not in time to stop a wave of Covenant Jackals from storming the hangar.

The hangar is quickly overrun, however, one evacuation ship is ready to go. There’s just one problem: the ship’s fuel lines are still hooked up to the building. Keyes rushes out to detach them and finds himself surrounded by Jackals. The admiral succeeds all the same, then orders Perez to fire up the engines.

The ship’s engines torch both the Jackals and Keyes, and it flies away. Halsey weeps for Keyes (as well as Reach itself), before more Covenant forces flood the hangar. By this point, the Master Chief is on hand, and he duels with the Covenant’s Elite leader. He loses, however, Makee orders his life spared.

Vannak isn’t so lucky, though. He’s killed rescuing the Chief, who can only watch on helplessly as it happens.

And that’s our recap of Halo Season 2, Episode 4. Check out additional episode recaps here.

Halo Season 2 is currently streaming on Paramount+, with new episodes dropping Thursdays.