Halo Season 2: Why Does the Arbiter Brand Himself, Explained

Halo Season 2, Episode 6, “Onyx,” includes a shocking scene in which the Arbiter brands himself – so, why does he do it?

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Why Does the Arbiter Brand Himself in Halo Season 2, Episode 6?

The Arbiter’s reintroduction in Halo Season 2, Episode 6 sees him alone in his chambers, without his signature armor on. After inhaling deeply, the hulking Covenant Elite presses a red-hot utensil to his bare chest, branding himself. There’s no explicit explanation for why he does this in the episode itself, but based on contextual clues and video game canon, it’s easy to work out.

As revealed by the Covenant’s human agent, Makee, in Halo Season 2, Episode 5, the Arbiter is the former Supreme Commander of the Covenant Fleet. We don’t yet know why the Arbiter was demoted, although his fixation on John-117/The Master Chief suggests that a previous defeat at the hands of Halo‘s protagonist is to blame. The Battle of Raas Kkhotskha in Halo Season 1’s finale – during which the Covenant lost both Forerunner keystones – certainly fits the bill.

But regardless of what exactly the Arbiter’s screw-up was, it was bad enough that the Covenant Hierarchs stripped him of his old rank and declared him the new Arbiter – ostensibly a position of great honor, but in reality, quite the reverse. So, branding himself is the Arbiter’s way of expressing his shame, in line with Covenant religious and social traditions. This tracks with the Halo video games’ lore, in which disgraced Elite commanders are sometimes named Arbiter and at least one bears a ritual branding scar.

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Does the Arbiter Brand Himself In the Halo Video Games?

So, does that mean the Arbiter also brands himself in the Halo games? Nope – but he is branded all the same. Or, at least, his video game counterpart is; the Arbiter in the Paramount+ show, Var ‘Gatanai, is a different character from the one who appears in the games. That guy’s name is Thel ‘Vadam (formerly Thel ‘Vadamee), and he’s branded by a Covenant Brute, Tartarus, in a public ceremony depicted early on in 2004’s Halo 2.

That said, the reason for the live-action and video game Arbiters’ brands are seemingly the same: they came off second best against the Master Chief. In Thel ‘Vadam’s case, his failure was especially bad. The Chief destroyed a Halo space ring – sacred to the Covenant – on his watch. If anything, Thel got off lightly with a branding, considering many within Covenant wanted him dead!

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