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

Halo Season 2 is set to depict the Fall of Reach in live-action – so we’ve explained this legendary battle below.

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

In the Halo video games and tie-in media, the Fall of Reach was a large-scale battle between the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and the Covenant on (and above) the planet Reach. Combat lasted close to a month and ended in victory for the latter. Following their triumph, the Covenant spent several more weeks bombarding Reach’s surface with plasma blasts, turning it to glass.

Several major Halo characters fought during the Fall of Reach. This includes franchise protagonist John-117/The Master Chief, future Covenant Arbiter Thel ‘Vadamee, AI program Cortana, and UNSC Navy Captain Jacob Keys. As such, the battle’s shadow looms large over several installments in the series.

The Fall of Reach’s ties to the wider Halo canon extend beyond its key players, too. Although it represents the human forces’ failure to save one of their most important colony worlds, they quickly turned this loss to their advantage. Three weeks after the battle, survivors aboard the UNSC Pillar of Autumn found Installation 04 – the Halo ring at the center of the first game in the series, Halo: Combat Evolved.

The Master Chief ultimately destroys Installation 04, setting in motion the Covenant’s eventual downfall in Halo 3.

Related: All Major Actors & Cast List for Halo Season 2

What Other Halo Media Does The Fall of Reach Appear In?

So, what Halo media does the Fall of Reach appear in, aside from its upcoming inclusion in Halo Season 2? Well, there’s aptly named 2001 novel Halo: The Fall of Reach, which was the first source to chronicle the battle. There’s also a 2012 comic book and a 2015 animated series based on this book. 2010 Combat Evolved prequel Halo: Reach presents a video game version of the battle, as well.

Meanwhile, the following Halo franchise entries include either explicit or implicit callbacks to the Fall of Reach:

• Halo: Combat Evolved
• Halo 2
• Halo: The Flood
• Halo: First Strike
• Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
• Halo 3: ODST
• Halo Legends
• Halo: Evolutions – Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
• Halo 4
• Halo: Broken Circle
• Halo: New Blood
• Halo: Fleet Battles
• Halo 5: Guardians
• Halo: Ground Command
• Halo Mythos
• Halo: Fractures
• Halo: Envoy
• Halo: Retribution
• Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual
• Halo: Lone Wolf
• Halo: Outpost Discovery
• Halo: Shadows of Reach
• Halo Infinite
• Halo: Outcasts
• Halo: Battle for the Blood-Moon

And that’s what the Fall of Reach is in Halo Season 2.

Halo Season 2 premieres on Paramount+ on Feb. 8, 2024.