History Recap / Halo2022S1E4Homecoming

* CoolGuns: Soren has a gold-plated Chiappa Rhino revolver.

->"Kai, your act of rebellion[[note]]Referring to Kai's hair[[/note]] could just be a glitch... But if I know Dr. Halsey, she doesn't tolerate glitches."

* IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten: Miranda is uncomfortable to hear that her mother did a variation on the puppy-killing test. During a survival exercise each trainee was given a pet animal--Kai had a puppy, Riz had a cat, while Vannak had a pig--and were formed into teams to compete against each other. The losing side had to kill their own pets to [[AnAesop learn that every failure had consequences]]. Vannak never lost, but Halsey killed his pet pig anyway as she only wanted the [=SPARTANs=] to bond with each other.

* SpacePirates: Soren's gang are no longer ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything as we see them raiding a UNSC vessel for the slip drives its carrying.

* DontCreateAMartyr: Haven successfully intimidated everyone into compliance, Vinsher is reluctant to stir up further trouble and sends his master assassin to take care of Kwan. However when she fails his men quickly move in as backup.

* CulturedBadass: Kai passionately defends her brethren by pointing out how Riz is a {{Polyglot}}, Vannak's research into the Covenant {{Laser Blade}}s led to improvements in UNSC armor vests, and her own expertise in battlefield tactics.

* BrokenPedestal: Kwan is told by her aunt Soojin that her father Jin was radicalized by mystics living in the desert, who convinced him that there was a higher purpose to keeping Madrigal out of UNSC control. He subsequently blew all their money on the rebellion.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Ultimately, Kai is a bit embarrassed about the streaks in her hair, and Miranda agrees that they don't quite play as intended -- in the sympathetic way of sisters sharing BrutalHonesty with each other.

* KickTheDog: As part of their training, the [=SPARTANs=] were given pets that they were forced to kill if they failed a wilderness test. Kai and Riz failed after nine and three times, respectively, while Vannak never did. Halsey killed his pet pig anyway, since she wanted the [=SPARTANs=] to bond to each other.

* ADayInTheLimelight: The members of Silver team get a little more focus in this episode, Kai especially. This also spills over to Miranda, as she and Kai discuss how they are spiritually siblings since Halsey is a parental figure for both in different ways.

* PuttingOnTheReich: Vinsher's men all have black uniforms, and his has red stripes just to complete the look.
* ReclaimedByNature: A couple decades have allowed nature to largely grow over the abandoned settlement on Eridanus II, though the structures remain intact.

Soren and Kwan land on Madrigal, where Kwan quickly discovers there's a massive price on her head. However, at the memorial service for her father, she is able to make contact with some of his supporters. Her plan to take the rebellion back to Vinsher, however, is stalled when she learns that the people of Madrigal are perfectly satisfied under the UNSC rule -- or, more accurately, UNSC protection from the Covenant -- he has solidified. Nonetheless, Kwan perseveres in contacting her aunt Soojin -- who, besides being her only living relative, controls the family money, so Soren isn't getting paid unless he gets her there; also, they've impounded and scrapped his ship. Unfortunately, Kwan doesn't find the help she's looking for: the money is gone, and apparently her father was motivated solely by the words of stoner mystics living in the desert, who told him that leading a rebellion would bring the Ha family to its true destiny. Meanwhile, Vinsher contacts a woman named Franco, hiring her to do away with Kwan. Franco attacks the Ha family hideout, slaying all there, and is only fended off when Soren pops in with his revolver. The two refugees begin to flee across the desert on a motorcycle, Soren hoping to find alternative transport offworld and back to the Rubble

* ActingUnnatural: Miranda doesn't miss that Kai is behaving much more emotionally than the other Spartans, and warns her that Halsey doesn't like such abberant behavior.
* ADayInTheLimelight: The members of Silver team get a little more focus in this episode, Kai especially. This also spills over to Miranda, as she and Kai discuss how they are spiritually siblings since Halsey is a parental figure for both in different ways.

* BrokenPedestal: Kwan is told by her aunt Soojin that her father Jin was radicalized by mystics living in the desert, who convinced him that there was a higher purpose to keeping Madrigal out of UNSC control.

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Soren, against his better judgement and only on the promise of payment, brings Kwan to Madgrial so she can link up with the resistance and he can get paid. The resistance turns out to be non-existent, her family is broke from funding the first resistance, and Vinsher's men strip his ship for parts to rub salt in the wound. He's forced to steal a bike so he can drive to the nearest starport, complaining that he should never have left the Rubble.

Soren and Kwan land on Madrigal, where Kwan quickly discovers there's a massive price on her head. However, at the memorial service for her father, she is able to make contact with some of his supporters. Her plan to take the rebellion back to Vinsher, however, is stalled when she learns that the people of Madrigal are perfectly satisfied under the UNSC rule -- or, more accurately, UNSC protection from the Covenant -- he has solidified. Nonetheless, Kwan perseveres in contacting her aunt Soojin -- who, besides being her only living relative, controls the family money, so Soren isn't getting paid unless he gets her there; also, they've impounded and scrapped his ship. Unfortunately, Kwan doesn't find the help she's looking for: the money is gone, and apparently her father was motivated solely by the words of stoner mystics living in the desert, who told him that leading a rebellion would bring the Ha family to its true destiny. Meanwhile, Vinsher contacts a woman named Franco, hiring her to do away with Kwan. Franco attacks the Ha family hideout, slaying all there, and is only fended off when Soren pops in with his revolver. The two refugees begin to flee across the desert on a motorcycle, heading either for an offworld escape or for the stoner mystics (the show offers both possibilities).

Back at Reach, Kai follows John's lead in pulling out the EmotionSuppression pellet. She puts some streaks of pinkish-red in her hair using grease from her SniperRifle -- one of the first signs of individuality from any [=SPARTAN=]. Meanwhile, Dr. Miranda Keyes is still investigating the original Keystone. She requisitions Silver Team and attempts to activate the Keystone with them. None of them are able to... but it gives Kai a chance to defend the [=SPARTANs=] to Keyes, who isn't precisely a fan. Keyes changes her tune when the three start bantering about a Covenant Needler and mention "Qkhep'os," the Covenant word they shout when it's turned on them ("Though it could just mean, [[BloodyHilarious 'Shit, please don't kill us']]," Kai quips). Keyes immediately starts working with them to refine the UNSC TranslatorMicrobes, berating herself over not thinking of it sooner. She admits that she's always resented the [=SPARTANs=] because [[TheUnfavorite her mother chose them over her]]. She and Kai stay up late into the night working on the lexicon, and Kai helps identify a word the Covenant keep using to describe the Keystone: "The Eye of the Sacred Ring" -- the [[TitleDrop Halo]] which it will lead them to. Miranda asks her to keep this discovery secret between them, and Kai agrees, declaring that, in her estimation, the two of them -- children of Dr. Halsey, each in their own way -- are sisters. But to Miranda, this only heralds greater danger:

* TheEnemyWeaponsAreBetter: The Spartans express this sentiment in Miranda's lab, noting that Covenant has "all the best toys". Special mention is given to the Needler and the Phantom.

* TitleDrop: Kai describes the ring being sought by the Covenant as a "Halo".

-->"Kai, your act of rebellion[[note]]Referring to Kai's hair[[/note]] could just be a glitch... But if I know Dr. Halsey, she doesn't tolerate glitches."

* JurisdictionFriction: though it's never brought up directly in the show, Keyes touches upon it tangentially when mentioning that the translators have never actually bothered to talk to the only people who hear the Covenant speak and live to tell about it. In the Prime Timeline, we see a lot more of it.

In the present, John leads the mission to Eridanus II, quickly locating his parents' house and figuring out where (what he believes to be) the Second Keystone is buried. It turns out that the visions were unspecific: what his father made him bury were the drawings themselves: of the Keystone, of the Second Keystone, and of an ominous ring. Unsatisfied with these (lack of) answers, John returns to the overgrown ruins of his family's house, and has Cortana display a recreation of the space on his helmet's visor. Halsey and Adun are clearly nervous about something, to the point that Halsey reminds him that what he sees might not actually be reality. That doesn't deter John from entering a full-on PensieveFlashback in which he watches his younger self enter an excavation area very similar to the one on Madrigal, and -- apparently -- touch the Keystone for the first time. This flashback is interrupted by a second one in which a young Dr. Halsey visits him and befriends him, letting him show off by flipping a coin and (correctly, due to his SuperSenses -- John ''was'' BornLucky, after all) calling which way it lands every time. John realizes that the story he's believed -- that he was adopted by the [=SPARTAN=] program after he was orphaned -- is not the entire truth. However, all this is pushed aside as he takes Halsey and Adun to the excavation site. There, the Second Keystone is waiting.

Soren and Kwan land on Madrigal, where Kwan quickly discovers there's a massive price on her head. However, at the memorial service for her father, she is able to make contact with some of his supporters. Her plan to take the rebellion back to Vinsher, however, is stalled when she learns that the people of Madrigal are perfectly satisfied under the UNSC rule -- or, more accurately, UNSC protection from the Covenant -- he has established. Nonetheless, Kwan perseveres in contacting her aunt Soojin -- who, besides, controls the family money, so Soren isn't getting paid unless he gets her there; and besides, they've impounded and scrapped his ship. Meanwhile, Vinsher contacts a woman named Franco, hiring her to do away with Kwan. Franco attacks her aunt's, slaying all there, and is only fended off when Soren pops in with his revolver. The two refugees begin to flee across the desert on a motorcycle.

Back at Reach, Kai follows John's lead in pulling out the hormone pellet. She takes the opportunity to put some streaks of pink dye in her hair, one of the first signs of individuality from any [=SPARTAN=]. Meanwhile, Dr. Miranda Keyes is still investigating the original Keystone. Silver Team report to her and she attempts to activate the Keystone with them. None of them are able to... but it gives Kai a chance to defend the [=SPARTANs=] to Keyes, who isn't precisely a fan. However, she changes her tune when the three start bantering about a Covenant Needler and mention the Covenant word they shout when it's turned on them ("Though it could just mean, 'Shit, please don't kill us'," Kai quips). Keyes immediately starts working with them to refine the UNSC TranslatorMicrobes, berating herself over not thinking of it sooner. She admits that she's always resented the [=SPARTANs=] because [[TheUnfavorite her mother chose them over her]]. She and Kai stay up late into the night working on the lexicon, and Kai helps identify a word the Covenant keep using to describe the Keystone: "The Eye of the Sacred Ring" -- the [[TitleDrop Halo]] which it will lead them to. Miranda asks her to keep this discovery secret between them, and Kai agrees, declaring that, in her estimation, the two -- children of Dr. Halsey, each in their own way -- are sisters. But to Miranda, this only heralds greater danger:

* BornLucky: As shown in a flashback, young John won a coin flip game with Halsey ten out of ten.

* CulturedBadass: Kai passionately defends her brethren by pointing out how Riz is a {{Polyglot}}, Vannak's research into the Covenant [[LaserBlade Energy Swords]] led to improvements in UNSC armor vests, and her own expertise in battlefield tactics.
* EurekaMoment: When told the Covenant word for the Needler, "Qkhep'os", Miranda realizes that the Spartans can provide a pronunciation guide. Over the course of a few hours working with Kai, Miranda is able to significantly improve her translation algorithm.

* KickTheDog: As part of their training, the Spartans were given pets that they were forced to kill if they failed a wilderness test. Kai and Riz failed after nine and three times, respectively, while Vannak never did. Halsey killed his pet pig anyway, since she wanted the Spartans to bond to each other.

** When John is trying to trace where the artifact may be he is cued in to a memory he didn't know he had, one where Dr. Halsey met with him in his family home. He believed they first met at an orphanage, but this implies she was scouting him out before then.

* WhamShot: Riz finds Kai in the bathroom, cleaning her knife while naked. Kai is evasive, and once Riz leaves, the camera pans down to reveal Kai has removed her pellet.

* EurekaMoment: When told the Covenant word for the Needler, "Qkhep'os", Miranda realizes that the Spartans can provide a pronounciation guide.

* CulturedBadass: Kai passionately defends her brethren by pointing out how Riz is a {{Polyglot}}, Vannak's research into the Covenant {{Energy Sword}}s led to improvements in UNSC armor vests, and her own expertise in battlefield tactics.

* CulturedBadass: Kai passionately defends her brethren by pointing out how Riz is a {{Polyglot}}, Vannak's research into the Covenant {{Energy Sword}}s led to improvements in UNSC armor vests, and her own expertise in battlefield tactics.