History Recap / Halo2022S1E8Allegiance

* GodzillaThreshold: John convinces Parangonsky and Jabob to allow Makee to use the Keystone, through which they may be able to locate the Covenant homeworld. The alternative is continuing to try and fight the Covenant conventionally with no means of retaliation, as they were just reminded the Covenant will glass planets in this conflict and they're bound to find Reach eventually.

** Makee is on the edge of turning against the Covenant, but the reveal that she was behind the attack on the ''Gladius'' causes Parangonsky to immediately distrust her. This is followed by a guard shocking her the same way she was shocked as a child, firmly turning her against humanity.
** Halsey's attempted rebellion involves cutting comms to the facility so no one will realize what's happening until she's off-planet. Crucially, this break in communication allows Makee to be brought to the Keystone before Miranda, having figured out she was behind the attack on the ''Gladius'', can inform Jacob and Parangonsky of what she's learned.

* AliensAreBastards: Just to remind us that the Covenant also can KickTheDog, we have to glassing of an entire colony of millions. Keyes can't even send a rescue mission for fear of leading the Covenant to other worlds they can destroy.

* BashBrothers: Taking a lesson from the previous episode that Chief [[StopHelpingMe doesn't need step-by-step combat instructions]], Cortana instead feeds him more useful options like a weakened servo in Vannak's armor, and even [[CarFu remote controls a Warthog]] to give him some breathing room.

* CrazyPrepared: While the Zed Protocol sounds like--and was probably framed to the [=SPARTANs=] as--a contingency plan for a MilitaryCoup, it's likely not a coincidence that it also gives Dr. Halsey a means of directly controlling her creations independent of the chain-of-command.

John and Makee go to a park on Reach, letting her see the world outside. She quotes a line from ''The Dawn of Angels'', the book she and Det used to read when they were children, and John, sourcing the quote, is able to hunt down a copy of it from Reach's library. This leads, [[StrangledByTheRedString somewhat suddenly]], to the two of them having sex. While neither character's motivation is particularly explored, Makee takes the opportunity the next morning to remove her fingernail sword, suggesting a HighHeelFaceTurn. John then convinces Adm. Parangosky and Capt. Keyes to let Makee use the (First) Keystone to track down the second. When Keyes reminds him that it might be a lot to expect her to break free of a lifetime of indoctrination at the snap of a finger, John reminds them, "I did."

* CuttingTheKnot: Vannak and Riz leave Kai handcuffed to a sink in their barracks, the cuffs strong enough to withstand even the extreme strength of a Spartan. Unable to break the cuffs directly, Kai instead kicks the stone her arms are cuffed around until it breaks, allowing her to just pull her hands over the stump.

* IWarnedYou: Adun warned Hasley that Cortana would turn against them.

John and Makee go to a park on Reach, letting her see the world outside. She quotes a line from ''The Dawn of Angels'', the book she and Det used to read when they were children, and John, sourcing the quote, is able to hunt down a copy of it from Reach's library. This leads, [[StrangledByTheRedString somewhat suddenly]], to the two of them having sex. While neither character's motivation is particularly explored, Makee takes the opportunity the next morning to remove her fingernail sword, suggesting a HighHeelFaceTurn. John then convinces Adm. Parangosky and Capt. Keyes to let Makee use the (First) Keystone to track down the second.

* AmbiguousSituation: Beyond the obvious of hormones, there's very little exploration of what drives John and Makee to copulate.[[note]]One of the first questions -- how a human ''raised by aliens'' could have learned about sexual intercourse, which the aliens of the Covenant might not do and which they might do quite differently if they do it -- is never answered. Additionally, is Makee a FemmeFatale, InLoveWithTheMark, or rediscovering some of her humanity? John's motivation is at least more clear: while he presumably learned about the birds and the bees, [=SPARTANs=] in the Prime Timeline have explicitly had their sex drives stifled, and the Silver Timeline has made a big deal of the EmotionSuppression pellet. And, as someone with the emotional maturity of a 14-year-old, it's not out-of-character for him to fall for a Femme Fatale act. Finally, there's also passing dialog about the two having their vitals still in sync, so it could also be a residual effect of the Keystone linking them.[[/note]]

* IWarnedYou: Hasley's assistant warned her that Cortana would turn against them.

* AmbiguousSituation: Beyond the obvious of hormones, there's very little exploration of what drives John and Makee to copulate.[[note]]One of the first questions -- how a human ''raised by aliens'' could have learned about sexual intercourse, which the aliens of the Covenant might not do and which they might do quite differently if they do -- is never answered. Additionally, is Makee a FemmeFatale or just getting carried away in the moment? John's motivation is at least more clear: while he presumably learned about the birds and the bees, the EmotionSuppression pellet almost certainly stifled his sex drive, a thing that was quite specifically done to the [=SPARTANs=] in the Prime Timeline. And, as someone with the emotional maturity of a 14-year-old, it's not out-of-character for him to fall for a Femme Fatale act. There's also passing dialog about the two having their vitals still in sync, so it could also be a residual effect of the Keystone linking them.[[/note]]

* HopeSpot: Thanks to John, Makee gradually sheds her misanthropic worldview and even removes her fingernail blade, abandoning the Covenant and her mission. Then she gets outed as the one behind the attack on the ''Gladius'', which leads to an MP shocking her in the exact same way she was shocked as a child, causing all her hatred for humanity to come surging back…

* GambitPileup: Parangosky decides to accelerate Halsey's departure for a remote lab off-planet because they don't want her anywhere near the artifact when they test it with Makee. Halsey, knowing this is her only chance to achieve her goals, activates the Zed Protocol, ordering the Spartans to retrieve John, Makee and the Keystone to bring to Halsey and make an escape. Cortana finds herself questioning this decision, and decides to abandon Halsey to warn John. As this happens, Miranda realizes Makee was involved with the attack on the ''Gladius'' and reports this to Parangosky, just as Makee has been brought to the Keystone. So at the same time there is a Spartan vs Spartan fight, Makee is being tased by an MP, which convinces her to lunge for the Keystone to fulfill her original goals.

* BecomingTheMask: Makee was looking for a WoundedGazelleGambit to infiltrate the UNSC and gain access to the Keystone, much like she did on the Gladius. But the ethereal experience seeing Halo with John, their growing emotional connection and seeing some of the culture of humanity again has her start questioning her original goal. She ends up removing her hidden energy finger blade after having opportunity to kill John, seeming with the intent on changing sides and helping humanity find Halo. But Miranda identifying her as being part of the Gladius attack destroys the limited trust that was being built up, and a MP tasing her only brings back memories of her childhood abuse, and [[HeelFaceDoorSlam she goes through with the original Covenant plan]].

* GambitPileup: Parangosky decides to accelerate Halsey's departure for a remote lab off-planet because they don't want her anywhere near the artifact when they test it with Makee. This only encourages Halsey to activate Zed Protocol as a contingency plan, causing chaos as comm lines at the facility are disabled while the Spartans are to retrieve John, Makee and the artifact to bring to Halsey and make an escape. Cortana finds herself questioning this decision, and decides to abandon Halsey to warn John. As this happens, Miranda realizes Makee was involved with the attack on the Gladius and reports this to Parangosky. So at the same time there is a Spartan vs Spartan fight, with Makee being tased by an MP, which convinces her to lunge for the artifact to fulfill her original goals.

* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: Vannak, Riz and Kai are tuned in to a backdoor protocol Halsey put into their conditioning, and their goal is to incapacitate Master Chief. Kai is immediately cued in that something is not right, and ends up incapacitated by the other two. When they fight Chief is trying to get them to stand down, and there is hints that Riz is hesitating when she has a gun to his head, but the fight is interrupted before anything affirmative happens.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Makee is on the edge of turning against the Covenant, but the reveal that she was behind the attack on the ''Gladius'' causes Parangonsky to immediately distrust her. This is followed by a guard shocking her the same way she was shocked as a child, firmly turning her against humanity.

* BashBrothers: Taking a lesson from the previous episode that Chief [[StopHelpingMe doesn't need step-by-step combat instructions]], Cortana instead feeds him more useful options like a weakened servo in Vannak's armor, and even [[CarFu remote controls a warthog]] to give him some breathing room.

* GodzillaThreshold: John convinces Parangonsky and Jabob to allow Makee to use the Keystone, through which they may be able to locate the Covenant homeworld. The alternative is continuing to try and fight the Covenant conventionally with no means of retaliation, as they were just reminded the Covenant will glass planets in this conflict.

* InternalReveal: Miranda cleans up the signal from the ''Gladius'' enough to realize Makee was behind the attack.

* ManchurianAgent: Halsey activates a secret Spartan signal she calls the Zed Protocol, where all upper UNSC leadership is declared compromised and the Spartans report to Halsey personally for everything. Riz and Vannak comply with no questions, but Kai is quick to realize something is not right. Riz and Vannak had previously indicated UndyingLoyalty to Chief, but under the Zed Protocol even that is disregarded and they target Chief without hesitation.

* NotSoDifferentRemark: Halsey taps into the com system to talk to Makee remotely, trying to convince her to go along with a new plan to retrieve the artifact and John and get off Reach. When Makee questions Halsey's motivations, she goes on a monologue about the limitations of humanity, describing the need to find and control Halo. But Halsey's line "And then we will..." is finished by Makee with "become gods?" The look on her face clearly indicates that the Covenant religion and Halsey's science is not that far apart.

* SuperStrength: Kai is shown engaging with regular marines as they bet how much she can lift on a pulley system. Even without her armor she was lifting a warthog off the ground with people inside. Later on during his fight with Vannak and Riz, Chief improvises weapons and shields using heavy weight lifting equipment as though they were easy to pick up.

A live feed arrives detailing the colony Criterion, which the Covenant have just glassed[[note]]Covenant starships are equipped with {{Plasma Cannon}}s; when used against the surface of a planet, they superheat the crust, eventually transforming it into glass[[/note]], and eliminating all 11 million residents. This turns up the urgency on Reach, knowing the Covenant are mobilizing and they can't be held off forever. John knows that they need to find the Second Keystone and use it to find Halo, but he isn't experienced enough with the process to do it alone and needs Makee's experience. Keyes is skeptical, knowing Makee is indoctrinated by the Covenant, but John feels a kinship with her and that he can get through the conditioning.

Halsey finally enacts her plan: using back channels, she initiates "Zed Protocol," and under its auspices orders Vannak, Riz and Kai to (armor up and) bring her the Keystone and Makee. John, she claims, is compromised and not to be trusted; she bribes Cortana by promising her full control of the Master Chief as intended, and, when Kai protests, has her two loyal [=SPARTANs=] knock Kai out and handcuff her to a wall. But Cortana is the WildCard in the equation: she warns John of the trap he and Makee are heading into. John retreats to a SPARTAN training bay while Makee seeks refuge with Keyes, Parangosky and the Keystone. John, unarmored, doesn't fare too well two-on-one, and even the interruption of Kai, freed and furious, is only enough to bring the fight to a stalemate. Makee, meanwhile, finds her cover blown when Miranda dashes in: she's succeeded at unscrambling that Covenant transmission from the USS ''Gladius''. A guard shoves Makee to the floor and applies a shock baton, leading to {{flashback}}s of her poor treatment as a child and a reminder of Halsey's words.

* AmbiguousSituation: Beyond the obvious of hormones, there's very little exploration of what drives John and Makee to copulate.[[note]]One of the first questions -- how a human ''raised by aliens'' could have learned about sexual intercourse, which the aliens of the Covenant might not do and which they might do quite differently if they do -- is never answered. Additionally, is Makee a FemmeFatale or just getting carried away in the moment? John's motivation is at least more clear: while he presumably learned about the birds and the bees, the EmotionSuppression pellet almost certainly stifled his sex drive, a thing that was quite specifically done to the [=SPARTANs=] in the Prime Timeline. And, as someone with the emotional maturity of a 14-year-old, it's not out-of-character for him to fall for a Femme Fatale act.[[/note]]

* WorfHadTheFlu: Master Chief had to fight Vannak and Riz at the same time, which might have been slightly more in his favor if they weren't in full armor and him in just his undersuit.

* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: Vannak, Riz and Kai are tuned in to a backdoor protocol Halsey put into their conditioning, and their goal is to incapacitate Master Chief. Kai is immediately cued in that something is not right, and ends up incapacitated by the other two. When they fight Chief he is trying to get them to stand down

* SuperStrength: Kai is shown engaging with regular marines as they bet how much she can lift on a pulley system. Even without her armor she was lifting a warthog off the ground with people inside.

A live feed from the former colony of Criterion, which the Covenant have glassed[[note]]Covenant starships are equipped with {{Plasma Cannon}}s; when used against the surface of a planet, they superheat the crust, eventually transforming it into glass[[/note]], turns up the urgency on Reach. John and Makee need to get back the Second Keystone and use it to find Halo.

John's method is to bond with Makee. He takes her out to a park on Reach, letting her see the world outside. She quotes a line from ''The Dawn of Angels'', the book she and Det used to read when they were children, and John, sourcing the quote, is able to hunt down a copy of it from Reach's library. This leads, [[StrangledByTheRedString somewhat suddenly]], to the two of them having sex. While neither character's motivation is particularly explored, Makee takes the opportunity the next morning to remove her fingernail sword, suggesting a HighHeelFaceTurn. John then convinces Adm. Parangosky and Capt. Keyes to let Makee use the (First) Keystone to track down the second.

* AmbiguousSituation: beyond the obvious of hormones, there's very little exploration of what drives John and Makee to copulate.[[note]]One of the first questions -- how a human ''raised by aliens'' could have learned about sexual intercourse, which the aliens of the Covenant might not do and which they might do quite differently if they do -- is never answered. Additionally, is Makee a FemmeFatale or just getting carried away in the moment? John's motivation is at least more clear: while he presumably learned about the birds and the bees, the EmotionSuppression pellet almost certainly stifled his sex drive, a thing that was quite specifically done to the [=SPARTANs=] in the Prime Timeline. And, as someone with the emotional maturity of a 14-year-old, it's not out-of-character for him to fall for a Femme Fatale act.[[/note]]

* GodzillaThreshold: John convinces Parangonsky and Jabob to allow Makee to use the Keystone, through which they may be able to locate the Covenant homeworld. The alternative is continuing to allow the Covenant to glass their colonies with no means of retaliation.

* SceneryGorn: The aftermath of a Covenant OrbitalBombardment is shown. Sustained plasma fire has reduced what was a city to a lava-filled hellscape.

John risks trusting Makee to find the Covenant homeworld, while Halsey makes her own plans before she is cut out completely.

* BigDamnHeroes: Just when Vannak and RIz have John dead to rights, Kai bursts in to rescue him.