‘Halo’ Exclusive: Master Chief Explains Why He Saved Kwan In Episode 2 Clip

Are you intrigued by Master Chief’s more emotional side? Well then, Halo has you covered. Decider has your exclusive look at Halo’s second episode, “Unbound”, and the powerful question Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber) has to answer.

Halo‘s first episode was a game changer for this super soldier. After touching a Forerunner artifact, the ever-loyal Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 did something he never does: he defied orders. While back at a United Nations Space Command base, Master Chief was ordered to kill the teenaged Kwan (Yerin Ha) because she refused to help the UNSC. But instead of pulling the trigger, Master Chief removed his mask and offered her his help.

“Unbound” picks up as Master Chief and Kwan are escaping in a UNSC ship. While they’re admiring the beauty of the slipstream, Halo‘s version of lightspeed, Kwan quietly asks, “Why are you doing this? Why don’t you just take me and let them kill me?”

“Would you let a kid be executed?,” John asks in return.

After a beat Kwan says that she wouldn’t let a kid be executed because it would be wrong. “That’s what I was thinking,” John responds.

Not murdering kids may seem like an obvious ethical move, but for Master Chief it’s a big deal. As a Spartan, Officer John has been trained since childhood on how to be the perfect killing machine. As Halo noted in Episode 1, he’s killed women and children before on the UNSC’s orders. But that was before he touched the Forerunner artifact that the Covenant Empire was trying to find. We still don’t know why John had such an intense reaction to this artifact, what’s up with this change of heart, or how it’s going to change him further. But we have a feeling that no matter what happens next, it’s going to offer some clarity for this ever mysterious character.

Based on the award-winning video game franchise of the same name, Halo was developed for television by Kyle Killen and Steven Kane. Rather than strictly following the plot of the games, Halo the series is its own standalone story. In addition to Schreiber and Ha, the series stars Bokeem Woodbine, Jen Taylor, Charlie Murphy, Olive Grey, and Natascha McElhone. Check out the clip above to get excited about Episode 2, which premieres on Paramount+ this Thursday, March 31.

New episodes of Halo premiere on Paramount+ Thursdays. 

Watch Halo on Paramount+