As John and Makee become closer, Halsey is faced with one last desperate chance to save everything she has fought for.

Having shown us what Soren and Kwan were up to last time out, this episode gets us right back in the thick of the intrigue surrounding John, Makee and the artefacts. While it makes some slightly awkward choices in some areas, overall it’s a strong episode, and one that gives the audience some real investment in what’s going on.

The awkward bit first – John and Makee becoming closer is inevitable, given that they clearly share a connection relating to the artefacts which neither they nor anyone else seems able to explain. That’s all well and good, but in all honesty I had seen this as more of a sibling style bond than anything else. Here, it gets weird, with the writers taking another route which just feels odd, not least because Makee felt coded to be much younger than John (at least to me). At any rate, they do what they do and it’s a bit weird, and I imagine that long-term fans of the Halo franchise will be unhappy. So be it.

Fortunately, the plot that oddness serves actually does work. Makee’s intrigue as a character has been whether or not she might turn away from her Covenant masters having established a human connection with John. That plays out well over the course of this episode, with Makee taking certain choices which have you leaning one way, and then a whole bunch of events taking place which not only swing her about but also leave you sympathising with her overall position. A combination of clever writing (that awkwardness aside) and a stunning performance from Charlie Murphie get us there, and it’s fascinating to watch unfold.

But the real heart of the episode rests with Silver Team. Halsey, now desperate to salvage her own plans for the artefact and her Spartans, sets Kai, Vannak and Roz on a mission to take John down and retrieve him and the artefact for her to take off with. Problem is, Kai isn’t her meat puppet anymore, and that means the odds maybe get evened a little in John’s favour, though it still leaves him facing off against two Spartans. How this plays out is frankly some of the best parts of the show to date. Kate Kennedy’s sterling work as Kai has absolutely matched Pablo Schreiber as John, and watching the two of them fighting against their erstwhile comrades while begging them to see the truth has real impact. These four are a family, a weird, slightly screwed up family to be sure but a family nonetheless, and whereas there’s big guns, explosive fights and lots of violence going on here, what we are really watching unfold is the siblings fighting over whether or not mom is a lunatic.

There’s also, finally, the big choice for Cortana – will she follow through with what her creator has planned for her, or will she make her own choice? It’s been fairly obvious how that will eventually play out for some time, but it’s handled well here anyway, and I for one am satisfied.

Running parallel to all this is Miranda’s quest to decode the last transmissions from the USNC corvette attacked by Makee – will she find out in time that their new guest was responsible for that slaughter, and will it make any difference?

As the episode races toward its conclusion, the nice thing is that none of it feels inevitable. There are real human choices being made here, forced by circumstance and the basic nature of people, and it all fits into place beautifully, even while not going where we might want it to. One thing is certain – the stage is set for an epic finale.

Verdict: Big, bold and brash, but beyond all the FX and explosions, this is really about family and human connection. 9/10

Greg D. Smith