Master Chief has sex in Halo episode 8, but the episode’s still not great

Paramount Plus’ Halo series has finally achieved what the games never could: Letting Master Chief have sex. Halo has included plenty of scenes of John getting in touch with his humanity after his UNSC brainwashing, and the latest episode is the most vulnerable and emotional yet. It seems that he may have sex with someone else, which could lead to more death and destruction.

[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for Halo up to episode 8 of season 1.]

In case you haven’t been keeping track of Halo so far, it’s mostly been about strange Forerunner artifacts and the connection that Master Chief has to them as a “Blessed One.” The series includes a human member of the Covenant named Makee, who is also a Blessed One. Makee is the Covenant’s only visible character in this series. This may be because CGI aliens can be expensive and he was assigned to serve as the double agent for the Covenant among human beings.

Photo: Adrienn Szabo/Paramount Plus

Shortly after she arrives in humanity’s care, however, Makee’s loyalty to the Covenant falters, largely because of the kindness shown to her by Master Chief. The other side of this relationship is Makee, who helps Master Chief to regain his humanity after learning about how he was kidnapped as a child by UNSC and the brainwashing that Dr. Halsey gave him.

At the end of the show’s sixth episode, the pair’s connection is solidified when it’s revealed that their Blessed One status connects them. They share an emotional moment with the Forerunner artifacts and are given a momentary vision of the Halo rings.

This week, in episode 8, with the bond of Halo-visions between them, Makee and John finally hook up — while Cortana watches and makes a somewhat creepy, supposed-to-be-sweet face. Makee even removes her Covenant-installed fingernail sword (yes, really) because she’s so moved by her rediscovered love of humanity. As weird as the whole thing is, it actually fits pretty neatly within the show’s weird off-kilter sentimentality and the odd story it’s telling about Master Chief.

Photo: Adrienn Szabo/Paramount Plus

Unfortunately, Halo immediately returns to its worst tendencies after as everyone in the show starts to make strange out-of-character decisions to jump-start the plot once again. There’s a big Spartan versus Spartan fight, Miranda Keyes makes an extremely rash decision for no reason, and that one guard who keeps calling the Covenant “squid heads” — despite that making no sense at all — shocks Makee with a stun baton, just like in her flashback from earlier this season.

Madee once more attacks humanity as a concept by the end of this episode and may be trying to team up with Dr. Halsey in order to control the universe through Halo.

So Master Chief doesn’t get to enjoy having a girlfriend for very long. Chief and Cortana have become friends, which is a plus.