The Scientist & Her Device In Halo Season 2, Episode 7 Explained

Spoilers are ahead for Halo season 2, episode 7.

After solving a series of cryptic tests, Dr. Catherine Halsey (Natascha McElhone), Commander Miranda Keyes (Olive Gray), and the ever-wary Kwan Ha (Yerin Ha) discover the body of an alien scientist in Halo season 2, episode 7, “Thermopylae.” Split up from Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber), James Ackerson (Joseph Morgan), and the rest of the UNSC and ONI forces, the unlikely trio use their smarts and Kwan Ha’s foreboding visions to solve the Forerunner puzzles and unlock a door that stumped Halsey for years. What’s on the other side of the portal only serves to reiterate Onyx’s secret Forerunner connection.

While Dr. Halsey believes the Forerunner site to be a library, the Spartan-II program creator also reveals that the facility houses essential genetic material. Previously, Dr. Halsey uncovered DNA — both “theirs and ours” — in the installation. The discovery prompted her to scour the galaxy for human subjects with a particular genetic disposition. As Kwan bitingly puts it, Dr. Halsey used her knowledge to abduct the children she’d later turn into Spartans. For Halsey, the Forerunner site holds the keys to the next stages of human evolution, but, for the Forerunners, the site had a much simpler purpose.

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The Scientist In Halo Season 2, Episode 7 Is Probably A Forerunner

Recalling the cave drawings that depicted The Flood and Gravemind, Kwan solves the Forerunner clock puzzle by placing the stars in the positions they formerly occupied. Doing so unlocks the doorway Miranda had been studying so intently, but the commander is hesitant to enter. Halsey, on the other hand, cannot wait to see what lies beyond the door. Having been inspired by her discoveries on Onyx before, Halsey leads the way. Inside, the trio cross a glowing bridge and wind up in a place Kwan describes as a “tomb.” Miranda corrects Kwan, noting that the chamber is actually a lab.

While much of the laboratory is empty, one aspect draws Dr. Halsey and Miranda’s attention: the body of a scientist. The show doesn’t clarify who or what the scientist is, likely because there are more twists in the works. However, Halsey observes that the crumpled form, which is huddled in the fetal position and clutching a Forerunner device, looks “almost human.” It’s perhaps most likely that the scientist is a Forerunner, though she could be some kind of Forerunner-human hybrid, especially given the various strands of DNA Halsey found just outside the lab. Regardless, the Forerunner’s device is crucial.

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Halo Season 2 Suggests The Scientist’s Device Contains Flood DNA

Dr. Halsey’s reveal that the site is actually a Forerunner library teases Halo season 3’s Flood plotline. Both libraries and labs are key sites on Forerunner worlds — both on Halos and Shield Worlds. Before some kind of defensive protocol forces the trio to flee the laboratory, Miranda manages to grab the device from the scientist’s hands. Given that the being died clutching the device, Halsey deduces that it’s linked to the late Forerunner’s research. Having seen glimpses of the looming threat that is The Flood, Kwan wants nothing to do with the device or the Forerunner site at large.

As the trio scramble out of the lab and run across the glowing bridge, Dr. Halsey realizes that there’s an entire city within the inner-chamber that links the lab to the room with the door. Viewers familiar with the franchise’s core canon will instantly recognize the twist: Onyx is a Forerunner Shield World. While the Halo array is an anti-Flood superweapon, Shield Worlds are defensive fortresses. That said, since the device, which Miranda Keyes manages to open, was found in the laboratory of a library on a Forerunner Shield World, it might very well contain The Flood’s DNA.

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What The Discovery Of The Forerunner Lab Means For Dr. Halsey & Miranda Keyes’ Stories

Between The Mother’s (Olwen Fouéré) warnings, Kwan Ha’s ominous visions, and Halo season 2’s introduction of the notorious Forerunner Shield World of Onyx, the series is primed to introduce The Flood. As Makee (Charlie Murphy), The Arbiter (Viktor Åkerblom), and Master Chief near the Halo installation, it’s clear that Halo season 3 will adapt key elements from Halo: Combat Evolved‘s story, so introducing the parasitic villain seems like a must. That said, it’s possible that the Forerunner device will lead Miranda and Halsey to unknowingly release The Flood into the universe, thus tying together all of Halo‘s loose threads.