TheHaloseries didn’t have to be a direct adaptation of the games. Showtime and 343 would never have left the money on the table, but no one forced them to center the Master Chief. The novels find countless fascinating stories with more engaging characters across theHalouniverse. The second season struggles to make John-117 more compelling, but the easier answer would be a deep dive into more narratively captivating territory. Thankfully, the show finally deals with the Forerunners as the second season ends.
TheHaloseries caught some pushback for its treatment of the source material. Fans hatedseeing the Master Chiefremove his helmet. The show invented countless strange alternative details to alter its new timeline, but many lacked inspiration. TheHalouniverse struggles with its inspirations, exploring well-trod ground in its most notable examples. While the Forerunners aren’t especially innovative, they expand the straightforward lore.
What are the Forerunners?
The Forerunners were the galaxy’sdominant species fifteen million years beforetheHaloseries' events. Their biological traits are slightly vague. The Forerunners were humanoid, or at least human-shaped, but lacking several mammalian features. Most of their physiology is subject to change. Their skin comes in several colors. They have between five and seven fingers. They’re taller than humans, with the shortest known examples above six feet and the tallest over twelve. Forerunner society divides its young into careers/social roles called Rates. When an adolescent Forerunner receives their assignment, they don advanced personal armor and undergo physical mutations to suit their job. Their gear also heals most wounds, records all information, facilitates telepathy, and eliminates the need for sleep. Advanced life support technology allowed the Forerunners to live for thousands of years. They put their advanced intellect and long lifespans toward their central cause.
Forerunners upheld and maintained a religious and philosophical edict called the Mantle of Responsibility. Every aspect of their culture, technology, and political beliefs serves the Mantle. Forerunners worship their creators, the Precursors. The Precursors seeded the Milky Way Galaxy with life but disappeared long before the Forerunners spawned. The Forerunners kept their legacy alive by defending life in all its forms. The Mantle became the justification for several terrible decisions as the Forerunners declared themselves evolutionarily superior to most other beings. Their beliefs were largely propaganda,as the Precursors intendedthe Mantle to pass to humanity. The Forerunners fought the Precursors to wrest control of their legacy and deny humans their birthright. They eradicated their creators, leaving only a few alive. The remaining Precursors hid themselves in suspended animation or reduced themselves to molecular dust. That dust should have reconstituted into Precursors, but its structure failed, mutating and corrupting the Precursor remains. Their ill-fated powder became a parasitic plague known as the Flood.
The Flood maintained the memories of the Precursors, devoting themselves to ensuring no species could ever oppose their rule. While the Precursors were inherently benevolent, their new form was unhinged and dangerous.The Flood spread fromdomestic animals to humans and San’Shyuum. The Forerunners suffered Flood infections, prompting humans to destroy infested ships and planets. This ignited long-standing tensions into a prolonged war. The Forerunners won, devolving humanity into a prehistoric state and removing technology. The Flood left humanity alone, letting the species survive and turning its attention to its enemy. The parasitic hive mind robbed memories from its victims and consistently grew. The Forerunners invoked increasingly suicidal tactics to defeat the Flood. Finally, they activated the omnicidal superweaponknown as the Halo Array, leaving behind only a few to enter exile. The Forerunners live on in a faraway galaxy and their considerable surviving structures.
How do the Forerunners affectHaloseasons one and two?
TheHaloseries maintains connections to Forerunners through artifacts and architecture. The Forerunner keystone on Madrigal starts the story by awakeningthe Master Chief’s memories. Though they rarely mention its creator, the device suggests a connection between John and the ancient aliens. The Forerunners become more notable in season two, episode seven, “Thermopylae.” The second season’s penultimate outing sees Catherine Halsey, Kwan Ha, and Miranda Keyes enter a Forerunnerbase while exploring Onyx. Halsey marks the location as a Library. She and Miranda work to understand the mathematical and linguistic puzzles guarding the resources. In the games and novels, Forerunner libraries are archives of genetic material designed to repopulate the galaxy with select organisms after the Halo Array eliminates all living things. Catherine Halsey states that Forerunner research aided her Spartan-II program.
The Forerunners are ancient beings who occupied the galaxy long before recorded human history. Their scientific genius and physical abilities succumbed to elitism and jealousy. When they acted on their spite, they ruined the universe with the justifiable rage of their victims. The Forerunners offer a fascinating lessonto the future generationsof theHalouniverse. As multiple parties race toward the Halo Array, their example may fall upon deaf ears again.
