Silver Debrief: Inheritance
Report in, Silver Team. It's time for a debrief!
Kwan Ha’s journey to uncover her family’s “true purpose” takes her deep into the deserts of Madrigal as Governor Vinsher closes in. Meanwhile, Soren is unable to distance himself from unfinished business and the promise he made to an old friend.
RECAP: “INHERITANCE”
The episode begins with a flashback to a family dinner at the Ha household, where Reuben, a newly enlisted recruit, is invited to join them.
Sitting next to Kwan as the adults discuss the UNSC’s presence on Madrigal seemingly being spread thin, she asks Reuben what he intends to do after the war is over. Uncertain in his response, Kwan surmises that he grew up working the heavy water rigs and, when saying he supposes he will return to that, Kwan fires back saying that therefore nothing will really change for him if he survives the war with the UNSC. Told to be quiet by her father, Kwan tells him not to feed his soldiers lies and storms out.
Returning to the present, Kwan speeds through the desert in the jeep that Soren acquired—her right hand still shackled from when he cuffed her to the bike. Driving into a sandstorm, she abruptly comes to a stop as she sees a strange silhouette, and upon exiting the jeep she has a bag thrown over her head.
RAGE
At the Rubble, Soren hosts an extravagant party at his place, regaling his guests with stories of his exploits. The party is interrupted by Squirrel, Soren’s business partner, who calls Soren out and asks what happened to the rebel girl from Madrigal who had a bounty on her head. Telling the guests that Soren didn’t share anything with him, he accuses him of taking off with Kwan to collect the bounty for himself, only for him to return home without the girl, her bounty, or his own ship.
Asking Squirrel if there’s a problem, to which he says that he and his partner, Trokan, had a plan for a big score that had something in it for everybody, but Soren didn’t want to hear it. He tells Soren that people are talking, wondering if he’s lost a step. Stepping up to Squirrel, Soren asks him if he thinks he’s lost a step, prompting Trokan to get Squirrel to leave with her.
Back on Madrigal, Kwan discovers that she was grabbed by the order of alleged mystics who once met her father and demands to know what they said to him that changed his life, saying she intends to finish what he started. Desiderata, their leader, tells Kwan that this didn’t start with her father, others in her family have carried this mantle; Kwan insists that she is all that remains of her family, but Desiderata says that she is not ready. Told that her rage blinds her to the truth, Kwan says that rage is all she has left.
THE WELL
Vinsher is driven through the desert in an armored car on the way back to Madrigal City, quoting Paradise Lost in lamentation of the responsibility he has been given over this planet. He asks the driver if he’s certain that Soren went off-world by himself, to which the driver confirms that the cargo vessel’s captain confirmed it under “vigorous questioning.” Vinsher surmises that this must mean Kwan Ha is on Madrigal alone, and that she will likely seek out the “desert witches” that made her father so dangerous.
On the Rubble, Squirrel makes his way to a gondola, which is also boarded by Soren who says that he hasn’t appreciated him as he should and asks to be told about the big score he wants to pull. Squirrel tells him about a UNSC ship with only one security officer aboard that is hauling military-grade slipspace engine drivers. Soren eagerly accepts.
Gathering in the middle of seven tents, Desiderata tells Kwan about Madrigal’s history. The world was once harsher that it is now, barren and unforgiving, with food and water incredibly scarce for the first pioneers, amongst whom was one of Kwan’s ancestors. When this ancestor left his tribe to search for water, he dug a well in the desert and discovered the fuel that now sustains Madrigal—deuterium. But he also met a being, a visitor from another time, that explained to him his true purpose and responsibility which has been passed down to future generations of the Ha family, to Kwan’s father and now to her.
Desiderata transforms flame into liquid which, when drunk, provides Kwan a vision. Finding herself back on the Condor with the Master Chief, the ramp lowers onto the plains of Madrigal. Guided to a tent, she finds Reth—the former Covenant prisoner she met on the Rubble—as a circle of the mystics closes around her. Reth hands her heavy chains and she is instructed to fight the Master Chief to the death.
RESOLVE
After losing the first round, Reth gives Kwan a knife and tells her to try not to die so quickly this time. Kwan continues to meet her end at the Master Chief’s hands, unable to fell the Spartan with the knife, or a gun, or a rock, venting her rage on him until she is left on the floor, broken, asking him what he wants. The Chief offers Kwan his hand.
Leading Kwan outside, she sees a well engraved with strange symbols. One of her ancestors speaks to a spherical alien construct with a single blue eye, which disappears into the well. The Master Chief leaves Kwan as her ancestor turns to face her and says that she will see the Spartan again, he will return to Madrigal soon and Kwan will show him the way by opening the door for him.
As he walks towards Kwan, his form changes to the men and women of the Ha family who have carried this mantle of responsibility, resolving at last into her father, Jin Ha. Kwan apologizes for the anger she’s had towards him in the past, to which Jin says he should have told her the secret sooner: the well is a portal powered by the deuterium that is so abundant on Madrigal and it cannot be opened until Madrigal is safe. This is the truth that inspired her father’s mission and dream of a free Madrigal.
Kwan doubts her ability to lead, to which Jin says that she is a Protector and it is time for her to take his place, instructing her to use her gifts to meet the enemy on her own terms. His final instruction is for her to go back to where it all began.
Awakening from her vision, Kwan tells Desiderata what she’s learned and leaves to fulfil her new mission.
BOUNTY
Soren and Squirrel launch their plan on the UNSC Bukovac, a logistics freighter in the Demkiw system, quickly overtaking the ship and rounding up its crew. Finding the bounty they were looking for, Squirrel begins hauling the cargo onto transports back to their tug. After all the crates are loaded, Soren then lowers the forklift onto Squirrel’s foot and orders Trokan to assist the others. Soren taunts him for thinking that he could fill his shoes, reminding him to keep in line.
Telling Laera, his wife, about the incident, she asks Soren if it was necessary. Soren simply says that he had to teach him a lesson about who’s in charge after calling him out at the party, reflecting that he has been too easy on them and that fear is a great motivator. Knowing that there’s more to his behavior, Soren confesses that it’s Kwan he can’t seem to shake, trying to convince himself that she’s either been killed by the desert or Vinsher’s men, to which Laera reveals that she is alive because Vinsher has tripled the bounty on her.
In Madrigal City, Agatha, one of Jin’s Generals, is snatched by Vinsher’s men. She refuses to tell Vinsher where Kwan is as she taunts him over how deathly afraid he is of the family he keeps deriding as sick and weak after Jin started protecting the deuterium reserves of the planet, setting into motion his rebellion against the UNSC who rely on the resource for their ships.
At that moment, a camera drone discovers Kwan’s location, flagging her appearance at the outpost. Returning to where it all started, she has gone back to the outpost that was attacked by the Covenant where her father died. Dismissing Agatha, Vinsher then shoots her in the back and sets out with his men to the outpost.
PARTING OF THE WAYS
At the outpost, Kwan finds letters from Jin to his grandfather in which he asks about the portal. Her investigation is interrupted as Soren arrives, telling her that she owes him a ship and the deuterium money she promised. After suggesting he’s come to claim the bounty on her, Soren says he intends to keep the promise he made to the Master Chief to keep her safe, whether he likes her or not.
Vinsher arrives and talks to Kwan with a loudspeaker as his troops prepare to move in. Kwan comes up with a plan to channel the hydrogen gas to the main sky pipe at the center of the outpost, filling the pipe and then shooting it to blow it up to take out Vinsher and his followers while she and Soren escape to the safety of the vault.
Kwan taunts Vinsher over the loudspeaker, saying that her father hated him and that she will never surrender, prompting him to send in his troops. Finding that the gas isn’t flowing, Kwan heads to the underground service tunnels to open the valve manually while Soren takes out the invaders.
Though she succeeds in activating the skypipe, Kwan is grabbed by one of Vinsher’s men who is shot by Soren—another getting stuck by a Covenant plasma grenade—before Vinsher himself shoots and incapacitates the former Spartan. Kwan grabs the Master Chief’s assault rifle, discarded during the battle with the Covenant, and shoots the skypipe, the desert mystics watching from a distance as the orbital tether falls.
Exiting the vault to find the outpost a smoldering ruin, it begins to rain. Kwan and Soren part ways, her debt paid with deuterium money found in the control center; telling her to take care, Kwan says that they’ll see each other again, Soren remarking that he hopes not as he heads back to his ship to return home.
DECLASSIFIED
The latest episode of Declassified, hosted by Sydnee Goodman, features Yerin Ha as the special guest to be interviewed about her character Kwan’s journey through the series from rebel to savior and protector—from fighting for survival to discovering her purpose.
This Declassified also takes a closer look at the show’s Easter eggs, along with the extraordinary making of the iconic Warthog and other vehicles featured in the show, including a walkthrough of the ‘Super Condor’ dropship. Wil Wheaton drops in from Star Trek’s Ready Room to talk about his love for the Halo universe, and, of course, gives a sneak peek at the upcoming episode.
SILVER REWARDS
Fans of the Halo television series can look forward to representing their love with some tie-in content coming to Halo Infinite on May 10 (that’s tomorrow!) in the form of various weapon charms and emblems.
Simply log into the game from May 10 and you'll be rewarded with the following:
- Together We Rise emblem
- Sword of Mercy emblem
- Artifact (AKA Keystone) emblem
- Artifact (AKA Keystone) weapon charm
- Silver Team weapon charm
- Silver Team emblem
Let’s take a look at each of these cosmetic items...
DR. HALSEY’S COMPUTER
Dr. Halsey’s computer has been updated!
This website is an official resource containing a trove of lore from the Silver Timeline. Every Friday, it is updated with new information.
Access the ONI Database to learn about the historical and ecological information of colony worlds (and a certain Covenant construct); read up on Persons of Interest to discover more about the characters—their rank, assignment, and current status.
COMMUNITY CORNER
For this week’s Community Corner, we’ve got some truly excellent pieces of community artwork from CoralGecko, Diegolzq117, and Urihell!
And, of course, for your weekly video breakdown of all things Easter eggs, references, lore, and Dr. Halsey’s computer, Halo Canon has got you covered.
END OF DEBRIEF
Just two more episodes left of the season, how quickly it’s gone!
Next time, allegiances will be tested as John-117 and Makee come to terms with their shared vision, Halsey sets her last gambit in motion, and the final pieces fall into place...