Halo Episode 3 Finally Introduces Cortana

The third episode of the Halo TV series, “Emergence,” launched today on Paramount+, and it brought with it a huge addition: the introduction of Cortana. The AI had previously been teased, again and again, setting up how she would be introduced, but the latest and greatest episode finally offers the first look at her beyond what’s been seen in trailers.

Warning: there be spoilers for the Halo TV series below, but especially the most recent episode, “Emergence.”

Cortana (voiced by Jen Taylor) finally gets introduced in the series thanks to the return of Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber) to Reach following a brief period where he went AWOL after an encounter with an alien artifact on the planet of Madrigal. Part of the way that Dr. Catherine Halsey (Natascha McElhone) convinced UNSC that she could keep John under control was through the use of the Cortana project, which had previously been shelved due to legal issues with flash cloning.

“Emergence” reveals that Cortana is based on the mind of a flash clone of Halsey. There’s an uncomfortable set of scenes where Halsey and her clone discuss what’s about to happen in a broad way before the clone is killed in the process of mapping her brain for Cortana. A device is then inserted into Master Chief’s brain from the back of the skull, which apparently provides Cortana access to him and him to her.

Master Chief is initially a bit disturbed by the fact that Cortana is always on and that she can physically appear due to a “hollow particle exciter” wherever he goes. As the episode goes on, however, Master Chief comes to rely on Cortana for help despite the fact that Cortana is reporting everything and anything up to Halsey, which John seemingly does not completely comprehend as he keeps asking her to break protocol and help him in ways other UNSC members might not like.

As noted above, the third episode of the Halo television series, “Emergence,” is now available on Paramount+. New episodes in general will release on Thursdays. The series stars Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief, Natascha McElhone as Dr. Catherine Halsey, Jen Taylor as the voice of Cortana, Yerin Ha as Kwan Ha, and more. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the Halo TV show right here. And you can catch Halo directly on Paramount+ right here.

What do you think about the Halo TV series’ introduction of Cortana? Have you been watching the show as it premieres new episodes? Let us know in the comments, or feel free to reach out and hit me up directly over on Twitter at @rollinbishop in order to talk about all things gaming or television!