‘Halo’: Here’s What Happened to Ackerson’s Sister, Julia

‘Halo’ Season 2 kicked off recently and in the first episode, we met a mysterious and infuriating James Ackerson. In the first two episodes it was clear that he was keeping quite a lot of secrets, now in episode 3 we’ve gotten a glimpse into his motivations and personal life as we’ve seen him interacting and taking care of his senile father. We’ve also learned that there is a specific reason why Ackerson treats Spartans so poorly, it’s his sister Julia. Let’s see what happened to her.

James Ackerson is an old character with a new storyline

Unlike some other characters from the ‘Halo’ TV show, James Ackerson is not an original character as he had quite a few appearances in the novels and comics he was the mastermind behind the SPARTAN-III Program and was known to be quite ambitious. In the show, he is presented as the leader of ONI and is basically now here to pull the strings now that Halsey is under custody.

In the first two episodes, we’ve learned that he has an axe to grind with Halsey, that he is definitely hiding something, and that he doesn’t really like Spartans and finds them highly suspicious. His primary target being Master Chief naturally and his dubious mental condition.

In episode 3, we can see some of Ackerson’s real persona coming to light. We can see him taking care of his elderly senile father and he promises to take care of him, but the Covenant won’t take him alive. Of course, Ackerson knows that the Covenant is close and he won’t make promises he can’t keep. Ackerson’s father mentions his mother and his sister Julia but James reminds him that they are both dead with sullen expression.

How is Julia connected to Halsey?

Back in the first two episodes, we saw that the only contact Halsey had with the outside world and Ackerson was a mysterious serving girl, a flesh clone created to deliver things and promptly die after the mission is complete. Now in episode 3, we learn that this flesh clone was actually created from the genetic tissue of Ackerson’s sister Julia. Ackerson came to visit Halsey before he evacuates from the Reach and he lets her know that no matter how broken her Spartans are, they are going to be foundation for something extraordinary. As Ackerson is leaving, Halsey asks him “Don’t you want to know how she died?

It’s clear that Halsey was aware of who Julia was from the first moment she saw her, she even stated that she remembered every single one of the kids that went through her program be they dead or alive. Halsey explained that Julia was curious and she asked so many questions, but when the part for the augmentation came Julia started dying, but she wasn’t aware of how or why.

Halsey added that she told Julia that she was dying for a greater cause. Julia most likely didn’t know it and was scared when the moment came, but Halsey assured her that she was a small part of the next step forward. Hasley naturally didn’t say this things to Ackerson to gain his sympathies she did it to provoke him. As a sociopath, she knew just the buttons to push and she pushed them alright. Ackerson left her cell only to return with Soren in tow, and Soren had a lot to discuss with Halsey.

How did Halsey get her hands on Julia?

Considering that Halsey was collecting relatively small children it seems highly unlikely that Julia actually volunteered for the program. Julia was kidnapped most likely like the rest of the kids behind her parents’ backs and replaced with a flesh clone, like the one that was visiting Halsey in her cell. It’s like that at some point Ackerson found out the truth and decided to rise through the ranks to get his hands on Halsey and/or Spartans, as it’s dubious whether he actually considers them human.

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