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Halo’s latest episode showed us the best a Spartan could be

Riz-028, you will always be a Spartan.

In a media climate where characters of color are often sacrificed as a way to raise stakes or heighten emotion without threatening a show’s “more valuable” white stars, Riz’s death would’ve fit right in. Afterward, as everyone regroups and recovers on the planet Aleria, Riz decides to stay behind as John swears vengeance on the military leaders responsible for abandoning Reach to its fate. There’s an in-universe military directive that mandates Spartans never be declared “KIA” but “missing in action,” not only to reinforce their mythos as the invincible soldier but a perpetual one as well — one who’s always still out there, still fighting.

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