A lovely little easter egg was revealed in the premiere of the Halo TV series, and fans couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Was it by accident? Surely not. The name Commander Shepherd was uttered with just the right amount of volume so that everyone could hear it. There’s no doubt about it, this cheeky little easter egg was purposefully included, and we’re all here for it.
Think back to 2007, there were two sci-fi games tussling with each other for the prize of being the number one shooter. Both games starred super-soldiers of the highest order – one-man wrecking balls as it were – which led to a mental and spiritual comparison between Halo and Mass Effect that is still hard to shake off 15 years later.
Even with the great similarities between both games, there has never been an official connection to speak of (which is bewildering, to say the least), until now that is. The highly anticipated Halo TV series was finally released, and with it came one significant line that echoed through the halls of the UNSC Starships themselves, “Commander Shepherd, you are requested at the Skillian Response center”. You might think that this is just a coincidence, a simple line that could be a reference to Alan B. Shepard, the first American to enter space. But no, because 343 Industries have directly confirmed that it was an intentional reference to Mass Effect by saying, “Everybody loves Mass Effect”.
It’s kind of poetic for fans of both franchises that after all the years of speculative connections between the two, a reference has finally been established. Now, don’t get your hopes up because this doesn’t mean it will result in a cosmic crossover between the two series – how awesome would that be though? You never know though, keep watching the Halo TV series and you might just encounter another lovely little easter egg to get excited over.
