Most Halo characters fall into one of two categories. They're either combatants or non-combatants. Halo season two found a compelling thematic purpose in drawing lines between Master Chief as a combatant and the man under the armor. While the most dangerous characters tend to meet on battlefields, Admiral Margaret Parangosky demonstrates the destructive potential of shrewd political games. She's less impressive in the Halo show.
The Halo show has a strange relationship to its source material. It's set in an alternate reality called the Silver Timeline which shares some details while eschewing others. The Silver Timeline replaces some characters but uses game and novel figures in unusual ways. Parangosky isn't abandoned in the Halo show but is downplayed considerably.
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Who is Margaret Parangosky in the Halo show?
Admiral Margaret Parangosky is the head of the Office of Naval Intelligence within the United Nations Space Command. She's a cunning, calculating figure who works to advance her ambitions. Her intentions seem to shift with her moral scruples. Inconsistent writing or a floating philosophy of right and wrong plague Parangosky. Her role in the Halo show's first season primarily involves countering Catherine Halsey. When the mad scientist says something wildly unethical, Parangosky pushes back. The two characters share many tense boardroom negotiations before Halsey goes on the run. While Halsey develops Cortana and human cloning, Parangosky challenges her unhinged goals and practices. Parangosky demonstrates her skills as a manipulator by eliminating Halsey. She reveals the dark truth of the Spartan program to Halsey's daughter Miranda, prompting the scientist to flee Reach. When she returned, new ONI chair James Ackerson took her into custody.
Parangosky's season two role is more complicated. She's no longer a dramatic foil for another character, at least not for a while. She returns in the season two debut. She approaches John-117 when he lacks faith. The debut episode sets the tone for the rest of the season. The premise is that John sees Covenant Elites doing things they wouldn't normally do, but his new boss, James Ackerson, ignores his warning. Four episodes later, the Covenant attacks and overtakes Reach. Parangosky stays out of it. She's a civilian for all intents and purposes. She claims she took the fall for Halsey and left the ONI. John discovers she never left. Parangosky's exchange with Ackerson demonstrates her political power, even behind the scenes. She uses Cortana to keep the Master Chief at bay temporarily. Going into the penultimate episode, John is actively hunting Parangosky and Ackerson.
Who is Margaret Parangosky in the Halo novels?
Margaret Parangosky's first appearance was in the 2006 novelHalo: Ghosts of Onyx, which provides source material for much of Halo season two. Her presence in the books comes with a greater impact. She's still the Commander in Chief of the ONI, a position of immense power. Though she is the highest authority in the organization, she primarily appears to approve projects. She governs the Spartan II, III, and IV programs. James Ackerson viewed her as the power behind the UNSC. Her rise to power involved amassing a small army of civilian spies, all of whom contributed to exposing her boss's terrible scandals. She worked with the Spartan program before the Covenant attacked. She offered this quote while abandoning investigating alien worlds and focusing on killing human insurgents:
Gentlemen, I'll be brief. After almost fifteen years of continuous and ruinously expensive research without a single new useful technology discovered, the budget of the Onyx initiative has been reprioritized. Although the alien artifacts and hieroglyphics continue to be of interest, recent rebel activities in the Outer Colonies demand that we face realities and reallocate our finite A.I. and military personnel to counter this new threat.
One of the most fascinating differences between Parangosky's book iteration and her small-screen appearance comes after the Spartan II program. Parangosky saw Halsey's compassion for individual Spartans as a liability, but her heart softened as guilt consumed her. The Spartan II program involved kidnapping children and replacing them with clones who swiftly died. Parangosky could mentally justify stealing kids, but lying to their bereaved families felt like a bridge too far. When Halsey slipped away and became a fugitive, Parangosky had her labeled KIA. She saw being labeled legally dead and conscripted into permanent service as a fitting ironic punishment.
Who plays Margaret Parangosky?
Shabana Azmi portrays Margaret Parangonsky in the Halo show. Azmi is one of the most prolific actresses in India. She's appeared in more than 160 films. She won a National Film Award for Best Actress in her first role in 1974. She's less regularly seen on TV, with only 8 appearances on the small screen. Most of her films were released exclusively in India, but she has several British crossover projects. Fans of Halo could stumble into a world of foreign cinema after seeing her portray Parangosky.
Admiral Margaret Parangosky is a fascinating force in the Halo universe. The books sell her immense skill and power, but the show depicts her as a less compelling figure. She could still develop new dimensions in the last two episodes of season two. Margaret Parangosky is a critical character in the show, but fans must read the books to feel her full impact.
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