Halo is building towards its conclusive finale this week with the eighth and penultimate episode of season one, titled “Allegiance.”

As you can see in this exclusive clip below, our characters are turning to desperate measures as the clock starts ticking for the UNSC in the race to retrieve the second half of the mysterious artifact from their alien enemies, the Covenant.

Dr. Halsey is still influencing everything from her place of confinement, and the latest victim of that psychological manipulation is Makee, the Blessed One, working with the Covenant to retrieve the artifact and quite possibly bring the downfall of mankind.

Halsey is trying to convince Makee that the only way forward is to trust her and to use Master Chief to uncover the hidden nature of the Halo arrays. She also refers to our protagonist John-117 as just another tool for humanity, which seems to unsettle an eavesdropping Cortana in the background.

That could serve as a turning point for the relationship, or rather, the eventual friendship, between Cortana and Master Chief. Up to this point, the flesh-cloned AI has been loyal to Halsey’s cause, but her allegiance could shift after seeing through the character’s lies and manipulation, hence the name of the episode.

It’s highly unlikely that the series will give us all the answers by the time we’re done with the finale on May 19, but the promo content seems to indicate the forthcoming penultimate episode will be a plot-heavy and action-packed outing. Frankly, when it comes to Halo, you just can’t go wrong with that.

“Allegiance” premieres this Thursday on Paramount Plus.

Star Wars Day is in full swing, and folks from around the world are celebrating the iconic sci-fi franchise in any way they can. Among the celebrators are current franchise owners Disney, who released a new trailer for upcoming Disney Plus series Obi-Wan Kenobi in honor of the commemorative day.

But, the celebrations haven’t ended there.

The Disney Music Group-ran a cappella band DCappella are joining in the festivities with a music video of their “Cantina Band” cover, the whimsical John Williams melody home to any and all scenes in the Star Wars location of the Mos Eisley Cantina on planet Tatooine.

The video is shot in a recreation of the Mos Eisley Cantina, where various folks, among them the members of DCappella, are enjoying themselves with drinks and some tunes spun by a robotic DJ. When the DJ malfunctions, however, the guests begin to get restless at the lack of music.

Soon enough, the DCappella members step up with their cover of “Cantina Band,” keeping the party going at an even better pace than it had been. Following their triumphant injection of fun back into the party, the band retreats from the Mos Eisley Cantina against a backdrop of a beautiful star-filled sky.

The band also announced their upcoming tour today, titled Deck the Halls with Disney featuring DCappella, which will see the band tour across the United States, beginning on Nov. 4 in Spokane, Washington, and finishing on Dec. 24 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Additional tour locations can be found here.