Madrigal (TV show)

Madrigal
Diameter	12,000 km
Gravity	1.03 G
Population	59,305,882
Species	Human
Technology Tier	Tier 4

Madrigal is a planet in the Paramount+ series, Halo. It is a tier-four heavy water extraction planet on the UNSC outer colony. The planet was under factionalized Insurrection control until its destruction by the Covenant.

History

Destruction of the CMA

A large, well organized Insurrection campaign resulted in the destruction of the Colonial Military Administration (CMA) garrison force in 2492 and collapse of the Unified Earth Government (UEG) authorized government. Peacekeeping forces departed the planet in 2535 as part of the UNSC redeployment against Covenant incursions in the sector. The planet is currently under factionalized Insurrection control.

Deuterium Supply

Madrigal possesses extraordinary deposits of deuterium, which is a critical strategic resource used for military and civilian fusion reactors. The UNSC harvested the resource to power their ships. Gray market deuterium exports funds what remains of the local economy. The Office of Naval Intelligence, who are part of the UNSC, continues to monitor events on the planet and conduct targeted strikes, in cooperation with local collaborators, to secure critical deuterium extraction sites for UNSC use.

Covenant Attack

In the year 2552, the planet of Madrigal serves as the home of rebels who resist the colonization of their planet by the UNSC. The residents of the planet live in an outpost under the command of Jin Ha. His daughter, Kwan Ha, explores the outskirts of the outpost against her father's wishes, in search of a plant with halogenic effects. She witnesses the arrival of Covenant creatures, who kill her friends with plasma blasters. She sets off a red flare to warn her outpost of the impending attack. The children are taken to the vault by Kwan while the rest of the warriors take guard. The attack is brutal, wiping out dozens of soldiers within minutes.

A UNSC ship arrives and dispatches four Spartans from the elite Silver Team. The Spartans work with the Madrigal army to defeat the Covenant, however, the outpost population is decimated, with only Kwan surviving the massacre. Master Chief inspects the cave in which the Covenant emerged, and discovers that the cave is man-made. He deduces they were excavating for an object of unknown origin. When he grabs the object, energy ripples through the cave and triggers a sealed memory within Master Chief. He ultimately takes the object and Kwan back to his ship, with orders to bring both to his base planet of Reach.

New Leadership

After the death of Jin Ha, the UNSC deployed a replacement for the General and chose Governor Vinsher Grath. Vinsher took extensive strides to eliminate anyone who followed the creed of Jin Ha. He gathers the followers and executes them in the city for everyone to see. He gives a speech on how Jin led them to a costly war and stole hydrogen. The counsel is pleased with Vinsher's methods, as despite his crude nature, the deuterium will soon be flowing again. The relative calm has a positive effect on fuel prices across the galaxy, which pleases the other colonies.

Kwan watches more broadcasts of General Grath announcing his plans to forge peace with the UNSC, and cease plans for Madrigal's independence, which angers her. She confronts Soren and demands her return to Madrigal so she can join the resistance and fight for the freedom her father wanted. Soren eventually agrees to take her in exchange for a large sum of money. She returns to a city of fear and despair, with the citizens resigning to the protection the UNSC offers against the Covenant. The insurrectionists have disbanded, with no funds left to inspire people to fight. Those that weren't made an example of by Vinsher were bribed into servitude or new alliances. Kwan also learns from her aunt, Soojin, that her family is broke. Her father only began the fight because a group of mystics warned that he needed to protect Madrigal at all costs. Soojin didn't tell Kwan why Madrigal is important, or where the desert mystic are, as Violetta Franco murders her and attempts to kill Kwan on payment from Vinsher. Soren protects Kwan and they escape the city on a stolen vehicle.

Kwan drives Soren's vehicle into the desert where she encounters the Mystics. She demands their help and knowledge, only to be kidnapped by them moments later. When she awakens she meets Desiderata, the leader of the Mystics, who explains that she knew Jin Ha very well. She demonstrates her power to turn fire into water as she tells the tale of Kwan's forefather's forefather discovering Madrigal's deuterium supply. She explains the history of the planet, including the alien visitor from another time and existence that visited Kwan's ancestor. For Kwan to learn more, she must go on a spiritual journey of discovery. Kwan, unafraid by the potential, drinks the water that makes her fall into a vision.

She encounters on of her ancestors who explains that John will be back on Madrigal soon, and that she'll need to show him the way and open the door for him. Slowly, the spirits of her fallen ancestors morph into the newest generations, settling into Jin. She happily embraces her father, who describes their forefather's encounter with a creature from another time who tasked him with guarding a portal. This portal and its secrets will only be revealed once Madrigal is free, hence his persistence to free the planet from oppression. The responsibility has been handed down to each descendant, and the task must lay with Kwan now that he's gone. She's not sure she can rally the people as she isn't a leader as he was, but he's certain that she can do it. She has to be different and fight on her own terms. He instructs her to go back to where it all began.

Kwan wakes up from her vision and returns to the outpost, searching through her family home to find letters between Jin and his father. Vinsher learns of Kwan's presence and is out for blood. She tries to escape the men hunting her and is almost caught when Soren emerges, saving her life once more to honor his promise to John, not for the tripled bounty on her head. She tells him of her plan and they head to the control room, where they are quickly surrounded by Vinsher's army. Soren's first instinct to fight everyone alone, but she's adamant that her plan to detonate the sky tower, which is a fuel depot, as it will incinerate everyone in the vicinity. If they can get to the vault before the explosion they should be safe, a sentiment that doesn't bring Soren much comfort.

Vinsher taunts Kwan as he lies about being friends with her father and not killing her, a rouse she sees through quickly. She gives a speech to him about Madrigal's freedom, then realizes that she can't turn on the fuel from the control room - she has to do it manually. Soren initially wants to travel across the battlefield but she refuses, as she knows a secret tunnel that leads there. She shows him a case full of money, promising it's his if he helps by shooting the sky pipe on her signal. After activating it, Kwan is ambushed, though Soren saves her from across the field. She is spotted again a bit later, and uses a Covenant weapon to save herself. She hides under a truck where she finds Master Chief's discarded weapon near a Covenant soldier. She takes the weapon and uses it to save Soren and then shoot the sky pipe. Kwan and an injured Soren barely make it to the vault before the area explodes. They emerge after the blast to rain falling on them, making Kwan giddy with happiness. She escorts Swan to his ship then turns back to Madrigal.

Destruction

Madrigal was glassed by Covenant forces as part of their elimination of the outer colonies.

Locations

• Madrigal Outpost
  • Tavern
  • Pipes and vault
• Covenant cave and excavation site
• Madrigal City
  • Hot springs
• Okjungdong Basin

Notable Residents

• Jin Ha (Until death)
• Kwan Ha
• The Professor
• Vinsher Grath
• Soojin Ha
• Violetta Franco
• Desiderata
• Soren-066 (Former visitor)

Trivia

• An outpost in Madrigal had a population of 171 before the Covenant attack.

Appearances

• Season One (First appearance)
  • Contact
  • Unbound
  • Emergence
  • Homecoming
  • Reckoning
  • Inheritance
  • Allegiance
• Season Two
  • Sanctuary (Mentioned)
  • Visegrad (Mentioned)

Behind the scenes

The planet of Madrigal is based on the planet of the same name in the video game franchise. The grounds for the planet were created in Budapest.