Halo TV Show Spartans Riz-028, Kai-125 & Vannak-134 Explained
The Halo TV series introduces a trio of new Spartans who could be very important to the series' future. Riz-028, Kai-125, and Vannak-134 are all members of the Master Chief's Silver Team and assist him in carrying out special missions for the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) in their war against the Covenant. The three characters get relatively little screen time in Halo episode 1, but they are sent on a mission that suggests they could play a much larger role down the line.
Paramount+'s long-in-development Halo series takes place in a separate timeline from the hit video game series it is based on and features new characters and stories designed to flesh out Master Chief's world. The plot is initiated with Master Chief finding a mysterious Forerunner relic on Madrigal and receiving new insight into the Covenant threat that causes him to desert his command. This escape brings Silver Team into the action, as Dr. Halsey tasks them with hunting down Master Chief and taking him back safely, even if it means protecting him from other UNSC forces.
Riz-028, Kai-125, and Vannak-134 are all original characters new to the Halo TV series. Silver Team is part of the Asymmetric Warfare Research Group, meaning they likely take on unusual missions where they are badly outnumbered. The name "Silver Team" is taken from the development code name for Halo's TV adaptation, "Silver", after the "silver screen" of television. The team is based out of the White Tower on Reach and is dispatched for missions on different planets, such as the battle on Madrigal that opens the series. While the three were never named characters in the Halo games, their names and designs were taken from design documents by the franchise's creators, 343 Industries. Here's what role each of the new Spartans plays in the team explained:
Vannak-134 is played by Bentley Kaito, and typically serves as Master Chief's deputy within Silver Team. His dark and blocky armor makes him stand out from his squadmates. He specializes in leading the assault against Covenant forces. Like the other members of Silver Team, he is a product of the SPARTAN-II program, meaning that he is genetically engineered to have superior physical qualities to the average human.
Riz-028 is the communications specialist for Silver Team, and is played by Natasha Culzac. Her more lightweight armor is based on early concept art for the Mjolnir armor that appears in Halo Infinite. This lightweight armor that Riz-028 wears is also used by her squadmate Kai-125.
Rounding out the Halo TV show's Silver Team is Kai-125, played by Kate Kennedy. Kai-125 is the marksman and intelligence specialist of the group. The Halo show emphasizes female characters in a series that is best known for its stoic default male protagonist, and including two female Spartans in Master Chief's squad is part of this effort.