Half-Life 2: Episode Two storyline

This article describes the Half-Life 2: Episode Two storyline, chapter by chapter. Warning: this page contains spoilers.

To the White Forest


In this chapter we pick up where we left off, Alyx and Gordon having just crashed below a bridge in the train they just fled City 17 in and Gordon becoming rearmed with his trust Gravity Gun. Looking back on the city a giant portal swirling above the destroyed citadel is visible, the result of The Combine attempting to re-establish communication with their homeworld. With the goal of reaching the White Forest base where Eli Vance, [Dr Kleiner]] and new principle resistance scientist - Arne Magnusson - are located the player sets off.

This Vortal Coil


When Alyx finds herself badly injured by a Combine Hunter a Vortigaunt ally accompanies her and Gordon through an antlion tunnel complex in order to retrieve an 'extract' required for the Vortigaunts to heal her. Gordon, having been sent to bring back the extract from the depths of the antlion caves, succesfully brings it back to the Vorts who use it to revive Alyx, but not before a quick 'heart to heart' with none other than the G-Man, who also has an interest in Gordon and Alyx's safe arrival at White Forest Base.

Freeman Pontifex


This chapter sees Gordon fight off none other than the Antlion Guardian and some of his kin before exploring an old abandoned mining shanty town turned Resistance outpost to locate an abandoned working car for the journey to White Forest. Unfortunately, the Combine arrived before them destroying the town with headcrab canisters. This also turned most of the local citizens into zombies of one form or another.

Riding Shotgun


This chapter is the first part of the driving journey to White Forest. In it, Hunters are fought directly for the first time and the player has a close encounter with an entrapped Advisor in a barn. The chapter ends with yet another Hunter-Chopper fight as Alyx and Gordon arrive at another small Resistance Outpost.

Under the Radar


After fighting a decent amount of zombies to get to and destroy an Autogun that is threatening a rebel base, Alyx and Gordon again take off on the second part of their journey to White Forest. After a massive brawl at the White Forest Inn they finally arrive at the base.

Our Mutual Fiend


After a few interacting cut scenes where Gordon and Alyx learn of the plan to launch a rocket to communicate with an old Black Mesa satellite and where Eli reveals to Gordon that he too knows of the G-Man's existence, the player is forced to go out to the nearby forests to fight a pack of Striders and their Hunter accomplices before they attack the fairly defenseless White Forest Base. The Magnusson Device is finally introduced to the player by its namesake, who holds a blatant grudge against Gordon.

T-Minus One


After the Striders are dispatched, Gordon is sent on a mission to find out what has been causing strange alarms to be sounded in the bases security system. What should be a simple mission goes bad when it turns out the alarms are non other than the Combine launching a full attack on the base.

The player fight his way into one of the silos and closes the doors, stopping the rest of the forces from entering where they eventually retreat or are fought off by other resistance members. Finally the rocket is successfully launched and as Eli tells the player of what he believes should be done with the Borealis ship talked about in the previous chapter, Advisors arrive on the scene and attack the base with great success. As the chapter ends, Eli is apparently killed by one of the Advisors via the absorption of his brain and all of the information it stores. Dog shows up at the last second and fights them off saving Gordon and Alyx, who runs crying to her dad's side and holds onto his lifeless body as the screen fades to black and the credits roll.