Frontman Dustin Bates states that the song's lyrics were inspired by the life of the fictional Thomas Bell, a character whose message is the foundation of the Transmissionsconcept album.[1] He described it as a love song, written from the perspective of a male hero who feels empowered by his female love interest and his love for her.[1] He later expanded on the idea and compared it to the story of Batman, with the song being representative of a symbiotic relationship between a hero and who he protects.[5] The song's music video also played into the same concept, featuring scientists in a dystopian future working against unseen but ominous forces, and a male scientist working towards finding a female scientist in the process.[6]
Journalists generally praised the song and music video for containing relatively heavy and thought-provoking material for a single.[6][2] Matt Grossinger, staff music editor at The Nerdist, felt that Bates' real-life background of getting his PhD in electrical engineering gave more meaning to the song's message, stating "After taking a single glimpse at the dystopian music video for Starset’s song 'Halo', it feels weightier to consider the technophobic vision of our inevitable doom through the lens of someone who has credentialed expertise. With each successive video the band has rolled out, we have seen a wider scope of the doomed world Bates envisions, but 'Halo' actually provides a bit of hope. Though humanity is facing extinction, our protagonist is willing to risk his own life to save his boo, and that is a life-affirming archetype that will never go away no matter how f–ked we are after the singularity/nuclear holocaust."[2]