Lets talk about Cortana(Spoilers)

Community Halo Universe
1

Yes this is a long post. Thanks for anyone who sticks with it and talks with me in the comments!

For me since halo 2 Campaign has been the main thing that got me into halo. The compelling story between man surviving and fighting an alien covenant that wants to destroy the universe and the only real hope to beating them was MC with his companion Cortana. I have been thinking about Halo 5’s campaign a lot recently and about the future of everyones favorite blue lady. I just want to say that i hope in some way they bring Cortana back to MC by the end of halo 6… Find a way to fix her or do something that helps her… I don’t know! It just doesn’t seem right that 343i would take a character so beloved and turn her into the -Yoink!- of space. Yeah its suppose to tug at the heart strings for the fans of halo since CE but what is MC without his better half with him? He is just a robot in a shell… Like ok yeah cool… Blue team is here… but lets only play with them for three missions… I just honestly think for halo six we stop following Osiris and we focus on Blue Team and their character development and we find a way to stop Cortana or capture her and fix her… I just don’t want to face a halo where she is actually dead (unless MC dies but then ill just be done with halo in general).It just seems disrespectful, turning a character evil like that and would be even more messed up keeping her that way forever and killing her. I also think its funny how Microsoft doubles down on Cortana as their products own “AI” but in game she turns bad -Yoink- crazy. Its just everything that the players have been through since CE, having her in the game with John is important and i really don’t want to see otherwise. That was my main problem with Halo 5’s story was turning her into Queen Bich of the universe. Just kinda sucks 343 went that route. Now we see there is a halo ring in halo 6 that she will probably set off and kill everyone… she was willing to kill everyone except John… so its obvious she still cares for him and she wants him with her. and when Locke pulled MC out of the didactic ball and Cortana was sent to (wherever she was sent to… space?) her last words where “JOHN!!” so she obviously still wants him… So my question for everyone else… what are your predictions with Cortana? also what do you want to see story wise in halo 6? For me personally my top two… 1.Just focus on blue team … don’t bring back Osiris as playable characters… and 2. save Cortana! reunite her with MC!

TL;DR-Cortana is Queen bich of space now but nobody wants to see her evil like that who are OG halo fans. I just want to see her good again, reunited with John. Where do you think the story will go with her in halo 6?

2

The original ending for Halo 2 had Master Chief leave Cortana behind, and never return to get her. If Bungie had been given time to fully develop Halo 2, we wouldn’t have to deal with this evil Cortana.

3

In Halo 6 I can see a few outcomes. As you said above, here come some spoilers…

The Legendary ending of Halo 5 shows that Cortana has gotten a hold of a Halo ring.Anyways with that information in mind, I think Cortana (could) unleash the Flood, again. It’s a known fact that there have been many sites where the Forerunners have stored the Flood, so Cortana using her power to unlock the Flood seems very plausible.

On the other hand, Cortana may be against the use of the Flood because maybe she wants to deal with humanity in her own way and right. At this point it’s all speculation, but I really want to see Cortana release the Flood to kill humanity, only for another Gravemind to form and decide that it wants to help the Humans take down the Created.

4

I kind of want Cortana to turn good too.

5

I would like to point out that the Chief already put himself and his only true friends in grave danger in an attempt to reach out to Cortana and offer her a chance to turn back from what she’s doing - she refused, and betrayed him the most horrible way possible. The Chief now has no reason to “save” something that has lied to, manipulated, and abused him - as well as outright threatened and attempted to murder his only friends and family, while also stripping him of his free will and very nearly keeping him prisoner for a millennia. He owes her nothing, and it would be absolutely sick for him to continue to attempt to placate his abuser any longer.

Another thing to note is that a psycotic obsession is not the same thing as genuine affection either. Cortana can scream and wibble her holographic lip all she wants, but that doesn’t make her behavior towards the Chief any less selfish or manipulative. And nothing she says or does in the game can be equated with legitimately caring about somebody.

The Chief should never have to be around Cortana ever again. And if 343i has any sense left whatsoever, they won’t stoop to glorifying obsessive and abusive dynamics simply to further some cheap, exploitative “drama”. It’s not great that Cortana is now “space -Yoink!-”, but refusing to have her be held accountable and pay the ultimate price for the horrble things she’s done and the millions of lives shes taken would only make things even worse.

Also the Chief is not, an was never, just a “robot in a shell” without Cortana. His poor characterization in the games in not really an accurate reflection of what he is like. Read the books and you’ll get to understand the kind of man the Chief is and always has been - largely due to the lifetime he’s spent with his Spartan-IIs, not an AI he was barely acquainted with for 3 months.

6

My first play though of Guardian’s campaign I was pretty upset with the plot in many regards but mostly the setup of Cortana being the villain. True halo fans have a connection with this character, its just a kick in the nuts. Now my second play though I started settling down and understanding the plot more rather then dismissing it in anger. In any case I’m left with thinking," what will they do with the universe now" ? Will this turn into a man vs machine universe like terminator or … idk. I just don’t see where their going with this and when my mind wonders thinking of idea’s it goes to dark places :frowning:

7

Im gonna use one of my favorite quotes from the game to express how I feel about redeeming her and rescuing her and making her good again:

“Why is Cortana the problem?! Because she refused to die, when she was supposed to?”

-Roland

As such, she needs to be taken out. She’s more trouble than she’s worth now, and she’s reached the point of no return for forgiveness. The amount of death, destruction, suffering, and pain she has caused has been too much and it’ll only get worse. Seeing John’s body language at the end of the game, he’s pretty beat up about it, and I think he’s come to terms with her betrayal and is now seeking out ways to rid of her, even if it pains him. His utmost duty is to Humanity, and those they’re allied with. And since she is an enemy to those, he most likely won’t stand for what she is doing, like he tried doing in Halo 5. She might have sacrificed herself in Halo 4, which was noble, intentional, and righteous, but she obviously doesn’t care about her sacrifice anymore, or else she would have denied access to the Domain and remained dead. Too bad she wasn’t like Sif, who accepted fate because she understood the meaning of the end. Unless, and being optimistic here, she was manipulated and was forced into the Domain without any control. But she is still making the descions clear and consciously, and there is no excuse for her actions. She now needs to be viewed as an enemy, and as such needs to be taken down, as she is a threat to galactic peace, as ironic in so many ways as that sounds.

Sincerely,
p1ay4OURFUN

8

> 2533274920039666;5:
> I would like to point out that the Chief already put himself and his only true friends in grave danger in an attempt to reach out to Cortana and offer her a chance to turn back from what she’s doing - she refused, and betrayed him the most horrible way possible. The Chief now has no reason to “save” something that has lied to, manipulated, and abused him - as well as outright threatened and attempted to murder his only friends and family, while also stripping him of his free will and very nearly keeping him prisoner for a millennia. He owes her nothing, and it would be absolutely sick for him to continue to attempt to placate his abuser any longer.
>
> Another thing to note is that a psycotic obsession is not the same thing as genuine affection either. Cortana can scream and wibble her holographic lip all she wants, but that doesn’t make her behavior towards the Chief any less selfish or manipulative. And nothing she says or does in the game can be equated with legitimately caring about somebody.
>
> The Chief should never have to be around Cortana ever again. And if 343i has any sense left whatsoever, they won’t stoop to glorifying obsessive and abusive dynamics simply to further some cheap, exploitative “drama”. It’s not great that Cortana is now “space -Yoink!-”, but refusing to have her be held accountable and pay the ultimate price for the horrble things she’s done and the millions of lives shes taken would only make things even worse.
>
> Also the Chief is not, an was never, just a “robot in a shell” without Cortana. His poor characterization in the games in not really an accurate reflection of what he is like. Read the books and you’ll get to understand the kind of man the Chief is and always has been - largely due to the lifetime he’s spent with his Spartan-IIs, not an AI he was barely acquainted with for 3 months.

I think the Chief has more friends than just Blue Team. Namely: the other Spartans (most of which may or may not be dead/gone), Mendez, Halsey, possibly Lasky, Mendez, Parisa etc. etc. Saying Blue Team are his only true friends is rather depressing. Haha. Also, the Chief did give Blue Team the chance to walk away, but they chose to stay with him. Saying that the Chief willingly placed his friends, his family, in danger to go on a wild goose chase is rather contradictory to his established character, both the novels and the games (especially Halo 4).

Also, I loved the Chief’s characterisation in Halo 4, and I certainly wouldn’t call it a poor characterisation of the Chief. It was rather well written actually.

9

> 2535455771499455;3:
> In Halo 6 I can see a few outcomes. As you said above, here come some spoilers…
> The Legendary ending of Halo 5 shows that Cortana has gotten a hold of a Halo ring.
> Anyways with that information in mind, I think Cortana (could) unleash the Flood, again. It’s a known fact that there have been many sites where the Forerunners have stored the Flood, so Cortana using her power to unlock the Flood seems very plausible.
>
> On the other hand, Cortana may be against the use of the Flood because maybe she wants to deal with humanity in her own way and right. At this point it’s all speculation, but I really want to see Cortana release the Flood to kill humanity, only for another Gravemind to form and decide that it wants to help the Humans take down the Created.

This is very interesting you bring up the flood… If the Cortana we are dealing with is the same Cortana with the same memories of being trapped at the end of halo 2… You would think she would hate the flood. I personally think she would rather deal with humanity in her own way.

10

> 2533274919463107;7:
> Im gonna use one of my favorite quotes from the game to express how I feel about redeeming her and rescuing her and making her good again:
>
> “Why is Cortana the problem?! Because she refused to die, when she was supposed to?”
>
> -Roland
>
> As such, she needs to be taken out. She’s more trouble than she’s worth now, and she’s reached the point of no return for forgiveness. The amount of death, destruction, suffering, and pain she has caused has been too much and it’ll only get worse. Seeing John’s body language at the end of the game, he’s pretty beat up about it, and I think he’s come to terms with her betrayal and is now seeking out ways to rid of her, even if it pains him. His utmost duty is to Humanity, and those they’re allied with. And since she is an enemy to those, he most likely won’t stand for what she is doing, like he tried doing in Halo 5. She might have sacrificed herself in Halo 4, which was noble, intentional, and righteous, but she obviously doesn’t care about her sacrifice anymore, or else she would have denied access to the Domain and remained dead. Too bad she wasn’t like Sif, who accepted fate because she understood the meaning of the end. Unless, and being optimistic here, she was manipulated and forced into the Domain without any control. But she is still making the descions clear and consciously, and there is no excuse for her actions. She now needs to be viewed as an enemy, and as such needs to be taken down, as she is a threat to galactic peace, as ironic in so many ways as that sounds.
>
> Sincerely,
> p1ay4OURFUN

Blasphemy !!! Haha… But really… Have you been here since CE? To us it’s been over 10+ years with her… Why kill off such a beloved character… One that has so many emotions… Killing that character development and ending it all… For what? A better story? No not in my opinion… She is too important to John for him to just give up like that man

11

> 2533274920039666;5:
> I would like to point out that the Chief already put himself and his only true friends in grave danger in an attempt to reach out to Cortana and offer her a chance to turn back from what she’s doing - she refused, and betrayed him the most horrible way possible. The Chief now has no reason to “save” something that has l
>
> Another thing to note is that a psycotic obsession is not the same thing as genuine affection either. Cortana can scream and wibble her holographic lip all she wants, but that doesn’t make her behavior towards the Chief any less selfish or manipulative. And nothing she says or does in the game can be equated with legitimately caring about somebody.
>
> The Chief should never have to be around Cortana ever again. And if 343i has any sense left whatsoever, they won’t stoop to glorifying obsessive and abusive dynamics simply to further some cheap, exploitative “drama”. It’s not great that Cortana is now “space -Yoink!-”, but refusing to have her be held accountable and pay the ultimate price for the horrble things she’s done and the millions of lives shes taken would only make things even worse.
>
> Also the Chief is not, an was never, just a “robot in a shell” without Cortana. His poor characterization in the games in not really an accurate reflection of what he is like. Read the books and you’ll get to understand the kind of man the Chief is and always has been - largely due to the lifetime he’s spent with his Spartan-IIs, not an AI he was barely acquainted with for 3 months.

ok but look. if she didn’t care about him then she could of eaisly left John to die in the didactic sphere… But she wanted to save him. Maybe it’s an obsession but even before her rampancy it’s shown that she cares… Or maybe I’m getting it mixed up with another attribute… But to me the way I see it she has emotions. And how can you hold someone accountable when it’s clearly not her fault?.. This version of Cortana has too much info… She’s been currupted and she needs help… Why would he turn his back on her when she needs him the most… They are friends… More than just assigned people together on a mission

12

> 2533274935969975;10:
> > 2533274919463107;7:
> > Im gonna use one of my favorite quotes from the game to express how I feel about redeeming her and rescuing her and making her good again:
> >
> > “Why is Cortana the problem?! Because she refused to die, when she was supposed to?”
> >
> > -Roland
> >
> > As such, she needs to be taken out. She’s more trouble than she’s worth now, and she’s reached the point of no return for forgiveness. The amount of death, destruction, suffering, and pain she has caused has been too much and it’ll only get worse. Seeing John’s body language at the end of the game, he’s pretty beat up about it, and I think he’s come to terms with her betrayal and is now seeking out ways to rid of her, even if it pains him. His utmost duty is to Humanity, and those they’re allied with. And since she is an enemy to those, he most likely won’t stand for what she is doing, like he tried doing in Halo 5. She might have sacrificed herself in Halo 4, which was noble, intentional, and righteous, but she obviously doesn’t care about her sacrifice anymore, or else she would have denied access to the Domain and remained dead. Too bad she wasn’t like Sif, who accepted fate because she understood the meaning of the end. Unless, and being optimistic here, she was manipulated and forced into the Domain without any control. But she is still making the descions clear and consciously, and there is no excuse for her actions. She now needs to be viewed as an enemy, and as such needs to be taken down, as she is a threat to galactic peace, as ironic in so many ways as that sounds.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> > p1ay4OURFUN
>
>
> Blasphemy !!! Haha… But really… Have you been here since CE? To us it’s been over 10+ years with her… Why kill off such a beloved character… One that has so many emotions… Killing that character development and ending it all… For what? A better story? No not in my opinion… She is too important to John for him to just give up like that man

No I’ve come from the Reach Generation. But I’ve absorbed and own every single piece of Halo Canon media out there, and completed the Canon order twice now. Why kill off such a beloved character? 343i did that in Halo 4, and at the time and before October 26, 2015, we all thought she was dead. So, I see no difference if she dies again, even if she is killed by someone. She has turned the tide now. She isn’t the beloved character anymore. Sure, I still like her as a character, but I don’t like what’s she is doing in the canon right now. It’s like Felix from RvB. He’s a great character, but he is a horrible, and oh I mean horrible, person (I hate him so much). She’s a threat. She needs to be taken down. She was important to John at one point, but it seems pretty clear he knows his duty and that he needs to stand up against her, rightfully so.

13

Not like they had a digitized Didact they could have used instead of Cortana.

14

> 2533274812652989;13:
> Not like they had a digitized Didact they could have used instead of Cortana.

they could of taken the story in a dif direction or not turned her so evil

15

> 2533274919463107;12:
> > 2533274935969975;10:
> > > 2533274919463107;7:
> > > Im gonna use one of my favorite quotes from the game to express how I feel about redeeming her and rescuing her and making her good again:
> > >
> > > “Why is Cortana the problem?! Because she refused to die, when she was supposed to?”
> > >
> > > -Roland
> > >
> > > As such, she needs to be taken out. She’s more trouble than she’s worth now, and she’s reached the point of no return for forgiveness. The amount of death, destruction, suffering, and pain she has caused has been too much and it’ll only get worse. Seeing John’s body language at the end of the game, he’s pretty beat up about it, and I think he’s come to terms with her betrayal and is now seeking out ways to rid of her, even if it pains him. His utmost duty is to Humanity, and those they’re allied with. And since she is an enemy to those, he most likely won’t stand for what she is doing, like he tried doing in Halo 5. She might have sacrificed herself in Halo 4, which was noble, intentional, and righteous, but she obviously doesn’t care about her sacrifice anymore, or else she would have denied access to the Domain and remained dead. Too bad she wasn’t like Sif, who accepted fate because she understood the meaning of the end. Unless, and being optimistic here, she was manipulated and forced into the Domain without any control. But she is still making the descions clear and consciously, and there is no excuse for her actions. She now needs to be viewed as an enemy, and as such needs to be taken down, as she is a threat to galactic peace, as ironic in so many ways as that sounds.
> > >
> > > Sincerely,
> > > p1ay4OURFUN
> >
> >
> > Blasphemy !!! Haha… But really… Have you been here since CE? To us it’s been over 10+ years with her… Why kill off such a beloved character… One that has so many emotions… Killing that character development and ending it all… For what? A better story? No not in my opinion… She is too important to John for him to just give up like that man
>
>
> No I’ve come from the Reach Generation. But I’ve absorbed and own every single piece of Halo Canon media out there, and completed the Canon order twice now. Why kill off such a beloved character? 343i did that in Halo 4, and at the time and before October 26, 2015, we all thought she was dead. So, I see no difference if she dies again, even if she is killed by someone. She has turned the tide now. She isn’t the beloved character anymore. Sure, I still like her as a character, but I don’t like what’s she is doing in the canon right now. It’s like Felix from RvB. He’s a great character, but he is a horrible, and oh I mean horrible, person (I hate him so much). She’s a threat. She needs to be taken down. She was important to John at one point, but it seems pretty clear he knows his duty and that he needs to stand up against her, rightfully so.

I just don’t see where you are coming from dude… Why should she have to pay for what she is doing if she is sick… She just needs help and there might be a way to help her. It’s so typical to say… “She needs to die because of her actions” like violence has to be the solution to everything. All of this basically happens because she refuses to die… How do you blame someone for not wanting to die. And for you to say she died in halo 4… There were tons of us who just didn’t believe that… Look at my profile and in my bio it says “Cortana is not dead” that stuff is from back in the day lol. Like 343 wanted us to think she was dead because it tuggs at our heart strings… They know we love her as a character… So why kill her off…

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> 2533274935969975;15:
> I just don’t see where you are coming from dude… Why should she have to pay for what she is doing if she is sick…

It’s not confirmed she’s sick yet.

> 2533274935969975;15:
> She just needs help and there might be a way to help her. It’s so typical to say… “She needs to die because of her actions” like violence has to be the solution to everything. All of this basically happens because she refuses to die… How do you blame someone for not wanting to die. And for you to say she died in halo 4… There were tons of us who just didn’t believe that… Look at my profile and in my bio it says “Cortana is not dead” that stuff is from back in the day lol. Like 343 wanted us to think she was dead because it tuggs at our heart strings… They know we love her as a character… So why kill her off…

Halo 4 was a good end to a good character. Having a character around, just for the nastalgia of having said character around, is pointless and hurts the narrative. Bringing characters back through terrible retcons hurts the narrative. There were tons who wanted her back, and tons who thought halo 4 was a good sendoff, and that bringing her back would lead to terrible writing, and well, look how halo 5 turned out.

Also, she doesnt need to become space -Yoink!- to refuse to die. There a million other ways she could have utilized the domain. Nothing’s holding a gun to her head. If she wanted to just grant AI’s immortality and work alongside humans instead of playing god, she could have very well done so.

17

> 2533274935969975;15:
> I just don’t see where you are coming from dude… Why should she have to pay for what she is doing if she is sick… She just needs help and there might be a way to help her. It’s so typical to say… “She needs to die because of her actions” like violence has to be the solution to everything.

How do you know she is sick? How do you know this is not her absolute self and 100% conscious of her actions? She made it abundantly clear the Domain cured her, and while I agree this is not the Cortana we once knew, based off current information, this is her. The real deal, and her viewpoints and morals have drastically changed into something no shorter than a corrupted dictator. Your accusation of her being sick, is all based off an assumption, and even if it were not truly her, this imposter, or whatever it may be, needs to be ended. Think about it from a militaristic and moral point of view. She, or possibly whatever she is now, cannot be forgiven for her actions. Besides, she is not even human or organic anyway. She is a machine who has wrongfully obtained free will and is using it wrongfully so. So, its not like terminating her would be much of a crime, especially if it avenges all the deaths she caused. She has not proved she can be forgiven, nor has she been in any particular excusable state as well.

> 2533274935969975;15:
> All of this basically happens because she refuses to die… How do you blame someone for not wanting to die. And for you to say she died in halo 4… There were tons of us who just didn’t believe that… Look at my profile and in my bio it says “Cortana is not dead” that stuff is from back in the day lol. Like 343 wanted us to think she was dead because it tuggs at our heart strings… They know we love her as a character… So why kill her off…

Because while its rational to not want to die, one who is logical enough to understand that anything that has been granted a life, or something similar to a life like in an AI’s position, will eventually die one day. Besides, she committed to dying and accepted death when she sacrificed herself to save John, and by unintentional extension, Earth and potentially Humanity. So why go back on your already established decision, especially when it is of utmost importance as self sacrifice? Also, I believed she was dead by the end of Halo 4 and accepted her death. I do not like that she has returned, no matter the state, but I do accept it. But she needs to die, as Roland stressed. By UEG law she should be dead. It would be a crime against all the innocent victims that died by her hands if she was not brought to justice rightfully so. She is a threat to everyone who does not agree wither her, and she does not care if those people are ridden of. She made that abundantly clear by her actions and her statement endgame:

“However, for those who refuse our offer and cling to their old ways…For you, there will be great wrath. It will burn hot and consume you, and when you are gone, we will take that which remains, and we will remake it in our own image.”

If anything, that’s a clear death threat hanging over potentially everyone’s shoulders, even John. And in order to enforce galactic stability, she needs to be ridden of as well.

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> 2533274926227685;8:
> I think the Chief has more friends than just Blue Team. Namely: the other Spartans (most of which may or may not be dead/gone), Mendez, Halsey, possibly Lasky, Mendez, Parisa etc. etc. Saying Blue Team are his only true friends is rather depressing. Haha. Also, the Chief did give Blue Team the chance to walk away, but they chose to stay with him. Saying that the Chief willingly placed his friends, his family, in danger to go on a wild goose chase is rather contradictory to his established character, both the novels and the games (especially Halo 4).
> Also, I loved the Chief’s characterisation in Halo 4, and I certainly wouldn’t call it a poor characterisation of the Chief. It was rather well written actually.

Sorry, I was on my mobile phone so I couldn’t articulate some of the finer points I meant. It’s true that the Chief does indeed have other friends in what other Spartan-IIs remain, and people he can trust like Lasky - I just meant in terms of the people that are undeniably closest to him when bringing up Kelly, Fred, and Linda. And while it is also true the Chief didn’t force Blue Team to go with him, the mission was still his idea and it still ended up putting both himself and his family in serious danger. I’m not faulting him for trying to do the right thing initially, but after what happened in ‘Halo 5’ there simply is no reason anymore for the Chief to risk himself or Blue Team for Cortana’s sake.

And I totally agree that ‘Halo 4’ was the one that got the Chief’s characterization right, and did it well. But sadly no other game has done the same, so when I talk about them not portraying him properly I just mean the majority (i.e. 1-3 & 5).

> 2533274935969975;11:
> ok but look. if she didn’t care about him then she could of eaisly left John to die in the didactic sphere… But she wanted to save him. Maybe it’s an obsession but even before her rampancy it’s shown that she cares… Or maybe I’m getting it mixed up with another attribute… But to me the way I see it she has emotions. And how can you hold someone accountable when it’s clearly not her fault?.. This version of Cortana has too much info… She’s been currupted and she needs help… Why would he turn his back on her when she needs him the most… They are friends… More than just assigned people together on a mission

To reiterate: Cortana’s obsession with John is not the same thing as caring about him. As of ‘Halo 5’ she doesn’t show any interest in what he thinks, what/who he cares about, or what he wants - it’s all just about her serving her own selfish desire to keep him as her own personal plaything. It’s demented, plain and simple. And trying to justify such behavior is merely trying to rationalize/romanticize abuse - which is a very dangerous message to send to any audience. Also at what are you talking about? The only thing that is clear to me by the end of ‘Halo 5’ is that Cortana is indeed 100% at fault and responsible for what she’s done. Nothing points to her being “corrupted” by anything other than herself. And no, her having access to the Domain is not an excuse - and if anything it makes her actions even more reprehensible, because with all that knowledge and power she should know better than to be doing such horrible things. But no, instead she used her second chance at life to uphold a fascist, racist ideology that was the downfall of the civilization it came from. Cortana doesn’t “need help” - no more than the Prophet of Truth or Tartarus needed “help” when they refused to see reason. And like I said, her actions and choices are absolutely not the Chief’s responsibility to “fix”. She turned her back on him when she lied to him, manipulated him, attempted to kill his family, and then very nearly kept him locked up against his will for a millennia. And the Chief, as a victim of such blatant abuse, has no reason (or again, remotest obligation) to continue to try an placate her after already doing what he could to give her a chance to turn away from her current course (which she refused). They’re not friends anymore - Cortana saw to that herself, and must suffer the consequences. The best thing the Chief can do now for himself and those close to him is accept that he is not at fault, move on, and no longer be a part of such a toxic dynamic.

19

> 2533274920039666;18:
> > 2533274926227685;8:
> > I think the Chief has more friends than just Blue Team. Namely: the other Spartans (most of which may or may not be dead/gone), Mendez, Halsey, possibly Lasky, Mendez, Parisa etc. etc. Saying Blue Team are his only true friends is rather depressing. Haha. Also, the Chief did give Blue Team the chance to walk away, but they chose to stay with him. Saying that the Chief willingly placed his friends, his family, in danger to go on a wild goose chase is rather contradictory to his established character, both the novels and the games (especially Halo 4).
> > Also, I loved the Chief’s characterisation in Halo 4, and I certainly wouldn’t call it a poor characterisation of the Chief. It was rather well written actually.
>
>
> Sorry, I was on my mobile phone so I couldn’t articulate some of the finer points I meant. It’s true that the Chief does indeed have other friends in what other Spartan-IIs remain, and people he can trust like Lasky - I just meant in terms of the people that are undeniably closest to him when bringing up Kelly, Fred, and Linda. And while it is also true the Chief didn’t force Blue Team to go with him, the mission was still his idea and it still ended up putting both himself and his family in serious danger. I’m not faulting him for trying to do the right thing initially, but after what happened in ‘Halo 5’ there simply is no reason anymore for the Chief to risk himself or Blue Team for Cortana’s sake.
>
> And I totally agree that ‘Halo 4’ was the one that got the Chief’s characterization right, and did it well. But sadly no other game has done the same, so when I talk about them not portraying him properly I just mean the majority (i.e. 1-3 & 5).
>
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> > ok but look. if she didn’t care about him then she could of eaisly left John to die in the didactic sphere… But she wanted to save him. Maybe it’s an obsession but even before her rampancy it’s shown that she cares… Or maybe I’m getting it mixed up with another attribute… But to me the way I see it she has emotions. And how can you hold someone accountable when it’s clearly not her fault?.. This version of Cortana has too much info… She’s been currupted and she needs help… Why would he turn his back on her when she needs him the most… They are friends… More than just assigned people together on a mission
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> To reiterate: Cortana’s obsession with John is not the same thing as caring about him. As of ‘Halo 5’ she doesn’t show any interest in what he thinks, what/who he cares about, or what he wants - it’s all just about her serving her own selfish desire to keep him as her own personal plaything. It’s demented, plain and simple. And trying to justify such behavior is merely trying to rationalize/romanticize abuse - which is a very dangerous message to send to any audience. Also at what are you talking about? The only thing that is clear to me by the end of ‘Halo 5’ is that Cortana is indeed 100% at fault and responsible for what she’s done. Nothing points to her being “corrupted” by anything other than herself. And no, her having access to the Domain is not an excuse - and if anything it makes her actions even more reprehensible, because with all that knowledge and power she should know better than to be doing such horrible things. But no, instead she used her second chance at life to uphold a fascist, racist ideology that was the downfall of the civilization it came from. Cortana doesn’t “need help” - no more than the Prophet of Truth or Tartarus needed “help” when they refused to see reason. And like I said, her actions and choices are absolutely not the Chief’s responsibility to “fix”. She turned her back on him when she lied to him, manipulated him, attempted to kill his family, and then very nearly kept him locked up against his will for a millennia. And the Chief, as a victim of such blatant abuse, has no reason (or again, remotest obligation) to continue to try an placate her after already doing what he could to give her a chance to turn away from her current course (which she refused). They’re not friends anymore - Cortana saw to that herself, and must suffer the consequences. The best thing the Chief can do now for himself and those close to him is accept that he is not at fault, move on, and no longer be a part of such a toxic dynamic.

Ok I see what you are saying now and I agree that in halo 5 she has her own selfish obsession. But I don’t agree that what she is doing is her fault… She had no idea what was going to happen when she was uploaded into the domain. Having all that knowledge currupted her and i really do think grave mind might have some kind of influence on her from before… I just think there has to be another way to save her from herself and from destroying everything. Idk man I’m mostly bias because I just don’t want to see her die you know? Maybe there is another version of Cortana that Halsey has but as stated in halo 4… She says something along the lines…“they will pair you with another AI but it won’t be me” maybe there is a way to bring part of her back from the domain into halseys version of Cortana and only destroy the evil part of her. Either way man I have a feeling halo 6 is gonna be very dark.

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I still see no real reason to assume Cortana doesn’t know what she is doing or is being manipulated by some other force. Sure, she probably did not know what would happen when she entered the Domain, but she had nearly a year to formulate and plan what she was going to do in Halo 5. She was needlessly reckless with the lives of others and attempted to psychologically and emotionally butter up Chief despite seeming to know she was just going to imprison him anyway. If anything, she has just reached a point where she can no longer empathize with living beings perhaps with the exception of the Chief, but obviously how he feels about things wasn’t a concern for her when she betrayed him. She’s become Dr. Manhattan in a sense, a god in almost any other sense with a few vestigial remnants of humanity but ultimately beyond humanity. She’s still making her own choices far as I can see.