First off, spoilers. Click back right now if you don’t want to get spoiled.
One thing that fascinated me about Halo’s story line is its religious undertone. Now, the Western culture, being a product of Christianity, cannot help itself but to create fictional heroes that parallel Christ. I mean, how many movies, comics, and video games are out there that pretty much run through the biblical narrative (in a violent manner)? But I loved the way that Master Chief is a Space Marine Jesus.
Master Chief, throughout his massacre of aliens, developed a habit of bringing down false prophets and gods. He first destroyed the Covenant, a religious fundamentalist that’s kinnda like ISIS, is toppled. The Didact, the false god the Covenant worships, is likewise killed (or is he?) by Master Chief. The way I see it, the old trilogy runs through the beginning of the New Testament narrative. Chief, in Halo 2, after falling into the lake, dies like Christ has, and then “descends to hell”. The hell that is the Covenant stronghold. In the end, Chief rises again in the beginning of Halo 3, returning to earth. He then “ascends to heaven” - in stasis, not death - in Forward Unto Dawn. Note how the ship’s name notes a new day. The new trilogy begins with the “second coming” of Master Chief. Like Christ, he has a business to tend to, mainly toppling down false prophets and false gods (again). He does exactly that at the end of Halo 4.
But this religious undertone is, in my opinion, is clouding the narrative flow of the new trilogy. I appreciate religious undertones. I think they are artistic and further respectful toward the origins of the Western culture. But it appears to me that the writers are pushing the religious motif a little too far. I mean, the Devil, or perhaps the antichrist (Didact) is overthrown… Thus ending the biblical narrative to its happy ending.
Now, when I first started to play the campaign, I expected Guardians to be some form of cosmic entities (gods?) that guide heroes like Master Chief. After all, apart from being a Spehs Muureen Jesus, his gears are named after godly gears (Mjonir). I expected the narrative to turn its course to exploring the possibility of “true” gods - the Precursors; I expected Guardians to be a Precursor element. Let’s not forget the mentions of Guardians in MP of earlier games. The Precursors supposedly unleashed the Flood like God has in the Old Testament. But what I got was bunch of large angel-looking Forerunner weapons controlled by an A.I created with a brain tissue of a mad scientist. Cortana, much like Dr. Halsey, is ambitious and greedy. In the later missions, the Forerunner structure that houses Cortana is tall; the way Chief clibs the structure is as if he’s taking the staircase to (false and manufactured) heaven. This creation of mankind - Cortana - becomes another “false god” in the Halo universe.
Just another false god for Chief to kill… how redundant. Let’s not forget how Cortana trying to dominate the universe is kind of cheesy too. Also, the planet’s name is Eden. Seriously?
I don’t know what the writers are thinking. Maybe they have some cards under their sleeves. But it seems to me the biblical narrative, and further the religious motif, is not helping their narrative.
I see two solutions: 1) Take the religious motif to its extreme. Make it more obvious. Make it fantastical and mysterious as religions supposed to be. 2) Ditch the religious theme (while not offending religions, of course).