Disclaimer: This post may include spoilers to certain games, TV shows, movies, and books.
Maybe this subject hasn’t been on everyone’s mind, but it certainly has had me thinking lately. Will the writers of Halo Infinite actually kill Master Chief in the story, or will he survive the game and become a practically immortal character similar to Homer Simpson, Spongebob Squarepants, Super Mario, or any other character that happens to just have infinite life.
Now, here me out before you start lighting your keyboards on fire and creating a mob, but I think that Master Chief dying in Halo Infinite could be one of the most amazing, sad, epic, and overall good ways to end his character if it is done correctly. Of course, I am not neglecting the possibilities of horrible ways this could be done, but in my opinion there are so many reasons him dying at end of the game could work. Now, let me list some examples of beloved characters such as Chief were killed off properly in their franchise:
Once again, spoilers ahead.
L from Deathnote: L was a character that was arguably the most lovable, smart, funny, and overall liked character in Deathnote. He was righteous, intelligent, fair, and even tho he was socially isolated and awkward, he still maintained a persona that even the most outgoing and social person could relate to. When he was killed in Episode 25, me and everyone else who admired him was heartbroken, shocked, and just overall dumbfounded that he was actually murdered. Of course my first reaction was along the lines of "how could they do this!? how could they kill our favorite character who meant sooo much us!" And later it hit me, that was what his death was supposed to do. After L died, it made you realize so much more how much you actually loved him for everything he was, whereas if he was kept alive you wouldn’t have had that realization. Also, his death was one of the keys in determining who Kira was, and L knew that, therefore you had even more reasons to like him because that showed he was the kind of investigator who had so much integrity that he put his life on the line in order to fulfill his duty.
Jerome Morrow from Gattaca: Now, I’m going to assume that most people on these forums have never seen Gattaca, but I’ll explain why this character’s death was so significant and amazing anyway. Much like L, many people loved Jerome over every other character in the movie, but for different reasons. He was smart, funny, charming, and had a way of you being perfectly OK with him being a self righteous, pompous jerk. Despite being crippled to a wheelchair, he still had more confidence and self respect than Vincent, who was much smarter, stronger, and overall able than Jerome. He also had a vulnerable side as well that showed in his alcoholism and chronic smoking, but even with those inhibitors he was still determined to help Vincent become an astronaut. In the end of the movie, Vincent finally becomes an astronaut like he dreamed of being his entire life, and Jerome, with the satisfaction that he helped Vincent become what he dreamed of being, kills himself in the furnace along with his loathed Second Place Olympic medal. What might typically be seen as a sad and horribly depressing way to die is in my opinion not. Jerome killed himself because he knew he no longer had any reason to continue and that his goal of completing another person’s life and fulfilling his dream was complete.
John Coffey from The Green Mile: Once again, another beloved character who exhibits traits highly sought after by everyone. John Coffey was kind, fair, funny, and an overall amazing person who has been wronged by the corruption and racism of his time and location. You would have to be the most soulless person alive to not feel for John Coffey and want him to receive justice for being so wrongly persecuted and unfairly dealt. However, Stephen King did not give us that satisfaction; instead he gives us the exact opposite. John Coffey is eventually given the harshest punishment a criminal at the time could have received, the electric chair. I’m not the only one who can say that the electric chair execution has to be one of the most horrific, provoking, and overall infuriating scenes of movie history. King did not save any viewer’s feelings by creating a story with a happy ending. He created a story that’s ending and death of a character like John Coffey was the most accurate and likely portrayals of reality in its time. John Coffey’s death signified how unjust, unfair, and overall cruel conditions were for a person like him in that era.
So, there are ways to kill beloved and iconic characters in a story, but it all just boils down to how well you do it. If Master Chief is going to die in Halo Infinite, then it needs to be like one of the examples above: It needs to have a good reason both pertaining to the story and to Chief himself. It can’t just be any death, it has to be Master Chief’s death, and with enough work, thought, and creativity, I know it can be done. The question just is: will they actually do it? Will they kill the Chief?