First I would like to begin the topic by saying that I loved Halo 4’s compaign and 343 has done a spectacular job with the Halo series. As of so far this is the best Halo game yet;(imo of course) Anyway onto the topic.
I recently finished the campaign and couldn’t help but wonder where does the series go next? 343 has put an emphasis on developing John as a character and showing that he is in fact human. The game accomplishes this goal extremely well through John and Cortana’s relationship. With Cortana’s supposed death I don’t see how this series will successfully continue.
The Chief has lost practically everybody that he actually cares about. The Spartan 2’s, Keyes, Johnson, and Cortana are all gone. Without these characters I cannot see him developing any further. As we’ve seen so far AI’s are essential to Johns success as Cortana saved his -Yoink- about 500 billion times, without her he’s just a glorified super soldier. The odds of him accepting another AI are next to impossible; John needs Cortana.
Cortana is also the only character remaining from the original Halo trilogy. She’s been developed over the course of four games, during which her and John have grown attached. If she actually is dead we’ve lost the last character which we actually care about. (Besides the Chief) 343 does not have enough time to build a bond between us and another character that is as strong as the one between us, the Chief, and Cortana. When people think Halo they think the Master Chief, and Cortana, without her I wont help but feel that something is missing.
So my question is where do we go from here? How will 343 continue the Halo series without this beloved character? Maybe I’m just blowing her importance out of proportion but I would like to hear other theories and opinions.
My question is how the hell did the Chief survive A NUCLEAR BOMB?
I’d like to see Chief strike it out on his own. Take his armor with him, and try to find Cortana, or what’s left of her. There’s no way she’s totally dead.
> My question is how the hell did the Chief survive A NUCLEAR BOMB?
^ Super secret Cortana space magic is the answer to that one. Being serious however I don’t understand what she did to some how allow him to survive a nuclear explosion.
> I’d like to see Chief strike it out on his own. Take his armor with him, and try to find Cortana, or what’s left of her. There’s no way she’s totally dead.
^this
> > I’d like to see Chief strike it out on his own. Take his armor with him, and try to find Cortana, or what’s left of her. There’s no way she’s totally dead.
>
> ^this
^ I would also like for this to happen and it was my first guess on what the next game would be about. They did however make a big deal about Cortana ‘dying’ so I don’t know if they would have her show up in the next game and be like “Lol jk I didn’t die, I was -Yoinking!- around with you”
> My question is how the hell did the Chief survive A NUCLEAR BOMB?
chief got turned into a digital form, the easiest way to explain it is like how flynn gets onto the grid in tron kind of thing 
and im hoping cortana gets through to the 4th stage of rampancy, metastability.
chief losing cortana is heartbreaking and the only way to beat that would be fore them to be reunited after all hope of getting her back had been lost
> My question is how the hell did the Chief survive A NUCLEAR BOMB?
Earlier in the Campaign, the Librarian explained how the Composer could function like a bridge between the analog and the digital world. When the didact was using the composer, Cortana was in the system and was able to pull Chief across into the digital realm at the last second (sorta like Tron), and then after saying goodbye, returned him to the analog world. A bit confusing yes, but it was explained and does make sense (pertaining to the circumstances presented in the game).
Otherwise, I do agree that Cortana is central to the Halo storyline, but just as how the Didact will be important, I feel that neither of these characters are finished with the storyline, considering how it ended. Cortana will deteriorate further, but over the next two games we will see Chief’s struggle to save her. I think not only will she return, but she will be a prominent focus to the next two games, because like you said, she’s basically a part of Master Chief, and without her he isn’t the same character we care so much about, which is why he’s discussing being a machine at the end.
> > My question is how the hell did the Chief survive A NUCLEAR BOMB?
>
> chief got turned into a digital form, the easiest way to explain it is like how flynn gets onto the grid in tron kind of thing
>
> and im hoping cortana gets through to the 4th stage of rampancy, metastability.
> chief losing cortana is heartbreaking and the only way to beat that would be fore them to be reunited after all hope of getting her back had been lost
^This is what would happen in my ideal Halo universe. My best guess on Cortana returning is that the librarian made a copy of her or something to that affect. I don’t know if I’m remembering correctly but I recall Cortana saying that the librarian did something to, her just like she made John invincible to the composer.
> sorta like Tron
you use the exact same way as me to explain it! :’) its the only thing i could think of comparing it to :’)
I’d like to see the Arby and Chief team up again.
> I’d like to see the Arby and Chief team up again.
^Arby and the Chief again would work but it doesn’t come close to the connection Chief and Cortana have. It would satisfy some players who miss the Arby but wouldn’t suffice 343’s goal for making John more human.
In any series, don’t believe a character had died unless you actually watch them die on screen. 99% of the time those who you “think” died come back.
I never thought of that idea for how Cortana could have saved Chief, that makes sense though. I had just assumed she created a hard light shield around him. But if she did that, does that mean she was able to accomplish what the forerunners were not? Send a living person from the digital realm and back without destroying them?
> In any series, don’t believe a character had died unless you actually watch them die on screen. 99% of the time those who you “think” died come back.
^This is a valid point, the way the Didact ‘died’ was just demeaning, a QTE really? I definitely do not believe that they would introduce such a great character and kill him off before even expanding on his back story.
> I never thought of that idea for how Cortana could have saved Chief, that makes sense though. I had just assumed she created a hard light shield around him. But if she did that, does that mean she was able to accomplish what the forerunners were not? Send a living person from the digital realm and back without destroying them?
^If she did indeed manage that there’s a definite possibility she’ll be back. If she could save the Chief from the epicentre of a nuclear explosion then I find it hard to believe she’s dead.
Chief hasn’t lost everyone yet or did most of you forget about Blue Team? Linda, Fred, Kelly…then Mendez if Travis hasn’t killed him off yet (Haven’t read Thursday War)
The Didact isn’t dead by any stretch of the imagination. That epilogue made that very obvious that he’s going to be a threat in Halo 5 and Halo 6. I am pretty sure if Cortana can aid Chief in surviving the detonation of a nuke, then the Didact can survive too. We never actually see the Pulse Grenade going off either…easily could have removed it and trans-located to…somewhere. Or pulled himself into a digital realm. At least his conscious where he can create a new body (oh god, sounds like Sigma from Mega Man X).
Chief has plenty of battles of ahead no doubt but as for his humanity? I think Halo 4 is the first of many steps in John “reclaiming” what he’s lost: His humanity. It would definitely explain why this trilogy is labeled as the “Reclaimer Trilogy”. Now his humanity can be his own and/or Cortana; someone who has always symbolized his human side in the entire series.
Without her being there for the Chief…very interesting to say the least.
> Chief hasn’t lost everyone yet or did most of you forget about Blue Team? Linda, Fred, Kelly…then Mendez if Travis hasn’t killed him off yet (Haven’t read Thursday War)
>
>
> The Didact isn’t dead by any stretch of the imagination. That epilogue made that very obvious that he’s going to be a threat in Halo 5 and Halo 6. I am pretty sure if Cortana can aid Chief in surviving the detonation of a nuke, then the Didact can survive too. We never actually see the Pulse Grenade going off either…easily could have removed it and trans-located to…somewhere. Or pulled himself into a digital realm. At least his conscious where he can create a new body (oh god, sounds like Sigma from Mega Man X).
>
>
> Chief has plenty of battles of ahead no doubt but as for his humanity? I think Halo 4 is the first of many steps in John “reclaiming” what he’s lost: His humanity. It would definitely explain why this trilogy is labeled as the “Reclaimer Trilogy”. Now his humanity can be his own and/or Cortana; someone who has always symbolized his human side in the entire series.
>
>
> Without her being there for the Chief…very interesting to say the least.
^I haven’t read any of the books so I wouldn’t know about Blue team but I’ve always been under the impression that all other Spartan 2’s are MIA. The Chief cares about soldiers and his team but nowhere to the degree that he cares about Cortana. 343 are obviously trying to weave the books and games together but from what I’ve seen throughout all of the current games is Chief has lost everybody as of yet.
> ^I haven’t read any of the books so I wouldn’t know about Blue team but I’ve always been under the impression that all other Spartan 2’s are MIA. The Chief cares about soldiers and his team but nowhere to the degree that he cares about Cortana. 343 are obviously trying to weave the books and games together but from what I’ve seen throughout all of the current games is Chief has lost everybody as of yet.
While they haven’t shown anyone else in the games, other than Jorge who was kinda created randomly, the books definitely confirm several being alive still. A lot have been lost, but some of his team is still kicking. It’ll be interesting to see them reunited.
They aren’t trying very hard to weave the books and the games together, they make up -Yoink- as they go even if the books have already declared something different they just pretend like the books don’t exist.
> I’d like to see the Arby and Chief team up again.
Technically Arby wants peace with the humans, even if ONI is trying to make them extinct still. It’s possible that Chief could meet up with Arby at some point.