Why the hate over Cortana's survival?

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

I think there really shouldn’t be as much criticism of Cortana not having died at the end of Halo 4. It’s a knee jerk reaction and not really warranted.

For starters, we didn’t actually see Cortana die. If she can survive without her chip and she says pretty unambiguously that bits of her are still in the ship then how does that add up to her being dead? Plus, in escalation they point out that the Didact and bits of the Didacts ship are spewed out of slipspace. That means it’s fairly reasonable that Cortana could have survived long enough to reach the Domain where she could repair the damage done to her “physical” form.

Secondly, the Librarian discusses with the Chief about her plan for
him to assume the Mantle as the Reclaimer. She then says that “even your ancilla AI Cortana” is part of this plan. For me this was a massive hint that Cortana had not died in Halo 4. If this is the Reclaimer saga and presumably will end with Chief taking on the Mantle to save humanity; how can he do that without Cortana if she’s dead and part of that plan?

Thirdly, was I literally the only person who watched the E3 2013 trailer where he’s walking in the desert with Cortana’s chip and thought “oh, he’s on a quest to get her back”? How can she be dead if Chief is on a journey to find her? Yet the amount of outright denial in the run up to Halo 5 is really quite staggering given that trailer was out for so long.

343 planned the series as a trilogy. I find it extremely unlikely that they could change something as important as “Cortana becomes villain and tries to conquer Galaxy” on a whim as its a major plot point in Halo 5 and presumably Halo 6. This is why there are hints pointing to Cortana’s survival and having a larger role in the story in during Halo 4.

Okay, the main complaint is that this somehow cheapens the Chiefs personal development. That Cortana dying meant the Chief learnt about his humanity through having his bond with her broken. With all respect, how? He’s not going to revert or regress back into being an automaton. That’s why he takes it on himself to go after Cortana in 5, he feels responsible and doesn’t just take orders like a machine would. Like he tells Locke, he knows Cortana is a threat but she is his problem; nobody else’s. Cortana being alive hasn’t negatively affected the Chiefs character development. It allows them to follow up on and develop it further as it presents him with a very difficult personal problem.

The second thing is probably the most knee jerk reaction. That having Cortana come back cheapens her sacrifice. For example, some people say this about Gandalf in Lord of the Rings how he comes back exactly the same in a new colour robe. But, a key difference is that Cortana has very evidently changed and it is extremely unlikely that things can ever go back to the same. Even if she, for whatever reason, changes back to being a good person, she’s done so much damage that the UNSC will try to destroy her anyway; Chief can never have her back. Either he kills her, is forced apart from her, or goes against the UNSC to protect her if he manages to redeem her.

Bringing Cortana back has pushed the narrative forward and into a very interesting direction. I mean, where else could they have gone with Chiefs character? Chief can only discover his humanity if he has to let his personal feelings and sense of right and wrong come to the fore. But how can you tell a personal story like that if the only character chief had a personal relationship with is killed in the first act of your story? Not everyone has read the books and it would have felt very forced to put the emotional focus on Halsey or Blue Team in the 5th game. Indeed Blue Team completely wouldn’t suit that kind of story because a story about courage and military comradeship is to in Chiefs comfort zone as a “machine” super soldier. They could have maybe done something with Halsey; but I still think there’s a severe problem with her being an EU character.

The simple fact is that the Reclaimer Saga is the story of Chief and Cortana. 343 has obviously decided the best way to show Chiefs humanity is by focusing on the emotional drama between him and Cortana.

2

For me, it isn’t so much the fact that she’s back as much as it was her characterisation.

She’s meant to be a snarky, intelligent, morally correct individual. Her descent into rampancy was meant to be like a person finding out they had terminal cancer; shocking, upsetting, but final. When she came back for Guardians, I was originally okay with it, but her character had completely changed.

Instead of having that sort of snarky, quirky friendship with the Chief that they usually shared, she was more like an over apologetic, but manipulative ex-girlfriend. She kept trying to flatter him, tell him how much she missed him, how much she needs him, all in an attempt to manipulate him into joining her in her conquest of the galaxy. And that isn’t Cortana to me.

Like I said, this is just my opinion on the matter. Other people’s may vary.

3

ell her death was meant to set a evolution in Chief as a character. His grievance and acceptance could’ve led to him being more than a (mostly) voiceless robot and make him more relatable as a human.

But nah, they threw in she survived near the very beginning so he became obsessed with finding her rather moving on.

And also, her personality was drastically altered. Going from a tag-along hero and friend to empress of the galaxy with a fleet of giant space police in the span of between spartan ops and Halo 5

It also doesnt help we spend 3/4 of the game as Locke so we dont even get to see Chief’s side first-hand for most of it.

4

she should be dead, but yet again a new antagonist in the story so hurray for exposition in the story of the Halo Universe!

5

> 2533274823268852;2:
> For me, it isn’t so much the fact that she’s back as much as it was her characterisation.
>
> She’s meant to be a snarky, intelligent, morally correct individual. Her descent into rampancy was meant to be like a person finding out they had terminal cancer; shocking, upsetting, but final. When she came back for Guardians, I was originally okay with it, but her character had completely changed.
>
> Instead of having that sort of snarky, quirky friendship with the Chief that they usually shared, she was more like an over apologetic, but manipulative ex-girlfriend. She kept trying to flatter him, tell him how much she missed him, how much she needs him, all in an attempt to manipulate him into joining her in her conquest of the galaxy. And that isn’t Cortana to me.
>
> Like I said, this is just my opinion on the matter. Other people’s may vary.

My feelings are similar to that as well as the fact that any impact of Halo 4’s story is just gone. I’m not even happy she’s a villain now because it is a sci-fi cliché plot now.

6

She might still be dead
It might not actually be her.
Why? Well, in the Legendary Ending

We see a Halo ring with Cortana humming the same tune that 343 guilty spark hummed in Halo CE. It could actually be Spark, not Cortana.So yeah, could not be Cortana who’s alive

If you don’t want the Legendary ending spoiled, you can open the first spoiler, but not the spoiler within the spoiler.

7

Yeah, Rampancy, lore wise causes an AI to develop god like delusions of grandeur and view their creators with disdain. Seems pretty clear cut that’s what’s going on.

8

Its a giant middle finger to the halo 4 character development and ending. Halo 4 is laughable now because of that.

9

> 2533274924290830;6:
>
> She might still be dead
> It might not actually be her.
> Why? Well, in the Legendary Ending
> We see a Halo ring with Cortana humming the same tune that 343 guilty spark hummed in Halo CE. It could actually be Spark, not Cortana.
> So yeah, could not be Cortana who’s alive
>
>
>
> If you don’t want the Legendary ending spoiled, you can open the first spoiler, but not the spoiler within the spoiler.an

I don’t see it. That character believes in the Librarians plan that humans are to assume the mantle.

Why spend two games setting up Cortana as the villain to just bait and switch for a fairly dull villain. It would make Chief having a personal conflict over fighting Cortana meaningless if it weren’t actually Cortana.

She also quotes the Didact. This is simply a way of showing that she is as evil and crazy as both of those characters.

10

> 2533274803587475;9:
> > 2533274924290830;6:
> >
> > She might still be dead
> > It might not actually be her.
> > Why? Well, in the Legendary Ending
> > We see a Halo ring with Cortana humming the same tune that 343 guilty spark hummed in Halo CE. It could actually be Spark, not Cortana.
> > So yeah, could not be Cortana who’s alive
> >
> >
> >
> > If you don’t want the Legendary ending spoiled, you can open the first spoiler, but not the spoiler within the spoiler.an
>
>
> I don’t see it. That character believes in the Librarians plan that humans are to assume the mantle.
>
> Why spend two games setting up Cortana as the villain to just bait and switch for a fairly dull villain. It would make Chief having a personal conflict over fighting Cortana meaningless if it weren’t actually Cortana.
>
> She also quotes the Didact. This is simply a way of showing that she is as evil and crazy as both of those characters.

Well regardless it is a complete character flip when she was “saved from her rampancy” regardless. Chief probably won’t have any issue fighting her because he already knows. He doesn’t want to, but MC has always been the type of character to stick to his guns so I highly doubt it will make for interesting story unless they change Chief’s character.

11

NO idea. But I think Halo 6 will be interesting BECAUSE of it

12

> 2533274831961512;5:
> > 2533274823268852;2:
> > For me, it isn’t so much the fact that she’s back as much as it was her characterisation.
> >
> > She’s meant to be a snarky, intelligent, morally correct individual. Her descent into rampancy was meant to be like a person finding out they had terminal cancer; shocking, upsetting, but final. When she came back for Guardians, I was originally okay with it, but her character had completely changed.
> >
> > Instead of having that sort of snarky, quirky friendship with the Chief that they usually shared, she was more like an over apologetic, but manipulative ex-girlfriend. She kept trying to flatter him, tell him how much she missed him, how much she needs him, all in an attempt to manipulate him into joining her in her conquest of the galaxy. And that isn’t Cortana to me.
> >
> > Like I said, this is just my opinion on the matter. Other people’s may vary.
>
>
> My feelings are similar to that as well as the fact that any impact of Halo 4’s story is just gone. I’m not even happy she’s a villain now because it is a sci-fi cliché plot now.

The evil alien warlord firing a death laser at earth wasn’t cliche?

You’re focusing too much on the set up rather than the characters. If, I don’t know, Mendicant Bias was doing this, to me that would’ve been a cliche because it’s a cold
logic machine goes Reaper mode for reasons. But by making it Cortana, you can portray her as a tragic and fallen figure. You also have a brilliant personal conflict between Chief and her because both characters will have to weigh their personal feelings against what they see as saving the galaxy. It’s that aspect of it which is actually quite novel. You don’t normally get to personalise an artificial intelligence and make it a personal conflict.

13

> 2533274831961512;10:
> > 2533274803587475;9:
> > > 2533274924290830;6:
> > >
> > > She might still be dead
> > > It might not actually be her.
> > > Why? Well, in the Legendary Ending
> > > We see a Halo ring with Cortana humming the same tune that 343 guilty spark hummed in Halo CE. It could actually be Spark, not Cortana.
> > > So yeah, could not be Cortana who’s alive
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > If you don’t want the Legendary ending spoiled, you can open the first spoiler, but not the spoiler within the spoiler.an
> >
> >
> > I don’t see it. That character believes in the Librarians plan that humans are to assume the mantle.
> >
> > Why spend two games setting up Cortana as the villain to just bait and switch for a fairly dull villain. It would make Chief having a personal conflict over fighting Cortana meaningless if it weren’t actually Cortana.
> >
> > She also quotes the Didact. This is simply a way of showing that she is as evil and crazy as both of those characters.
>
>
> Well regardless it is a complete character flip when she was “saved from her rampancy” regardless. Chief probably won’t have any issue fighting her because he already knows. He doesn’t want to, but MC has always been the type of character to stick to his guns so I highly doubt it will make for interesting story unless they change Chief’s character.

How do you actually know she’s cured herself of rampancy?

I think the Domain allows her to physically function but her behaviour is consistent with a rampant AI. Thinks she’s a God and superior to humans.

14

Completely agree with you.

At first i hated the fact that 343 not only brought her back but had the audacity to make her the villain. I thought it was stupid and made no sense that she suddenly wanted to destroy everything like a bad rouge AI film.

But now I’ve thought about it more and I’m starting to come round. We know she was already deep into Rampancy at the end of Halo 4 and only have her word that shes been cured. Even if she has been cured theirs no telling the damage already done to her. So people saying this isn’t Cortana are right, our Cortana died at the beginning of 4. This is rampant Cortana.

Also theirs her agenda, Galactic pacification. Basically what the UNSC have been doing to their colonies for years. Do what I tell you cause I know whats best for you. You know, what shes been telling us forever “Push that button, its for the best” “OK” so her suddenly going “Hey Humanity, do this” doesn’t seem that weird to me.

As long as Brian Reed doesn’t write her into a cackling monologuing super-villain (I’m not convinced he won’t) then I’m happy with how her character has been developed.

15

Well for starters its terrible writing.

Oh and the fact that 343 confirmed her dead several times. Thanks for the lies guys -.-

16

I remember way back early in Halo 4’s second mission there was a terminal with a Halsey log stating something about the rampancy and AI death model potentially not applying to Cortana or applying to her in different ways because of the very unique situation of her creation…specifically that she was created from a clone of Halsey’s brain.

That always made me feel that despite her end in Halo 4…perhaps it wasn’t really the end as we saw it. She did break off many different spikes of herself and with the previous terminal recording in mind, her survival, even a fragment of her, is not completely out of the question.

What becomes the question however, is whether this is the real Cortana or merely a fragment and whether or not she is truly past the rampancy and has achieved the meta-stable stage.

The relevant Halsey log transcript:

Halsey: “The interesting factor here isn’t that H-1 disabled the viral termination code I had implanted in her matrix. These metrics imply its success wasn’t just unlikely, but that even the accepted 7-year life cycle estimates may not apply.”
Halsey: “Thus far, I’ve determined that the unique circumstances of her creation have triggered what I can only refer to as a recessive variant in the A.I seed.”
Halsey: “As her architect, I’m currently at a loss as to the origin of the development of this rogue element. Very curious.”

17

I don’t have a problem with the idea of Cortana surviving and becoming a villain, I have a problem with the way it was presented. It made Halo 4’s ending completely meaningless, and barely made any sense in its portrayal. With her death, we were left with a Master Chief who was forced to face his humanity and to try and cope with the loss of a very dear friend, which left the possibility open for some great character development in the future. But, within the first like 20 minutes of Chief’s first mission, that is completely THROWN OUT OF THE WINDOW AND FORGOTTEN because Cortana is revealed to still be alive, making Halo 4’s storyline COMPLETELY meaningless. And then the way they explain her survival is pathetic and makes no sense when you consider the EU. The Domain was supposed to have been DESTROYED after the firing of the Halo array, WHERE THE HELL DID IT COME BACK FROM? And since when did it have the ability to “heal” AI? It was just a massive databank before, where is all this super natural -Yoink- coming from? And the whole Created vs Creators conflict is SOOOOO unoriginal and boring. No one needs another AI rebellion story. It would have been better if there was a different ulterior motive driving Cortana’s decision to try and conquer the galaxy, like an eminent return of the flood that required a united galaxy to face. Bottomline, 343 seriously needs a new writing team. Brian Reed is only going to continue to ruin this franchise with his lazy and uninspired writing that honestly disrespects everything the franchise stands for. They should also just scrap the current campaign and release a new one as DLC, its basically beyond saving for the most part.

18

I was somewhat interested to see where Cortana’s philosophy would go in Halo 5, but then she started talking -Yoink- to Osiris like a -Yoinking!- child and I lost any and all interest. They really could have do something with her, but instead just rehash the same old plot elements to make her another generic baddie who wants to take over the galaxy. Don’t bother with the “She’s doing what she thinks is right!” argument, it’s pointless. The Didact thought he was right, would you want to become his personal Bionicle? The Prophets thought they were right, would you want to be ground up into glass by plasma fire? Nothing fundamentally makes Cortana different from those enemies of old. I do find the arguments about how she couldn’t be dead because of the Librarian’s plan odd. The mere fact the Didact was crazy was due to her plan for him failing. She hoped the Domain would clear his madness but the Halos broke the Domain and prevented that. Why should her plan actually work? How does Chief develop into a more human character without Cortana? Well, by grieving and moving on from the death of a close friend like a normal person would do it. The fact he could not surround himself with Blue Team, who he pretty much brushes off in Halo 5, could have been a good direction.

So Cortana’s desire for the Mantle, her Created? It’s all -Yoink- that doesn’t matter.

19

Plus, in Halo 4 they talk about how Cortana cured of rampancy by finding Halsey and recompiling her neural matrix.

This is is interesting for two reasons. Firstly, it’s makes her cure and problem very specific to Halsey; how could the Domain cure her without Halsey? Also, Chief fails to reach Halsey in Halo 4, but what’s the very first thing she tells Chief at the end of 5? “It took you long enough.”

20

> 2533274803587475;12:
> > 2533274831961512;5:
> > > 2533274823268852;2:
> > > For me, it isn’t so much the fact that she’s back as much as it was her characterisation.
> > >
> > > She’s meant to be a snarky, intelligent, morally correct individual. Her descent into rampancy was meant to be like a person finding out they had terminal cancer; shocking, upsetting, but final. When she came back for Guardians, I was originally okay with it, but her character had completely changed.
> > >
> > > Instead of having that sort of snarky, quirky friendship with the Chief that they usually shared, she was more like an over apologetic, but manipulative ex-girlfriend. She kept trying to flatter him, tell him how much she missed him, how much she needs him, all in an attempt to manipulate him into joining her in her conquest of the galaxy. And that isn’t Cortana to me.
> > >
> > > Like I said, this is just my opinion on the matter. Other people’s may vary.
> >
> >
> > My feelings are similar to that as well as the fact that any impact of Halo 4’s story is just gone. I’m not even happy she’s a villain now because it is a sci-fi cliché plot now.
>
>
> The evil alien warlord firing a death laser at earth wasn’t cliche?
>
> You’re focusing too much on the set up rather than the characters. If, I don’t know, Mendicant Bias was doing this, to me that would’ve been a cliche because it’s a cold
> logic machine goes Reaper mode for reasons. But by making it Cortana, you can portray her as a tragic and fallen figure. You also have a brilliant personal conflict between Chief and her because both characters will have to weigh their personal feelings against what they see as saving the galaxy. It’s that aspect of it which is actually quite novel. You don’t normally get to personalise an artificial intelligence and make it a personal conflict.

That just isn’t how I see it. And it wasn’t aliens firing a death ray it was aliens finding what they believed to be a relic which was in turn a weapon of an advanced civilization that was nowhere to be found to fight a galactic calamity that was also accidently released. Much more complex than oh your former companion now has a god complex and wants AI to rule over man.