Halo Reach and Halo 3 Spoiler Alert
At the end of Halo 3, we sped on our trusty Warthogs through an imploding super structure and watched as the Master Chief made his typical, death-defying leap into a waiting escape ship. But this time something was different—this was the end of Master Chief’s saga. It could have ended with Master Chief returning to earth triumphant, but he never made it. Bungie decided to put humanity’s greatest warrior into cryostasis, forever to float in the void of space until, as John-117 famously says, “…you need me.”
This is how Bungie left Master Chief, and this is how he should remain.
Recently, Microsoft commented that they would like to see a sped up Halo production cycle, something similar to what Treyarch/Infinity Ward does for the Call of Duty series. That’s fine with me. I like the Halo universe plenty, and I wouldn’t mind exploring more of the rich back story. But I do not want to play as Master Chief ever again.
I conquered the Flood as the Chief, and yes, I know that the final shot of Halo 3 (after a legendary –difficulty playthrough) teasese some mysterious planet, but let the speculation spiral forever down, just like Master Chief and Cortana. His saga is over, and we as fans need to understand that there will never be a satisfactory ending. He could defeat ten alien species, a black hole, and cure AIDs and the ending would still never do Master Chief’s legacy justice. Every great deed we perform as the Master Chief puts a sufficient ending just that much more out of reach (pun intended). I would much rather focus my attention elsewhere in the Halo universe.
Case in point, the fantastic Halo Reach, particularly the ending (Halo Reach Spoiler Alert), which might be one of the best post-credit moments of any game. Out of every Halo game, Reach had the most satisfying ending. The game really couldn’t have concluded any other way. Noble team complete its objective, Reach is destroyed and Master Chief goes on to save humanity. Once that story thread is tied up, we watch as Noble 6 fights a never ending onslaught of Covenant forces. Experienced Halo players could survive for hours, but it’s a pointless struggle, as the Covenant are innumerable, and Noble 6 ultimately, albeit heroically, dies. It's an absolute epithome of the game's overall theme: absolution through death, hope even in the deepest of despair.
Bungie made the right call: heroes become legends only when they die.
There is so much more I would like to know about the Halo universe. If 343 Industries is destined to make a Halo game more rapidly, I hope they expand the scope of Halo outside of Master Chief. Let us play as the Forerunners as they desperately try to rid the universe of Flood, or tell the story of what happens between the humans and the Elites after the war ends. The games always reference human dissidents who oppose the UNSC—let’s see brother versus brother in a galactic civil war, or better yet, let us play as one of the rebels.
In the King Arthur legend, the legendary king is injured in his final battle and taken to the island of Avalon. He promises to return to Britain when the country needed him again. In much the same way, Master Chief promises he will return when he is needed, but will he ever be needed again? We know now that Spartan IIIs and ODSTs are just as capable of saving the day as John-117. Maybe we should let Master Chief have his rest. One day, he may return, but let’s hope that’s not for a good long while.
Joshua Duke is a writer and editor for Morality Points and contributor to The Program 101's gaming section. He also works as a Covenant spy from time to time and never wants to see Master Chief again.