Reimagining the Fall - Halo: Reach
All I need to know is did we lose them?
I think we both know the answer to that.
Introduction:
Once Again Unto The Breach
We find ourselves revisiting this topic again for a multitude of reasons, most of all because I wanted to reintroduce this analysis in a more cohesive and expansive manner, adding more explanation to my points as well as improving the presentation a great deal.
It is, by all means, a ‘re-imagining’ of what I said before, meaning that whether you come read for the first time or after repeated viewings of my work, my message will still be the same.
So if you can grant me your attention, I shall explain to you the origin, the prelude to a long saga of conflict. We knew the end. This was the beginning of our story, and partly an important interjection of this 27-year long struggle, The Human-Covenant War.
So it is about time we closed this chapter for good, one we thought was already done, and give it a celebration befitting for the 7th anniversary that happened earlier.
Allow us to reimagine the fall.
Part I
Story
Ruminations About The Story:
I remain keen on stating that Halo Reach is a difficult game to place in the Halo timeline.
The narrative itself, on its own merits, is of stellar quality, It boasts a strong atmosphere during its missions and a solid structure and plan of the events as the player goes through the sequence of plot points that lead up to an ending that shocked me and many others.
When looking at it from a broader perspective, however, the game presents several differences and inconsistencies that make it difficult to take it seriously as a key component of a long-form narrative.
This kind of severe oversights or the hints of rushed development, as well as possible disagreements from the team in the direction of the game, really paints the picture of a game that didn’t try its best to be a part of the narrative it claims to add to.
Looking through, thoroughly analyzing and thinking about the story of Halo Reach gives us a different narrative, as the development team made mistakes but also showed their merits and talents, as well as other things to note that were of no consequence to the overall quality of the experience.
Analyzing the last of these is a wasted effort though, which is why I’m going to instead look at a more pressing question: What IS wrong with the story this game is trying to tell?
A Worthy War Story?:
“A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behaviour, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done. If a story seems moral, do not believe it. If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie. There is no rectitude whatsoever. There is no virtue. As a first rule of thumb, therefore, you can tell a true war story by its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil.” - Tom O'Brien; The Things They Carried
Now, this is a bit of a critique right here. Where I'll obviously explain my points as to why I do not think how the story is currently written gives it justice.
One most important thing about making a good story involves knowing and understanding its genre.
In the case of war stories such as Halo Reach, we begin by establishing important locations and events, which allows us to get right in the middle of the action and get acquainted with the story that it is going to tell; one of conflict a deeply personal relation between man and the brutality of the effects that war poses in a man.
One such of example of this comes from the widely acclaimed war movie “Saving Private Ryan”, which begins by showing us the events of the popular D-Day right in the middle of the action at Omaha Beach.
But this is short-lived, because of the moment that initial battle and introduction comes to an end, The plot separates our characters from the event to introduce us to the story's overarching narrative arc.
This works to isolate us from the other events that happened, allowing us to relate to this new situation that the characters are experiencing as well as follow along with the story arc that will be developed along the course of the protagonist’s journey.
Halo: Reach essentially attempts to do this, however, it fails to strike a balance between the journey and the characters that perform the journey.
What makes this balance important is that the characters have to be about as interesting and likable as the journey itself, or even juxtapose the cruelness of the battle with the hope of the human spirit. They have to be equally important and interesting. This is important because, as is the case of any war story, people’s lives are expendable and may be lost at any time.
In order to connect to the audience once a character loses their life, a poor story runs the risk of un-phasing their audience. We're shocked by their departure, of course, but never really phased emotionally. We are not given much reason to care for these characters throughout the journey, at least not as deeply as we cared for Irwin Wade whom in his dying moments said
"Momma... Momma... I wanna go home, I wanna go home..."
All in the midst of crying, after Morphine had been administered in him, before death gave him a release of his conscience and suffering.
The dramatic irony of this scene is what makes it so effective though, as his exact words mirror an earlier conversation earlier in the story about conscience, thus creating a full narrative arc that helps us understand and appreciate the emotional struggle of the character.
Wade: "Well, when my mother was an intern, she used to work late through the night... sleep through the day. So the only time we'd ever get to talk about anything is when she'd get home. So what I... I used to do, I used to lie in my bed and try to stay awake as long as I could, but it never worked 'cause... 'cause the harder I'd try, the faster I'd fall asleep."
Reiben: "Yeah well, that wouldn't have mattered none in my house. My ma, she would've come home, shook me awake, chatted me up 'til dawn. I swear that woman was never too tired to talk."
Mellish: "That was probably the only time she could get a word in."
Wade: "Only thing is, sometimes she'd come home early, and I'd pretend to be asleep"
Mellish: "Who, your mom?"
Wade: "Yeah. She'd stand in the doorway looking at me... and I'd just keep my eyes shut. And I knew she just wanted to find out about my day - that she came home early... just to talk to me. And I still wouldn't move... I'd still pretend to just be asleep. I don't know why I did that."
As opposed to such masterful character building, Reach makes no attempt to develop its characters, at least not as much as the aforementioned Saving Private Ryan, a better example of its genre.
Indeed, it is merely contempt with portraying simple and stereotypical personalities, making Reach the character and willfully ignoring the individual human consciences and struggles. The negative repercussions are then what worsens the story, making each of their deaths feel meaningless when it comes to developing the narrative and theme, being merely disposable narrative devices used carelessly to advance the plot and create enough conflict to build a climax.
One such example is Kat’s death, which heavily utilizes shock value moreso than it does substance.
There are times when you must ask yourself. Why do I like the character that I like? Really think about it and go back and play the game to try to count the times those characters said something that was meaningful to themselves.
Ask yourself how many times those characters exhibited actual personality.
Halo: Reach sticks to the cardinal rule of 'show don't tell', choosing to make the Planet of Reach as their main character instead of the characters on screen, all the expense of telling a good war story, with characters in them creating the disconnect between the characters of Noble and the events of Reach.
This misunderstanding of its genre truly sinks down the potential and quality of Reach as a story and as much as I appreciate the dedicated attention to the planet, the atmosphere and the world building, I wish they hadn't sacrificed so much at the expense of telling this story. In order to tell a better story, Reach needed to spend an equal amount of effort on developing both the world and characters, for both of them are important aspects of war; the heroes and the unbridled form chaos.
This why Halo: The Fall of Reach works best when telling this story. Not because it's the original attempt at telling this story, but because it takes its time with the conflict and the characters and subsequently, so does Halo: First Strike.
War is hell, but that's not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love. War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead. - Tom O'Brien, The Things They Carried.
To tell an efficient war story, it is important that we look for what makes the genre unique, as opposed to what limits the genre. A common mistake occurs when War Stories are mistaken for contextually similar genres, such as Action Movies, which also focus on violent acts and the resolution of conflict between one individual and another. However, despite their similarities, it is a mistake to write the two similarly, especially when analyzing what makes a good War Story.
One such example could be Band of Brothers, which is able to make an efficient distinction between the two by being faithful to the strengths of War as a Storytelling genre. The movie is loyal to its characters, to its conflict, and it most importantly doesn’t follow stereotypes; thus sticking to the fundamental strengths of its type.
Halo Reach fails at such a thing because it deviates from recognizable, relatable characters with conscience and depth that make them each distinct from one another and make them feel human to the audience. Much like action movies, it sticks closer to tropes and archetypes to deliver on gratification rather than immersion.
Whether you’re writing about a perpetrator of violence or a victim; dig deep within your own personal capacity for empathy to tease out elements that will make all of your characters human, relatable, and real—even the villains. You might not respect your antagonist’s decisions, but by understanding them, you’ll bring depth and emotion to your work.
Understand your characters: Whether you’re writing about a perpetrator of violence or a victim, dig deep within your own personal capacity for empathy to tease out elements that will make all of your characters human, relatable, and real—even the villains. You might not respect your antagonist’s decisions, but by understanding them, you’ll bring depth and emotion to your work.
As a universe that often strives to retain itself in reality with characters that you can empathise with and understand, such as one of my examples in my Military Noir article - Prophet of Truth or Watanabe.
I simply cannot believe that with all this precedent, Bungie still chose to ignore this while aiming to tell a war story. Especially as the medium has progressed and the industry has produced things such as The Pacific released in the very same year.
It's a jarring contrast. And I firmly believe that a war movie should strive to check several things off of their to-do lists and Reach was so close to being perfect. And a list which I will elaborate here:
Elaborate on The Field of War. Detail your Area of Operations, whether it be in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in space or on another planet. Give it life, make it dynamic.
Know Your Characters: Make sure to know exactly who you're writing, make them human, relatable, real.
Do your research.
Focus on the details.
Avoid cliches.
When executed properly, War Stories are a great source of artistic inspiration. They allow us to look at the deepest trenches of the human condition, letting the sedentary and peaceful man witness the morally depraved and sadistic nature of human conflict so they can learn from it.
It delivers hell to its audience, the hell a soldier has to see and experience. The art is in the detail of the issues it brings forth. Every war story done right serves the purpose of putting forward a cautionary tale. Mentally, physically and spiritually.
Because at its core; War Is Hell. This is what makes the Halo franchise unique, as it is able to represent this aspect of war where no other is able to. And this is where Halo: Reach fails, despite all the things done right in the setting it is portraying, it fails to give emotional meaning past the planet we're watching fall before our eyes. My difficulty to place this game within its own franchise comes from its failure to be faithful to the franchise’s own purpose; to tell a good war story that resonates with its audience.
Mistakes To Remedy:
There's a good video out there created by Nerdwriter1 - at least to me - that quotes Film Critic and Nostalgia Critic's joint review of the movie passengers, saying something like this.
"If they told this in a different order, wouldn't it have been, ten times more interesting?" - Doug Walker; Nostalgia Critic.
When taking this statement into consideration for the narrative of Halo: Reach, what first comes to mind is the opening of the story, which creates a juxtaposition of past and future within the story. Such an approach with non-linear storytelling can be successful, as is the way Saving Private Ryan also establishes a contrast within events of its timeline, showing events from a later point. Unlike Halo Reach however, Saving Private Ryan does not reveal the end of its story right at the very beginning. This is a major problem for Reach, as it detaches any sense of urgency or expectation from the story, as the player already knows how it all ends. Knowing Reach’s fall from the very beginning further dissolves all tension and hope from the story, make the player care less about it as a result. But I feel if they had rearranged it so that we could experience the story with these characters and had expanded upon it accordingly, experiencing the story would've been better for everyone.
A New Intro You Say?:
This is how I would fix it; something as simple as, what if we rework the framework of the introduction? This way, we put Noble Actual as the second mission, allowing us to go Lone Wolf in the introduction and then easing us in into the concept of Noble Six and our transfer to NOBLE. This solution also repurposes the initial cutscene where we see Reach glassed, putting it at the end right after we see Noble Six die with Halsey's eulogy as a legendary ending.
This way, we can also repurpose the game’s intro cutscene where we see Reach in its normal state as the cutscene that comes before Noble Actual.
So let's set the stage real quick:
Planet: Mamore May 10th, 2552, 01:22 Hours.
Conflict rages on in the middle of the night as gunshots can be heard in the distance, muffled by the building he's in. We find ourselves dug up in a secure location in the vicinity an Insurrectionist compound in a series of building complexes.
We see a window with no glass, several patrols outside securing the area, before the camera pans down, showing us a linear path where Six could infiltrate from with ease.
Six fixes up his rifle and stands, looking back at the compound with the camera panning slowly after him and cocks his head to the side, looking back at a dead MP in the hallway he came in from in thought. A voice crackles in, however, cutting his trance of thought.
"The target is inside the main building of the compound. A diversion is heading your way, ETA 2 Mikes."
He continues.
"You're green to engage. Intel states there are civilians in that compound ROEs condemn civilian casualties. Good hunting, Spartan."
"Roger that..."
And with this, Six picks his rifle and heads down, vaulting over the window and we're set in his eyes, the Designated Marksman Rifle being set in our hands as two Falcons fly past us, our diversion just in time.
In this mission, the best course of action would either be stealth or free fire.
Could also serve as an introduction to a mechanic later used in the game in New Alexandria, having a few Civilians be tied down and the moment you eliminate their captors they go free.
And most obviously, it would also be serving as a foreshadow to Nightfall. We could have had our first epic set piece surrounding the Insurrectionists and given us further understanding of who Six was and who he's about to become.
And most importantly, if it was done the way I think of when I think of this hypothetical new mission, it would also foreshadow and set up the events of Lone Wolf at the end of the game far better and with so much more subtlety than the helmet in the scorched ground.
But, once we near the end of the mission, we get another cutscene, this time from Six's point of view.
We sneak in a bootleg Insurrectionist CIC - Command Information Centre - a silenced M6/SOCOM in hand that he manually rolls the silencer into.
And the moment we enter the room, we see the frantic activity of the innies as the operation outside rages on, the lights out in the room and the entire building but they had a generator keeping their radios alive.
All up until they stay dead in their tracks looking at the Spartan-III that just revealed himself clicking on his flashlights by the door, staring at him in fear.
Without hesitation, Six empties a mag on those who would serve a bigger threat, quick movement as they fell one by one until they all were properly dead, except for his target. Six steps closer to the man in olive drab fatigues, his M6 raised as the target raised his hands.
Click... The bullets had been emptied, and the hyper lethal SPARTAN-III proceeds to grab him and smash his head against the nearest console and everything freezes.
Revealing it is a recording that came to a stop. A date flashing briefly
Planet: Reach May 11th, 2552, 10:00 Hours.
All while the screen pans away and we see Colonel Urban Holland, officially ordering the transfer of Noble.
Which we see the screen cut to black brief, as we begin seeing a slow pan over the moon of Csodaszarvas and its rings, up until we see Reach in all her glory.
Cutting to a white screen briefly, finally showing us the title card of Halo: Reach, before we properly take a good look at the helmet of the Spartan we used in the intro in his hands, the first-person POV mirroring that of the initial recording before the camera changes as he pulls the helmet on, and we take the Warthog carrying him.
This also serving as a way to introduce Urban Holland in a more meaningful way.
And from this point forward, the game carries on as it was. At least, up until we get to talk about this next, far more pressing issue...
The Pillar Of Autumn:
The Pillar of Autumn, as it stands, is the most troubling aspect of this story. Of course, if you're an outsider to the Halo Universe or someone that doesn't really delve too deep outside of the games you wouldn't know this. But, there's an original story that takes place in all these locations and builds up this conflict. This story is named Halo: The Fall of Reach, which was a precursor to Halo: Combat Evolved written by Eric Nylund in only seven weeks.
With three weeks remaining of the development of this novel, Bungie ordered the novel cancelled, Nylund having put down half of the story on paper. As he stated it so gracefully in his own blog post:
'What!? (panicking) What do we do? I’m halfway through this #*%&(% thing'
Luckily, Eric S. Trautman saved the day for all of us, and the novel would end up being released on October 30th, 2001. Only 17 days before the release of Halo: Combat Evolved. Though this may all seem like an unrelated tangent, it is an important piece of information because of the simple fact that in all of the editions written since for The Fall of Reach, The Pillar of Autumn remains on orbit right before its impromptu escape towards a destination unknown. Halo: Reach remains as the only piece of Halo media that supports the crazy idea that the UNSC Pillar Of Autumn actually made a v-line for orbit. What is even more frustrating about this, however, is the fact that the vessel is not rated for atmosphere, making the journey to the Aszod Breaking Yard even more frustrating considering the Autumn served without the side column thrusters in orbit.
The time frame is also awkward, given the fact that just before the Pillar made its way to the surface, John-117 requested permission to go back for Red Team who were still engaged on the surface of the planet. As this excerpt taken directly from Halo: The Fall of Reach states:
“Sir,” the Master Chief said, “when will the Pillar of Autumn rendezvous with my planetside team?” Captain Keyes turned from the Master Chief and stared out into space. “We won’t be picking them up,” he said quietly. “They were overrun by Covenant forces. They never made orbit. We’ve lost contact with them.” The Master Chief took a step closer. “Then I would like permission to take a dropship and retrieve them, sir.” “Request denied, Master Chief. We still have a mission to perform. And we cannot remain in this system much longer. Lieutenant Dominique, aft camera on the main screen.” Covenant vessels swarmed through the Reach System in five-ship crescent formations. The remaining UNSC ships fled before them . . . those that could still move. Those ships too damaged to outrun the Covenant were blasted with plasma and laser fire. The Covenant had won this battle. They were mopping up before they glassed the planet; the Master Chief had seen this happen in a dozen campaigns. This time was different, however. This time the Covenant was glassing a planet . . . with his people still on it. He tried to think of a way to stop them . . . to save his teammates. He couldn’t.
It is also abundantly clear that this happens before they go down to the surface according to the timetable, given the fact that this happens right after John has taken Linda into Cryo sleep supported here by this excerpt from Halopedia:
0637 Hours: John-117, the clinically dead Linda-058, and the Marines board the Pillar of Autumn. 0647 Hours: Captain Keyes of the Pillar of Autumn orders the vessel to retreat from the system. However, Dr. Catherine Halsey contacts the Autumn, urgently requesting that Keyes drydock at the Aszod ship breaking yards on Reach to collect Cortana's fragment and the vital information she held. Keyes used the brief time on the surface to make minor repairs to the Autumn
All in all, the entirety of this scene is really awkward and no substantial answers have been given. As minor as it may be, small inconsistencies such as these are what make the story shown in Reach - With a few details I will also iron out here for Halo: Reach – to be such a mess for the continuity and has had a definitive handful of lore nuts scratching their heads ever since 2010.
How It Would Fit:
There are many ways this scene could've gone, but I believe this is the best route possible in our journey.
The UNSC Andraste is a concept ship that we saw a lot of before the launch of the game, it seems like it would've played a far bigger role. However it was cut, my main idea is to replace the modified Halcyon-class cruiser - UNSC Pillar Of Autumn - with a three-ship escort of Paris-class Heavy Frigates. The UNSC Andraste being amongst them. Nothing should be changed other than that, we proceed to make a run for the breaking yard, you race Emile in that last moment as Emile speaks over the radio with you. He’s laughing, he was getting ready for what could be his end. There's an actual conversation here. But this comes to a stop when coming closer to your objective and both of you get back to business, the closer you get the more enemies you find, Yamn’ee, Unggoy, Sangheili, Jiralhanae, etc. Exactly as it was. You reach the launch pad and final destination, you have to help the marines clear it, Emile heads up to the Onager, you finish the engagement, and a pelican comes down and you’re greeted by an old, worn scruffy officer. The dialogue plays out the same, there are no changes, only that it isn’t Keyes meeting you there. As Keyes would be on board the UNSC Pillar of Autumn.
Officer: “Good to see you Spartan, Halsey assured me I could count on you” Six: “Not just me, sir.” Officer: “They’ll be remembered…” Officer: “Cruiser! Adjusting heading for the Andraste, Noble Four I need fire on that cruiser or we’re not getting out of here! Do you copy?” Emile: “You’ll have your window, sir...” Officer: “Bridge. This is the Captain we have the package, returning to the Andraste, over.” This is where we’re forced to watch Emile get taken out by the Sangheili, and we hear the always so popular last words coming from Emile's COM unit and Six continuing “Negative, I have the gun.” To which the officer replies with “Good luck to you… Spartan.”
Keyes or not, this takes nothing away from the weight of the scene, only that sense of nostalgia we get seeing the behemoth of a man that is Keyes standing there. Saying his last goodbyes to this group of valiant Spartans. But the weight of a moment is often times carried by the dialogue, and setting. Not who is saying those words. We all know what happens here, though, we get on the gun, we shoot down a few phantoms, then we fire at the cruiser’s beam as it prepares to fire and we let the Autumn escape, the only thing though is that this time it is the Paris-class heavy cruiser, UNSC Andraste followed by a pack of two other escort frigates.
Here the screen cuts to black. We get another cutscene, we see the frigates make it past a blockage of Covenant ships, one instantly goes down coming into a collision course with a Covenant Corvette ramming it, we see a group of UNSC ships still fighting in the horizon and our objective The Pillar of Autumn fending off a group of Covenant squatters as the cutscene cuts and we are placed in the cockpit of a Longsword fighter commandeering it as a simple Army pilot. You’re tasked with the defence of the Andraste, you see the escort slowly be taken out one by one until only the Andraste and a handful of fighters remain. It links up with the Autumn, a pelican being immediately dispatched once they’re in close enough proximity with the package, and you’re tasked with escorting it as you then see the Andraste blow up in your rear view. The Pelican makes it in time to the hangar deck, safely as your pilot then says the following line:
“Autumn, break off! I say again, break off!-”
Which is cut short and all you see is a ball of fire as your fighter goes up in flames. Your pilot being ejected straight out of the Longsword’s and we see the autumn breaking off from orbit, initiating its iconic escape from the planet. We see it jump away, wreckage flying towards us as it breaks away our visor and we asphyxiate in the dark void of space. Thus, we cut back to Noble Six, walking into this big place, looking at the bodies of fellow Spartans scattered across the field as he moves across this field, plasma blazing all around us.
Slowly moving across, Six takes a kneel beside one of them. Searching for any ID revealing that they were the Spartans of Team Gauntlet giving these Spartans a final resting place. Six continues on, however, as he walks upon a platform and looks up into the sky and looks around him as all he can see is red and incoming Covenant forces. And with nothing else to do, Six performs his last task of business among his fallen brothers and sisters. Objective: Survive. There is some glimmer of hope, a chance of survival, as you are placed in Six's boots, grab your weapon and start fending off against unlimited hordes of Covenant forces. One by one they fall as your armor breaks apart, showing damage directly through your visor which continues to get damaged until it finally gives in, forcing you to leave your helmet behind as the cutscene starts playing exactly as it was And subsequently, Six ends up giving his own life. Dying in battle. Thus, the screen cuts to black, and we see a last glance into the game, we see a calm sight of Installation 04 and a very familiar sight as we see a Class-3 Bumblebee falling from the sky and crashing nearby.
Followed by the sight of the Autumn falling toward the surface of Installation 04 shortly after the Bumblebees made it's way past the camera and crashed. Cut to black with the Halo theme sounding in the background ever so gently. Here’s where we get the credits, connecting directly to Halo: Combat Evolved & Halo: The Fall of Reach perfectly honouring new characters and being the massive send off that Bungie wanted it to be.
Part II
Characters
Cardboard Cutouts - Remedial Dialogue:
I think Halo Reach has good characters. Are they great characters? Memorable characters? Well, definitely not. In many aspects, the game fails to deliver convincing characteristics that would make their presence stand out on screen. It's something that the narrative suffers heavily from. This of course is a common mistake from a plethora of Bungie's game, including one of their most recent projects: Destiny.
The game does not take its time to build its characters, nor does it take the time to properly show neither their personalities nor their complexities. The characters generally come off as conscienceless beings, at least with the exception of Jorge-052, who is the only character of Noble Team that gets proper development in the game until he gets promptly killed.
Yet still, characters such as Emile, Kat, Jun and others have all been built outside of this story, given interesting quirks, personalities and backstories by future writers. The characters we remember are not the characters Bungie wrote, but instead the characters developed by 343 Industries and comic writer Levi 'Leviathan' Hoffmeier who wrote the amazing graphic digital novel, 'A Fistful of Arrows'. A few examples of these added personalities would be Emile-A239 universe entry on Halo Waypoint. Which shall be below this paragraph. This was added with the Canon Fodder Issue: 74 - Noble Intentions: Emile believed that clinging to one’s humanity during a conflict, where loss equals extinction, is about as rational as drowning in a pool of your own blood--they cannot co-exist, so he decided early on in his career to never let them.
Emile was loud and flashy in combat, which inevitably drew attention to his actions during combat. He wanted to prove to everyone (as well as himself) that he was not afraid of the enemy nor was he afraid of doing whatever was necessary to win this war. It was for this reason that Emile was often guilty of overkill, but his apparent sadism was in actuality an affectation-- he did what he did because he knew that it could potentially break the enemy’s will to fight, not necessarily because he enjoyed it. The one personal action Emile took to signify his victories were the scratches he made on his visor--each of the hundreds of marks that make up its skull-visage in order to threaten the Covenant opposition at first sight. Emile was born on Eridanus II. Although his parents had been killed during Insurrection activity when he was very young, his older brother took care of him on Luxor. During the fall of the planet, his brother sacrificed himself so that Emile could escape. This had a profound impact on the previously exuberant and rebellious youth. Subsequently, he was taken along with hundreds of other orphans to fill out the SPARTAN-III program. Emile quickly adapted and excelled in his training after discovering that he could fill the hole in his heart with the corpses of the Covenant. Emile graduated from the program at the age of 13, though his aptitude was such that he was removed from the general population of Alpha Company to be used for tasks that required a more skilful hand.
A lot of these aspects were also reflected in Levi's A Fistful of Arrows. In just the third page, Emile questioned what it was to cling towards one's humanity.
Now, what can we say about the rest of the members of Noble Team? Well, this should bring me to my next point in the article.
I want to take a look at each one of the characters here, their descriptions and personalities of information added post Reach being mirrored by how they're depicted in the game.
Kat:
"This one seems to like me. Someone kill it."
She’s strong, sardonic, confident, smart, but she’s an insecure little girl, whose confidence boost comes in the form of knowing things, getting every scrap of detail she can. As stated by Jun during Nightfall. '[Chuckle] When Kat runs an op direct action is always necessary'. Although it never goes anywhere outside of a random commentary from the sole survivor of Noble Team. This could be used as a setup to everything that surrounds the character of Kat. Hell, right after this is mentioned, we go on an assault mission on the Covenant's god damn doorstep. Mention it, reinforce it, then deliver the punchline. However, she's obviously frightened by the Covenant and Glassings as teased right before her death in New Alexandria, she lost her arm and she lost a friend in Thom, build on all of these aspects in the game and you have a complex character in our screens. Although, I believe 343 knows all this already. Her own armour in Halo 5: Guardian is named 'Intruder'. If 343i were to remake this game, they would do right by her “I know we’re losing, I want to know if we’ve lost.”
Carter:
"Spartans never die, Jorge, they're just missing in action."
Commander Carter was a thinker and a leader, easy going, the alpha of the pack. Valuable qualities for whoever leads a tight-knit unit of Spartan Commandos, he and Kat, however, remain the only original team members of NOBLE, with many Spartans that had come and gone from the team who were either crippled or Killed in Action. Carter was a master at leading. However easy going he may be, he always kept the team together and focused on the task at hand, even till the end of his service as a Spartan, sacrificing himself so the Spartans below his command may proceed. Although, in game, he remains a stereotypical leader, someone who spouts order and has no real complexity beyond them outside of fleeting little moments that do not solidify his stature. I would not add much, but I'd add as much personality as possible to the screen. Show that he cares about the team. Show that his heart is filled with Noble intentions.
Emile:
"He may say that what he wants is to win the war, but what he really wants is for the enemy to die."
Ruthless, Fearless, He puts fear in whatever motherfucker dares to step in his way, human or not. Harbouring a deep seeded hatred for the bastard alien hegemony known as the Covenant he takes pleasure in killing each and every one of them. A juxtaposition of someone like Jun in the team. As the quote suggests, he may say that he wants to win but what he really wants and desires is to kill each and every bastard that dares to step in his way. Having been orphaned during an insurrectionist operation and his own brother killed by the Covenant sacrificing himself so that he could escape, Emile seeks revenge and feels like he has a duty towards bringing the divine judgement of his Kukri knife to whatever alien - and human - may meet his blade. However, below the surface, he struggles with his own humanity and caring. As a Spartan, he can't afford to have his own baggage, but he still contains that perfect brimming desire for vengeance bottled up inside him. But beneath all that hatred, all those psychological issues and his affinity to inspire fear. He's afraid to die. At least he was until his time came. He was ready then and there. Although, in the game, he remains a black token badass character that says badass things and kills the badass aliens and goes off with a blade to the chest. None of the complexity, all of the muscle. - And no I'm not crying havoc when saying 'Black Token Character' nor do I mean it in a bad way, it's just that for all intents and purposes, Emile, in game, remains just that. All the while, the line "I didn't bring my shovel, Commander." I think that's the one place where his character really shines in game, it's the perfect line between respect and snide in the situation.
Jorge:
"The big man was sentimental."
Born in Pálháza, a small city on Reach, Jorge-052 was taken from his family at the age of six years old. For his fortitude and drive were key aspects of his abductions amongst obvious factors. Though, not the only factors that contributed to his selection into the program. His tenacity, strategic prowess, bravery and exceptional luck were the best parts of his person, seeing him through the hard years spent in the Spartan-II Boot Camp along heroes in the making. Namesakes such as Fred-104, Linda-058, William-043 and the tenacious John-117. Drafted into NOBLE Team under the guise of being too heavily wounded to continue the hardships of active duty in April of 2552. He and the rest of the unit participated in the Battle of Fumirole. Where former Noble Six - Thom-A293 - was killed in action, sacrificing himself to destroy a Covenant Cruiser that terrorised the city and the ongoing battle. Although, it wouldn't be long before the rest of his character came into play. Being located on Reach, transferred to the fortress world where they would see the rest of their days. Jorge, while having only lived a meagre six years as a civilian in Reach, he felt incredible compassion and sentiment for the planet. He'd die thinking he just saved the planet. Jorge-052 is by far, the only exception to any rule and convention that Halo: Reach has set. Being the only character whose intentions are clearly demonstrated and capacities developed and even enhanced upon with his short-lived friendship with our Noble Six in the tenure of the game's timespan of its story. He remains one of my favourite characters in the current depiction of Reach because of this. The big man has a place in my heart. Just like every other Spartan-II to have ever been fleshed out. If only this much attention was given to the rest of Noble as well.
How To Fix It:
Fixing Reach is a fairly simple task: employ a writer who has experience with war stories and video games and you should be set, someone who can portray meaningful emotions and genuine dialogue in the midst of battle and someone that can do justice to the characters that were forsaken here.
Or as it is in many cases, allow the writers to have a complete freedom to create. Something that is not likely but would benefit the game immensely
Add more to these characters; make them humans, not just stereotypes. Separate them from the cardboard box action flick heroes and give them emotion, a conscience and inspiration to follow. Allow them to become characters that we care about. If two hours can do this, then a couple hours of playing a game should definitely have room for character development.
It’s a shame how literal the comparisons of Halo Reach’s characters can be to the stereotypical examples of a military squad. So stereotypical, in fact, that the website TV Tropes has listed each trope and the character in the game that fills it:
The Leader: Carter-A259 The Technical Smart Guy: Kat-B320 The Shooter: Friendly Sniper: Jun-A266 AxCrazy Military Maverick: Emile-A239 The Big Guy: Jorge-052 The Quiet One - You're Number Six: SPARTAN-B312 And well, my next point comes directly from the woodwork. Something that respected these characters far better than Halo: Reach itself did.
An Honourable Fistful:
I wanted to provide something that felt like there was just a little bit more to chew on, leaving Jun out of this article as well mostly for the fact that he is still alive, given that I analyzed every member except for him and B312.
This being derived to the fact that I felt like he didn't need such a thing just yet, he's still alive, after all. He's not done, but the more I thought about the article I began to think that it wasn't complete, without at least mentioning Levi's labor of love in a better light and with it providing the vigilant eye of NOBLE with a well-deserved outlook at his character. Although, technically not canon. No one has explicitly said no to this day, so in my most honest opinion. This story is most definitely canon in-house. As it seems like they're already working on the story and not necessarily invalidating it. And I would remiss to not mention what they've said about the story in multiple occasions.
"the details of Jun's survival and escape from Reach remain buried under fistfuls of black ink and red tape"
And on the Anniversary of Halo: Reach, Jeff Easterling gave it another mention as well.
"not technically canonical, but ONI has also covered up a whole lot of things that didn’t technically exist."
And I would also remiss to not specify the Content Usage Rules regarding content creation in their universes - of which Halo applies.
"Distribution of your Item in any form constitutes a grant by you of a royalty-free, non-exclusive, irrevocable, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide, license to Microsoft and any of Microsoft's partners or users to use, modify and distribute that Item (and derivatives of that Item), and use your name if we choose to, for any purpose and without obligation to pay you anything, obtain your approval, or give you credit."
With complete certainty, they have created a rule that allows them to take anything created by the community that is deemed worthy enough without giving you any credit, nor asking you for approval. It's already a lot to ask that Jeff and company keep mentioning Levi and his work and giving it high regards enough to quite possibly consider it canon. But, politics. . . how tiresome.
Brotherhood:
By far the best part of this graphic novel, taking us along for the ride as we see and experience Jun's memories first hand with his service alongside the men and women of NOBLE Team. Although it is only three sections, it never fails to illustrate Jun's character in every panel. And most importantly, it did not fail to characterise the men of NOBLE, giving them their real personalities and taking time with each one of them.
They had actual banter, they had depth and they had a brotherhood to upkeep, it showed us that Emile and Jorge were friends with a rivalry. Levi achieved to write something that takes us along for the ride and appreciates our stay. It does not overdo it, even though it feels like you don't want to leave it. It takes its time in each of the three sections to properly pave the way for these characters and their personas.
It respects them deeply, and it asks nothing but your attention to be along for the ride. From Kat and Carter's relationship.
To the growth of Emile's own persona and the personification of the Grim Reaper in his own faceplate, showing us how it came to be, giving us the answer that is and feels like the one we desired.
It also takes the time to do what I don't think anything else at the time had done, depicts Insurrectionists in an artistic light. This section of the comic, of course, ends when we get our first glimpse at Jun's silent relapse after his shot derailed a taxi and killed the driver. Collateral damage, but his fault nonetheless.
Here we get a glimpse at what Jorge would say, that would help him across the days. Albeit being cut short. Only to be answered in later threads.
And even with all this, this section never fails to connect between Reach and be its own inspiration. Taking a glimpse at Jorge's character and inspirations with the simple quote at the very beginning.
"There are things more important in war than just surviving, Emile."
And I would be an idiot not to mention this great line by Emile, which further mirrors his own obsession with fear, this time seeing someone else other than himself as the monster.
"You might see a pretty face in your reflection, lady. But it don't do justice to the monster I'm looking at..."
Overall an amazing glimpse at the team, and sadly, the only one to ever fully invest time in them. Let's... Not forget that Loot Crate decided to go with the Target Designator than to further explore this thread.
The Fall:
Taking place in the obvious impending doom of the fall, taking us in a trip on a Pelican. This section of the comics sets out to flesh out the last hours of the conflict in a light that gives it justice.
While being outnumbered and outgunned, this will be a setup of all that is to come, taking it's time to accurately pace the story and flesh out Jun as a person, all the while it takes the time to beautifully depict the war and the toll it left on the soldiers and navymen that served in it.
They fought to the last man. They saw their end, in battle and we were there for the ride. From the moment the remnants of the Eridani fleet engage the ships on orbit.
To the dying breath of the UNSC Daedalus Wing as it entered in free fall to its impending doom, arming all the armament it had left.
"The only thing we're rated for now is the ground, son. . ."
The best depiction of a losing battle, taking into account the lives and the misery of this war. All of that, perfectly illustrated in this losing dogfight and embodied in the dying moments of the UNSC Daedalus Wing. This is most definitely the most sombre part of the graphic novel. Taking its time to allow us to take in the setting and the current timeline of events as well as allowing us to retain that doubt of whether or not they'll survive. Although, It's obvious now but for a first-time reader. That's a worry they should retain while looking at all the chaos surrounding our characters.
And I believe that the best part of this entire section has to do with the Quezon superintendent. Exclaiming things such as "My city has fallen..." & "Reach will shatter into a million tiny lights...", "All reflections of Epsilon Eridani still burning bright." My favourite, however.
"It burns bodies and metal alike, down into the earth."
It really does not fail to set the setting and desperation. Although, with a visual encounter after Halsey reviews the footage of the operation on Quezon which goes back to the section of Brotherhood. It ends with us arriving at Castle Base and the encounter of Jun being behind Halsey all along.
A Castle:
The final section of the novel provides a satisfying ending and a satisfying look at how Halsey made it back to Castle base, with, of course only the fact that First Strike continues to support the disappearance of Jun from the scene just like Jun has departed in this novel after he had brought Halsey to safety.
Obviously, First Strike first released in 2003, and most definitely Levi Hoffmeier worked with the available info at the time which most came directly from First Strike.
It's the fact that even after the revision of First Strike in 2010 two months after Levi released his novel in his own DeviantArt that is astounding. They continued to follow the thread even when they could've very easily answered it themselves. They respected Levi's vision.
But I am rambling on. Back to the novel, and the first thing I should mention is that this is probably one of our first looks at Castle Base and Menachite Mountain that we've seen visualised. And it is just as you'd imagine it. A discreet little base in a mountain.
With only four ODST still standing, whom, Levi so gracefully named after well-known HBO members and founder Claude Errera, Jeff 'GrimBrotherOne' Easterling, Bryan Mulheran and Laird McLean.
This section explores Jun deeper as the firefight for Menachite Mountain and the eventual capture of Halsey once the Covenant ID's her ensues. It also cleverly foreshadows one of the key ways of Jun's survival when he picks up the Armour Lock Module. They manage to fight off several incoming waves of Covenant including two Hunters enough to buy Halsey time to reactivate the M71 Anti-Aircraft Guns "Scythe".
Once activated, it seemed like the tension was finally lifted as Jun was putting down a straggler - Or more like a huge Hunter - although, the turrets blow up beforehand, and once Jun turns his scope to the ODSTs he realises that they're dead, killed by Spec-Ops elites.
Not much to this section to analyse, but here's when the connections to the main story of the novel and Reach begin to flourish, seeing that Halsey is in the hands of the SpecOps Sangheili and Grunts, they demand that he reveal himself. And the obvious line from Carter resonates here heavily.
"Jun, make sure nothing falls into enemy hands." "I'll do what's necessary.."
After pondering a bit hovering his scope over Halsey's head, Jun starts getting visions of all his targets previously taken and the dead, he refuses to take one more life. "It's probably not what you had in mind when I said 'necessary', Commander... But I like to think you would've liked it." Here we get the final action scene, Jun kicks their ass, and gets captured, although, funnily enough, and very characteristically of them, an Unggoy hops on Jun, high enough for him to steal his plasma 'nade.
And of course, he detonates it, saving himself in split seconds thanks to the armour lock that he obtained from the pelican at the very beginning of this section.
Here comes a last-second twist, making us doubt if he was successful or not as a Hunter is revealed to still be alive, lunging him out of the way and against a wall with his shield.
Although it doesn't really last long, as in full Forward Unto Dawn fashion Jun hops in his back and slashes the Lekgolo worms inside its neck, 'killing' the hunter.
This, is the best part of this section for me, however, culminating all the threads that it was building up to this point, with Halsey asking Jun what Jorge had said to him that day on Quezon.
"Heh, Jorge. He told me what Chief Mendez told him: That a Spartan can't have his own baggage…His own weight. There's just no room."
He already carries the weight of all of humanity on his back."
Wise words, Jun would say, before he darted off as the blast doors of Castle started closing behind him, followed by a short monologue after what he said.
"But just words. In the heat of it all, words can't always help you pull the trigger. Sometimes you just know what you have to do. When you resist that, that's when you can still feel it, shaking you from the inside. That's why you're alive, Doctor. I stopped resisting. Be seeing you."
The novel culminates here, providing us with a set of Adjuncts that reference and build on certain threads. Like the fate of Eliza Ingrid, the insurrectionist we saw at the beginning of the novel as well as crediting First Strike. A post-war in-universe novel written by Muyassar Jeddah, Our Greatest Warriors: The Unauthorized Autobiography of the Spartans. Among others, including a fun little Adjunct that goes into the city of Quezon.
In conclusion, this graphic novel did a lot right, and it expanded upon the universe in a lot of ways. Even though still technically not canon, I still think it must be for more than one writer inside of 343 Industries. Including the man, the myth, the legend. Jeff Easterling. Not that he would say yes, officially, though.
A Rationalist Sniper - Jun-A266:
She zipped out the door before I could say another word. I considered going after her, but between her and the Spartan, I didn't see how that could go well. I turned back to Jun. "It appears you now have my undivided attention." "I'll try to be brief," Jun resettled himself to face me. "You're familiar with the Spartans." "I've encountered my fair share." He gave me a nod of acknowledgement. "You served with the 11th Shock Troops Battalion on Reach." "That I did. SPARTAN-B312 helped me out of a pinch in New Alexandria." Jun bowed his head. "Noble Six was a good man." I gave him time to collect himself. He still had eyes as dry as a glassed desert.
Jun once said, "I kill the enemy, but do not hate them."
Arguably as it may be, this remains as a show of love from the marksman and his target. While eyeing through a scope you get to know your know enemy better than they could know themselves.
After all, a great science fiction novelist once wrote; “In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him.” - Orson Scott Card But to understand Jun is to understand a pragmatic calm storm, as some misunderstand his intentions with mysticism, which is a complete misallocation of his persona. He's a pragmatist and rationalist. He sees himself not as someone who should concern himself with the weight of his actions, as any trivial personality conflicts impede the way towards his efficiency, all the while hiding things such as the ever-present distress of a post-traumatic stress disorder.
Noted as having "an unhealthy emotional detachment in regards to the consequences of his actions" this was later disregarded by Colonel Urban Holland, who disagreed entirely with the assertion and noting that he was both a rational man and a Spartan. However, Jun barely speaks of the horrors of his duty under the Headhunter units, going behind enemy lines and returning every time. Although conversational, Jun keeps a lot to himself. He's good with words and good at knowing people's intentions. The sole survivor of NOBLE Team and the current Chief of Staff, the natural lone wolf has shed his fur to grow a new one, although the Warrant Officer no longer bears any armour in his body. But even with this, there's a certain unnamed VIP who once requested the upgrade of an old set of armour based on the Mark V [S] configuration.
Ever Vigilant, ever pressing and ever a pragmatist, a lone wolf by nature, and a rational mind; you can trust him to make the right decision, and oftentimes, you won't hear him coming. Carrying himself with quiet power and the ever-present threat of the fact that he could kill everyone in a room in a matter of seconds. Jun remains alive as the head of a new generation of Spartans led by two Spartans of old.
But his service is not over, even if he wears a suit and not power armor.
Part III
Good Things Come To An End
Conclusions:
I don't necessarily think Halo: Reach is a bad game by any means, nor do I believe that it has an awful story, or at the very least, didn’t try to have a good one. I believe it suffered a lot from its own ambition and, at the end of the day, Bungie didn't know how to properly manage it. The story failed to connect with even the most basic, clear-cut inspirations as well as the basics of writing for its own genre. Halo: Reach suffers most when it does try because even with all this veil of awful character management there is an enjoyable narrative hidden below it, a figment of originality to be found. I must say, having seen 2009's VGA Trailer, where the game looked far better and teased a completely different story direction than what we had, I can’t help but feel disappointed. Especially how the trailer itself references a novel that came out in October the 31st of 2006, all the while the final game went and pulled the stunt that broke the lore for around two years. You could make sense of it; you could try to throw as many excuses over it and try to paint it with a new coat of paint, but I truly believe that the best way to fix that issue is to simply erase it from the face of history and recreate this story anew into something greater.
This will be the only retcon I ever advocate for in the Halo Universe because for a series as clean as Halo in its lore continuity, it is necessary to fix this massive point in Halo History because of how important the games are to the continuity.
Thinking about all this reminds me of about a year back, when I watched a certain movie that attempted a similar thing. The movie was Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and after watching it, I was inspired to write the very article I am now re-imagining. It was a loyal and amazing marvel of storytelling for me, a testament to lore continuity and most importantly, a better told War Story than Halo: Reach.
Author's Notes:
And that brings a long time of hard work to a close, an article that has certainly been a while in the making and with the massive help of my talented best friends; and an article I certainly fell in love with as I saw it shape up.
I hope you have enjoyed this one. As it is pretty much a labour of love from me and everyone involved. Perhaps you all will love it as much as me.
Thanks To The Team:
Visuals created and edited by:
Me
Proofread by:
Edited and revised by:
Los Patrones: As always I believe I should give thanks to each and every one of you madmen that give me the support to continue on with my content and beyond. You're definitely the rock of this foundation and I wouldn't even be writing such projects if it weren't for you guys. And I apologise for the delay of this article for quite a bit. Perfection takes time I expected to get this out a while back on September. But that didn't really budge, better late than never, however!
- Brendan Lor Lowry - Nels Jones - H8TRFFC - ULTRAMANZX - Some Perv
- Thesk 'Darram
- Robert
I want to take this time to bring some more exposure to the work my friends have done in the past for Halo 3's 10 year anniversary, and yes, I know I'm late. My good friend Luc, aka Hidden Xperia's Halo 3 video.
And Joshua's amazing edit and remaster of the original Halo 3 trailer for the anniversary that I helped with.
I do have to shill Will's and Rythaze's amazing art as well!
And that brings this article to a final, formal close! Finally, I'd exclaim but I really do think to revisit this topic with new ideas and more time to think about it was genuinely amazing and fun to do. But, as always, live your life, eat lots of Oreos and play lots of Halo.
- HaruspexOfHell.
