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Edited by Lord of Admirals: 1/29/2014 2:24:36 AM
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An Analysis of the Master Chief and the Didact's Relationship

The Didact’s character has been subject to lots of controversy in the Halo community. Many fans have tried to prove that he is given a proper explanation while others argue the opposite. Given that the Didact is the Master Chief’s first true nemesis, I’m intrigued by the fact that very little of the community appears to care about the Chief and the Didact’s relationship given they are direct adversaries. On my first few playthroughs I didn’t recognize their relationship’s development at first. When I started looking at the quotes, I realized that their relationship dynamically changes throughout the course of the game. I hope this will be an enlightening experience as it gave new life and context to quotes I largely misunderstood in Halo 4 for a while. In the first part of Halo 4, we see a lot of strange occurrences happening when the Chief and Cortana activate and access Forerunner tech causing them to follow a very specific path. After the Didact is released, Cortana makes the comment on how he had been leading them on. [i]“Chief, please! We've got to go! That...Didact. He manipulated Infinity's signal to get us to release him! Get up!" -Cutscene, Forerunner, Halo 4[/i] It definitely gives you the feeling that the Chief was used. A means to an end. A tool. The Didact felt the same way. His prejudice against humanity blinded him, and because of that, he treated the Chief accordingly and discarded him when the Chief had finished his usefulness. [i]"The Forerunners... have returned. This tomb… is now yours." -Cutscene, Forerunner, Halo 4[/i] However, the Didact never expected the Chief to survive. When he had discovered his survival, he had no such time to address that matter as he needed to focus on the big picture: Infinity. I think it can be inferred that during the Didact’s absence of direct involvement in the story, his views of Chief had changed as he no longer saw the Chief as a discarded tool. It didn’t change much though, as the Didact still didn’t see the Chief as a threat. He was simply intrigued that the Chief refused to give up in the face of impossible odds. [i]"Your actions tread between honor and foolishness." -Gameplay, Shutdown, Halo 4[/i] Regardless, the Master Chief pushed on, ignoring the Didact’s comments on his progress. By this point, the Didact had become personally affected that the Chief blindly continued his crusade. He would try and persuade the Chief with logic and reasoning that his actions were futile. He knew there was no way Chief could win, and tried to talk some sense into him as a fellow warrior. [i]"Do you truly believe these theatrics can prevent my departure? Embrace your sad fate and retain your nobility. I am already beyond you." -Gameplay, Shutdown, Halo 4[/i] The Master Chief knows his priorities though. Ever since he was a kid, he refused to lose at anything. This gave the impression to many who knew the Chief that he was incredibly stubborn. [i]"Crazy fool! Why do you always jump? One of these days, you're gonna land on somethin' as stubborn as you are! And I don't do bits and pieces!" -Cutscene, Arrival, Halo 3[/i] And he was. Towards the end of the level Shutdown, the Didact was beginning to realize that. He still thought he persuade the Chief with logic and reasoning. So he proceeded to issue an ultimatum to him: Stop now and live. If you continue, you will suffer the consequences. [i]"You will relent, human, or you will perish. All in life is choice. And your day to choose has come." -Gameplay, Shutdown, Halo 4[/i] For the Master Chief, giving up on humanity was not an option, so he pushed forward and stared death in the face, refusing to look away. Choosing to go to his death in an attempt to defeat the undefeatable impressed the Didact greatly. The next time we hear from him, he confirms that, but also confirms the Chief will die. [i]"You impress me, human. Your singular valor will be preserved and studied, once your Composition has been completed." -Gameplay, Composer, Halo 4[/i] The Didact had never accounted for what the Librarian’s imprint could have done. Despite facing extreme brutality and atrocities, the Chief still continued on. It is at this point that the Didact’s views of the Chief makes a colossal shift. He finally recognizes the Chief as a direct threat, and considers him unbeatable by indirect means. So, he would stall him until he could address him personally. [i]"Where reason does not stop you, perhaps force can at least delay you." -Gameplay, Midnight, Halo 4[/i] The Didact succeeds in stalling the Chief and fires the Composer on New Phoenix. Knowing he has won, he directly notes the Chief’s stubbornness to win. [i]“You persist too long after your own defeat.” -Cutscene, Midnight, Halo 4[/i] But now that he has completed his task, he is free to address the Chief directly. This scene is very telling of the current status of their relationship. Whereas before, he simply called the Chief ‘human’, he now calls him ‘warrior’. The great thing about the Didact’s actions and word choice at this point is that it shows he consideres Chief as a worthy adversary. An equal. When he prepares to attack the Chief, he waits until he is turned around before making his move. [i]“Come then, warrior. Have your resolution.” -Cutscene, Midnight, Halo 4[/i] Again though, the Didact fails to account what the Librarian could have done, and did do. This ends up resulting in his defeat as Cortana shackles him in hardlight. Something that is very obscure though, is that the Chief and Cortana both failed to take into account the Didact’s own stubbornness. Just as Johnson predicted back in November of 2552, it was only a matter of time when John ran into someone as stubborn as him. Just as he predicted, John would be fragmented emotionally as he would suffer extreme losses. He failed to completely safeguard humanity, and most importantly he failed to save and protect Cortana. [i]“One of these days, you're gonna land on somethin' as stubborn as you are! And I don't do bits and pieces!" -Cutscene, Arrival, Halo 3[/i] The next time around, the Chief and the Didact are going to be treating each other very differently as both have proven their worth to each other. The Didact will no longer just be shrugging off the Chief as he has had intimate experience with how resourceful the Master Chief is. It’s personally hard to say how the Chief will act towards the Didact now. One thing’s for sure, things will be different next time around.

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  • Bump.

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  • Halo bump

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  • There's one quote the Didact said that I never got. [i]"I stand before you. Accused of the sin of ensuring Forerunner ascendancy. Of attempting to save us from this fate where we are forced to… recede…"[/i] What made his actions a sin?

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    • Edited by Inyaccurate: 2/21/2014 11:09:32 PM
      This is a nice analysis, and it will be interesting to see how the Didact and Chief handle each other in the future. Also, what is your take on how the Didact wound up upon falling into the abyss below that hardlight bridge?

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      • Edited by ch33zy burrito: 2/21/2014 10:53:59 PM
        I wonder how I skipped this post before.

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      • Edited by FatMarshall: 2/21/2014 10:52:01 PM
        Does this shill really feel it's necessary to post shit like this here? Whatever, it's campaign so I guess it's not that bad, especially judging by the comments. Will read and edit post.

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      • I love you LoA. And yes, all of the homos

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        • Can't believe I missed this one... Nice Read/10

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        • He may haave been developed in the books, but the game shouldnt have to rely on the books to explain everything. a good story should be good on it's own. This is all I got from the Didact

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          • I'm curious as to what you thought of the ending of Halo 4 (where the Didact is talking and you see the Chief's armor being removed) and how that plays into your understanding of their relationship throughout the game.

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            • Great read. I noticed some of the changes in behaviour of the Didact towards the Chief, especially in Midnight, but didn't notice all the ones you listed as well. Even more reason for me to be excited for Halo 5's campaign.

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            • Would read again/10

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            • Good job, but I hope he isn't in the next halo, I just didn't really find him that evil enough. I really hope they bring back the arbiter, I miss that son of a bitch.

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              • And I thought I was into Halo...

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                • I really liked this. When I played through Halo 4, I realized a bit of a thing was going between the Master Chief and The Didact. What I didn't take into account for was what SGT.Johnson said in Halo 3. That's what hit me the most, realizing what Johnson said, had technically happened.

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                  • Edited by Master Builder: 1/29/2014 3:27:06 AM
                    Relevant Don't ask me why I have that many pictures

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                    • I still say that it's weird how that Pulse grenade at the end just explodes on the Didact instead of working like a Pulse grenade

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                      • Great read, as always. I assume most people shrugged it off as just another seemingly superior villain discounting a hero's valour, before acknowledging their ability and dissuading them. But Johnson's quote there is surprisingly relevant, and I never realised how the Didact's opinion of John shifted beyond 'Oh, this human is doing my head in, I guess I should step up my game.'

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                      • Great post. Although the Chief being used as a tool is not exclusive to his relationship with the Didact. The Chief may have had this revelation shortly after their initial confrontation, since a few missions later he defies direct orders from a superior to hand over Cortana. This unraveling from being a piece of equipment may effect the Chief's actions in the next Halo; maybe he'll even go rouge, or at least that's what it looks like based on the trailer for the new Halo game. I have a feeling that the next installment will be more about finding answers than anything else.

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                      • This was a great and worthwhile read, I'm actually excited for halo 5 now

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                      • I played the game and have no idea who this "Didact" is, so good job 343 on making an interesting story!

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                        • Very cool. But I have to say: The Didact didn't manipulate Infinity's signal or anything else. That was just the effect of his Cryptum. Note: only the Didact and Librarian are allowed to enter Requiem. Before you enter Requiem, the planet scans chief and opens. Why? Because Master Chief has the imprint of the ISO Didact aka Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting. Also, when you enter the cartography room, the sentinels welcome him and show him to the cartographer because they saw him as ISO Didact. Also a quote from Guilty Spark: You asked me last time if I were in your place if I would do it. (Paraphrased). He was referring to the ISO Didact's quote at the end of the Silentium book.

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                          • This is completely and utterly ridiculous. There isn't a deep meaning between Chief and Didact's relationship. The Didact is nothing more than a poorly-explained, Jedi reject, and the Master Chief is an emotional chatterbox. If anything, this only suggests that 343i is completely incompetent at telling stories with well-developed characters. Yet another failure from 343i. You're welcome.

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                            • You know everything you just wrote was intended to be conveyed through the game itself? When you personally write out the whole thing that is rather pointless. Sure these are subtle characterizations, but they are intentional. The writers did not just place dialogue haphazardly throughout the game without context.

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                              • Halol 4 is a failure of epic proportions.

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                                • Edited by Cameo Cream: 1/29/2014 12:18:44 PM
                                  I tried to read it all, but Halo 4 canon is stupid I couldn't. Was a good post, it's just an awful game.

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