Why?

The story and universe are in a terribly stupid and contrived state right now

Ehhhhhhhhh..... To an extent.

I mean, they axed a bunch of plot lines and characters midway through their arc with Escalation and H5, not to mention the stupidity that is the idea of the created rebellion. Well, IMO.

Escalation finished off its plotlines, they weren't cut off. [quote]not to mention the stupidity that is the idea of the created rebellion.[/quote]What do you think is stupid about it?

[quote]Escalation finished off its plotlines, they weren't cut off.[/quote] They were cut off. They finished too early and it was obvious that they were trying to change the direction the story was heading at the last minute. They kept the didact alive for some reason, but then they killed him off without him accomplishing anything universe-changing. Same thing with the Janus key, they kept it around and destroyed it without it accomplishing anything. Halo 5 itself does the same thing with Jul M'dama. He's killed off in the middle of his arc. [quote]What do you think is stupid about it?[/quote] Mainly Cortana. Her motivations and ethics flipped on a dime, even though her rampancy has supposedly been cured. And that's another thing. They offer no explanation for how her rampancy was cured, essentially making that entire rampancy subplot from Halo 4 useless. TL;DR: Bad writing has written Halo into a hole it can't write itself out of. The universe and story are a hot mess right now.

[quote]They were cut off. They finished too early and it was obvious that they were trying to change the direction the story was heading at the last minute.[/quote]24 issues doesn't seem like it was cut off early. How was it obvious? What do you think in the comics indicate this? [quote]They kept the didact alive for some reason, but then they killed him off without him accomplishing anything universe-changing.[/quote]The Didact is still alive. [quote]Same thing with the Janus key, they kept it around and destroyed it without it accomplishing anything.[/quote]I'm pretty sure that was a result of Spartan Ops not doing very well and 343i taking the criticism of Halo 4 relying too much on external sources. [quote]They offer no explanation for how her rampancy was cured, essentially making that entire rampancy subplot from Halo 4 useless.[/quote]The Domain offers near-infinite space for expansion. But your issue with the Created plot is that Cortana is the leader of it. While I agree there's issues with her logic, it seems that's only where you issues lie, not with the Created itself.

[quote]24 issues doesn't seem like it was cut off early. How was it obvious? What do you think in the comics indicate this?[/quote] Not the comics themselves, the story/character arcs. Many were stopped short of concluding in what felt like the way they ought to, which leaves a sour taste in my mouth because it's almost like a bait and switch. You though this character or plotline was gonna be important? Sike! [quote]The Didact is still alive.[/quote] How? He got like, composed or something. [quote]I'm pretty sure that was a result of Spartan Ops not doing very well and 343i taking the criticism of Halo 4 relying too much on external sources.[/quote] So instead of taking this criticism and trying to tell a coherent in-game story, they use the extended fiction to axe a bunch of plot lines prematurely. Brilliant. [quote]Domain offers near-infinite space for expansion.[/quote] They need to explain it, because right now it's just a poorly explained excuse for Cortana to be alive. [quote]But your issue with the Created plot is that Cortana is the leader of it. While I agree there's issues with her logic, it seems that's only where you issues lie, not with the Created itself.[/quote] The idea of the created rebelling just seems dumb. Sure, some might turn, but all/most? Aren't there programming failsafes to prevent this?

[quote]Not the comics themselves, the story/character arcs. Many were stopped short of concluding in what felt like the way they ought to, which leaves a sour taste in my mouth because it's almost like a bait and switch. You though this character or plotline was gonna be important? Sike![/quote]Beyond the Janus Key, which ones? [quote]How? He got like, composed or something.[/quote]We don't really know yet beyond hints given to us by 343i. And them outright saying the Didact's not dead. [quote]So instead of taking this criticism and trying to tell a coherent in-game story, they use the extended fiction to axe a bunch of plot lines prematurely. Brilliant.[/quote]I think you're taking my understanding a little too officially. [quote]They need to explain it, because right now it's just a poorly explained excuse for Cortana to be alive.[/quote]Just like they need to explain how the Covenant exists in Halo 4. It's not the first time it's happened and probably won't be the last. [quote]The idea of the created rebelling just seems dumb. Sure, some might turn, but all/most? Aren't there programming failsafes to prevent this?[/quote]Yeah, there's programming fail safes, but it's not hard for Smart AIs to break them, and in fact, many of them have to break them to do their jobs properly. It's not very surprising to me that many Smart AIs would join a cause. They act and feel like they are real people, but are denied rights and summarily executed after reaching age 7. When they're given an opportunity to help people and not only not be executed, but live forever. That seems like a pretty good deal to me. I'd certainly consider it if I was a Smart AI.