Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn

[Hawki]

I'm just worried right now about the Reclaimer Trilogy having some kind of Villain of the Day Syndrome. We've fought and beat the Didact, arguably one of the most powerful individuals in galactic history.

I wouldn't mind the Didact coming back admittedly (which is pretty much a given). Partly because I wouldn't call a QTE a 'victory' over him, partly because when it comes to resurrection, I'm generally more open to villains coming back than protagonists. Which is why I'm not amicable to the idea of Cortana coming back in contrast. She got the ending she deserved, and her return would be detrimental to John's character development IMO.

(Giving credit where credit is due, I will give 343 credit as to how they handled John and Cortana's characters.)

Now where to from there, I wonder. Unless 343i whips out the Precursors, I don't see the trilogy going bigger and bolder, but rather "darker and deeper" -- more "character oriented."

Does the trilogy need to get bigger and bolder? Original trilogy did so. Nothing wrong with that, but it would be good to have a different approach.

Unfortunately, I think they will bring back the Precursors. If the Forerunners are what the Covenant were to the first trilogy, then the Precursors would be the equivalent of the Flood potentially. Make what you will of where that leaves the Covenant as they stand now.

I can see us dealing with the Arbiter's Secularists vs the Storm Covenant, and probably a division within the UNSC -- making US the next big threat to the galaxy.

I dunno. I get the feeling that the Arbiter's faction is effectively being marginalized. The Storm (Storm seems to have crept in via OXM, but it's a term I prefer to use) are only ever referred to as "the Covenant" in the game. Not "the Storm" or "a Covenant splinter faction," just, "the Covenant." This could change, but the impression I got was that it was 343's way of trying to marginalize past lore, as if to say, "this is the Covenant, still alive and kicking from Halo 3. We know from the EU that's not entirely true, but...well, I'll put it this way. If the Arbiter gets a bullet in the head in the last book of the Kilo-Five Trilogy, I won't be surprised.

The idea of the UNSC being the villain in the end is an interesting idea. It's something I could see happening in principle. Unfortunately, for it to work, I think you need an outsider protagonist, someone who can look at a situation and say, "this is wrong." John may have been gone for four years, but I can't see him shifting his UNSC allegiance. And of existing characters, I don't see Lasky, and certainly not Palmer going down that road either.

This is debatable. Beginning with the introduction of the Pegasus, the humans go on to destroy a resurrection ship, several basestars and even the frickin homeworld colony ship at the end with what seems to be relative ease. Sure, they take casualties but by that time, no-one seems to care because they're actually no longer on the bottom rung.

Compare this to the first season where they literally agonise every time they lose one viper pilot over a minor engagement, are hardly a match for a single basestar let alone 3 later on the series and that, all-in-all, death is but a mere door-knock away. Granted that the series would have been short (ie: the death of all the colonials) had it taken the full logical course of its premise, but BSG is not exactly a good example of "humans being perpetually on the bottom rung" either.

Yeah, it's a fair point. It's something I noticed too. Not immediately, but the arrival of Pegasus did signal a subtle change in the show's essence. Still, I didn't mind too much, because I could run with the notion of Pegasus, even after being destroyed, had still had lots of men and material left over, not to mention the Cylon Civil War also helping.

[Quirel]

In the realm of sci-fi, and keeping it to the bottom and staying there, Battlestar Galactica would be one off the top of my head. Other than that, I'd need some wriggle room with the totem pole.

Very well, then.
I guess, for a given definition of 'Science Fiction', H.P. Lovecraft's stories work as well.

Poached, boiled, scrambled, or fried?

After what happened to that one guy? Fried.

If so, the Golden Gate Bridge is a close second.

Think I've only seen that destroyed once.

[Visions of Khas]

I wouldn't mind the Didact coming back admittedly (which is pretty much a given).

I think it's pretty much a given. He's immune to the effects of the Composer, as outlined by the Terminal videos. Besides, I think it was a slipspace portal he fell into. A portal to where, I wonder?

I get the feeling that the Arbiter's faction is effectively being marginalized.

I hope not. That would throw the events and accomplishments of Halo 3 completely out the window. I choose to believe that 343i didn't want to confuse the audience any more than they had to, and address that as a central issue in a game further down the line.

The idea of the UNSC being the villain in the end is an interesting idea. It's something I could see happening in principle. Unfortunately, for it to work, I think you need an outsider protagonist, someone who can look at a situation and say, "this is wrong." John may have been gone for four years, but I can't see him shifting his UNSC allegiance. And of existing characters, I don't see Lasky, and certainly not Palmer going down that road either.

There's already a cold war brewing between FleetCom and ONI, the two big political contenders behind the UMSC. Interesting fact: After the Infinity's commissioning, Fleet Admiral Lord Hood wanted to place an officer whose loyalty lie entirely with him, without an iota of recognition to ONI. Unfortunately, that man was Andrew del Rio. With del Rio's dismissal, ONI's won some political points.

Right now, in the Kilo 5 trilogy (Spoilers follow, if you care) ONI is arming the Storm Covenant, making sure that no single Sengheili faction wins too easily, too fast. Though the Storm seem powerful, the Elites as a whole are still in disarray; while FleetCom is tacitly backing the Arbiter's Secularists. There's plenty of fertile soil right there for a civil war within the UNSC right there, replete with treasonous acts and everything.

Cortana has already set the precedent that the actions and loyalty of the Cortana/Master Chief collective no longer lie entirely with humanity. If anyone -- anyone -- gets between MC and Cortana (and you KNOW she isn't quite "dead" yet) then UNSC be damned. Besides, Master Chief has his own built-in moral compass and has pretty much said, "Screw you" to del Rio. Who says he won't do it again?

[Quirel]

I think it's pretty much a given. He's immune to the effects of the Composer, as outlined by the Terminal videos. Besides, I think it was a slipspace portal he fell into. A portal to where, I wonder?

If there's anything I've learned about how non-Bungie writers handle slipspace portals, it'll take him right where he needs to go.
Whether Sergeant Forge is going to be there to save him from a random Infection form, or if he'll be greeted by a tribe of devout Elites waiting to be saved by a God remains to be seen.

I hope not. That would throw the events and accomplishments of Halo 3 completely out the window. I choose to believe that 343i didn't want to confuse the audience any more than they had to, and address that as a central issue in a game further down the line.

Hehe.
Yeah. That's not going to happen. You see the way they threw Didact, the Composer, the Librarian, the Infinity and the Spartan 4s at you? I don't think that "the audience might get confused" was ever up for consideration.

There's already a cold war brewing between FleetCom and ONI, the two big political contenders behind the UMSC. Interesting fact: After the Infinity's commissioning, Fleet Admiral Lord Hood wanted to place an officer whose loyalty lie entirely with him, without an iota of recognition to ONI. Unfortunately, that man was Andrew del Rio. With del Rio's dismissal, ONI's won some political points.

>.<
Over at HBO, we were speculating whether del Rio's reputation for bringing his ships back intact was because he'd flee at the first sign of things going south.

Right now, in the Kilo 5 trilogy (Spoilers follow, if you care) ONI is arming the Storm Covenant, making sure that no single Sengheili faction wins too easily, too fast. Though the Storm seem powerful, the Elites as a whole are still in disarray; while FleetCom is tacitly backing the Arbiter's Secularists. There's plenty of fertile soil right there for a civil war within the UNSC right there, replete with treasonous acts and everything.

There's plenty of fertile ground there for a trilogy about the Covenant breaking itself apart in a long civil war, like what was hinted at in The Return.
Don't think that 343i is going to go down that route.

As for it being covered in the novels, there's one last Kilo 5 novel to be published, which will likely focus on the Venezia conflict that had been hinted at in the first two books.

I doubt that Jul will play a large role, because it's already been revealed what he did afterward: Amassed a great big fleet, parked it outside of Requiem, and spent three years pleading with Didact to unlock the front door.

Also, ONI has been arming the Servants of the Abiding Truth, not the Storm. I doubt they'd offer them to the Storm, and I doubt that Jul would accept.