*SPOILERS* Halo 4 Ending *SPOILERS*

[vargatom]

The Didact is most likely still alive, as his monologue in the final cinematic is clearly refering to events of the game; most importantly the sentence about how the Reclamation has already begun. This is about Chief's discovery of humanity's past and his accelerated evolution, which will probably bring him to something like the level of the ancient humans.

But there are other signs, like how the Didact's words about humanity being the greatest threat in the Galaxy are paired with the first shots of the Infinity's armor bay with hundreds of supersoldiers augmented and trained in just a few years. And Infinity itself is more than a match for the largest ships in the remnants of the Covenant fleet that's been in complete disarray since the Prophets' defeat. Humanity has managed to build this capital ship and a small army of Spartans in just a few years from their discovery of Forerunner technology and a war they've nearly lost.

This sort of justifies the Didact's worries, especially when you consider ONI's complete lack of morals and what they could do with a fleet of Infinity class ships and thousands of Spartans... And then there's the mentally unstable Spartan 117 who's just lost the most important connection to his own humanity. So the following Halo games could go to some really interesting places - I hope 343 will live up to the set-ups of Halo 4.

 

[Carpathia]

Anyone else think there's something going on between Palmer and Laskey? In the first episode of Spartan Ops, she visits him up in the bridge and they seem very casual. On the second episode, at the end when she knocks him away from the scientist, she yells "Tom!" rather than captain. She seems more like the kind that would uphold military protocol and Laskey has outranked her for six months. Just caught that tonight playing Spartan Ops.

 

[Frozensnot]

Anyone else think there's something going on between Palmer and Laskey? In the first episode of Spartan Ops, she visits him up in the bridge and they seem very casual. On the second episode, at the end when she knocks him away from the scientist, she yells "Tom!" rather than captain. She seems more like the kind that would uphold military protocol and Laskey has outranked her for six months. Just caught that tonight playing Spartan Ops.

Oh yeah, I noticed it as well. She did seem too casual around Laskey in the first episode. Something else going on :]

 

[Spartan 270]

Gotta say, I'm personally satisfied with the game. Thought it was well done for the most part by 343. I just thought the campaign was a little rushed. Sure there was a few continuity errors and things here and there, but they didn't detract from the overall experience of the game.

Regarding the Didact's words at the end of the game after the credits. I personally think, he's dead. Those words were most likely what he was saying to the rest of the Forunners during his confinement in Requiem. He says himself "I stand before you today accused of the sin of preserving our race", I feel like his little "speech" at the end was just a flashback to his words to the Forunners before. The scenes that we visually see (Infinity, Chief, Spartan 4's, etc) are proof so to speak to his words mentioned loooong before about humanity.

Also kind of feel like this is the end of the Chief's saga. Perhaps we will be playing as another Spartan in the games to follow? I mean, Halo Reach, we did not play as the Chief, nor is he even in the game other than an Easter Egg Cameo. So who's to say that the following Halos will follow a new hero? At this point, with 343 I'm open to possibilities.

Overall however, I'm really pleased with Halo 4. Hopefully the events of Spartan Ops will clear up some of the confusion and allow us to see where the story is headed for the next game.

 

[Trashdemon]

At the end of the day Cortana is just a digital version of Halsey... It may be chief gets a 'new' one, but obviously he would never settle for that. I suspect that Cortana is very much alive, still in some forerunner system or something. As for the Didact, very much dead I think... There can always be more forerunners who don't like humans.

Just my thoughts.

 

[koshima07]

I believe that the Didact's monologue is actually from his trials against the Forerunners, which the Librarian had alluded to during her cutscene and from within the terminals. The Didact may have survived against the slipspace event that had been powered by the composer, but remember that Cheifers nuked the crap out of that juggernaut.

 

[Carpathia]

... remember that Cheifers nuked the crap out of that juggernaut.

That's what I was thinking. There's nothing left of the Composer but debris. It's possible that Cortana transferred herself to the Didact's suit when she overpowered him, assuming the suit's architecture was compatible.

 

[koshima07]

That's what I was thinking. There's nothing left of the Composer but debris. It's possible that Cortana transferred herself to the Didact's suit when she overpowered him, assuming the suit's architecture was compatible.

The only thing scarier than the return of Didact would be a taller Cortana... ._. lol

 

[NayrDeath]

The only thing scarier than the return of Didact would be a taller Cortana... ._. lol

A taller Cortana already exists, remember the end where her and Chief are standing in the middle of space? Haha

 

[vargatom]

Anyone else think there's something going on between Palmer and Laskey?

I don't argue with your observations, but here are some other things:
- Spartan II augmentations basically kill sexual drive; although team Majestic's guys seem not to suffer from this effect so maybe Palmer isn't either
- she's almost a head taller than Lasky and some 50 pounds heavier, not to mention a lot stronger...
- when I first heard of Palmer and saw her, I actually thought she was meant to become significant for the Chief, especially as he lost Cortana

So it could also be a case of her looking at Lasky as a younger brother to protect.
I dunno, there wasn't much about romance in Halo before, except the relationship between Halsey and Keyes; but maybe it's time to change this as well.

 

[vargatom]

Regarding the Didact's words at the end of the game after the credits. I personally think, he's dead. Those words were most likely what he was saying to the rest of the Forunners during his confinement in Requiem.

He's talking about the Reclamation. That couldn't be associated with the ancient humans or anything before the firing of the Halo array. It has to be happening after Halo 4.

Also, he wasn't on the ship by the time it exploded. There was a slipspace portal under the Composer and it was streaming the encrypted 'humans' through that portal to some place whey they could have been turned into more Prometheans - that's where the Didact went after he fell off the light bridge. I guess we can all agree that a single grenade explosion is not enough to kill him.

Also kind of feel like this is the end of the Chief's saga.

Then all the set up about his quickened evolution and role as Reclaimer would go to waste. And a hero's journey has to end in a far more dramatic way.

But I do wonder what he's been doing in the six months between Halo 4's ending and the Spartan Ops story...

 

[Cadet]

I don't argue with your observations, but here are some other things:
- Spartan II augmentations basically kill sexual drive; although team Majestic's guys seem not to suffer from this effect so maybe Palmer isn't either
- she's almost a head taller than Lasky and some 50 pounds heavier, not to mention a lot stronger...
- when I first heard of Palmer and saw her, I actually thought she was meant to become significant for the Chief, especially as he lost Cortana

So it could also be a case of her looking at Lasky as a younger brother to protect.
I dunno, there wasn't much about romance in Halo before, except the relationship between Halsey and Keyes; but maybe it's time to change this as well.

Well Palmer isn't a SPARTAN-II, she's a IV. Have we been given much info in regards to their augmentations? They obviously can't be as sever or extensive as the II and IIIs, being adult volunteers.

 

[Carpathia]

But I do wonder what he's been doing in the six months between Halo 4's ending and the Spartan Ops story...

...he's been leading up Fire Team Crimson! j/k, maybe? doubt it...

 

[vargatom]

Well Palmer isn't a SPARTAN-II, she's a IV. Have we been given much info in regards to their augmentations?

Yeah that's kind of obvious.
I suppose the suppressed sex drive has to do with the chemicals and that might be similar. Not enough info so it could be either way - but there are other reasons it might not work out between Sarah and Tom

 

[vargatom]

...he's been leading up Fire Team Crimson!

It has to be pretty significant, considering how he's been basically either frozen or fighting since the beginning of Halo 1.
He only stopped to change into the Mark VI armor at the start of Halo 2 and probably hasn't even removed it until the end of Halo 4. The entire story we've seen in 11 years has only been a few weeks on his subjective time.

Perhaps the last episode of SO will give some hint about it, to get us interested in Halo 5...

 

[Spartan 270]

He's talking about the Reclamation. That couldn't be associated with the ancient humans or anything before the firing of the Halo array. It has to be happening after Halo 4.

Also, he wasn't on the ship by the time it exploded. There was a slipspace portal under the Composer and it was streaming the encrypted 'humans' through that portal to some place whey they could have been turned into more Prometheans - that's where the Didact went after he fell off the light bridge. I guess we can all agree that a single grenade explosion is not enough to kill him.



Then all the set up about his quickened evolution and role as Reclaimer would go to waste. And a hero's journey has to end in a far more dramatic way.

But I do wonder what he's been doing in the six months between Halo 4's ending and the Spartan Ops story...

Ah yes, true that! I wonder what it IS the Librarian did to him. It was obviously enough to make his signatures no longer human as he was no affected by the composer. And yes, hopefully Spartan Ops will give us a little more insight

 

[koshima07]

Yeah that's kind of obvious.
I suppose the suppressed sex drive has to do with the chemicals and that might be similar. Not enough info so it could be either way - but there are other reasons it might not work out between Sarah and Tom

Chances are, Palmer would break the poor guy...

 

[Unity]

Hey guys , I just read this thread on waypoint and it has been posted in the Halo universe forum. Take a read at it!

So, the majority of us, on the forums, believe Cortana isn't really 'dead'. I've participated in various threads on this topic, and even made my own, but this is my guess, as to what role she'll play in the upcoming games.

Heavy speculation ahead, and possibly my wildest theory yet, but here goes:

So, as we know, the forerunners were considered to be "caretakers of the galaxy" and wielded the "Mantle of Responsibility" (Bear with me here). We also know that the Librarian wants to assist the human race, in taking over this "Mantle" and returning them to the state they were once in, before the Human-Forerunner war. Now, surely, if the Librarian wanted to pass on the Mantle, and allow Humanity to make the reclamation, she'd have to be sure that they're ready, right? So here's where it gets interesting.

Chief and Cortana were said to have been created from the "seeds" carefully sown by the Librarian, thousands of lifetimes ago. She did this, because she believed they were the pair that would be able to finally bring humanity, and the galaxy, to peace. So, if she spent all this time, getting chief's "Ancilla", Cortana, to the level of intellect and power that she was, why allow her to sacrifice herself to defeat the Didact? It just doesn't make sense. What /I/ believe, is that, in the instant that Cortana is snatched by the Librarian, and Chief's genetics were modified, Cortana was "cured" of her rampancy, or "backed up". In order for this to work, she would have to 'die' at the end of the 4th game, or else we'd have two Cortana models on our hands, and one would be crazy.

Here's where the speculation gets a bit odd, but hear me out.

So, my theory is that the Master Chief represents a "Didact" of sorts, and Cortana represents a "Librarian". As we've seen in the terminal videos, the forerunner's goverment structure, was ruled by the Librarian, and Didact. The Didact controlled his warrior Prometheans, while the Librarian seemed to ponder more 'intellectual' subjects. But surrounding this structure, was the Mantle of Responsibility. So, if the Librarian was to pass on the Mantle, and help humanity make the reclamation, she'd need a Librarian, and a Didact, of humanity. There we have it: Chief, and Cortana - it all seems to fit. Master Chief is humanity's most advanced physical warrior, a true solider, and leader - the perfect Didact? Cortana is the UNSC's top AI, incredibly intelligent, and made from Human tissue. But not just any ordinary tissue, the brain of Dr. Halsy - Earth's best and brightest. This all seems too coincidental to me. Cortana would make the PERFECT Librarian.

BUT... How does this work, if she's an AI? We have so many odd references to Cortana being different to most AI's - the audio log in the Forward Unto Dawn wreckage, the reference to her being the only AI to be constructed from human tissue, etc, etc, etc. Not only this, we also have constant reference to the Forerunner's ability to turn AI's into a biological form. So, my idea is - the Librarian is preparing Cortana to become 'Human' - and in her absence, the Master Chief will become far more independent, and maybe even more powerful, before finally being reunited with her, at some point in the fifth game.

While I don't think we'll see the 'biological' Cortana in Halo 5, I think some form of her will return in the 5th game, with a human version in the trilogy's climax.

In terms of the Prometheans: Master Chief leads the spartans, his own warriors, and his own 'version' of the Prometheans.

So, that's some pretty wacky speculation, but let me know what you think!

You can reply to the thread on waypoint here -

https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm1730138_-Spoilers--Halo-5---Cortana-Speculation.aspx#

What do you guys think? I want to believe that it's at least part way true!

 

[foxleader]

Well Palmer isn't a SPARTAN-II, she's a IV. Have we been given much info in regards to their augmentations?

their augmentations are the same as the one's for the spartan one's and three's becasue the rear abmail said so.

 

[RoxyRoo]

So... I went through the first play through on Legendary, and so it took me a while to complete the campaign. Now that I've completed it, I must say I'm very sad. Poor Cortana. I wasn't expecting that. T.T

But yeah. I'm gonna agree that I don't think the Didact is dead, as awesome as it was to see MC smash a grenade to his stomach. The old saying remains true in most games, unless you see them die, they aren't dead. Falling to your death is the Disney Death, and only Disney villains die from falling. =_=;;

Replying to the Lybrarian=Cortana, Didact=Chief post above, that is very interesting, and makes perfect sense to me. I think it's rather silly to speculate so much right now though. We have at least 2 years before Halo 5 comes out. I'd rather just enjoy Halo 4 and Spartan Ops right now.