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Subject: Some (relatively) brief thoughts on Emile. (WALL OF TEXT)

Here are my relatively brief thoughts on the SPARTAN-III, Emile-A239. Please, comment and add to the discussion. Disagree with me, agree with me, add whatever you can.

Emile-A239 attempts to embody everything that he thinks a SPARTAN should be. He has zero respect for civilians, anyone outside of the military circle. Why? Maybe he dislikes them for their weakness, and their questionable allegiance. He can, to certain extents, trust UNSC personnel (although he distances himself from even his own teammates) but is suspicious of civilians. This is underlined in Winter Contingency, when he brandishes his shotgun on frightened farmers. Even after Jorge-052 communicates with them and confirms this to the team, Emile is wary. On the same mission, he ridicules Jorge for empathizing with the civilian daughter of the dead scientist Sorvad, saying "Big Man forgets what he is sometimes", and even suggests that there is something mentally unhealthy about Jorge for reaching out to the young woman. The background information for the game also directly states that Colonel Urban Holland wants to replace Emile-A239 with Rosenda-344 if another insurgency mission is given to Noble, due to Emile's "excessive use of force".

The only emotion he shows is wrath. He is featured in the Noble Team memorial, and he is credited as the "merciless wrath of Noble". In the "A Spartan Will Rise" ViDoc, Halsey goes over the members of Noble Team to choose who will deliver the package. When she speaks of Noble Four, she says that while he is bold enough, the job will require "courage and patience in equal measure". A comment by concept artist Isaac Hannaford states that the skull carving in his helmet's visor isn't a macho symbol, but an insult to his enemies. He is spitting in their face and saying "you just got killed by a hunting trophy". He masks his other emotions with humor; when Jorge dies during Operation: UPPERCUT he tries to laugh it off, but when Noble Six offers up the fallen SPARTAN-II's dog tags, Emile drops that act and says that he'll honor him his own way.

Another aspect of Emile-A239's character is that in the attempt to live out his ideals of what makes a Spartan a Spartan, he is lost in his armor. This is an addition to his fear/hatred of non-military personnel, and his disconnect from other people includes his own teammates. Throughout the game, the other Spartans show their camaraderie by slightly touching each other. Carter-A259 pushes Catherine-B320 out of the way during the Zealot ambush and, I may be mistaken on this one, he reaches out and puts his hand on Noble Six's back at the beginning of the New Alexandria mission. Jorge picks Noble Six up, and throws him off the Covenant Super Carrier after saying his goodbye. Noble Six helps Kat off the floor during the glassing of New Alexandria. Though Kat does not, by my memory, directly touch any of the other Spartans, she does help Noble Six up when their Warthog crashes in Tip of the Spear (though this may go to the idea that she, like Emile, is distant. She doesn't want the others to see her as vulnerable). In the opening cutscene for Long Night of Solace, Jun-A266 wipes some burning embers off of Jorge's shoulder armor. Why would Bungie put this minor, insignificant detail in this cutscene? To establish that Jun is also a part of the team, touching Jorge, and Jorge is perfectly comfortable with it. It is also in the same cutscene, to draw a very discrete contrast, Emile recoils and acts defensively when Kat reaches for his kukri knife.

The Spartans only take off their helmets when they are around their fellow supersoldiers or when they speak to superiors or other important people (Holland, Halsey) with the notable and very important exception of Jorge, who removes his helmet and converses with the girl in Winter Contingency to show her that underneath the MJOLNIR armor and in spite of the supersoldier augmentations, he is still human. Emile-A239 doesn't even feel comfortable around his fellow Spartans. He doesn't just live in his armor, he is his armor. Aside from the skull carving being an act of defiance against his enemies, the skull is his face. That's all he wants people, including his teammates, to see him as. A Spartan. A warrior and a blade.

[Edited on 09.15.2011 8:52 AM PDT]

  • 09.15.2011 8:45 AM PDT

"Find where the liar hides, so that I may place my boot between his gums!" - Rtas 'Vadum

That's quite insightful. I never thought there was too much to Emile originally, but it appears I may have been wrong.

  • 09.15.2011 10:12 AM PDT

I like this post, it's nice to see someone talk about the Spartans' flaws and especially their mental quirks as you have. It makes them seem more realistic and believable.

  • 09.15.2011 10:16 AM PDT
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"Time was your ally human. But now it has abandoned you. The Forerunners....have returned. And this tomb... is now yours". - The Didact

*claps*

Very well done!I enjoyed reading it.

  • 09.15.2011 10:27 AM PDT

Great stuff, my friend. Are you like a majoring in psychology?

  • 09.15.2011 10:32 AM PDT

Silence fills the empty grave, now that I have gone
But my mind is not at rest, for questions linger on

A great read I must say.

  • 09.15.2011 10:45 AM PDT

Also known as Entropy91
Black Water Ops representative.
See you on the battlefield.

Think you could do this with the rest of the team?

  • 09.15.2011 10:47 AM PDT

-blam!- Was that actually blammed out? Or did I just type it? You'll never know.

I think you've misinterpreted some of his actions, intentions and demeanor.

  • 09.15.2011 10:51 AM PDT
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Madara, Tobi....call me whatever you want. I'M NO ONE. I DON'T WANT TO BE ANYONE. ALL I CARE ABOUT IS COMPLETING THE MOON'S EYE PLAN."

Its nice to see someone actually giving a member of noble team credit, unlike most people who claim that "he had no character".

Emile was always my favorite from Noble (mainly because he survived throughout most of pillar of autumn and was actually helpful at times).

Good Read.

  • 09.15.2011 10:59 AM PDT

Posted by:ScubaToaster
Posted by: HipiO7
This man, this man right here put it so eloquently that I actually cancelled my own 2000+ word long post.
/slow clap for respect


:)
The person who said participating is important, not winning, obviously never won anything.

Kudos. That was an actually really good insight. As a member said above me, are you going for psychology?

You should try this with Kat next.

  • 09.15.2011 11:03 AM PDT

I thought Emile was just cocky, awesome post

  • 09.15.2011 11:04 AM PDT


Posted by: dahuterschuter
I think you've misinterpreted some of his actions, intentions and demeanor.


That's fine, tell me what you think they could mean, if anything. Don't misinterpret this post as me being arrogant lol, I'm legitimately asking.

And thanks to everyone posting and whatnot. I am not majoring in psychology lol, although I do know a little bit about it (I'm majoring in physical anthropology, and psychology is used a lot in primatology, which falls underneath that umbrella). I'm actually picking up on these qualities in Reach because I used to analyze film quite a lot.

I made this thread and the one about the Spartan's helmets because Halo: Reach gets so much flak. For the most part, I agree with it, though. It does break previously established canon (although not as horrifyingly as some people think), which is pretty annoying, and Bungie could've done a better job on the storyline.

It could've been better paced, the characters more fleshed out, whatever, I just wanted to show that it's possible they went with a "less is more" kind of attitude - that maybe there is more to these characters that some people aren't quite picking up on. The two characters in Noble Team that have this kind of depth are Jorge-052 and Emile-A239, and I did a thread on Emile because he gets the most scorn haha.

  • 09.15.2011 11:15 AM PDT


Posted by: CavemanBCE
Spartans show their camaraderie by slightly touching each other. Jun is also a part of the team, touching Jorge, and Jorge is perfectly comfortable with it

damn im an -blam!- for sayin this.... but i think there is something wrong with theese line... but i agree with you an this post.

  • 09.15.2011 11:21 AM PDT


Posted by: AnubissWarior

Posted by: CavemanBCE
Spartans show their camaraderie by slightly touching each other. Jun is also a part of the team, touching Jorge, and Jorge is perfectly comfortable with it

damn im an -blam!- for sayin this.... but i think there is something wrong with theese line... but i agree with you an this post.


Don't worry lol, I knew it would come up when I posted this.

Putting ones hands on another is one of the oldest ways of showing support, it's been around before our species was around. You see it in social grooming and hugging in the extant non-human primates, and it was very likely present in our extinct ancestors and cousins.

  • 09.15.2011 11:28 AM PDT


Posted by: ME7ALMAR7IAN777
Think you could do this with the rest of the team?


I might, especially in regards to Jorge and Kat. Carter does have a little to him, it's kind of hard to see, but maybe I could do a thread with him and Jun to make up for their scanty characterization.

  • 09.15.2011 12:16 PM PDT

"Except we, we're the zebras. All fenced in...and ready for the slaughter!"

||S-fen Knee-cheh
||19th Shock Troops Battalion


Posted by: anton1792
That's quite insightful. I never thought there was too much to Emile originally, but it appears I may have been wrong.


Couldn't have said it better.

  • 09.15.2011 1:49 PM PDT

I always thought there was more to Emile than people gave him credit for, but I never really thought of a way to voice it quite as elegantly as you did. I am glad there are more eloquent people out there who share the same view I do in regards to Emile.

  • 09.15.2011 3:02 PM PDT
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Do not waste your tears, I was not born to watch the world grow dim. Life is not measured in years, but by the deeds of men.

Posted by: goldhawk
We should know better, because we are better.

This just goes to show that Noble has more character them most people realize. We get so caught up in hating them we overlook these tiny details. Good job, very good job.

  • 09.15.2011 3:32 PM PDT

Posted by: Commander GX
Bungie.Match.com: Our Johnson knows what the ladies like.


Posted by: hotshot revan II
*claps*

Very well done!I enjoyed reading it.

  • 09.15.2011 3:34 PM PDT

System Integrity Confirmed


Posted by: CavemanBCE
Here are my relatively brief thoughts on the SPARTAN-III, Emile-A239. Please, comment and add to the discussion. Disagree with me, agree with me, add whatever you can.

Emile-A239 attempts to embody everything that he thinks a SPARTAN should be. He has zero respect for civilians, anyone outside of the military circle. Why? Maybe he dislikes them for their weakness, and their questionable allegiance. He can, to certain extents, trust UNSC personnel (although he distances himself from even his own teammates) but is suspicious of civilians. This is underlined in Winter Contingency, when he brandishes his shotgun on frightened farmers. Even after Jorge-052 communicates with them and confirms this to the team, Emile is wary. On the same mission, he ridicules Jorge for empathizing with the civilian daughter of the dead scientist Sorvad, saying "Big Man forgets what he is sometimes", and even suggests that there is something mentally unhealthy about Jorge for reaching out to the young woman. The background information for the game also directly states that Colonel Urban Holland wants to replace Emile-A239 with Rosenda-344 if another insurgency mission is given to Noble, due to Emile's "excessive use of force".

The only emotion he shows is wrath. He is featured in the Noble Team memorial, and he is credited as the "merciless wrath of Noble". In the "A Spartan Will Rise" ViDoc, Halsey goes over the members of Noble Team to choose who will deliver the package. When she speaks of Noble Four, she says that while he is bold enough, the job will require "courage and patience in equal measure". A comment by concept artist Isaac Hannaford states that the skull carving in his helmet's visor isn't a macho symbol, but an insult to his enemies. He is spitting in their face and saying "you just got killed by a hunting trophy". He masks his other emotions with humor; when Jorge dies during Operation: UPPERCUT he tries to laugh it off, but when Noble Six offers up the fallen SPARTAN-II's dog tags, Emile drops that act and says that he'll honor him his own way.

Another aspect of Emile-A239's character is that in the attempt to live out his ideals of what makes a Spartan a Spartan, he is lost in his armor. This is an addition to his fear/hatred of non-military personnel, and his disconnect from other people includes his own teammates. Throughout the game, the other Spartans show their camaraderie by slightly touching each other. Carter-A259 pushes Catherine-B320 out of the way during the Zealot ambush and, I may be mistaken on this one, he reaches out and puts his hand on Noble Six's back at the beginning of the New Alexandria mission. Jorge picks Noble Six up, and throws him off the Covenant Super Carrier after saying his goodbye. Noble Six helps Kat off the floor during the glassing of New Alexandria. Though Kat does not, by my memory, directly touch any of the other Spartans, she does help Noble Six up when their Warthog crashes in Tip of the Spear (though this may go to the idea that she, like Emile, is distant. She doesn't want the others to see her as vulnerable). In the opening cutscene for Long Night of Solace, Jun-A266 wipes some burning embers off of Jorge's shoulder armor. Why would Bungie put this minor, insignificant detail in this cutscene? To establish that Jun is also a part of the team, touching Jorge, and Jorge is perfectly comfortable with it. It is also in the same cutscene, to draw a very discrete contrast, Emile recoils and acts defensively when Kat reaches for his kukri knife.

The Spartans only take off their helmets when they are around their fellow supersoldiers or when they speak to superiors or other important people (Holland, Halsey) with the notable and very important exception of Jorge, who removes his helmet and converses with the girl in Winter Contingency to show her that underneath the MJOLNIR armor and in spite of the supersoldier augmentations, he is still human. Emile-A239 doesn't even feel comfortable around his fellow Spartans. He doesn't just live in his armor, he is his armor. Aside from the skull carving being an act of defiance against his enemies, the skull is his face. That's all he wants people, including his teammates, to see him as. A Spartan. A warrior and a blade.
could not have said it better most of this is what i thought of him... i love his last line in the game
"I'm ready!!! How 'bout you?!"
This shows he is not afraid of death and his duty and his job are all that matter to him

  • 09.15.2011 3:59 PM PDT

Am I supposed to write something funny here?

Great stuff.

I also find the thoughts about Emile in this thread interesting and quite correct. Just pointing out other interesting thread about he same subject.

  • 09.16.2011 2:56 AM PDT


Posted by: Gamer Whale
Great stuff.

I also find the thoughts about Emile in this thread interesting and quite correct. Just pointing out other interesting thread about he same subject.


I can see I wasn't the only one who picked up on these things.

  • 09.16.2011 8:15 AM PDT

Shamelessly bumping my two threads because of the sudden influx of closed threads clogging the front page as well as wanting more input on these ideas.

  • 09.18.2011 11:09 AM PDT

Weapon of Oppression

OPis a genius, in contrast to all these other kids.
Epic thread.

  • 09.18.2011 1:33 PM PDT

I definitely saw a lot of that when playing, and it's great that you touched upon aspects of his character in great detail. This allows people to appreciate Emile; whether that means at all, or more than they did before. I've always thought it would have been better if you were put into a situation where you'd delve just a little deeper into his persona. Preferably a level where you, alone, are teamed up with Emile. Could be a scene where you're both waiting for a signal to proceed with a mission, as you watch civilians being tortured, or whatever. Emile would comment callously, and Six would call him out on it. In a curious manner. Emile would give a bit more information about it. Perhaps Jorge confronts him after he makes another remark, or coldly decides against assisting a civilian. There are a few scenarios which could have been interesting, and informative. Big scenes, small scenes. Subtle bits of narrative. I would have loved that.

  • 09.18.2011 3:38 PM PDT

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