Off Topic: The Flood
This topic has moved here: Subject: Why I did not like the Didact as an antagonist in Halo 4
  • Subject: Why I did not like the Didact as an antagonist in Halo 4
  • Pages:
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • of 3
Subject: Why I did not like the Didact as an antagonist in Halo 4

@accordingto343

Your one stop shop for all of 343's fabulous errors and ridiculous notions in the Halo lore.

While Waypoint is down as I write this, I thought I might as well share why I didn't really care for the Didact as the main villain in Halo 4. I know Halo 4 threads are getting tiring, but this was one of the biggest let downs I felt about the game. 343i preached about how Master Chief was finally going to get a true antagonist and that the Didact, at least according to Frank O'Conner, would be seen as more of a noble figure while being the enemy.

I found nothing of the sort. The Didact boiled down to being a Forerunner supremacist who hated humans for the sake of being evil. I have seen the argument made about the Halo novels setting the stage for this, but I disagree having read the novels. The Didact in the Forerunner Saga isn't nearly as big of a dickblister as he is in Halo 4. One way to drive this point home is by comparing a speech of his in the Terminals with the same speech in Halo: Primordium.

Here is his confrontation with the Lord of Admirals in Halo 4: Here

Now we can gather that he really despise humans in this and really sees them as a blight. Yet when placed in its proper context, the tone changes. Here is the speech in Primordium:

My finest opponent, the Mantle accepts all who live fiercely, who defend their young, who build and struggle and grow, and even those who dominates humans have dominated, cruelly and without wisdom. But to all of us there is a time like this, when the Domain seeks to confirm our essences, and for you, that time is now.

Know this, relentless enemy, killer of our children, Lord of Admirals: soon we will face the enemy you have faced and defeated. I can see that challenge coming to the Forerunners, and so do many others.... And we are afraid.

That is why you, and many thousands of your people who may contain knowledge of how humans defended themselves against the Flood, will not pass cleanly and forever, as I would wish for a fellow warrior, but will be extracted and steeped down into the genetic code of many new humans. This is not my wish nor my will. It arises from the skill and the will of my life-mate, my wife, the Librarian, who sees much farther than I do down the twining streams of Living Time.

So this additional indignity will be inflicted upon you. It means, I believe, that humans will not end here, but may rise again, fight again. Humans are always warriors. But what and whom they will fight, I do not know. For I fear the time of the Forerunners is drawing to a close. In this, the Librarian and I find agreement. Take satisfaction, warrior, in that possibility.


I see in this quote a lot of regret about Composing his enemies and an admittance that the Didact himself believes that the time of the Forerunners is coming to an end and that humans may rise again...and he seems to understand it. Yet in Halo 4 his sole motivation is to cast down the humans and have the Forerunners rise again. His speech in the epilogue reaffirms this.

Honestly, it seems 343i did everything they could to expunge any noble qualities of the Didact just to make him evil. Aside from cutting his speech to the LoA, there is no mention of the Primordial talking to him on Charum Hakkor and how the Flood is retribution against the Forerunners, well that is the implication, nothing about the exploits of Bornsteller Makes Eternal Lasting, nothing about his conflict with the Forerunner Council and subsequent self-imposed exile to Earth, all things that shaped his personality and character.

Not only that, but he saw the fall of his civilization, the destruction of his people at the hands of the Flood, really traumatic events. With everything 343i had to work with, they really could've made the Didact the new Darth Vader: a tragic villain who we feel sorry for. Instead we are treated to a generic bad guy with logic expected of from an 80s cartoon villain. I mean he Composed humans to make Promethean Knights 100,000 years ago and it didn't stop the Flood and 100,000 years later does the same thing, but without any real reason to do so besides, "Humans bad and are a threat to the galaxy!".

Nevermind the fact he is simply turning innocent people into mindless, homicidal robots that kill against their will. Good going Didact.

To wrap this thing up, the final confrontation was terrible too. One QTE and he is done. Personally, I would've used QTEs for a fight, but expand on it. Have the Chief actually fight the Didact with jabs to his face, duck and block blows from the Didact and seemingly incapacitate him. He would run to arm the nuke, but be grabbed, pulled toward the Didact and get punched the -blam!- out! Then Cortana would bind him and, instead of a pulse grenade, maybe Chief could shove the nuke in the Didact's armor and push him off the bridge and actually give him a realistic chance to escape the nukes detonation. Sorry if that seems contrived, but it works better in my head ;p.

So in conclusion, I just felt disappointed with what 343i did with the Didact. So much potential and yet he is a step below past Halo antagonists like Truth, Gravemind and/or Guilty Spark. If you read everything, thanks for your time.

  • 12.23.2012 11:35 PM PDT

tl:dr

well i read the last two posts just now and i can agree the QTE's sucked and the chief didnt seem to react as fast as he usually does when he was figting the Didact.

[Edited on 12.23.2012 11:38 PM PST]

  • 12.23.2012 11:37 PM PDT

My only complaint is how easily he went down. That's what really makes me believe he survived.

  • 12.23.2012 11:38 PM PDT

http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=39477223

Didact doesn't feel like an enemy. Lol ANCIENT EVIL AWAKENS, ahahahaha.

Too forced, too cliched.

  • 12.23.2012 11:38 PM PDT
  • gamertag: [none]
  • user homepage:

My overall conclusion personally, is that Didact is your run of the mill "humans are bad we must kill them all" cookie cutter antagonist.

[Edited on 12.23.2012 11:39 PM PST]

  • 12.23.2012 11:39 PM PDT

If we disagree, it's nothing personal, opinions are opinions.
Antagonizing me to build a false sense of worth is so damn cute.

Brighten your day with science.

I concur.

As always, great input Cobra.

[Edited on 12.23.2012 11:40 PM PST]

  • 12.23.2012 11:39 PM PDT

@accordingto343

Your one stop shop for all of 343's fabulous errors and ridiculous notions in the Halo lore.

Posted by: Elysian
My overall conclusion personally, is that Didact is your run of the mill "humans are bad we must kill them all" cookie cutter antagonist.


Pretty much. If he had explained why he felt the need to build a new army of Prometheans, maybe a reference to the Precursors, he would have a good motivation at the least. But no, it is basically just "Humans bad!". At least Truth was a megalomaniac religious zealot who was blinded by his own zealotry. The Didact is just a hypocrite.

  • 12.23.2012 11:42 PM PDT

I mean it in my bio. I'm not going to join your clan.

I detest taking orders by some "high-ranking" guy who is just power hungry to control people's avatars over a video game.

I didn't read your whole post, but I honestly felt like it was a bit of a Mass Effect 3 ending.

You have all this sci-fi stuff going on that could honestly happen in a slightly altered reality, and then you have this guy magically appear with telepathy out of a giant orange sphere? That's just... really unexpected. It's like if Hank from King of the Hill suddenly had to become a Green Beret to save the town from invading Chinese communists.

  • 12.23.2012 11:44 PM PDT


Posted by: Mad Cat 74
It's like if Hank from King of the Hill suddenly had to become a Green Beret to save the town from invading Chinese communists.

  • 12.23.2012 11:46 PM PDT

@spaboolly

Very well put. The whole story was lacking in my opinion, like they took basic aspects from a dozen other stories, pieced them together in a way that didn't really make sense, and stuffed the gaps full of cliches to try to smooth it out and cover up the cracks. The Didact is a really outstanding example of this.

That's a harsh way of putting it, but not inaccurate as far as I'm concerned. You're right when you say that they had so much to work with, but the potential was not even close to being realized. The whole thing was disappointing to say the least.

  • 12.23.2012 11:47 PM PDT

I am assuming direct control.

I agree, after reading the novels I don't understand at all why the Didact suddenly hates humans in Halo 4.

I mean, he liked Chakas and Riser, when did he suddenly decide to hate them?

  • 12.23.2012 11:48 PM PDT

Didnt like it either.

  • 12.23.2012 11:49 PM PDT

http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=39477223


Posted by: DecepticonCobra
Posted by: Elysian
My overall conclusion personally, is that Didact is your run of the mill "humans are bad we must kill them all" cookie cutter antagonist.


Pretty much. If he had explained why he felt the need to build a new army of Prometheans, maybe a reference to the Precursors, he would have a good motivation at the least. But no, it is basically just "Humans bad!". At least Truth was a megalomaniac religious zealot who was blinded by his own zealotry. The Didact is just a hypocrite.


Yep, humans are too proud/foolish/evil etc is a laughable cliche.

Forced and awful, not even the tag line escapes it.

  • 12.23.2012 11:49 PM PDT

@accordingto343

Your one stop shop for all of 343's fabulous errors and ridiculous notions in the Halo lore.

Posted by: Direct Control
I agree, after reading the novels I don't understand at all why the Didact suddenly hates humans in Halo 4.

I mean, he liked Chakas and Riser, when did he suddenly decide to hate them?


According to Halo: Silentium's description, he was cast on a Flood-infected star system by the Master Builder. I'd wager that may have something to do with it. However, nobody should have to read a book that comes out next March to know what a bad guy is bad in a game released in November of 2012.

  • 12.23.2012 11:50 PM PDT

Ignore my gamertag. It's actually Dragonzzilla.

How would the Didact become the new Darth Vader exactly?

  • 12.23.2012 11:51 PM PDT

You read the novels? Well you should be aware then that a common theory is that the Didact in Halo 4 is the original Didact, the one that did not like humans. The Didact in Primordium is the Bornstellar Didact who was friendly with them. Since we now know for the last book in the trilogy that the first Didact was not killed but instead left on a Flood Infested Forerunner planet, and that the book was purposely delayed because it had massive Halo 4 spoilers, many believe the Didact is the original and somehow escaped the planet and came back into power.

  • 12.23.2012 11:52 PM PDT

I agree OP. But the main thing I got out of this was my new favorite word, dickblister.

  • 12.23.2012 11:52 PM PDT

Pootis

They're just building his character up, that's why.
I'm sure in Halo 6 he'll be the final boss.

  • 12.23.2012 11:53 PM PDT

@accordingto343

Your one stop shop for all of 343's fabulous errors and ridiculous notions in the Halo lore.

Posted by: Dragonzzilla
How would the Didact become the new Darth Vader exactly?


With everything collapsing around him, much like Anakin Skywalker, the Didact would gradually descend into madness and the path of evil. It would make him a tragic villain.

  • 12.23.2012 11:54 PM PDT

Ignore my gamertag. It's actually Dragonzzilla.

Posted by: burritosenior
You read the novels? Well you should be aware then that a common theory is that the Didact in Halo 4 is the original Didact, the one that did not like humans. The Didact in Primordium is the Bornstellar Didact who was friendly with them. Since we now know for the last book in the trilogy that the first Didact was not killed but instead left on a Flood Infested Forerunner planet, and that the book was purposely delayed because it had massive Halo 4 spoilers, many believe the Didact is the original and somehow escaped the planet and came back into power.
The Ur-Didact is the Didact of Halo 4.

  • 12.23.2012 11:54 PM PDT

I mean it in my bio. I'm not going to join your clan.

I detest taking orders by some "high-ranking" guy who is just power hungry to control people's avatars over a video game.

Posted by: DecepticonCobra
Posted by: Direct Control
I agree, after reading the novels I don't understand at all why the Didact suddenly hates humans in Halo 4.

I mean, he liked Chakas and Riser, when did he suddenly decide to hate them?


According to Halo: Silentium's description, he was cast on a Flood-infected star system by the Master Builder. I'd wager that may have something to do with it. However, nobody should have to read a book that comes out next March to know what a bad guy is bad in a game released in November of 2012.
If you're just someone who plays games and doesn't read the books, the Didact is just some guy who appears in Halo 4, hates you for no solid reason, and goes out to kill humanity and you have to sto- blah blah blah.

  • 12.23.2012 11:54 PM PDT

@accordingto343

Your one stop shop for all of 343's fabulous errors and ridiculous notions in the Halo lore.

Posted by: burritosenior
You read the novels? Well you should be aware then that a common theory is that the Didact in Halo 4 is the original Didact, the one that did not like humans. The Didact in Primordium is the Bornstellar Didact who was friendly with them. Since we now know for the last book in the trilogy that the first Didact was not killed but instead left on a Flood Infested Forerunner planet, and that the book was purposely delayed because it had massive Halo 4 spoilers, many believe the Didact is the original and somehow escaped the planet and came back into power.


The quote from Primordium was from the Ur-Didact, ie the original, to the Lord of Admirals, the same Didact in Halo 4. The hatred seen by the Didact in Halo 4 was also radically different than his behavior in both Forerunner novels.

  • 12.23.2012 11:55 PM PDT

Ignore my gamertag. It's actually Dragonzzilla.

Posted by: DecepticonCobra
Posted by: Dragonzzilla
How would the Didact become the new Darth Vader exactly?
With everything collapsing around him, much like Anakin Skywalker, the Didact would gradually descend into madness and the path of evil. It would make him a tragic villain.
Didn't everything already fall apart for him? How could that possibly work in Halo 4's time period?

  • 12.23.2012 11:55 PM PDT

WHEN LIFE HANDS YOU: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Maltodextrin, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Magnesium Oxide, Calcium Fumarate, Yellow 5, Tocopherol and less than 2% natural flavors...

Make Lemonade!


Teabag twin #1 is here to kick ass and chew gum. And I'm all out of gum.


Posted by: Shunfglol2
They're just building his character up, that's why.
I'm sure in Halo 6 he'll be the final boss.


Maybe. But the Prophets, hell not even any, Covenant leaders were in Halo CE.

They were only introduced in Halo 2 and they were interesting from the opening cinematic.

The Dildact is boring and clcihed.

  • 12.23.2012 11:56 PM PDT

@accordingto343

Your one stop shop for all of 343's fabulous errors and ridiculous notions in the Halo lore.

Posted by: Dragonzzilla
Posted by: DecepticonCobra
Posted by: Dragonzzilla
How would the Didact become the new Darth Vader exactly?
With everything collapsing around him, much like Anakin Skywalker, the Didact would gradually descend into madness and the path of evil. It would make him a tragic villain.
Didn't everything already fall apart for him? How could that possibly work in Halo 4's time period?


He'd have 100,000 years to stew on that in the Cryptum, at least in theory.

  • 12.23.2012 11:56 PM PDT

  • Pages:
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • of 3