This topic came up from a tweet by RedditHalo.
I’ve been in conversations about this question from the early cut-scene in Halo 4. I do NOT consider Chief broken. Socially inept? Yes, has trouble dealing with emotions? Sure. But broken? NO WAY IN HELL.
No, he was FOCUSED. Just because he isn’t able to adapt to social settings or deal with love so well, does not make him broken. His focus aided by his luck, not to mention the biological and surgical upgrades; as well as years of training and real-time combat are what made him succeed. Chief is SO much more than his emotions or lack there of.
Chief was able to socialize to a point with his fellow Spartan IIs. Their type of socialization became separated from society as they grew, trained and fought together. They were more family than anything, except perhaps being loyal soldiers. They were picked due to their physical attributes and skills as well as their mental capabilities. They were not broken. They were the best humanity had to offer and Chief is one of the last living examples of that, within the Halo Universe.
Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know your thoughts either way. This is a topic I’d like to hear more people discuss. That question of Chief being broken possibly foretells of things to come. It certainly has a foreboding tone to it.
-Sal
If you think about it, he was broken in a way. the military broke him. sure he was friends with the fellow s-2’s. but that was because they knew each other as kids. do you remember the homecoming short from halo legends. they ran away because of all the bad stuff they were doing. that would be enough to break anybody. then being on the frontlines of the worst war in history… it would of put a toll on him. BADLY. 35 years! not to mention the death of Cortana, that was his best friend, partner, and whatever else. He did lose the center of his world. and he didnt know how to control it.
I don’t think that makes him broken. Flawed maybe but not broken. Chief being flawed isn’t the reason he succeeded either.