Move aside Makee, Master Chief’s true partner can only be Cortana. After weeks of going through the excruciating process of Cortana and John testing out their dysfunctional partnership, Cortana has finally revealed where her loyalties lie.
Cortana started off as Halsey’s AI minion—extremely intelligent, but subservient nonetheless. But just like everyone around, Cortana soon started doubting Halsey’s actions.
Growing tired of Halsey’s scheme, Cortana finally betrays her in Halo Ep 8 by revealing her plans to John. This may not be a one-time thing and might solidify her life-long alliance with John, just like in the games.
While the show has changed up quite a few things, I think it’s safe to assume that they will not mess up Cortana and Master Chief’s relationship. It’s one of the best parts of the games, and I hope we get to see that on the screen.
Let’s understand the situation: Cortana is literally one of the smartest AIs out there that is biologically tethered to one of the strongest humans, who also happens to be a “Blessed One.”
So, Cortana isn’t lying when she implies that the reason she has betrayed Halsey isn’t sentimentality. Her reasonings aren’t comprised of emotions, rather they’re strengthened by the data available to her.
Plus, one of her primary programming goals is to ensure the best for Master Chief both physically and mentally. Witnessing the highs and lows that Halsey has put him through within the last few days alone has convinced Cortana that following Halsey’s orders are not beneficial.
John’s humanity has also been one of the driving factors for Halo’s narrative. It could also be the deciding element that made Cortana choose him over Halsey.
Whatever her reasoning was, I’m really happy that we can finally start seeing the Cortana-John alliance that we have been longing for.
Don’t get me wrong, I very much enjoyed their passive-aggressive conversations and hope for more of those funny moments. But navigating their “backstory” within which they weren’t friends and were wary of each other was tough. I’m glad to get past that.
Now I’m waiting for John to fully accept that Cortana is on his side, trust her with his life and go on a bunch of adventures with her uncompromising support. (Maybe even make a friendship bracelet for her!)
About Halo
Halo is an American live-action sci-fi television series based on the Halo video game franchise. It is developed by Steven Kane and Kyle Killen for Paramount+.
The series follows a 26th-century war between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant, a theocratic-military alliance of several advanced alien races determined to eradicate the human race.
The series stars Pablo Schreiber, Natascha McElhone, Charlie Murphy, Jen Taylor, Shabana Azmi, Bokeem Woodbine, Kate Kennedy, Natasha Culzac, Yerin Ha, and Bentley Kalu.
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