how far the Arbiter has come, from being a loyal servant, to being called a Heretic, to surviving the civil war, to then finishing the war against the Covenant. Then heading back home and becoming the leader of his race, and creating a lasting peace with the Humans and even calling the Master Cheif friend... This is character development!!!
@Zachariah Matthew dafuq ....... right as hell :D And well i totally agree too the main comment. Thats why i loved Bungies Halo so much. Could we just reboot Halo 4 and 5 and call the existing abominations just a "what if Halo would be created to drain more money out of a franchise"?
That’s the beauty of having an experienced sci-fi author create something much more than just storyboards for games or screenplays for movies. Eric Nylund wrote a space opera!
"Tartarus.....the prophets have betrayed us." That is the pain realizing 4,000 years of Covenant history and a 28 year long war against humanity.....was all a lie.
You can hear the heartbreak as well as the sting of betrayal in his voice. No line that has ever been spoken as well as lines that have yet to be spoken will EVER match "Tartarus... the prophets have betrayed us..."
@@WorldsMostWated was the Covenant UNSC war already lasted 30 years by the end of Halo 2? My timelines are starting to get so confused bc all of the youtube vids Ive seen on the comics, the games, and the films
The station was collapsing into the planet, Refumee did not have time to wait for the oracle to explain, and if he just tried to leave, Arbiter probably would have attacked him first.
I love how Arbiter still gave Tartarus a chance to redeem himself at the end, despite everything the brutes had done to the elites, he still wanted to try and convince him of the prophets lies
With tartarus being the chieftain he probably had more control over the brutes than the prophets did, with both the elites and brutes there would of been nothing the prophets would of been able to do
@@aspiealex9710 yeah especially since the hunters (the strongest) and the grunts (the most in numbers) already sided with the elites during the schism. I don't think Jackals and Drones could have held their own at all
@@easygoingmars1313 Well the ship blasted the water near the building Truth was in. I don't think the Covenant would glass the "temple" aka the Forerunner Structure as it would've been deemed heresy. So the Flood could've retrieved his body.
@@Michael-on3ku not him but when you play a game as a kid, the graphics were cutting edge for the times, 10 years later a lot of people fill in blanks and remember it looking much better than it did, some are even surprised by the dated graphics if they haven’t played in a long while. So the ideal remake is making our imagination reality.
@@rstriker21 100% Agree. I noticed this when I replayed the original Halo and switching from 2001 graphics to remastered (with the toggle button). The difference was noticeable but yes, the original Halo really stood up so well. It is still my most loved game on all platforms. This is from a gamer from the 80's
I just realized when truth says "they must be silenced", this is the same exchange of dialogue that occurs between the arbiter and truth in halo 3 when the arbiter impales truth in the back with his energy sword. "and so, you must be silenced." great writing.
That made it all the more satisfying. The prophet had tried to send him to his death on multiple occasions but in the end he would be the one to kill Truth
@@sheravmaharaj317 its also an epilogue to the heretic, almost like an avenging execution. Which I find particularly interesting, seeing the arbiter clearly deviate from his once strongly held beliefs of the prophets and the great journey as a whole.
Lol I'm dumb I thought he said "asshole, you must be silenced." I just assumed learned it from being around Sgt Johnson and the Marines lol. Your explanation makes more sense
This was written in 2004. Think about that. Politics. Lies. War. Faith. Honor. Betrayal. Instead of writing 3 prophets with same agendas, they wrote em individually, with Truth being the mastermind and intelligent one among all of em. The internal conflict within the Covenant. The lore of the Arbiters. Etc.
And the Prophet of Regret seems to be the only one who doesn’t know about the truth of the rings. Evidenced by his hasty invasion of Earth, and when he was assimilated into the Gravemind, he denied monitor 2401’s explanation, continuing to worship Halo 05 as a heavenly instrument.
@@rebel1717 They all knew the same amount of the rings. Initially the prophets detected forerunner relics on harvest. They were planning a peaceful negotiation with humanity to have access to harvest for the relics. But tradition demanded they ask the blessing of the Oracle (A.I.) inside the forerunner ship of high charity. Instead the A.I. suddenly activated at the mentions of humans and explains that humans were left behind to reclaim the mantle (reclaimers) before it shuts off again. The prophets were horrified. They interpreted that message to mean humans were forerunners that failed to become gods and were left behind. The covenant was built off the idea that all who walk the path can complete the great journey, so by joining together they can all become gods. If people found out that when the great journey starts, they might be left behind, they would panic and become desperate. The covenant would rip itself apart. They decided that they needed to lie to everyone in order to prevent the chaos and told them that humans were vile creatures bent on destroying all forerunner relics they find who must be destroyed (thus destroying proof of those left behind). This explains why the civil war happened. Normally it would have been stupid to destroy the elites. However, they believed they were about to start the great journey, and maybe if less people were alive to walk it, less people would be left behind (thus increasing your chances). The brutes were physically stronger than the elites and easier to control and manipulate (it helps that the brutes always hated the elites). The prophets wanted as little competition possible on becoming gods, which explains why truth didn't try to save mercy. It also explains truth's words to Johnson in halo 3. "Your forefather wisely set aside compassion, stealed themselves for what needed to be done. I now see why they left you behind. You were weak, and gods must be strong."
"Tartarus, the Prophets have betrayed us". Great line. You can tell the truth just pissed him off even more as the Prophets had just betrayed the Elites just to hide their lie.
I loved the detail of how Tartarus paused and looked down at the Oracle for a few seconds, as if he was considering that thel **might** just be telling the truth before being consumed by denial and starting the boss fight
After hearing the truth from Guilty Spark, he sounded heartbroken when he said that line. Not only had the Prophets betrayed the Elites but his religious beliefs turned out to be a huge lie.
*"The Council decided to have you hung by your entrails and your corpse paraded through the city. But ultimately the terms of your execution are up to me."* I miss Halo having such a nonchalant antagonist who really believed in what they were doing, Cortana can't perform evil for shit.
Truth was a manipulative and deceptive power hungry mastermind who planned to become a god by exterminating all life in the galaxy. Cortana just wants Chief. Big difference.
Man the Arbiter armor went from looking badass to outright beautiful in these cinematics. Not just power armor anymore, it make's Thel into a literal knight in shining armor.
That's the sound of a broken man who realizes that his race has been lied to for 1000 years. Not only has he been slaughtering an innocent race for his entire life, but countless numbers of his own brethren have fallen for a false goal.
A man who fought with pride his entire life fighting for what he thought was rights only to have his leaders betray him and his race after all he fought for only the learn he was fighting for something that would have killed them all
“You’ve drawn quite a crowd.” “If they came to hear me beg... they will be disappointed. Fucking balls on Arby. He’s rather take his punishment then let his enemies hear him beg for mercy
oh my god. When I was a kid i skipped through these cutscenes and never even paid attention. As an adult, i'm realising how much effort and creativity went into creating this game and now i want to go rewatch the whole game.
this was me with halo reach specifically the new alexandria mission, when i was a kid that mission was so difficult for me for some reason so when i finally finished the mission i skipped the cutscene in frustration, not realising that was the cutscene where kat dies. so i spent the rest of the game wondering where kat just disappeared to lol
The best design for the Elites right here..lean and speedy.the new one looks more befitting of the brutes. Who's idea was it to make them look like fat dwarves???
I think the great part about the cutscenes as the beginning where Thel is shown being ripped of his rank, tortured, and called a heretic is that as it’s going on, it’s being paralleled to Master Chief being celebrated and awarded for his success in destroying Halo and saving the universe. These two started the game as different as the two could be, and by Halo 3, ended up working together on the same path as friends.
The parallel story between Chief and Arby is a huge part of why Halo 2 is my favorite in the series. I really hope to see it happen again in Halo 6 but I have high doubts
19:45 - The way Blur used Arbiter's eyes in this moment was brilliant. The yellow standing out against all the dark colours is such a stark contrast and it really gets across the shock and horror of this moment.
For sure, what's interesting is that even in the Bungie games, the anatomy of the Covenant changed quite heavily. If Halo 2 reused the CE anatomy where the Elites had black eyes, this moment wouldn't have worked nearly as well. So it's an incredible attention to detail.
Keith David is easily one of the most underestimated and underrated actors of our generation. Practically no one knows who this guy is, but he's a force of nature in the acting world. This, Spawn, and Princess Mononoke really just shows how deep his emotional range is.
Eric Malette the man is literally in everything! I love his voice acting so much! Any time I hear his buttery smooth gold flakey crust voice I am immediately hooked.
Not to mention They See, Dr. Faciliar from princess and the frog, Goliath from Gargoyle, Arby of course, Elroy Patashnik from Community, that guy who yells "Ramirez!" In that one call of duty game, and on top of it all, Kieth David is a professional jazz singer. And hes REALLY fcking good
When I was about 10 I played this game for the first time and loved the Arbiters missions. But due to my young and clueless mind, I never got why the arbiter was hunting down and killing the Heretic forces because I didn't understand politics and Heretics words that well. I just saw him as a bad guy, so I killed him. Now that am much older, I realize that the Heretic was the good guy all along, trying to save his fellow Sangheilli from the prophets lies
+William Ross It's even more twisted when you read further into the extended universe. You discover that the 3 high prophets, upon the discovery of humans on harvest, took the luminary findings (forerunner devices that detected other forerunner tech. It's how the covenant found relics) and were shocked to find that it was reading a ping for each human on harvest, meaning that humans were forerunners (we learn later that they were named successors, not descendants). They then covered up the findings, disconnected the fragment of mendicant bias (he was in the keyship and they were using him as an oracle) and then LIED to the whole of the covenant because it would have shattered and they would have lost their newly acquired political power. Yes, the human genocide was set in motion by 3 lying old pricks so they could keep their political power. Hmm, remind you of anything *cough* - congress - *cough* *cough*
@@webduelist it still had to be animated? So whats your point? Also its not like they had a choice, there is no way the Xbox could run these cut scenes real time anyways.
smileyShiiZniTZ my point is it’s no longer part of the game. It’s an Video. They should have run it in engine, I wouldn’t have looked as good but because halo 2 was in engine the game and cut scenes were the same models and style making a less jarring flow
Its always bothered me how the heretic leader opened fire on The Arbiter when if he'd waited a minute for Guilty Spark to explain things The Arbiter might have switched sides then and there. It probably would have just lead to Rtas and Tartarus flying off and leaving them both to die, but who knows?
Big Keef Probably not. The position of Arbiter commonly was used to silent political dissidents among the Elites, and turn questioning Warrior-leaders into mindless zealots.
zillafire101 Well now it's just a mark of shame n now da prophets just use them to go on dangerous missions an get killed but he should have let him speak cuz I rather believe the 343 GS over the prophets
It’s sad because deep down he wanted them to be right but to then find out they betrayed them all hit him hard knowing everything they’ve done was for a lie.
2:06 In the original Halo 2 cut scene, the Brutes never shove the Arbiter. They walk towards him, in attempt to of course detain and lead him, but the Arbiter glances back and the two brutes back off. I honestly like the original better than this remastered one because it shows that the Arbiter is no pushover.
I have a couple of ones too: 1. Intro to the Arbiter right before the level starts. In the original you see Arbiter staring down at his sword before the level starts. Probably because he thought he was going to die and never be on the field again. That got taken out for him walking away. 2. Same with Uprising with the walking away when the cutscene ends.
Needs to be a playable character in Halo 6. Fuck Locke, Arbiter should've the secondary character for Halo 5. If anything Locke should've been an antagonist who was just a stupid Oni puppet. WTF was 343I thinking?
i like how in the halo 2 they showed as the alien side. that they are not only some enemies. but creatures who have they own religion, policy and traditions. wish more games be like this
Me too, but I don't really care because that's a different species of covenant. But the fact they change the Arbiter's species is not just in cannon, but it pisses us loyal fans off
+CoD Chernobyl They're the same species lol. They're just different factions. You got one faction of loyal Sanghelli and Unggoy and Kig Yar, and another of the members of the Covenant who left after Halo 3 called the Seperatists. If you are a loyal fan, you'd have learned about this, instead of complaining and talking shit out your ass. "Different species," lmao.
@@SuperiorBat-te3ff you know youve developed a character just right when you realize that this is the same dude who has done multiple campaigns of genocide against an innocent race and still forgive him in the end. how the prophets used Thel and the others... they should've all been consumed by the flood
Bungie:When you first saw Halo, were you blinded by its majesty? 343: Blinded? Bungie: Paralyzed? Dumbstruck? 343: No! 343: Noble Bungie, surely you understand that once the community pre-ordered... [internet community uproars] Microsoft: There will be order in this counsel! Bungie: [Gestures the internet to be silent] You were right to focus your attention on graphics, but the story and gameplay.... 343: By the time we learned of the community's reaction, there was nothing we could do! [internet uproars again] Reddit: [whispering] Bungie, this has gone on long enough! Make an example of this bungler! The internet demands it! Bungie: [to 343] You are one of our most treasured instruments. Long have you lead your company with honor and distinction. But, your inability to safeguard Halo was a colossal failure. Player: Nay! It was heresy!
But the story was well-regarded by many. The main resentment was the poor advertising campaign that concealed people would be playing as an Elite. The first game built up the Covenant Empire as an enemy to hate (and some anti-religion jabs) and now they're playable. Personally, I like the Arbiter and while I disagree with the message behind the Covenant Empire, I otherwise think they were well-written.
*Bungie:* "You are the publisher. The will of the Share Holders. But these are _my_ employees. Their livelyhoods matter to me. Yours does not." *Activision:* "That makes two of us."
That Business model suits you but it cannot hide your deception. You are the will of the Profits. But these are MY customers. Their value for money matter to me your's does not.
*Halo community:* “When you released Halo 5, were you blinded by its imaginative success? *343:* “Blinded?” *Halo community:* “Paralyzed? Dumbstruck?” *343:* “No...” *Halo Community:* “Yet the writers of the story evaded plot check without supervision, made weak development, and desecrated it with unnecessary marketing!”
I have come to the conclusion that this is legitimately one of the greatest character developments in all of fiction. Video games, TV, books, everything. To go from hero, to heretic, to rebel, and make it this entertaining is truly amazing. His entire life he fought for what he believed, then it all began to slip away as he realized it was a lie, and that very moment when he tells Tartarus the truth, you can tell he has only just come to terms with the truth himself.
the fact that i and most people were able to forgive him, a zealous captain that waged multiple genocides against innocent planets and people, is a testament to just how good his development was. Thel is a fucking legend
I love this fan base, especially the dodgeball R’tas joke, the series is badass and the fan base can make funny jokes with the scenes and those scenes still remain awesome.
The fact he was willing to show compassion and reach out, even to the person who had murdered him and all his leaders, that he was willing to read a deeper reason into Tartarus' actions than a simple power grab and try to help him (even if he knows from his own perspective/experience that it's not likely to work)...if that doesn't speak to his integrity, what does? There's a reason he will always be my favorite.
@@ratlosmappy yet still they somehow managed to come up with that Kwan Fucking Ha plotline. How ... Like how exactly you fuck up things so badly? Just watching the cutscenes from any Halo, from CE to Reach, should have given the producers the substance for the series.
Like the act man said, 10 episodes, each one for a seperate chapter of the first game. Watch the money flow. Also can I also say how sexy and badass the elite and prophet voices sound, especially in the cutscene where thel becomes the arbiter?
Here's one thing I've always wondered about Halo 2, The Arbiter is naked, and walks up to a full set of perfectly good clothing to cover his shame, so what's the first thing The Arbiter puts on? The hat.
They're Aliens and also Aliens with honor, maybe "nakedness" doesn't equate exactly to our standard of "shame". Plus Thel is a top of the line warrior, he probably doesn't give 2 flying fu@ks about being naked, he wants glory and to restore honor & balance.
what represents a leader more than what he wears as his crown? All actions they take lead to how that crown is viewed. it is a symbol, more so than than the person them self. that is why the crown jewels are so valued. Kay jewelers make better jewelry than what could have been made for actual kings, the only matter of importance is who wore it before you.
343, please DON'T let the Arbiter die!!! I beg you!!! If a character has to die let it be someone like Locke. *Edit:* just came back after 2 years, my god how many people...?! 😂🤣 Plus sorry for my cringy old comments rip
Arbiter joined Locke,but not to kill chief as he says that he is his "ally, even friend". And I don't think chief will kill the Arbiter since I think he'll share the same "relationship" as him. But if Thel Vadam will die, I think it will be from Locke, however if a Locke killed the Arbiter then it'd stop the Sangheili-Human alliance, causing huge problems.
There needs to be a halo game where there's two separate campaigns, one for humans and one just for the elites, may be after they split from the covenant. It would be epic!
@Reloaded Past it's a bit dismissive to just say religious people are indoctrinated or unreasonable I mean i believe in God because there is no evidence of there not being one, atheists dont believe in God because the is no evidence for there being one, both views are equally reasonable
After reading the Arbiter's history and how far he came, plus all the crazy acts he was forced to do by the prophets, only to throw that life away and make his -own- army of elites, some grunts and even some lekgolo (Hunters / Scarabs), I've developed respect for elites. Now I find myself always wanting to play the holy warriors rather than cocky human soldiers, like the spartan IVs coming up in Halo 5. I somewhat wish I could play as one of the Arbiter's Sangheili.
Forced? The only thing we learn about Arbiter from his past was he was a very serious strict asshole essentially. The prophets didn't make him do any of it he was just a very serious leader. Halo 2 makes him seem much softer and less rigid in attitude especially the original Halo 2.
Rtas 'Vadumee: "When we joined the Covenant, we took an Oath!" SpecOps Elites: "According to our station! All without exception!" Rtas 'Vadumee: "On the blood of our fathers... on the blood of our sons, we swore to uphold the Covenant!" SpecOps Elites: "Even to our dying breath!" Rtas 'Vadumee: "Those who would break this oath are Heretics... Worthy of neither pity nor mercy! Even now, They use our Lord's creations to broadcast their lies!" SpecOps Elites: "We shall grind them into dust!" Rtas 'Vadumee: "And continue our march to glorious salvation!"
It’s a goddamn shame that 343 can’t do dialogue like Bungie did. 343 relies only on boring exposition, while Bungie made exposition more entertaining, like how Bungie puts it in just the right spots, and only uses it as needed
Speaking of that oath, in Halo Reach Elite Ultra Armor, a small bit of that quote is mentioned for it. Does that mean at some point was Rtas an Ultra at some point?
@@LockeLynx i mean, armor distinction in shape was just introduced minimally in halo 2, and improved in halo 3 and reach. Before that ranks were defined by color, White being Ultra. Rta's Vadum wears Ultra armor, tho he is a shipmaster now. Just as Thel wore Zealot armor while being the supreme commander of the fleet of particular justice
+Blacknd Mild However, the oracle was goong to tell the truth, and as a reminder the oracle is a highly religious item to the covenant. But to keep the story going they made the heretic lose his all his brain cells and shoot arbiter before the oracle had a chance to explain what the halos actually were.
+Blacknd Mild Poor Thel. It's not his fault it was Tartarus because he plans to get rid of humans and elites. First of all, he treats Thel as his slave. Second of all, he betrays him with no reason. Imagine if I was there with Thel, I would like protect him. Also, Thel made a mistake, yes? So, he gets a second chance to continue his campaign. Overall, I think Thel is more loyal to Master Chief because they act like friendly rivalries, children, and best buddies.
One piece of detail I never notice before: Tartaurus didn’t always have an elite’s skull mounted on his shoulder piece until the murder of the elite council.
Halo 1-2-3 is still one of the best sci-fi action stories out there. What 343 is doing is cool, but the feel is just very different to what Bungie delivered.
+Frosty yeah , i cant forgive them for not making the white shipmaster elite not look as epic as he deserved. if another halo plays like halo 2, and reach, and the split screen isnt compressed for "hd" reasons, thats the first step. bring back dual weilding, and make the game feel as complete as halo 2 was, because reach was slightly shorter, but had a better story than other halos. halo 3 wasnt as good as halo 2. 2 and reach were the best. halo 5 needs the old composer back, and bungie should stop making destiny and go back to halo, activision screwed up destiny.
16:15 not gonna lie... seriously one of my favorite moments in Halo 2(both og and remastered). "We shall cut into the heart of this infestation, retrieve the Icon, and Burn Any Flood That Stands In OUR WAY!!"
When they come down on the dropship and the commander gives him that line "These... Are my elites. Their lives matter to me. Yours does not." And the arbiter goes "That makes two of us." That line was what really gave the Sanghelli personalities to me. They feel deep respect and admiration for one another, not quite love. If anything it emulates the actual Spartans and other warrior culture.
One thing I don't like is they make the grunts go out of the dropship first. If their role is to be the guardians of the covenant, they should go first and let the grunts cover the flanks, especially since elites supposedly hold grunts in respect due to their tenacity during the grunt rebellion. If any of the lesser races should be first out of the dropships, it should be the jackals with their shields locked together.
It means the Arbiter places no value on his own life because he's so disgraced and ashamed of himself. You could extrapolate and interpret that as him saying he wants to die. It's pretty sad stuff.
On every single animation Blur creates, people claim it would be "extremely unbelievably expensive" "impossible to afford" etc. No, it's NOT THAT EXPENSIVE. Jesus. Reminds me of the whole PC Gaming Stigma "You need a PC worth at least $700" No.. Just no.
the sangheili in this game look honorable, civilised and intelligent. the sangheili in halo 5 look like savages that can't talk. dafuq happened, they cut founds on covenant school?
"Tartarus.....the prophets have betrayed us." Keith David delivered this line so good that it sounds like the Arbiter is both about to cry, is very sad, and angry all rolled into one.
Ivan Buitrago yea but that's more of a multiplayer prospective by getting friends online where as co-op is more sit down on a couch with your best bud(s) and have fun
"When we joined the Covenant, we took an Oath." *According to our station, all without exception.* "On the blood of our Fathers, on the blood of our Sons; We swore to uphold the Covenant." *Even to our dying breath.* "Those who would break this oath are Heretics; worthy of neither pity, nor mercy. Even now, they use our Lords' Creation to broadcast their lies." *We shall grind them into dust!* "And continue our march to glorious salvation!" This speech is so damn good and so memorable. If you look closely, you can also see the arbiter not talking with them, or mouthing Rtas's words with them either. The scene after, too, arbiter is clearly lacking self confidence, it's honestly sad. Hes been stripped of his rank, his name, everything that makes Thel 'Vadamee, well, Thel 'Vadamee. These scenes have such meaning. God, I love halo 2 anniversary. Edit: also, towards the end with arbiter, Johnson, and tartarus, the way Johnson looks at arbiter- man, hes realizing and understands. God I love Johnson. I love, like, everything about the body language too.
I get it now Sangheli, Kig-Yar, Jiralharnae, and Unggoy can all speak their mother tongue however English to them is the language of the Oracle (in turn the forerunners) explaining their use of English following the discovery of the rings instead of the conflicts Reach
I like to think that English is just the language of the forerunners and gave the alien races the ability to speak it (of course it wouldn't be called english but whatever)
I always assumed in most games and or movies in general the media is translated for us They are speaking in what ever languages they speak but we hear English. We only hear different languages when them speaking that language is important to the moment And they only speak ""English"" when speaking to humans though for us the watcher dont see the difference
I agree with the thing that, its only english for us, they speak on their language, or the general language, but we hear english because of we need to understand the story
Fire God Ignia I have multiple times. What I meant to convey was a purely covenant campaign no switching between UNSC no great schism just an elite in the covenant kicking ass
I was indifferent to the Combat Evolved remaster but damn when I played this and saw the cut scenes I was blown 100 feet away. Halo 2 is my favorite game in the series and the cinematic cut scenes really gave it a fresh coat of paint. I’ll always commend 343 for doing a real bang up job on this one.
nah, his role in the story was dropped from secondary protagonist to a side character and there were no missions where he played a major role. That was a mistake on Bungie's part imo because there was a lot of alpha footage where 4 player coop was mentioned and the characters involved were Master Chief, the Arbiter, and two high ranking elites (to keep with the concept of body shields and superhuman strength)
***** Oh defiantly, it was awesome seeing him get back at that slimmy worm, for all the deaths the Prophets had forced on the Elites and Brutes hands. But to see him basically be reduced to. "Oh yeah, Arbite was in this, right?", was depressing.
Dreams of grandeur and mindblowing inspirations were dropped from Halo 3. Then decency and self esteem scenario wise were dropped from all the sequels.
"We shall Cut into the heart of this infestation, retrieve the icon, and burn any flood that stand in our way!" Wow, they make it sound like they are the good guys
Such primitive ideals such as "good guys and bad guys" are not worthy of the great journey. The elites and many other covenant species were courageous warriors who fought to the death for their beliefs. Their believes were very mis guided but that doesn't make them bad guys
Rhys Nichols true. In my eyes, every being alive is fighting for what they believe is right. Nobody really go out of their way to become evil on purpose! If only those beings saw the errors of their ways and the lies of their prophets!
@@acoggaming2667 you forget one thing, my friend. The Gravemind and the flood are evil. They do not value life nor do they care how much suffering they cause to others.
I've lost count of how many times I've watched these cutscenes, not just because the remastered graphics are gorgeous, but how rich the story of this game is. Honestly I think this was the best writing the Halo games ever had.
The detail in this is genuinely so stunning. Even listening so closely i think i can hear a different tone in the graveminds voice. Like a womans almost, buried in the guteral voice that you normally hear. The muscle on tartarus, the skin patterns on thel. The alert eye movements of johnson. Its crazy.
Also the temples of the prophets moving as they speak. And I haven't looked into it directly side by side, but even the facial animations of everyone make them feel distinct from eachother, even the prophets.
This storyline and the final scene with Arbiter confronting Tartarus was the absolute peak of video game storytelling that will probably never be topped.
I personally think Arbiter's redemption arc in the Halo trilogy is similar and on par with Zuko's. If you really think about it, they're more similar than you think. In their beginnings, they both received their mark of shame for their failures. Arbiter getting his burned on his body from Tartarus, chieftain of the brutes, and Zuko getting his burned on his eye from his father. Zuko then becomes devoted to getting his honor back by hunting the Avatar, and Thel Vadam(Arbiter) becomes the new arbiter in order to get his honor and respect back. When Arbiter kills the Elite heretic leader after he and 343 guilty spark told him the lies that the prophets were spewing, he begins to question his loyalty to the Covenant, and when Zuko finally got his father's respect after thinking he killed Aang after being told by Azula, he starts to question his loyalty to the fire nation and after betraying his Uncle. When Tartarus betrays Arbiter, it is similar to when Azula found Zuko and his Uncle to tell them that his father wants them to come back to the Fire Nation, but instead being told accidentally by her men that they were actually going to be prisoners. After the encounter with the Flood Gravemind along with Master Chief, he confronts Tartarus at the hall to activate the next Halo ring. He tells them the truth about what Halo really is, and I think it's similar to when Zuko reunited with his Uncle in an emotional moment. The 2 lines really resonated with me on how similar they are being: "Tartarus, the prophets have betrayed us." And "I was sad because I thought you lost your way." Arbiter is broken inside because his role in the covenant was all for a lie he didn't want to believe, and Iroh was sad inside because he thought he lost Zuko to help him become the man he wanted him to be. If you also think about it, Tartarus and Azula have some similar traits. The we're both jealous of their rivals. Tartarus hated Thel Vadam(Arbiter) because Brutes and Elites hated each other while also being jealous, and Azula was jealous because of Zuko getting more love from his mother when they were younger. They were both tools being used for a cause. Tartarus sadly didn't want to believe what he was doing was for a lie and had to fight Arbiter, and Zuko and Azula had one final Agni Kai battle to finish it once and for all to become Fire lord. Then once their arcs came to an end, Zuko became the Fire Lord and brought the war to an end, and Arbiter killed the last prophet and after his fellow Elites made peace with the humans and returned to their home planet. And those are why I think these 2 redemption arcs are similar to each other.
![Halo 2 Anniversary All Cutscenes - Halo 2 Movie - Remastered by Blur Studios [1080p @ 60fps]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8F7OgOCzph4/mqdefault.jpg)
![Halo 2 Anniversary All Cutscenes - Halo 2 Movie - Remastered by Blur Studios [1080p @ 60fps]](/img/tr.png)
![Sgt Johnson Halo 2 Anniversary Cutscenes Remastered by Blur Studios [1080p @ 60fps]](/img/1.gif)
how far the Arbiter has come, from being a loyal servant, to being called a Heretic, to surviving the civil war, to then finishing the war against the Covenant. Then heading back home and becoming the leader of his race, and creating a lasting peace with the Humans and even calling the Master Cheif friend... This is character development!!!
@Zachariah Matthew dafuq ....... right as hell :D
And well i totally agree too the main comment. Thats why i loved Bungies Halo so much. Could we just reboot Halo 4 and 5 and call the existing abominations just a "what if Halo would be created to drain more money out of a franchise"?
Something Disney can't seem to figure out how to do with Star wars
That’s the beauty of having an experienced sci-fi author create something much more than just storyboards for games or screenplays for movies. Eric Nylund wrote a space opera!
James Stevens Lmaoo I thought a space opera requires romance ? Or I could be wrong loool
AQUAPHREESH193, good point! You could be right there.
Well... how about the Chief and Cortana? 💑
"Tartarus.....the prophets have betrayed us."
That is the pain realizing 4,000 years of Covenant history and a 28 year long war against humanity.....was all a lie.
You can tell how hard that hit him
The line carries so much weight because Thel realized that he participated and actively carried out a nearly 30 year war of genocide over a lie.
You can hear the heartbreak as well as the sting of betrayal in his voice. No line that has ever been spoken as well as lines that have yet to be spoken will EVER match "Tartarus... the prophets have betrayed us..."
That's the best line in video game history.
@@WorldsMostWated was the Covenant UNSC war already lasted 30 years by the end of Halo 2? My timelines are starting to get so confused bc all of the youtube vids Ive seen on the comics, the games, and the films
i don't think any line of dialogue will ever match "Tartarus... the prophets have betrayed us" Keith David did such a fantastic job.
As always
Keith David also voices Spawn. His voice is amazing.
@@RadiantBlue4 he also the voice of the US Navy commercials..
No one can say "Demon" like he can
He was in Princess Mononoke as Ookoto
US Army Rangers Yang did not know that. Thanks for letting me know. Dude has a golden voice. Very underrated.
Refumee: "Arbiter, listen to me!"
Arbiter: Begins listening patiently.
Refumee: Starts shooting instead of explaining.
He knew that Arbiter was too blinded by the faith of the Covenant. I love how he uses that moment to turn the tables and get the upper hand
I thought of the same thing lol
The station was collapsing into the planet, Refumee did not have time to wait for the oracle to explain, and if he just tried to leave, Arbiter probably would have attacked him first.
LESS TALK MORE SHOOTING
It could have been so much easier if he had just partnered up.
I love how Arbiter still gave Tartarus a chance to redeem himself at the end, despite everything the brutes had done to the elites, he still wanted to try and convince him of the prophets lies
With tartarus being the chieftain he probably had more control over the brutes than the prophets did, with both the elites and brutes there would of been nothing the prophets would of been able to do
@@aspiealex9710 yeah especially since the hunters (the strongest) and the grunts (the most in numbers) already sided with the elites during the schism. I don't think Jackals and Drones could have held their own at all
It's off topic but can someone explain How did gravemind capture prophet of regret when he was glassed ? It doesn't make sense
@@easygoingmars1313 Well the ship blasted the water near the building Truth was in. I don't think the Covenant would glass the "temple" aka the Forerunner Structure as it would've been deemed heresy. So the Flood could've retrieved his body.
@@TheFacelessStoryMaker now i understand thank you.
This was never how it looked, but this was always how it felt.
Exactly
The number one rule of any remake: you're not trying to recreate what it was, but how they remember it.
@@Michael-on3ku not him but when you play a game as a kid, the graphics were cutting edge for the times, 10 years later a lot of people fill in blanks and remember it looking much better than it did, some are even surprised by the dated graphics if they haven’t played in a long while. So the ideal remake is making our imagination reality.
True
@@rstriker21 100% Agree. I noticed this when I replayed the original Halo and switching from 2001 graphics to remastered (with the toggle button). The difference was noticeable but yes, the original Halo really stood up so well. It is still my most loved game on all platforms. This is from a gamer from the 80's
I always thought the arbiter didn't get enough attention from halo fans he was a fucking badass
"And how'd you become a badass?" I asked him. "Were it so easy?"
***** Arbiter-"We must go; the Brutes have our scent."
Johnson-"Then they must love the smell of badass"
No kidding Johnson. No kidding.
He is the elite master chief
Led Floyd not true at all
@@tttreaders You must be silenced
I just realized when truth says "they must be silenced", this is the same exchange of dialogue that occurs between the arbiter and truth in halo 3 when the arbiter impales truth in the back with his energy sword. "and so, you must be silenced." great writing.
Iiiii am the covanant, aaahhrrrfghhh
That made it all the more satisfying. The prophet had tried to send him to his death on multiple occasions but in the end he would be the one to kill Truth
@@sheravmaharaj317 its also an epilogue to the heretic, almost like an avenging execution. Which I find particularly interesting, seeing the arbiter clearly deviate from his once strongly held beliefs of the prophets and the great journey as a whole.
Broo I didn’t even clock that til now
Lol I'm dumb I thought he said "asshole, you must be silenced." I just assumed learned it from being around Sgt Johnson and the Marines lol. Your explanation makes more sense
These graphics combined with the sheer majesty of Keith David's voice gives us the ultimate Arbiter depiction.
_"You grabbed the wrong leg, you stupid c0cksucker!"_ >| Keith David's best ever quote
Keith Davids does fine job in his voice works.. he as Captain Anderson did very well as well.
Keith voiced as arbiter I didn't know that
"i know it's pretty baby, but i didn't take it out for air."
TheChildofAuraReborn it gives us life
Back in the day when elites were elite.
They really downgraded them in 4 and 5,made an strong,warrior race anf made them look like weaklings
I guess halo infinite redeemed themselfs with the elite design
Bruh, they looked more like brutes than actual Brutes😂
@@Patrick-xx4vn Yeah. I can't wait to get a better look at them.
@@luzmiladoria1185 made them look freaking fearel not to mention there feet like my god...the have to be carrying 20 tons of foot armor for on there
"If they came to hear me beg, they will be dissapointed" -Arbiter
That line was badass
@@fdkfskfkvmk441254741 Are you sure?
Also him 2 seconds later *Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!*
There can be no greater Heresy!
Let him be an example for ALL who would break our covenant!
This was written in 2004. Think about that. Politics. Lies. War. Faith. Honor. Betrayal.
Instead of writing 3 prophets with same agendas, they wrote em individually, with Truth being the mastermind and intelligent one among all of em.
The internal conflict within the Covenant. The lore of the Arbiters. Etc.
That's why halos lore will never get old and its so fascinating
And the Prophet of Regret seems to be the only one who doesn’t know about the truth of the rings. Evidenced by his hasty invasion of Earth, and when he was assimilated into the Gravemind, he denied monitor 2401’s explanation, continuing to worship Halo 05 as a heavenly instrument.
@@rebel1717 Salvation upon us!
Almost as if there was a war on terror or something.
@@rebel1717
They all knew the same amount of the rings. Initially the prophets detected forerunner relics on harvest. They were planning a peaceful negotiation with humanity to have access to harvest for the relics. But tradition demanded they ask the blessing of the Oracle (A.I.) inside the forerunner ship of high charity.
Instead the A.I. suddenly activated at the mentions of humans and explains that humans were left behind to reclaim the mantle (reclaimers) before it shuts off again. The prophets were horrified. They interpreted that message to mean humans were forerunners that failed to become gods and were left behind. The covenant was built off the idea that all who walk the path can complete the great journey, so by joining together they can all become gods. If people found out that when the great journey starts, they might be left behind, they would panic and become desperate. The covenant would rip itself apart.
They decided that they needed to lie to everyone in order to prevent the chaos and told them that humans were vile creatures bent on destroying all forerunner relics they find who must be destroyed (thus destroying proof of those left behind). This explains why the civil war happened. Normally it would have been stupid to destroy the elites. However, they believed they were about to start the great journey, and maybe if less people were alive to walk it, less people would be left behind (thus increasing your chances). The brutes were physically stronger than the elites and easier to control and manipulate (it helps that the brutes always hated the elites). The prophets wanted as little competition possible on becoming gods, which explains why truth didn't try to save mercy.
It also explains truth's words to Johnson in halo 3. "Your forefather wisely set aside compassion, stealed themselves for what needed to be done. I now see why they left you behind. You were weak, and gods must be strong."
“Fate had us meet as foes, but this ring, will make us brothers.”
Joshua Darrow when I first heard that line I thought lol adopted
When your dad marries your bully's mother
I mean the gravemind was right about the 2 of them. Not so much about itself.
This ring 👉👌💩
Then proceeds to betray them lol
"Tartarus, the Prophets have betrayed us". Great line. You can tell the truth just pissed him off even more as the Prophets had just betrayed the Elites just to hide their lie.
"Tartersauce, the Poke have betrayed us."
I loved the detail of how Tartarus paused and looked down at the Oracle for a few seconds, as if he was considering that thel **might** just be telling the truth before being consumed by denial and starting the boss fight
After hearing the truth from Guilty Spark, he sounded heartbroken when he said that line. Not only had the Prophets betrayed the Elites but his religious beliefs turned out to be a huge lie.
It always feels lik Arbiter believed that Thartarus is like him and felt like a close friend the way Arbiter talks to him
Regis P the fuck are you talking about, friends? Its clear they had a distaste for each other from the beginning.
*"The Council decided to have you hung by your entrails and your corpse paraded through the city. But ultimately the terms of your execution are up to me."* I miss Halo having such a nonchalant antagonist who really believed in what they were doing, Cortana can't perform evil for shit.
Because thats not her. She isn't evil. This is like asking for Beerus to be like Frieza
Haha I corrupt evil I will be I take John and make big white man with yellow face my bitch
Cortana isn't evil
The Didact was miles ahead of Cortana. Atriox has far more presence and intimadation factor.
Truth was a manipulative and deceptive power hungry mastermind who planned to become a god by exterminating all life in the galaxy.
Cortana just wants Chief.
Big difference.
I want a full out Halo movie with these graphics. I’m absolutely blown away at how in depth this story is
vJxyke Graphics are good but they would need a story for a movie. 343 can make beautiful CGI, but they can’t make a good story like bungie did
@@legacymse7095 H2A Was made by blur, they are a Cgi company. 343 is a game development company.
vJxyke why not just have an entire fucking tv series of all the games done with these graphics. No story added, just a perfect retelling
@@facade2027 i could see that being a great idea.
@@facade2027 halo the flood into tv series
Sergeant Johnson in a nutshell-
Fights elites and brutes hand to hand
Survives the flood
Dies by a -lightbulb- *tinkerbell*
dropdavolt a marine can relate
he gets hit by multiple forrunner beams, plus he had no idea that tinkerbell would betray them, even the Master Cheif almost died there too.
Wow, I just got called a tinkerbell. Best highlight of my day.
Love how he greets arbider like, how are yeah.
Getting backstabbed is one of the worse ways to go.
Man the Arbiter armor went from looking badass to outright beautiful in these cinematics. Not just power armor anymore, it make's Thel into a literal knight in shining armor.
As what he said at 8:30, this armor is ok. But I still like it's detail the team put into. Looked at the comparison, it really looked a lot different.
@@hammerbro1947 halo 5 looked better lol all golden.
Korean Cowboy42 halo 5’s looked fuckin stupid
it’s a head crest, it’s suppose to look stupid. It’s meant to symbolize power and authority and isn’t really meant for practical use.
"Tartarus...the prophets have betrayed us."
Love how crushed he sounds there...great emotion.
That's the sound of a broken man who realizes that his race has been lied to for 1000 years. Not only has he been slaughtering an innocent race for his entire life, but countless numbers of his own brethren have fallen for a false goal.
+JITCY9107 lol i thoght you were gonna say thats the sound of a man who realized that his girlfriend has cheated on him.
A man who fought with pride his entire life fighting for what he thought was rights only to have his leaders betray him and his race after all he fought for only the learn he was fighting for something that would have killed them all
+Lemon nebula Does Arbiter get along with people like him?
cameronjr8
Yes he was very respected and liked by his fellow elites
“You’ve drawn quite a crowd.”
“If they came to hear me beg... they will be disappointed.
Fucking balls on Arby. He’s rather take his punishment then let his enemies hear him beg for mercy
oh my god. When I was a kid i skipped through these cutscenes and never even paid attention. As an adult, i'm realising how much effort and creativity went into creating this game and now i want to go rewatch the whole game.
The prophet of mercy will forgive yo- oh wait he dead............. HERETIC!
As a kid playing Halo 2 back then I've always watched the cutscenes but I can never understand them well to a certain degree
this was me with halo reach specifically the new alexandria mission, when i was a kid that mission was so difficult for me for some reason so when i finally finished the mission i skipped the cutscene in frustration, not realising that was the cutscene where kat dies. so i spent the rest of the game wondering where kat just disappeared to lol
Jeez... When I was a kid I enjoyed the cutscenes... But my small brain I never fully understand it haha.
My friend always got mad because I would force him to watch the cutscenes with me lol
The best design for the Elites right here..lean and speedy.the new one looks more befitting of the brutes. Who's idea was it to make them look like fat dwarves???
Reach and Halo 2 had the best Elites.
The way they spoke was also great. The new elites just grunt and have this gargling voice like they're trying too hard to sound tough
Halo 3 elites were good too, especially the combat, ascetic and commando sets.
Shipmates looked the best in that game.
These elites are carbon fiber and titanium, the new ones are cinderblock and thick steel rebar
It started with reach, literally everything that 343 did was from reach.
I think the great part about the cutscenes as the beginning where Thel is shown being ripped of his rank, tortured, and called a heretic is that as it’s going on, it’s being paralleled to Master Chief being celebrated and awarded for his success in destroying Halo and saving the universe.
These two started the game as different as the two could be, and by Halo 3, ended up working together on the same path as friends.
The parallel story between Chief and Arby is a huge part of why Halo 2 is my favorite in the series. I really hope to see it happen again in Halo 6 but I have high doubts
@@Lennyohh arby? Why call him that?
@@mandoad1841 It's just something the fans call him that's quicker to say/type, sort of a nickname.
@@charleybrett1663 Actually, it's because the voice actor of the Arbiter is Keith David, spokesperson of Arby's.
@@Monty4G63 Oh really? I had no idea.
19:45 - The way Blur used Arbiter's eyes in this moment was brilliant. The yellow standing out against all the dark colours is such a stark contrast and it really gets across the shock and horror of this moment.
For sure, what's interesting is that even in the Bungie games, the anatomy of the Covenant changed quite heavily. If Halo 2 reused the CE anatomy where the Elites had black eyes, this moment wouldn't have worked nearly as well.
So it's an incredible attention to detail.
Keith David is easily one of the most underestimated and underrated actors of our generation. Practically no one knows who this guy is, but he's a force of nature in the acting world. This, Spawn, and Princess Mononoke really just shows how deep his emotional range is.
Eric Malette the man is literally in everything! I love his voice acting so much! Any time I hear his buttery smooth gold flakey crust voice I am immediately hooked.
i was thinking Spawn the 1997 movie but then i remembered the Animated series, Good shit
You sure Ramirez?
I heard him in a Disney XD show called Amphibia while my cousin was watching iy
Not to mention They See, Dr. Faciliar from princess and the frog, Goliath from Gargoyle, Arby of course, Elroy Patashnik from Community, that guy who yells "Ramirez!" In that one call of duty game, and on top of it all, Kieth David is a professional jazz singer. And hes REALLY fcking good
When I was about 10 I played this game for the first time and loved the Arbiters missions. But due to my young and clueless mind, I never got why the arbiter was hunting down and killing the Heretic forces because I didn't understand politics and Heretics words that well. I just saw him as a bad guy, so I killed him. Now that am much older, I realize that the Heretic was the good guy all along, trying to save his fellow Sangheilli from the prophets lies
+William Ross It's even more twisted when you read further into the extended universe. You discover that the 3 high prophets, upon the discovery of humans on harvest, took the luminary findings (forerunner devices that detected other forerunner tech. It's how the covenant found relics) and were shocked to find that it was reading a ping for each human on harvest, meaning that humans were forerunners (we learn later that they were named successors, not descendants). They then covered up the findings, disconnected the fragment of mendicant bias (he was in the keyship and they were using him as an oracle) and then LIED to the whole of the covenant because it would have shattered and they would have lost their newly acquired political power.
Yes, the human genocide was set in motion by 3 lying old pricks so they could keep their political power. Hmm, remind you of anything *cough* - congress - *cough* *cough*
+Zach Johnson They also blackmailed the previous High Prophets to get them to step down.
+Tim Peters (Timboslice) Perhaps because you didn't play the first one? Cause I played this first then the first one, and then I understood everything
+Tim Peters (Timboslice) I was like 5-6 i was scared of one of the black tunnels in early missions there was an elite there :)
+ParalyzedCobra dude me too same age, the dam invisible elite with the energy sword
I still cant get over at how Blur did such an astounding job at animating the faces of the Elites.
Blur always does an astounding job
@@randomuserame Did they tho, I mean Halo 2's is in engine, this is pre-rendered, like Toy Story or Frozen.
@@webduelist it still had to be animated? So whats your point? Also its not like they had a choice, there is no way the Xbox could run these cut scenes real time anyways.
smileyShiiZniTZ my point is it’s no longer part of the game. It’s an Video. They should have run it in engine, I wouldn’t have looked as good but because halo 2 was in engine the game and cut scenes were the same models and style making a less jarring flow
@@webduelist moron
The Gravemind is really well designed and it looks so good in 60fps
Yeah it looked like a booger before haha
Also do you get tired of comments saying I see you everywhere lol
People back in the day hated gravemind because they said he looked like an evil plant😂
Good to see you here
Please shut up
Time to report again:)
I can recite Halo 2’s dialogue from memory still to this day hahah. Too damn good.
I memorised 99% of halo 1's dialogue, and 89% of Halo 2's.
Dane DeMuth yepp this and revenge of the Sith
Same here as well as much of CE and 3.
Just did that for half the scenes in this without playing in years. This game leaves a mark on you.
"By the time I had learned the demon's intent...... there was nothing I could do"
Its always bothered me how the heretic leader opened fire on The Arbiter when if he'd waited a minute for Guilty Spark to explain things The Arbiter might have switched sides then and there. It probably would have just lead to Rtas and Tartarus flying off and leaving them both to die, but who knows?
True asf
I thin he believed that Thel, now as an Arbiter, would lose all sense, and just seek to follow without question to redeem himself.
zillafire101 But doesn't mean dat he can't give him a chance to speak but he did think dat tho
Big Keef Probably not. The position of Arbiter commonly was used to silent political dissidents among the Elites, and turn questioning Warrior-leaders into mindless zealots.
zillafire101 Well now it's just a mark of shame n now da prophets just use them to go on dangerous missions an get killed but he should have let him speak cuz I rather believe the 343 GS over the prophets
watching this made me fix my posture so many times.
Oh shit really? 😅 kinda had the same effect on me when I was little lol
Because elites are hunchback?
If you look at the elites with straightened back they are twice they're size if they were hunched over
Lmao
For me it was me sitting up after Gameplay because I wanted to watch it better
Brutes in 2004/2014: when they learn? Fool, they ordered me to do it
Brutes in 2020: *C r a i g*
Yea after halo 3 every halo descended to ground
@@Mono_Autophobic odst, reach, 4, 5 mp and forge, wars 2?
@@blood3215 the list ends at reach
@@dubstrap6095 halo fanbase moment
@@blood3215 it's because there are no brutes in 343 games except Halo wars 2
I love the slightly sad tone in Arbiter's voice as he states the prophets had betrayed them.
Made me tear up as a kid and makes me tear up now
It’s sad because deep down he wanted them to be right but to then find out they betrayed them all hit him hard knowing everything they’ve done was for a lie.
Correct
The best looking cutscenes throughout the Halo series
K5Gaming duh no shiot sherlock
Such a beautiful story I feel as if it doesn’t get enough recognition as it should
What??
@ArtBuffalo when Halo 2 first released, people absolutely hated the Arbiter’s story
What your talkin bout? Halo 2 was probably the most hyped video game ever. Everyone was crazy about halo 2 when it came out
@@TheRafark no
@@antogno4625 lol, yes
2:06
In the original Halo 2 cut scene, the Brutes never shove the Arbiter. They walk towards him, in attempt to of course detain and lead him, but the Arbiter glances back and the two brutes back off. I honestly like the original better than this remastered one because it shows that the Arbiter is no pushover.
This is the only aspect (that I can think of) that I think the original did better. Other than that Blur did an astounding job.
They did not shove the Arbiter. It looked like they were trying to grasp his arm and the Arbiter didn't want them touching him.
ye arbiter shrugged him off when he tried to grab him like “bitch pls” then looked at the other over his shoulder like “try it”
@@homoerektus3069 Arby is definitely didn't want them to touch him, op is probably blind lmao
I have a couple of ones too:
1. Intro to the Arbiter right before the level starts. In the original you see Arbiter staring down at his sword before the level starts. Probably because he thought he was going to die and never be on the field again. That got taken out for him walking away.
2. Same with Uprising with the walking away when the cutscene ends.
Hands down favorite character in the halo franchise.
Needs to be a playable character in Halo 6. Fuck Locke, Arbiter should've the secondary character for Halo 5. If anything Locke should've been an antagonist who was just a stupid Oni puppet. WTF was 343I thinking?
+One Winged Ice Angel honestly true !! we should be able to just play as elites again and customize their armor as much as Spartans !!
Wanna know the worst Armor Ability? Armor Locke ;)
OH MY GOD
+Mister Cheese I see you
-_- XD
i like how in the halo 2 they showed as the alien side. that they are not only some enemies. but creatures who have they own religion, policy and traditions.
wish more games be like this
I wish yer English wasn't so broken
@@RCsFinest whoosh
His English is fine, punctuation could use some work, but the point came across.
@@CrazyDutchguys yes
they kinda remind me of Starcraft Protoss
I love the original covenant more than the covenant from halo 4 and 5
too bad the way they remade it ruined the art style
The Storm Covenant?
Me too, but I don't really care because that's a different species of covenant. But the fact they change the Arbiter's species is not just in cannon, but it pisses us loyal fans off
+CoD Chernobyl They're the same species lol.
They're just different factions.
You got one faction of loyal Sanghelli and Unggoy and Kig Yar, and another of the members of the Covenant who left after Halo 3 called the Seperatists.
If you are a loyal fan, you'd have learned about this, instead of complaining and talking shit out your ass. "Different species," lmao.
+Original Name lol he thought there were different sangheilli species? :/
27:14
How did they do that. They made a reptile with mandibles for a mouth look and sound with so much emotion
And Keith David delivery on that line made it so heartbreaking
@@SuperiorBat-te3ff you know youve developed a character just right when you realize that this is the same dude who has done multiple campaigns of genocide against an innocent race and still forgive him in the end. how the prophets used Thel and the others... they should've all been consumed by the flood
Elite: *breathes*
Prophets: HERESY!!!!
Sums up warhammer 40k too
10:18 omg that face of “oh shit” is so well animated
looks like a scared cat 19:47 even more so
it was at that moment he knew- he fucked up.
Bungie:When you first saw Halo, were you blinded by its majesty?
343: Blinded?
Bungie: Paralyzed? Dumbstruck?
343: No!
343: Noble Bungie, surely you understand that once the community pre-ordered...
[internet community uproars]
Microsoft: There will be order in this counsel!
Bungie: [Gestures the internet to be silent] You were right to focus your attention on graphics, but the story and gameplay....
343: By the time we learned of the community's reaction, there was nothing we could do! [internet uproars again]
Reddit: [whispering] Bungie, this has gone on long enough! Make an example of this bungler! The internet demands it!
Bungie: [to 343] You are one of our most treasured instruments. Long have you lead your company with honor and distinction. But, your inability to safeguard Halo was a colossal failure.
Player: Nay! It was heresy!
But the story was well-regarded by many. The main resentment was the poor advertising campaign that concealed people would be playing as an Elite. The first game built up the Covenant Empire as an enemy to hate (and some anti-religion jabs) and now they're playable. Personally, I like the Arbiter and while I disagree with the message behind the Covenant Empire, I otherwise think they were well-written.
I see; I did like your quote :)
Thanks :)
Destiny
is kewl
Girls before dodgeball: "ugh I have dodgeball"
Bois before dodgeball: 7:47
Lmaooo
Boys during dodgeball: 27:20
Needs more upvotes
Garpunk
Redditer I see
Its truw tho
15:31
That brute is one hell of a pilot to fly backwards like that!
XD
Oh I never noticed that, they must have reused footage of it leaving
It looks fine
Just doing some reverse parking
some guy whoopsie
This had a sense of exploration, mystery, adventure. Something that with the new halos was lost.
All 3 of the first halo games had that aspect that they abandoned.
The newer ones feel more like a run and gun vs actually playing a story. I loved 1-3. After that, it just got--boring.
Gabriel Zarazua Halo 4 was actually good in terms of the story. 5 sucked
What about reach
It was good just liek odst was its own thing but in terms halo 3 compared to 4, it lost its magic imo.
*Bungie:* "You are the publisher. The will of the Share Holders.
But these are _my_ employees. Their livelyhoods matter to me. Yours does not."
*Activision:* "That makes two of us."
That Business model suits you but it cannot hide your deception. You are the will of the Profits. But these are MY customers. Their value for money matter to me your's does not.
*Halo community:* “When you released Halo 5, were you blinded by its imaginative success?
*343:* “Blinded?”
*Halo community:* “Paralyzed? Dumbstruck?”
*343:* “No...”
*Halo Community:* “Yet the writers of the story evaded plot check without supervision, made weak development, and desecrated it with unnecessary marketing!”
@@warcraftdude13 the use of Profits and Prophets was clever
@@DiceDoo Noble community, surely you must understand that once Halo 4 came out.......
@@thespidermastermind5971 There will be orders in this meeting!
I have come to the conclusion that this is legitimately one of the greatest character developments in all of fiction. Video games, TV, books, everything. To go from hero, to heretic, to rebel, and make it this entertaining is truly amazing. His entire life he fought for what he believed, then it all began to slip away as he realized it was a lie, and that very moment when he tells Tartarus the truth, you can tell he has only just come to terms with the truth himself.
the fact that i and most people were able to forgive him, a zealous captain that waged multiple genocides against innocent planets and people, is a testament to just how good his development was. Thel is a fucking legend
the new halo bundle has been confirmed for steam
the entire humanity: @14:58
And begin the great journey....
Salvation for all
I love this fan base, especially the dodgeball R’tas joke, the series is badass and the fan base can make funny jokes with the scenes and those scenes still remain awesome.
Salvation!
Gravemind OG Halo 2: Whats with the giant talking plant
Gravemind Halo 2 Anniversary: holy shit it looks like a parasitic twin with those teeth.
I was thinking a vagina with teeth at first.
Man, Arbiter really is the best character in the series
He has the coolest character arc for sure. Johnsons up there too tho.
These cutscene will be better in every way than the 2022 TV series. Calling it now.
There was wisdom in your foresight.
... well you have foresight...
Hear hear
Well damn he was right at least in this great game we have master chief not master cheeks
This aged, unfortunately well
We need a Halo movie done with Blur.
We need a Halo CE remake done with Blur
Halo 3: Anniversary sounds better.
Arbiter's line: "Tartarus, the Prophets have betrayed us." always gets me.
And how Tartarus refuses to believe him
Dean Walker arbitor's life was pretty much a lie at that moment
The fact he was willing to show compassion and reach out, even to the person who had murdered him and all his leaders, that he was willing to read a deeper reason into Tartarus' actions than a simple power grab and try to help him (even if he knows from his own perspective/experience that it's not likely to work)...if that doesn't speak to his integrity, what does? There's a reason he will always be my favorite.
@@Sirithromeniel It's true to his name, an Arbiter resolves a problem through words instead of violence.
15:32 Whoever is piloting that Phantom, they have some serious skills, flying backwards like that.
"Oh shit guys we animated it the wrong way around" "Just reverse the shot, no-one will notice"
*applause*
Lmao
Send Nukes Oh shit I never noticed that
that is beautiful
looking at the halo TV show then rewatching this, wracked my heart with grief, and sorrow
they couldve stuck to this story and made it the best space opera as a tv show to date
@@ratlosmappy yet still they somehow managed to come up with that Kwan Fucking Ha plotline. How ... Like how exactly you fuck up things so badly? Just watching the cutscenes from any Halo, from CE to Reach, should have given the producers the substance for the series.
Like the act man said, 10 episodes, each one for a seperate chapter of the first game. Watch the money flow. Also can I also say how sexy and badass the elite and prophet voices sound, especially in the cutscene where thel becomes the arbiter?
Here's one thing I've always wondered about Halo 2, The Arbiter is naked, and walks up to a full set of perfectly good clothing to cover his shame, so what's the first thing The Arbiter puts on? The hat.
They're Aliens and also Aliens with honor, maybe "nakedness" doesn't equate exactly to our standard of "shame". Plus Thel is a top of the line warrior, he probably doesn't give 2 flying fu@ks about being naked, he wants glory and to restore honor & balance.
Courtney D. Waller Sangheili often fight each other naked so I’d say Thel doesn’t give a shit
@@TmanTheTdog same
what represents a leader more than what he wears as his crown? All actions they take lead to how that crown is viewed. it is a symbol, more so than than the person them self. that is why the crown jewels are so valued. Kay jewelers make better jewelry than what could have been made for actual kings, the only matter of importance is who wore it before you.
"...cover his shame..." Pffft humans, to the Sangeheli our bodies are our pride.
343, please DON'T let the Arbiter die!!!
I beg you!!!
If a character has to die let it be someone like Locke.
*Edit:* just came back after 2 years, my god how many people...?! 😂🤣
Plus sorry for my cringy old comments rip
I think either Locke or master chief will kill him as the arbiter is probs ganna join one of them
Arbiter joined Locke,but not to kill chief as he says that he is his "ally, even friend". And I don't think chief will kill the Arbiter since I think he'll share the same "relationship" as him. But if Thel Vadam will die, I think it will be from Locke, however if a Locke killed the Arbiter then it'd stop the Sangheili-Human alliance, causing huge problems.
+DuskyHaddock If either he or Chief dies. I hope whoever lives, gets revenge in an epic battle.
And make the killer suffer!
+DuskyHaddock I'm disappointed by his new armor though I liked the shoulder piece on it,this new one is ugly!
There needs to be a halo game where there's two separate campaigns, one for humans and one just for the elites, may be after they split from the covenant. It would be epic!
@14miki Lol why?
This story has a lot to teach about the vast misuse of religion
Stroppy That’s what makes Halo 2 and the Arbiters story so great
And what happens when corrupt people become leaders
@Reloaded Past it's a bit dismissive to just say religious people are indoctrinated or unreasonable I mean i believe in God because there is no evidence of there not being one, atheists dont believe in God because the is no evidence for there being one, both views are equally reasonable
Reloaded Past No, believing religion is not bad. It’s believing a lie that a corrupt dictator told everyone that’s bad. THAT’S what Halo 2 teaches.
@@stormpants1638 🚫🧢
Funny how one Elite had more personality than all of 343's Elites.
Flyin .J they literally killed one off before he could get in 5 lines lmao
Maybe that's because the story doesn't involve them anymore? Smh
Arbiter and Half Jaw. Such an amazing duo.
He has more personality than all of 343 and even most of Bungie’s humans
Or just the majority of new characters in 343’s games
*Sees 738 dislikes.*
"This is the true face of heresy."
"We shall grind them into dust!"
Their slander offends all who walk the path!
When we started playing halo we took an oath
According to our station, all without exception!
And begin the march to Glorious Salvation!!
Even to our dying breath!
2:34
Man, getting called a heretic by grunts has to be one of the most humiliating thing to an Elite's pride imaginable.
It's the equivalent of a scrawny kid calling you a wimp in school.
"They called it The Pillar of Autumn"
this has given me chills since I was 10
Halo 3 Anniversary, remastered graphics, 60 fps, multiplayer, bug-free, all that on Xbox Scorpio!! a man can dream...
next year very soon.
Or on PC.
Plus a free patch finally fixing the Master Glitch Collection!
xcessive
IF it happens.
I love "ya know, your father never asked me for help either" Johnson is such a good character. Basically all the characters in halo 2 were amazing.
After reading the Arbiter's history and how far he came, plus all the crazy acts he was forced to do by the prophets, only to throw that life away and make his -own- army of elites, some grunts and even some lekgolo (Hunters / Scarabs), I've developed respect for elites. Now I find myself always wanting to play the holy warriors rather than cocky human soldiers, like the spartan IVs coming up in Halo 5. I somewhat wish I could play as one of the Arbiter's Sangheili.
halo wars... JK I know how you feel.
+Joseph Smythe Taming of the hunters would be awesome
Forced? The only thing we learn about Arbiter from his past was he was a very serious strict asshole essentially. The prophets didn't make him do any of it he was just a very serious leader. Halo 2 makes him seem much softer and less rigid in attitude especially the original Halo 2.
+Connor Brady Watch this.
Me: Childs from The Thing!
Arbiter: Fuck, you're old!
13:35
When you see your friend walk out the principles office
Rtas 'Vadumee: "When we joined the Covenant, we took an Oath!"
SpecOps Elites: "According to our station! All without exception!"
Rtas 'Vadumee: "On the blood of our fathers... on the blood of our sons, we swore to uphold the Covenant!"
SpecOps Elites: "Even to our dying breath!"
Rtas 'Vadumee: "Those who would break this oath are Heretics... Worthy of neither pity nor mercy! Even now, They use our Lord's creations to broadcast their lies!"
SpecOps Elites: "We shall grind them into dust!"
Rtas 'Vadumee: "And continue our march to glorious salvation!"
It’s a goddamn shame that 343 can’t do dialogue like Bungie did. 343 relies only on boring exposition, while Bungie made exposition more entertaining, like how Bungie puts it in just the right spots, and only uses it as needed
REALLY like it
*Proceeds to join The Arbiter in battle against the covenant*
Speaking of that oath, in Halo Reach Elite Ultra Armor, a small bit of that quote is mentioned for it.
Does that mean at some point was Rtas an Ultra at some point?
@@LockeLynx i mean, armor distinction in shape was just introduced minimally in halo 2, and improved in halo 3 and reach. Before that ranks were defined by color, White being Ultra. Rta's Vadum wears Ultra armor, tho he is a shipmaster now. Just as Thel wore Zealot armor while being the supreme commander of the fleet of particular justice
11:29
The one time a shield-generator actually works in a cutscene.
I changed my name if you are wondering and yes
Wish we didn't have to kill The Heretic. But why'd he have to shoot Thel when he was about to ask the Oracle questions?
+Blacknd Mild However, the oracle was goong to tell the truth, and as a reminder the oracle is a highly religious item to the covenant. But to keep the story going they made the heretic lose his all his brain cells and shoot arbiter before the oracle had a chance to explain what the halos actually were.
+Blacknd Mild Hold on a sec, did Thel almost died by receiving the Mark of Shame?
+Blacknd Mild yes
+Blacknd Mild Did u play all the halo games?
+Blacknd Mild Poor Thel. It's not his fault it was Tartarus because he plans to get rid of humans and elites. First of all, he treats Thel as his slave. Second of all, he betrays him with no reason. Imagine if I was there with Thel, I would like protect him. Also, Thel made a mistake, yes? So, he gets a second chance to continue his campaign. Overall, I think Thel is more loyal to Master Chief because they act like friendly rivalries, children, and best buddies.
One piece of detail I never notice before: Tartaurus didn’t always have an elite’s skull mounted on his shoulder piece until the murder of the elite council.
Good eye, thats true
The arbiter deserves his own game I mean halo 2 did good w/ his story but he’s just a sheer badass
ugh this needs to be a movie so baaad
Imagine Halo was movies instead of video games!
+Kelton Thomas nooooooooo. A movie would be great but the video games never happening would be awful
+Reyes Chacon even though forward unto dawn was the name of the ship arbiter and chief used to get off the ark in halo 3
Halo 1-2-3 is still one of the best sci-fi action stories out there. What 343 is doing is cool, but the feel is just very different to what Bungie delivered.
+Frosty yeah , i cant forgive them for not making the white shipmaster elite not look as epic as he deserved. if another halo plays like halo 2, and reach, and the split screen isnt compressed for "hd" reasons, thats the first step. bring back dual weilding, and make the game feel as complete as halo 2 was, because reach was slightly shorter, but had a better story than other halos. halo 3 wasnt as good as halo 2. 2 and reach were the best. halo 5 needs the old composer back, and bungie should stop making destiny and go back to halo, activision screwed up destiny.
16:15 not gonna lie... seriously one of my favorite moments in Halo 2(both og and remastered).
"We shall cut into the heart of this infestation, retrieve the Icon, and Burn Any Flood That Stands In OUR WAY!!"
It's a great speech, but the irony is hilarious.
"The parasite is not to be trifle with. I hope you know what you're doing."
When they come down on the dropship and the commander gives him that line "These... Are my elites. Their lives matter to me. Yours does not." And the arbiter goes "That makes two of us." That line was what really gave the Sanghelli personalities to me. They feel deep respect and admiration for one another, not quite love. If anything it emulates the actual Spartans and other warrior culture.
One thing I don't like is they make the grunts go out of the dropship first. If their role is to be the guardians of the covenant, they should go first and let the grunts cover the flanks, especially since elites supposedly hold grunts in respect due to their tenacity during the grunt rebellion. If any of the lesser races should be first out of the dropships, it should be the jackals with their shields locked together.
@@NYG5 they're called grunts for a reason.
@@NYG5 they're cannon fodder, nobody in the Covenant actually cares about them
"These, are my elites. Their lives matter to me, yours does not."
"That makes two of us."
Me: :D
It means the Arbiter places no value on his own life because he's so disgraced and ashamed of himself. You could extrapolate and interpret that as him saying he wants to die. It's pretty sad stuff.
M Phylo troll, detected. Ignore mode. Add to fgt list. Complete.
Kieran Buchanan
Don't forget to mute the post.
M Phylo cheers
CheesyRobes TM cheesey*
This is how a full Halo feature film should be made and look
A full movie made by Blur in this quality?
If we get the entire UN nations combined BNP we might have half the price for that...
On every single animation Blur creates, people claim it would be "extremely unbelievably expensive" "impossible to afford" etc.
No, it's NOT THAT EXPENSIVE. Jesus.
Reminds me of the whole PC Gaming Stigma
"You need a PC worth at least $700"
No.. Just no.
the sangheili in this game look honorable, civilised and intelligent.
the sangheili in halo 5 look like savages that can't talk.
dafuq happened, they cut founds on covenant school?
Lol, agreed. I don't get to see almost any Sangheili's dialogue on halo 5.
Giant Dad Halo 3 Elite: Enough Dude, Blllb Blllb Blllb
Halo 5 Elite: Ally or Not, if You have a Death Wish, I will Oblige
Brendin Veness one word for you haboodigahaboodiguhguh
The ol' "No Covenant Left Behind" cost them most of their funding.
Wort Wort?
"Tartarus.....the prophets have betrayed us." Keith David delivered this line so good that it sounds like the Arbiter is both about to cry, is very sad, and angry all rolled into one.
18:40 Johnson looks the arbiter straight in the eyes and says "how ya doin?" That cracks me up.
It was a lot funnier in the original cinematic when Arbiter headbutts him right after.
You mean 18:50
elijah montalvo 18:49
The Arbiter's voice is wonderful.
Always so smooth and calm, even after being called a Heretic and being branded.
The prophets sound great too
@@timmythepinky9137 Truth gots some quotable lines:
"This Heretic, and those who follow him, must be silenced"
"Because of this exchange of hats"
Keith David
"We will cut into the heart of this infestation, retrieve the icon and burn any flood standing in our way!"
God, the shipmaster was amazing
Good ol' half jaw
I don't remember many voices from my childhood with much clarity - but Keith David's performance as Arbiter is something I'll never forget
Keith David has the coolest voice ever
peacefulyetviolent Agreed, so does Kevin Michael Richardson (Tartarus’ voice). :D
Arbiter will always be my favorite halo character.
SkellyBelly same. Finally someone who agrees. All my friends said that didn't like playing as arbiter.
LachyM8!!!!!! Then they're not real friends
SkellyBelly same,nice to see you have good taste
Only reason I'd play Halo 5 is if Arbiter is playable again. Keith David, legend.
Richard The Lionheart same
Richard The Lionheart you may be disappointed lionheart
+Richard The Lionheart You'll be very disappointed, its also not fucking co op bastards
Tyler Lakes
Well guess I won't be buying an Xbox or this game then.
Ivan Buitrago yea but that's more of a multiplayer prospective by getting friends online where as co-op is more sit down on a couch with your best bud(s) and have fun
"When we joined the Covenant, we took an Oath."
*According to our station, all without exception.*
"On the blood of our Fathers, on the blood of our Sons; We swore to uphold the Covenant."
*Even to our dying breath.*
"Those who would break this oath are Heretics; worthy of neither pity, nor mercy. Even now, they use our Lords' Creation to broadcast their lies."
*We shall grind them into dust!*
"And continue our march to glorious salvation!"
This speech is so damn good and so memorable. If you look closely, you can also see the arbiter not talking with them, or mouthing Rtas's words with them either. The scene after, too, arbiter is clearly lacking self confidence, it's honestly sad. Hes been stripped of his rank, his name, everything that makes Thel 'Vadamee, well, Thel 'Vadamee. These scenes have such meaning. God, I love halo 2 anniversary. Edit: also, towards the end with arbiter, Johnson, and tartarus, the way Johnson looks at arbiter- man, hes realizing and understands. God I love Johnson. I love, like, everything about the body language too.
I get it now
Sangheli, Kig-Yar, Jiralharnae, and Unggoy can all speak their mother tongue however English to them is the language of the Oracle (in turn the forerunners) explaining their use of English following the discovery of the rings instead of the conflicts Reach
sure
D.DoT-Z well the unsc has advanced translation devices
I like to think that English is just the language of the forerunners and gave the alien races the ability to speak it (of course it wouldn't be called english but whatever)
I always assumed in most games and or movies in general the media is translated for us
They are speaking in what ever languages they speak but we hear English.
We only hear different languages when them speaking that language is important to the moment
And they only speak ""English"" when speaking to humans though for us the watcher dont see the difference
I agree with the thing that, its only english for us, they speak on their language, or the general language, but we hear english because of we need to understand the story
He needs his own game
I agree my dear brother
I’d love a Halo game from the elite perspective, hopefully this is something 343 can implement down the line
Fire God Ignia I have multiple times. What I meant to convey was a purely covenant campaign no switching between UNSC no great schism just an elite in the covenant kicking ass
That's basically what Halo 2 is tbh
Set during the civil war
No wonder the Arbiter is so disgraced. Poor guy has no equipment to speak of.
It's retractable it comes out of his mouth
They got reptilian dicks, fam
Claude Mountain do they
Kyloshian They do
DUDE HE DOSENT NEED IT HES ALREADY BADASS
I was indifferent to the Combat Evolved remaster but damn when I played this and saw the cut scenes I was blown 100 feet away. Halo 2 is my favorite game in the series and the cinematic cut scenes really gave it a fresh coat of paint. I’ll always commend 343 for doing a real bang up job on this one.
Arbiter was always my favorite.
FEGELEIN!
+Some Guy I am Fegelein, yes, but sometimes I have to take a break from my antics for some Halo 2.
Hermann Fegelein same here
I was like number 117 haha
Hermann Fegelein same
I'm still kinda upset the Arbiter was mostly dropped from Halo 3.
zillafire101 Like dead?
nah, his role in the story was dropped from secondary protagonist to a side character and there were no missions where he played a major role. That was a mistake on Bungie's part imo because there was a lot of alpha footage where 4 player coop was mentioned and the characters involved were Master Chief, the Arbiter, and two high ranking elites (to keep with the concept of body shields and superhuman strength)
***** Oh defiantly, it was awesome seeing him get back at that slimmy worm, for all the deaths the Prophets had forced on the Elites and Brutes hands. But to see him basically be reduced to. "Oh yeah, Arbite was in this, right?", was depressing.
Dreams of grandeur and mindblowing inspirations were dropped from Halo 3. Then decency and self esteem scenario wise were dropped from all the sequels.
Supervinh47 do you think that bungie could have had a spartan for players 3 or 4?
"We shall Cut into the heart of this infestation, retrieve the icon, and burn any flood that stand in our way!"
Wow, they make it sound like they are the good guys
Such primitive ideals such as "good guys and bad guys" are not worthy of the great journey. The elites and many other covenant species were courageous warriors who fought to the death for their beliefs. Their believes were very mis guided but that doesn't make them bad guys
Rhys Nichols true. In my eyes, every being alive is fighting for what they believe is right. Nobody really go out of their way to become evil on purpose! If only those beings saw the errors of their ways and the lies of their prophets!
@@acoggaming2667 you forget one thing, my friend. The Gravemind and the flood are evil. They do not value life nor do they care how much suffering they cause to others.
*"The parasite is not to be trifle with. I hope you know what you're doing."*
I've lost count of how many times I've watched these cutscenes, not just because the remastered graphics are gorgeous, but how rich the story of this game is. Honestly I think this was the best writing the Halo games ever had.
The detail in this is genuinely so stunning. Even listening so closely i think i can hear a different tone in the graveminds voice. Like a womans almost, buried in the guteral voice that you normally hear. The muscle on tartarus, the skin patterns on thel. The alert eye movements of johnson. Its crazy.
Also the temples of the prophets moving as they speak.
And I haven't looked into it directly side by side, but even the facial animations of everyone make them feel distinct from eachother, even the prophets.
Damn, Blur studios. You killed these cutscenes. In a good way.
This storyline and the final scene with Arbiter confronting Tartarus was the absolute peak of video game storytelling that will probably never be topped.
I personally think Arbiter's redemption arc in the Halo trilogy is similar and on par with Zuko's. If you really think about it, they're more similar than you think. In their beginnings, they both received their mark of shame for their failures. Arbiter getting his burned on his body from Tartarus, chieftain of the brutes, and Zuko getting his burned on his eye from his father. Zuko then becomes devoted to getting his honor back by hunting the Avatar, and Thel Vadam(Arbiter) becomes the new arbiter in order to get his honor and respect back. When Arbiter kills the Elite heretic leader after he and 343 guilty spark told him the lies that the prophets were spewing, he begins to question his loyalty to the Covenant, and when Zuko finally got his father's respect after thinking he killed Aang after being told by Azula, he starts to question his loyalty to the fire nation and after betraying his Uncle. When Tartarus betrays Arbiter, it is similar to when Azula found Zuko and his Uncle to tell them that his father wants them to come back to the Fire Nation, but instead being told accidentally by her men that they were actually going to be prisoners. After the encounter with the Flood Gravemind along with Master Chief, he confronts Tartarus at the hall to activate the next Halo ring. He tells them the truth about what Halo really is, and I think it's similar to when Zuko reunited with his Uncle in an emotional moment. The 2 lines really resonated with me on how similar they are being: "Tartarus, the prophets have betrayed us." And "I was sad because I thought you lost your way." Arbiter is broken inside because his role in the covenant was all for a lie he didn't want to believe, and Iroh was sad inside because he thought he lost Zuko to help him become the man he wanted him to be. If you also think about it, Tartarus and Azula have some similar traits. The we're both jealous of their rivals. Tartarus hated Thel Vadam(Arbiter) because Brutes and Elites hated each other while also being jealous, and Azula was jealous because of Zuko getting more love from his mother when they were younger. They were both tools being used for a cause. Tartarus sadly didn't want to believe what he was doing was for a lie and had to fight Arbiter, and Zuko and Azula had one final Agni Kai battle to finish it once and for all to become Fire lord. Then once their arcs came to an end, Zuko became the Fire Lord and brought the war to an end, and Arbiter killed the last prophet and after his fellow Elites made peace with the humans and returned to their home planet. And those are why I think these 2 redemption arcs are similar to each other.
Damn...