The Human Side of Master Chief - Halo Infinite 

Chief: Tries to comfort the pilot Also Chief: Literal earth quake when he kneels down.

"I'm sorry Chief, but when have you ever failed?" *Flashbacks to failing to assassinate Truth, trusting Guilty Spark on the Ark/replacement Ring, losing Cortana, the Didact mopping the floor with him multiple times, and getting sucker punched by Atriox and thrown into space*

if you think about it, Fernando is really the closest thing chief has ever had to a normal friend. i mean sure hes had friends like cortana, the arbiter, lasky, etc. but none of them were everyday civilians. Fernando is quite literally the most normal friend chief has had in his life.

People around chief: *breaks down in anguish* Chief: IT IS MY MISSION TO MAKE YOU NOT SAD

Fun Fact: In the beginning of the game when Master Chief is reawakened, after he jumps out of the aircraft (I forgot what it’s called), you can see that he thrusts aggressively off of the debris but when he comes to the dead Marines he gently pushes them aside

"I'm so sick of losing." "You didn’t lose. You saved them." "I don’t mean the war. I’ll lose any war you like. I’m sick of losing people."

At the end, Chief says "Good work soldier" to Esparza. Knowing full well he was just a civilian contractor, chief still showed him the respect due to a brother in arms. And when he almost hugged him, I bet you chief shed a tear or two.

This shows John is getting older. At first he was like a machine. Now as he is older, he understands that people won’t trust him unless they know he has just enough sympathy and emotions.

the best quote from chief that made me tear up was "we all fail, we all make mistakes, it's what makes us human"

I love that John is no longer acting like a machine. Well at least compared to the other halo games.

I’m surprised that nobody has mentioned that the Spartan at 2:46 killed all of those elites with a screwdriver…. just wow

“I failed her, I will NOT fail you” I actually teared up the first time I heard Chief say that. He sounded so determined and so compassionate. Especially when they have nothing or very little options and resources Chief just restores faith and confidence by not sulking about anything and making due with the hands dealt before him. All by only saying “it’s all we need” or anything related to that.

"Yes, but the at the end he was just a soldier" he shows respect because chief is the exact same. He's a "demon" to the enemie, he's a monster.

After the mess that was Halo 5's campaign, after the untapped potential of Halo 4's, Halo Infinite finally gives us a great story that we can get attached to.

A lot of people were giving Echo 216 crap in this game, but seriously he survived for 6 months on the pelican trapped in space. How many people would that not mentally shatter. 6 months of at any moment he could be found and killed and essentially trapped with no way to escape and get home. Also 343 you gave us Echo 216 now don't do some stupid off screen death of him just to get him out of the story. We need to get him back to his family.

2:53 If you look closely at the Spartan's left hand, you can see they're still holding a screwdriver that they likely used as a weapon of last resort. Like Chief said, Spartans don't go quietly.

Hearing Master Chief say "Enough" like that just hits. You never hear Chief bark like that before. Not even when he stopped Cortana and Guilty Spark from arguing.

0:54 the fact that you can feel his heartbeat dwindling through the controller at this part absolutely broke me

Honestly, Infinite did a way better job of humanizing chief then the show ever could.

This is so refreshing to watch after hearing Chief is clapping a covenant prisoner’s cheeks in the TV show

I liked the part when chief enters the password to delete the weapon, it’s Sam’s name and number. Showing Chief still misses Samuel… that got me.

The way Fernando reacts to Chief saying “we finish the fight” is just a manifestation of how everyone reacted when they heard that.

When cortana says “we just keep saying goodbye don’t we” you can almost feel the sorrow in Master chief. His heart breaking at those words. At the end of it he was kind of stunned, in shock just like when cortana seemingly died at the end of halo 4.

5:22 With how fast and athletic he is I always forget how much weight chief lugs around, but here his footfalls are like thunder and the screen shakes when he kneels down.

_Escharum death_ Chief: "At the end of the day, he was a soldier doing what he thought was right" _Tremonius death_ The Weapon: "They called him 'Tremonius'" Chief: "Not anymore lol"

216: Has anyone seen a pelican? Chief: *jesus fucking christ*

Chief getting hugged and acting like the uncomfortable uncle at a family reunion gives me life.

After all the years chief endured. This is how he should be portrayed, The symbol of hope for humanity not a mindless machine. Chief will make us all cry before he goes out with a bang.

Did you know, if you play with a controller, you can feel Griffin's heart beat and how it slowly fades. Sorrowing scene that one.

16:37 OMG OMG OMGGGGG!!!! That was almost a hug. The chief was so close to hugging him and it made me so happy that they actually made him even consider it.

I just love how at 16:40 when Fernando is hugging Chief, his arms raise up like he's about to give a hug. You can see him physically resisting. I absolutely love it!

2:04 Love how you can read every shred of emotion in him, no matter how thick that armor and visor is, or battle hardened he is. Don't even need sad music in background. It would still deliver the same

And people have the damn *NERVE* to call this a "devolution" of character this is a evolution of character if you ask me.

Echo 216 is by far my favorite npc in the Halo series, he is just someone who wanted to help, got thrown into the craziest and deadliest experience life will ever throw at an average citizen, meet the man that has fought for humanity, and see him get his second wind and a new drive to live. 343 really put a hell of an effort into Infinite.

The “I failed cortana. I will NOT fail you” hits deep. The fact that a character with as much power and presence as the chief is starting to show his “human” side is good. The thud you hear as he drops to one knee alongside the pilot really emphasizes his presence

This is the master chief we wanted in that tv show

Echo 216: "how could you have ever failed?" John-117: "where do I start?"

5:26 this is the most emotional moment I've seen in a Halo game And I freaking LOVE IT.

0:39 incredible play of light, first, while the spartan suffers the light is red and bright indicating that there is something urgent to do, which is to free him. When he is released and the Spartan stops suffering, the light is neutral reflecting that theres no more urgency and the Master Chief is paying attention to what he has to say, the light on the Spartan's face makes it your center of attention, while the Master Chief remains in the shadow so that he does not distract you, when the spartan stops talking and dies the light turns to a cold blue indicating that Chief is assimilating the death of the spartan, this is reinforced accompanied by music and that he does not speak. And finally, the same red light that previously indicated urgency now serves to illuminate the background, it is important that the background is illuminated and not Chief because that way his anger and determination is better reflected.

343 may not be perfect, but their Humanization of John has consistently been top notch and heart wrenching

I love Escharum’s last scene with Chief solely because when he talks about Escharum he’s really talking about himself, “hoping he’d done the right thing….questioning his choices”. It almost feels like he isn’t even staring at Escharum underneath that visor he’s almost looking into nothing, reflecting on his own life and the choices he’s made. Well done and undeniably beautiful.

I honestly had a breakdown after seeing the pilot breakdown. I lost my mom when I was 9 then my mad at 21. So basically it’s just been me raising myself since I’ve been 13 because my father had to work 60+ hour work weeks so I never saw him. So basically it’s been just me these past 7 years. Hearing him say “I’m worthless” hit me so fucking hard because I haven’t been the success I wanted/need to be. My investments in crypto are going down, I work for $14 an hours well as finding out my my girlfriend of 4 years cheated on me then becoming a recovering pill addict this past year, fuck man it just broke me. I haven’t cried that hard in a long time. A seriously hard cry. Then I hear a bump next to the pilot and Chief says exactly what I’ve needed to hear for years. I usually don’t play video games but Halo is close to my heart. Thank you 343i for making this one right. You don’t have my trust yet, but my respect.

Infinites real story is this right here. The characters growing and supporting each other though really rough times. Chief realizing how much of a sense of hope he is to others, and ofc chief and the weapon learning to trust each other. Infinate has such great moments, and this version of chief is the best ever imbh.

A subtle detail I like is at 6:35, when Chief helps up Echo-216, he doesn't move his body an inch to help a full grown adult male to his feet.

No matter how badass Masterchief is he always shows respect and remorse to enemies and fallen soldiers💯💯

Honestly, one of the best things revealed was the banished motivation for plundering the infinity. It wasn't senseless violence, it was as noble as vengence for a homeworld lost. If the Banished glassed earth in that time, cheif would have a Doom Slayer like conviction to destroy. Much like Atriox.

5:57 The sheer fucking will power & determination in his voice, the anger, the regret, the sadness, the motivation all in one line. Chief has had enough of losing people, from Captain. Keyes, to Miranda Keyes, to Sergeant Johnson, and Cortana. More importantly.. Samuel. He's tired of losing, and he'll be damned if he does anymore. Like John said; Spartans don't go quietly and they REFUSE to fail.

I love how quickly Chief turns away when the pilot was asking for the Pelican at 12:35

I'm honestly surprised that "enjoying Master Chief's human side" is a seemingly popular opinion. Halo's fans usually gave me the impression that they would cry out of frustration if Master Chief even showed the slightest bit of emotion. Speaking of, does Master Chief respect the Hunters, the Unggoy, the Brutes, the Sanghelei, the Jackals, and the Skirmishers as soldiers, the same way he does with Escharum? This is the first FPS game I remember playing that sheds light on "respect for the enemy" in war.

3:34 Our pilot saying he saw 3 condors which is the max you can have in a Halo Wars 2 match, love these small things in these convos even though it's supposed to be emotional

THIS is how you show humanity in a person who was previously a quiet protagonist. He stays quiet. Talks through actions. Learns to talk.

At 14:40. Chief was all silent, but we all know he was heart broken

10:19, this had me smiling so hard. How he says "but I want to". It feels like the first time he breaks out of his original pattern, genuinely wanted smth for himself. I love how the humanized Masterchief i Infinte. A risky move but they pulled it off so good. Edit: Now that I have finished the campaign myself, man had the ending me smiling too. Echo-216 ist such a great addition. ngl I was really sceptical, but he has won my heart. How he saves us in the beginning, than for a long time seems like nothing but a coward, has a breakdown and in the end is just one of your best bros. Man I wanna hug chief just like he did xD

5:34 This is one of the best motivational quotes I have heard from Master Chief. He may be one of the deadliest spartans but in the end he is still human and humans will make mistakes and learn from them. Halo Infinite really tells it well while progressing the game through nods from older games and it builds better character development for Master Chief.

Infinite Chief is by far my favorite iteration of the Chief. Big and burly, older, wiser, more human but still the stoic and dutiful solider he needs to be for humanity. 343 has had their gaffes but they nailed Chief in Infinite.

“Can’t show emotion wearing a helmet” my ass

When echo revealed that he wasn't a soldier or a pilot you can see the area light up revealing this installations "star" from "clouds" and echo's past just for the "clouds" to cover the "star" again beautiful work

5:27 Chief took a knees and it registered on the Richter scale

Okay. I never was big on Halo, but the line delivery on "I will not fail you." ACTUALLY gave me chills.

16:51 master chief gently takes the gun, halo 3 snatches the weapon out of Johnson's hand

Moments with the spartans made me feel sad but that ending with Fernando made me cry a bit. Such a good moment, especially with how he blurted out who he was earlier on.

I can't believe she died after spending 15 dollars on that helmet. So sad.

You can tell at 9:05 the weapon started to cry a bit as you can just barley see blue tears form for a second

*Steve Downes is such an absolutely incredible voice actor…every time Chief speaks you’re on the edge of your seat. Had the amazing pleasure of meeting him in real life and he truly is a genuinely kind human being; and a moment I will cherish forever. Whoever said, “Never meet your heroes”…has never met Steve Downes.🙏🏼*

When a game gives you chills… you know it’s a good game

11:00 that roar shook my room, for a brute dieing of Cancer he fought the good fight and died well, may his peoples Valhalla accept him well

As a massive Doom fan, I NEED this man to meet the slayer in ANY way possible.

17:42 "Then I will be called.... Cortana 2" And everyone cherished!

Seeing chief take a moment to grieve the fallen Spartans is just so moving I can’t explain it.

Throughout all of History, The "Enough" Is probably the most loudest the Chief has spoken

11:45 Part of me thinks that he really contemplated this a lot after he fought along side the arbitrator

When the Master Chief says he’s got a score to settle, you know you’re fucked

I think the part in the beginning where Chief hesitated to take the dead Marine's rifle should be, at least, an honorable mention of Chief's humanity and compassion.

Funny how chief pulled a kratos when he got hugged. He was gonna hug him back, but he became stoic and was paid him no mind

i loved how Chief gave Escharum respect even though he was his enemy, that truely shows that Chief has compassion and respect for everyone even his enemies!

16:23 that’s what she said

"We all fail. We all make mistakes. It's what makes us human." Absolute favorite line in this game.

1:55 is pretty heart breaking man. The way Chief just looks at his fellow Spartan after he passes..

I liked the infinite story. I wish there was more of it

A little known detail is that when chief kneels down next to the pilot he's still watching the environment in that vulnerable moment.

I swear to god I almost cried when I saw griffins situation. He seemed like such a good leader. Such a good character, it really stung. I think it was a perfect scene, I just wish there was more time. It was very clear chief was hurting from the loss.

You can see hope on Griffin's face, he was happy that the chief was alive and when he dies we can feel sadness and anger in the chief...

5:35 Best moment in all of Halo. The conviction in Chief's voice plus the gentleness he says it with both brought me to tears and invigorated me

4:37 - "I'm not YOU." Every single dead Marine, Technician, Crewman and Officer that man saw die. Every broken corpse, littered piece of armour, ravaged vehicle and beaten hulks from vessels this man witnessed. If he'd just been like John. A Spartan II. As smart, as fast, as strong and as skilled. Maybe, just maybe... things might have been different. Very simple, yet very well executed character development

16:40 he was gonna hug him back but hesitated at the end

Theodore really didn't go down quietly. Had a screwdriver in a death grip. Helleva last stand.

6:00 that moment he realised the single most badass dude in the galaxy has a singular goal of NOT failing him

I just loved the character of the pilot. What a way to refresh things up. Masterchief is somehow a middle point between human and AI if you think about it. A soldier. Just works so well, perfectly balanced.

3:33 Legitimately made me choke up, almost cry, I never seen the Master chief be so sympathetic before, I've gotten so used to him being an unstoppable killing machine that seeing him act like a father made me happy is a way.

I think most of us can agree that the way 343i has been humanizing Master Chief has been fantastic.

These moments are why I love the campaign, ESPECIALLY how they handled Chief

7:24 this line is just so good. it really solidified how great this campaign actually is.

"I failed her, I Will not fail you." goddamn I got goosebumps when I heard that in my playthrough

10:14 I was in absolute TEARS with this, its so well done and quite a nice touch on a rollercoaster of prior emotions

when the camera shakes a little bit when he kneels down next to him crying, its just a nice little touch that makes me appreciate these cut scenes.

5:05 - Have you ever been scared that you punch the air out of frustration?

7:11 they delivered that scene so damn well. I haven’t played the campaign (idc about spoilers tbh) but maaaan, it does look good. 343 redeemed themselves IMHO.

The way he says “I will not fail you” really hits… finally we get the proper humanization of Chief in one of the greatest ways possible

"Have you ever been scared?" (Thinks back to the Library.) "How have you ever failed?" (Thinks of Sam, Jacob, Miranda, Johnson & Cortana)

The hardest thing about being a soldier is trying to keep your humanity every time it gets tested