Today we finish out Halo 3 as well as this opening series on the Halo Trilogy. In this final installment we’ll look at what we want in a good ending.
That video was our first glimpse into what was to come with Halo 3. Everything in that announcement trailer- Cortana’s voiceover, the visuals, the score- all convey one simple word: EPIC. This is the end, the big one, the story to wrap everything up (we’re ignoring Halo 4 for now). Master Chief is going to “Finish the Fight.”
The epic nature of Halo 3’s story speaks very strongly to something fundamental about all of us. We want resolution. We long for the good guys to win and the bad guys to get blown to bits. That’s why the game’s tagline, “Finish the Fight,” is so appealing. We want that great final battle that draws the struggle to an end and brings on peace and better times. Or at least a big explosion.
The most dramatic part is Cortana’s line at the end which comes from a T. S. Eliot poem. The full statement goes like this: “This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper.” That line is dramatic, but it’s also pretty lame. Let’s face it, if we’re going to go out, we want it to be spectacular. Think of every near-apocalyptic disaster movie and it always involves some scientifically factual and entirely plausible situation involving an asteroid, the discontinuation of the rotation of the earth, a flood, electromagnetism, aliens, etc. When humanity’s creative storytellers talk of our demise, it tends to be quite over the top.
That climactic tension between imminent doom and a last minute save is something we all want to see. This is why Halo is so fun to watch and so enjoyable to play.
Most people don’t give the Bible enough credit, but the end of days as described in Revelation is also quite epic. There are beasts, dragons, plagues and armies in a global battle against the evil trying making one last push to overcome what has already been determined: God wins. Jesus, yes that Jesus, shows up with a tattoo on his thigh, a sword in his mouth, and the authority to put an end to evil and death itself. There’s fire, war, kingdoms overthrown, lightning, destruction and at the middle of it is God on his throne doling out heaping bowls of justice. Seriously, go read Revelation, there’s some crazy stuff in there.
The best part comes at the end after all is said and done and Satan is cast into a giant pit. Jesus rounds up all of the people he has redeemed and holds a massive feast with the best food and drink and the company of God himself. That’s an epic conclusion- war followed by food and a party.
Question:
What does your picture of an epic conclusion look like?
That’s it for the Halo Trilogy. Come back next time for our first topical series looking at men and masculinity.
Reclaimer 105 