Toagus:I agree that it is a bit childish, but what I meant was to draw Halo the way Halo is meant to be. For example, in the first episode I thought that the ODSTs landed in Japan. I know it is their take on what Halo is, but you don't see Bungie designing the forerunner structures as if they were from New York city. Another thing, to me the materials that the forerunner structures are made of look like stone, while everywhere (games) else their made of some slick silvery material.
Not true. When you first play on Delta Halo, you're introduced to some very Native American styled structures that are obviously made of stone and are in a state of decay. Assuming the Forerunner were singularly styled in architecture is a silly thing; you need only the New York/Japan comparison to realize otherwise. Personally, for
The Babysitter, I thought they could have deviated from the Japanese structure a bit more, as Delta Halo wasn't
exactly Aztec/Inca, just had shades of it in style. But I digress. In my opinion, it fit much better in
The Duel, because Elite society has always been heavily influenced by the ancient Japanese.
As for my opinion on The Duel itself, I loved it. There. I know I'm going to be called a fanboy, having previously received an attempt at insulting my opinion from Eternal Vigil, through this quote:
I never made such claim, you just made that assumption. I made my view
on it, and I stick by them, if you don't like it and love this piece of
crap, I won't stop it, enjoy it.
Stating such things as fact when you so blatantly want your own entitlement to opinion is a fallacy. But again, I digress.
I enjoyed The Duel because it follows Elite culture the way I always imagined Elites. From the first time you really gain a perspective on the from Halo: The Flood, they are almost instantaneously shown to be honor-bound and feudal. Artistically speaking, I couldn't imagine a much better style to deviate from than that exact time period: our own feudal Japan. While the pagodas feel somewhat out of place, the rest of the buildings, looking somewhat like Jabba's Palace from Return of the Jedi, are appropriately alien enough.
The piece opens with the Arbiter contemplating his fight ahead, sword in hands, while a boatman rows quietly toward an unknown destination. Here we are given the first true glimpse at the art style rendered. While odd at first, I've grown to really enjoy it. It's best described as a CG watercolor, and I think it breathes a unique life onto the surface of Sanghelios. We pass a short fight as he disembarks, and are introduced to the first female Elite shown in canon. While one female Elite was mentioned on the Halo Wars website pre-launch, this is the first time we see a female in action. They are smaller, with dreadlocks of flesh and have less pronounced heads and mandibles. I personally think that this is a good way to depict female Elites. We've never seen them in battle blatantly speaking, and it has been mentioned females are unfit for direct service. For those who think the female Elites are too drastic a step from their male counterparts, I leave you with a basic evolutionary concept: sexual dimorphism. Most extreme cases here on terra firma are even stranger than the difference between the Elites. The angler fish, for instance:
http://mail.colonial.net/~hkaiter/animalimages/anglerfish.jpg
Is a female. The male? Oh, he's about a centimeter to an inch long, and lives a fairly basic life: attach to the female, parasitically live off of the female and provide her the necessary goods to continue about reproduction. Pleasant, no? A tiny bit of education can go a long way when it comes to "suspension of disbelief".
Anyways, with a little bit of plot development, we realize that we are sometime within the Covenant Empire. Later we will realize that it is post-2142, due to Grunts being present on the battlefield. Fal 'Chavamee, our Arbiter, is disgruntled with the Great Journey and the Prophets. Typically, political unrest in the Covenant is relegated to two circumstances: the Great Schism of 2552 (including the earlier Heretic faction led by Sesa 'Refumee) and the multiple Unggoy rebellions put down throughout the periods following their indoctrination. To see unrest within the Elite society, so much earlier than we have known about before, truly puts a perspective on how shaky the Covenant has been.
Later, we are greeted to a massive action seen that is in some, if not many cases, a tad ridiculous. I realize that it's more designed as a visual treat however, and regard it as such. The action moves swiftly and flashes to the fate of Han, Fal's wife, which cuts up the action nicely and adds an aura of tension. While the Arbiter takes on tanks and Hunters of incredible size (again, I'm not really complaining on this point because Lekgolo worms have been easily modifiable in the past, from the Hunter to the Scarab). The scene ends with the death of one of these giants and a silly little Grunt running away in terror. Nice. This little bit of humor reminds us of the date: Post 2142.
Finally, we climb an ancient temple for the eponymous duel of the title. The Prophet wishes to make the Arbiter title a Mark of Shame. Haka, our steadfast loyalist and perhaps early Honor Guard, follows through, having slain both Han and Fal's advisor, much to his rage. In the previous scene, an interesting tidbit of Elite societal practice emerges. It seems, that in non-combat scenarios, Elites have their mandibles closed together. When in a rage, or in battle, their mandibles come apart. This I actually hope carries over into later depictions, as it is one of several Elite customs that have been sprinkled throughout the lore, such as a clicking of the mandibles being a shrug of sorts (Halo: The Flood).
The Duel itself here lends to many samurai movies and stories of the past. A single clash, with a prelude of long, tension inducing battle stares. Japanese tradition continues with a showering of blood that some will find ridiculous, but considering that the Elites already take so much of Japanese society and incidentally, place much honor over blood (losing even a tiny amount is a grave dishonor, fitting to the role the Arbiter is about to fill), it works. We realize soon thereafter that Haka was overconfident in his victory, being impaled by the Arbiter's own Energy Sword. The two die at the top of the temple, while touchingly enough, Fal thinks of Han.
I considered The Babysitter mediocre. It wasn't bad, it wasn't good, it was just kind of there. It served no purpose, but was not really insulting. A 5/10 type of thing. However, The Duel leaves a much more lasting mark on the canon, explaining why the role of Arbiter is so revered by Elites, while also explaining why the Prophets vexingly use it as a brand of shame, which both Ripa 'Moramee (Halo Wars) and Thel 'Vadam (Halo 2, Halo Graphic Novel: The Last Flight of the Infinite Succor, Halo 3, Halo: The Cole Protocol) would both follow suit in in their journeys. It was also more intimate and touching than The Babysitter and set a much higher level of tension of atmosphere. I give it either at 8 or 9 out of 10.
An Exigent Contact awaits you.
Do not let him beyond your sight, for he is...strange. The ground he treads is sour...wrong.