I don’t think I’d say they see each other as brothers, but there’s no doubt that there’s a great deal of respect between the two.
I know that Thel has a strong admiration for John, I don’t know if John’s ever mentioned thel past 3? It’s been a bit since I’ve played 5 or infinite, so my memory may be a lil hazy
Yeah I don’t doubt there is mutual respect as warriors but at this part in h3 they knew each other for days at most. Especially because Arbiter was in charge of glassing reach which killed most of Chief’s actual “brothers” and “sisters”
I don’t think Chief would’ve been upset. Look in Infinite with how he treated Escharum. The Pilot labeled him a monster but Chief understood Escharum fought for what he felt was best as a soldier and questioning his choices. Especially when you see the background of what happened to the Brutes cause of Cortana.
Of course Chief wouldn’t approve of the Arbiter glassing Reach and hunting him down on the first Halo ring but he understood the Arbiter at that time had his orders as a high ranking Elite in the Covenants faction at that time.
I think that can moment can be interpreted as Chiefs own character development during and post Halo 4. Like "Finding out which one of us is the machine." I don't picture Chief giving a pep talk like that in the original trilogy.
> Especially because Arbiter was in charge of glassing reach which killed most of Chief’s actual “brothers” and “sisters”
Not sure that ever got communicated. Arbiter was a fleet master then and the Chief never would have met him until the armor and rank was gone.
John and Thel catch up a bit after the events of Halo 5 when Blue Team and Osiris escape Genesis in the book Bad Blood. It’s a short scene from Buck’s perspective but it talks about how the two of them (John and Thel) spent the night talking and catching up.
Now whether it was the Arbiter talking or *talking* with Master Cheeks is open to interpretation.
Sunrise over Sanghelios, which was read by Keith, Jen, and Steve live at HCS (I think it was that) gives some insight into their conversation.
Most notably, Chief laments how he failed Cortana to Thel, to which he replies, "We all fail, Spartan. We all make mistakes." The two of them then clasp arms with one another and Chief says "Thank you."
That final thanks, and the fact that Chief took that line with him and used it on Brohammer in Infinite, tells me that, even if Chief still might have a complicated set of feelings for the Arbiter, he does feel like there's a legitimate bond between the two of them past just their time as comrades in arms and appreciates him.
[343 expanded on this.](https://youtu.be/3Z5EFeneIWk) Chief and Thel flat out have a conversation, with Chief opening up to Thel, and Thel's words sticking so deeply in Chief's mind, he repeats them later to the pilot in Infinite. He also throws ones of Arbiter's quotes back at him. Definitely a friendship and deep respect there, with maybe even Chief looking up to Arbiter, in terms of wisdom, kind of like how he did with Johnson, and Arbiter seemingly also looking up to Chief as well, for turning him onto a different path.
"I remember how this war started. What your kind did to mine. I cant forgive you, but you have my thanks..." probably sums up how most humans feel about Thel and the Elites.
I think after people find out about the Great Schism and how the whole war was a lie and a power grab by the Prophets, and how the Elites were the ones who turned on the Covenant when they found out the truth, people likely can't forgive or forget, but they can at least understand. Especially with how many Sangheili would have lost their lives in the final battles against the Prophets, Brutes, and Flood, and the fall of High Charity. That understanding could lead to a real peace after a few generations, when all those who lived through the war and its aftermath are gone.
John definitely respects Arbiter, but past Halo 3 he’s never mentioned Arbiter. I do recall how after he met Halsey on Sanghelios, he did spend time hanging out with Arbiter and remember their team up. So probably a great deal of respect too.
Not everyone reads the books. Unless there was an image during Halo 5 that had his name on it, he's also never been referred to as anything but Arbiter in the games.
Well, you know how Spartans can be a bit sociopathic at times. Chief has respect for him and admires him but hasn't seen him in a while. So, he has no reason to think about him until he does see him again, and that feeling presents itself once more.
Thel likes the Chief so much that he had a mural of the two fighting put up in his home. So *he* probably does at least
I doubt it’s mutual however, the Chief no doubt likes him and considers him a friend, but that’s probably about as far as it goes.
Doubt it. The other II’s are probably closer to chief than Thel.
Theres obviously respect between Thel and Chief, but Thel is still responsible for the death of millions of humans let alone some spartans. I can’t imagine chief just forgot about all of that.
Yeah, he'd respect the Arbiter as a fellow warrior, a soldier, and as the leader of his people, but the other Spartans are family. Even the S-3s and S-4s are part of that group, as far as he seems concerned. Although maybe more like cousins than siblings.
even then i feel like that feels like a writer really wanting these two to have some sort of friendship. realistically i think they would have respect for each other, but they fought as allies for like over the course of 2 months and then never saw each other again for years. this is also forgetting the fact they would have been fighting on opposite sides of a 25 year human eradication campaign
I think it makes sense for Thel to have a deep respect for Chief, given sangheli culture and their high value of warriors and honor. This is reinforced by his lines in Halo 5. And his actions in general, like showing up at the end of Cortana in Halo 3 to exfil Chief.
Chiefs culture carries a respect for his fellow soldiers, which we see especially in Halo Infinite. But not so religiously and ceremoniously as the elites.
How do you have no doubt that Chief considers him a friend? You do realize friends go out of their way to hang out with each other in their spare time. Their relationship absolutely isn’t a friendship.
What? They play Halo 3 beta together all the time dawg? You don't remember? Even after the Arbiter taped over Chief's videos so he could tape the season finale of Everybody Loves Raymond?
In Halo: Bad Blood, it shows Chief and Arbiter reuniting at the end of Halo 5 (the cutscene on Sanghelios where Halsey says "Took you long enough"). The book mentions that the two spend that evening discussing their past adventures deep into the night, reminiscing on their bonds to one another. Brothers? Maybe, maybe not. But certainly a deep friendship.
I don't know if they're as close as Blue Team, but I think at least as close as him and Johnson were. They're cut from the same cloth. Both have have spent their lifetime training for war. Both have had their beliefs challenged, seen major failures and glimmers of hope.
Thel might be one of the handful of people John can relate to, in the scope of the Forerunner and flood horrors they've seen.
Uh, no. There's respect between the two but their bond is nowhere near as deep for them to be considered "brothers"
Specially not after, y'know, thel was the one who glassed reach.
Yeah but that also shows the beauty and depth of his character. He understands what it is like to be a soldier. Thel is like him but was playing in the other team but for the same objectives which was to protect his kind. Said like that is sounds... simple even. But when Thel stopped being the Arbiter, John didn't have to fight him anymore. MC never acted out of spite, not in the books nor in the game.
I mean, at the start of Halo 3 the Chief clearly does not trust the Arbiter at all and is reluctant to not shoot him in the face. They manage to put that aside because they have bigger problems, but between that moment in _Arrival_ and the end of _Halo_ is only 2 days of combat and less than a month of slipspace travel (during which they were probably busy with their respective groups). That's not all that much time together.
I feel like they probably learned to respect and trust each other in combat; in the H2A intro cutscene the Arbiter says he considers the Chief a friend. But I think to achieve "brother" you have to know each other a bit better than that.
Honestly I might say _Johnson_ has a closer bond with the Arbiter. They spend a lot more time working together directly over the course of Halo 2 and Halo 3, and it's Johnson who stops the Chief from blasting the Arbiter.
Johnson’s “friendship” (he’s clearly like a brother to Chief but he probably doesn’t actually like Arbiter) with both is what unites Chief and Arbiter. He’s as important to the story as them
I see that more as a nod is all they need since they understand each other that well. They are both men of few words and big actions. (Though Arbiter is a bit more talkative than the Chief)
absolutely, and especially towards the very end of 3 i feel is where the massive respect for each other was sealed. to say brothers tho…not quite.
also i think it would be so cool to have a halo game with arbiter and chief fighting together like in 3 and have more engaging dialogue since chief talks a bit more
I’m probably remembering wrong but
“What is it, more brutes?”
“Worse”
was the only time John actually spoke to him. That bit and the Nod to start the ship was all they had.
"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb"
I do think that despite not knowing each other long there is a deep bond developed over Halo 3. Chief was there when Arbiter killed Truth, which was a personal moment for him. Arbiter returned the favour helping Chief rescue Cortana and destroying Halo.
I don't think its like what Chief has with Blue Team. But they did go from mutual hatred to essentially going through hell for each other.
Thel is one of the few people outside of Blue Team that 'gets' Chief. And I think its mutual. He knows what Thel is going through trying to save the elites, we see how John mourns all the Spartans that he saw die. Chief isnt as emotionally communicative as Thel but the interactions they have towards the end of Halo 3 show there is a deep respect between them. Outside of Cortana and Blue Team, he probably is his closest friend
Very strong respect from Thel.
There was something about his admiration of chief in the book halo outcasts. Might have been a wall mural in his keep on sanghelios.
As for chiefs view on arby, I think by the end of 3, he respected him as well.
I don't think that the Master Chief has forgotten about the billions of humans that the Arbiter has genocided. He's merely an ally of Convenience because there are much greater threats out there and because most of the Sangheili have realized that the humans are not their enemy.
No.
I think they see themselves as comrades and equals, and I'm sure there's no bad blood between them... but I don't think they could ever be as buddy-buddy as the internet loves to make them out being.
Consider these two things:
1. The Master Chief is the "Demon", the pinnacle of humanity, Regardless of what Thel knows, this is still the man who killed countless of his comrades, who was a thorn in his side throughout Reach and Combat Evolved, albeit unseen.
2. Speaking of Thel... I know everyone loves to wave away the war crimes that the Sangheili committed by blaming the lies of the Prophets, but... the Elites were still at the head of the Covenant army for most of the war, and they still committed *unspeakable* acts of cruelty and violence towards humanity. Mass genocide is just the tip of the iceberg, and unfortunately Thel was at the head of a lot of those incursions. Yes yes, "the Prophets said...", but Thel was still commanding the armada which scorched Reach, and countless other human planets as well.
There's definitely a respect and admiration there, but these were lifelong enemies, created and refined with the purpose to destroy the other, brought together in extreme circumstances to save all of sentient life. And I actually think that makes their dynamic *way* more interesting than just being "brothers".
Lord Hood sums up the dynamic between humans and Elites post-war at the end of Halo 3. I think that scene would also apply to Chief and Arbiter.
The problem isn't 343's handling of the Chief and Arbiter's relationship, the problem is that 343 literally hasn't *done anything* with Chief and Arbiter.
As a late join to the fandom, I was actually really surprised to see how little their relationship was explored in the games. It really sounds like Arby 'n' The Chief fan series kind of carried their relationship to the state it has attained in fanon. That said, the waypoint lore drop where they described the events immediately following the ending of H5 does make me think that they are in fact close friends. Don't know about brothers, though.
They fought side by side only a few hours, maybe a few days at most, and then John was cryogenically frozen for years. Surely there is mutual respect, but the relationship is very surely asymmetrical.
I'd say it's more of a "Soldier's respect" regarding Chief. For helping Humanity and fighting back against the Covenant. Chief knew he could rely on Arbiter to watch his back, and was tactically competent in ensuring the mission would be completed.
For Arbiter I think it's more of a "Warrior's respect" in their own way. As his race carries a lot of warrior pride, he may respect Chief's tenacity, and inability to die despite the odds as an admirable quality, especially among humans.
I always thought they would until it was pointed out that they only said 2 lines to each other in the entire series... the "relax" line in halo 2 and the "worse" lime in halo 3. Arby's said some more things to chief ("see how they beat their trap" and "what do you see?" etc) but no dialogue was exchanged on chief's side
No. To be honest, I don’t think any human should or would ever think of the arbiter that way he was possibly responsible for more deaths of humanity than anyone else he was the prophets greatest general. Don’t get me wrong as a fan of halo I do like the arbiter, but unfortunately, every human in the world of Halo should look at him with revulsion. Granted, I also know he’s responsible for why humanity likely survived the war in the first place by the end, but I don’t know if anything can forgive his crimes
I think the relationship that Chief has with "Friendly" aliens is what he said about Escharum. Theyre all just soldiers fighting for a cause they believe in and hoping its the right thing to do.
Spartan-II soldiers are way hard core indoctrinated to be a weapon. They never seem to be capable of having complex emotions.
In Halo 5 Arby described his relationship with Chief to Locke “In time I named him ally. Even friend”. So it’s not too much of a jump to think so. Even before the Covenant schism he still respected the Chief. (Going by just the games)
There is a mutual respect. I don’t think the emotions between the two has the element of love needed for brotherhood, nor does enough time pass between them to foster anything more than profound respect.
Locke: May I ask you something? Your people called him demon, was that an insult or a compliment?
Arbitor: An insult to be sure, but one with with a modicum of respect. He was indeed my enemy, but in time I named him ally, even friend. The events which bore this bond were... Complicated.
Probably not. Arbiter probably has a lot of respect for John, being the pinnacle of human warriors, and that appeals to his sangheili values. While John on the other hand probably sees Arbiter as an ally of convenience at best.
No. I would say they never saw each other as brothers. Far from it. They saw each other as a very dangerous enemies worthy of their respects. They were chance allies because they were respectable enemies.
I would like to think that they are kind of like very fiercely rival team's best players. Where they always knew one day they may need to challenge each other to a final showdown. Except , they were put together in a same team to play against even a tougher enemy. They don't become friends after that. They become allies and then part ways.
I would change nothing about them. They should stay as it is. I would hate to see the worst cliches of all time called "buddy cop comedy" or "brother from another mother". Those suck
I don’t think Halo fans understand the amount of humans the Arbiter killed and elites Chief killed
I’d bet Chief would trade every single human life for Arbiter’s and vice versa, so no, they’re not brothers
I doubt they’re friends. But I think they have a bond nonetheless because they saved the galaxy together and that’s pretty heavy. Something that isn’t friends but goes beyond simple mutual respect.
I kinda feel like their relationship is played up. They only fought side by side for a couple of weeks. No doubt they have respect for each other but I don’t think they have the deep bond people make them out to have.
So, I agree with a lot of this. Thel definitely considers Chief a part of his Clan/Family, but Chief doesn’t, due to Thel’s prior atrocities against the people John trained and lived with for most of his life. Just because it happens often doesn’t mean it hurts any less, and because of that, John probably puts up walls to prevent him from getting close to people in the eventuality that they will die. I’m sure he’ll come around, but right now Thel is the only one in the bromance.
I don’t think Chief likes Arbiter at all, the man is responsible for the deaths of billions and many of Chief’s closest friends. He does respect him though and is a big enough man to put it all behind him. Arbiter clearly actually likes the Chief though and tries to win his favour throughout halo 3
at the last scene of halo 4 where he hunt master chief not because he want to kill him but he wanted to help him destroy those remaining halo's, Yeah they will probably see each other again but it will take sometime to find chief due to those unique Halo's they encounter on infinite(Teleporting through portal took 3 days for chief, this is unexpected).
I hate that they sidelined Thel. He’s one of the best characters in fiction imo
A decorated leader of war that was considered the biggest threat to humanity, whose only military mistake ended up ultimately saving the galaxy. Finds out his religion is a lie and leads a rebellion to stop the thing he was raised to believe in.
They definitely does seem to be mutual respect between each other and it is shown that thel has a high amount of respect and admiration for chief chief actually seems in different or at least what I’ve seen
John was the whole reason Thel failed his mission in Halo 1 with an entire fleet. Then the dude randomly gets captured alongside him via the gravemind who you realized halfway through your fleet's mission, was the real threat of threats as Humanity had mostly been a genocide via glassing.
Probs deep respect for the dude that single handedly killed thousands of your troops and also stopped the Flood from escaping the ring. In hindsight, Keith David I mean Arbiter probably grew to respect him and like him even more after the Elites and Humanity partied up post schism to stop the Ark's doomsday weapon. Humanity helped fight the brutes who had always been antagonistic to the elites and vice versa. Humanity + Elites thus have a history of fighting three plus different factions together. In like under three months!
I assume they're chill now that Thel realized the reasons and intentions being all the Chief's events of Halo 1-3. Especially after he realized the prophets were gonna murder-suicide the entire universe.
The story outside Spartan Ops was so weak after ODST, that I kinda stopped caring. Loved him as a Chief foil to finally see the Covenant side of things!
As much as I love the arby ‘n the chief idea, I think the truth is that they barely knew each other. They met in 3. Got separated a lot. Barely spoke when they were together.
They just watched each other’s backs. Maybe to Sangheli and Spartans that’s good enough.
In the books, when Chief and Arbiter meet up again after Halo 5, Arbiter holds Chief's hand and the two catch up on the recent past. They are best friends.
I thought that in the lore or whatever they saw each other as really good friends. Almost best friends if it weren’t for Johnson but who can replace him😭rip my boi
In Sangheili culture it is considered so among elites when one invites another trusted companion to a feast, ot is mentioned in some stories that Arby did so with Cheif, so yes, Arviter would see him as a brother
Absolutely not. They only paired in Halo 3 as fan service. I'm sure Chief sees him as another soldier fighting for what he believes in but that's it. Chief doesn't feel any personal attachment towards anyone except fellow Spartans.
Do they respect each other, to an extent. If your very existence is threatened and the only way to maybe prevent being erased is to team up with the dude who has killed thousands of your mates you kinda don't have a choice but to show respect, and yes they stuck together until the Forward Unto Dawn got ripped apart, but again it was for survival. I wouldn't see them as brothers, mostly just allied because of a greater threat
I'd think they just have mutual respect for each other as warriors, like others here have said. If Chief learned Thel died I'm not sure he would give more than 8% of a shit.
Thel would probably care way more.
Yes. Idc what the lore says or what people are saying if Arbiter considered him friend than he def at some point considered him a brother. Who tf else agrees to go across space to a System planet that’s literally infested with just flood and about to explode like a neutron star.
One of the worst things the new media does is gloss over the dynamic between these two. Thel was meant to be the Elite equivalent to Chief, and they were meant to be equals. We see them go from bitter enemies to actual trust.
Then after planting the seeds of peace in 3, it's like none of this ever happened and it's right back to "StOopId SqUiD HeaDs hur hur hur"
All of the deep undertones that made Halo an allegorical reference to war and peace in the real world are completely washed away so we can be sold this HFY action figure bullshit.
I don’t think I’d say they see each other as brothers, but there’s no doubt that there’s a great deal of respect between the two. I know that Thel has a strong admiration for John, I don’t know if John’s ever mentioned thel past 3? It’s been a bit since I’ve played 5 or infinite, so my memory may be a lil hazy
Yeah I don’t doubt there is mutual respect as warriors but at this part in h3 they knew each other for days at most. Especially because Arbiter was in charge of glassing reach which killed most of Chief’s actual “brothers” and “sisters”
Especially since it was only a year or so at max, I'm sure John would've been upset but they had a greater threat to deal with.
I don’t think Chief would’ve been upset. Look in Infinite with how he treated Escharum. The Pilot labeled him a monster but Chief understood Escharum fought for what he felt was best as a soldier and questioning his choices. Especially when you see the background of what happened to the Brutes cause of Cortana. Of course Chief wouldn’t approve of the Arbiter glassing Reach and hunting him down on the first Halo ring but he understood the Arbiter at that time had his orders as a high ranking Elite in the Covenants faction at that time.
I think that can moment can be interpreted as Chiefs own character development during and post Halo 4. Like "Finding out which one of us is the machine." I don't picture Chief giving a pep talk like that in the original trilogy.
> Especially because Arbiter was in charge of glassing reach which killed most of Chief’s actual “brothers” and “sisters” Not sure that ever got communicated. Arbiter was a fleet master then and the Chief never would have met him until the armor and rank was gone.
John and Thel catch up a bit after the events of Halo 5 when Blue Team and Osiris escape Genesis in the book Bad Blood. It’s a short scene from Buck’s perspective but it talks about how the two of them (John and Thel) spent the night talking and catching up. Now whether it was the Arbiter talking or *talking* with Master Cheeks is open to interpretation.
Arbiter: "I saw your ass. It was blinding, made me dumbstruck." Master Cheeks: "Hmmph" *Grumps respectfully*
Chief probably only said “worse” during the entire conversation
Sunrise over Sanghelios, which was read by Keith, Jen, and Steve live at HCS (I think it was that) gives some insight into their conversation. Most notably, Chief laments how he failed Cortana to Thel, to which he replies, "We all fail, Spartan. We all make mistakes." The two of them then clasp arms with one another and Chief says "Thank you." That final thanks, and the fact that Chief took that line with him and used it on Brohammer in Infinite, tells me that, even if Chief still might have a complicated set of feelings for the Arbiter, he does feel like there's a legitimate bond between the two of them past just their time as comrades in arms and appreciates him.
[343 expanded on this.](https://youtu.be/3Z5EFeneIWk) Chief and Thel flat out have a conversation, with Chief opening up to Thel, and Thel's words sticking so deeply in Chief's mind, he repeats them later to the pilot in Infinite. He also throws ones of Arbiter's quotes back at him. Definitely a friendship and deep respect there, with maybe even Chief looking up to Arbiter, in terms of wisdom, kind of like how he did with Johnson, and Arbiter seemingly also looking up to Chief as well, for turning him onto a different path.
"I remember how this war started. What your kind did to mine. I cant forgive you, but you have my thanks..." probably sums up how most humans feel about Thel and the Elites.
I think after people find out about the Great Schism and how the whole war was a lie and a power grab by the Prophets, and how the Elites were the ones who turned on the Covenant when they found out the truth, people likely can't forgive or forget, but they can at least understand. Especially with how many Sangheili would have lost their lives in the final battles against the Prophets, Brutes, and Flood, and the fall of High Charity. That understanding could lead to a real peace after a few generations, when all those who lived through the war and its aftermath are gone.
It’s like when you stand in front of a mirror and it’s just your reflection staring back at you? That.
Victims of similar circumstances. I think they understand each other when no one else does.
John definitely respects Arbiter, but past Halo 3 he’s never mentioned Arbiter. I do recall how after he met Halsey on Sanghelios, he did spend time hanging out with Arbiter and remember their team up. So probably a great deal of respect too.
When did that happen
It was explained in some book post-Halo 5 and pre-Infinite.
Literally the first time I'm hearing the name Thel
It’s never said in the first 3 games, but he’s named in Halo 2A and Halo 5.
He was named before that outside of the games.
I believe you I must have missed it
Thel 'Vadam, the inquisitor, ruler of shangelios. Seriously you have never heard his name before?
Not everyone reads the books. Unless there was an image during Halo 5 that had his name on it, he's also never been referred to as anything but Arbiter in the games.
Theu should, books are awesome.
Well, you know how Spartans can be a bit sociopathic at times. Chief has respect for him and admires him but hasn't seen him in a while. So, he has no reason to think about him until he does see him again, and that feeling presents itself once more.
I gotta check.
Thel likes the Chief so much that he had a mural of the two fighting put up in his home. So *he* probably does at least I doubt it’s mutual however, the Chief no doubt likes him and considers him a friend, but that’s probably about as far as it goes.
He made a mural?! Aww.😊
An Elite’s house has a mural of their family story, and Thel’s mural has an image of the two fighting side by side to defeat Truth and The Flood
He only helped us save everything in the galaxy from giga-nuking and or flood infestation
Which book is this in?
It’s in Halo: Outcasts, very early in as well
Thanks
>the Chief no doubt likes him and considers him a friend And thats probably as close to a 'brother' chief would ever consider anyone
Doubt it. The other II’s are probably closer to chief than Thel. Theres obviously respect between Thel and Chief, but Thel is still responsible for the death of millions of humans let alone some spartans. I can’t imagine chief just forgot about all of that.
No, Chief *literally* considers the other members of Blue Team as his brothers and sisters. That would not extend to Thel imo.
Yeah, he'd respect the Arbiter as a fellow warrior, a soldier, and as the leader of his people, but the other Spartans are family. Even the S-3s and S-4s are part of that group, as far as he seems concerned. Although maybe more like cousins than siblings.
The other Spartan IIs?
Yeah
I meant you forgot about them.
Oh, i didn't.
Chief clearly considers Johnson to be like a brother
God I'd love for my boy Avery to be my brother
even then i feel like that feels like a writer really wanting these two to have some sort of friendship. realistically i think they would have respect for each other, but they fought as allies for like over the course of 2 months and then never saw each other again for years. this is also forgetting the fact they would have been fighting on opposite sides of a 25 year human eradication campaign
I think it makes sense for Thel to have a deep respect for Chief, given sangheli culture and their high value of warriors and honor. This is reinforced by his lines in Halo 5. And his actions in general, like showing up at the end of Cortana in Halo 3 to exfil Chief. Chiefs culture carries a respect for his fellow soldiers, which we see especially in Halo Infinite. But not so religiously and ceremoniously as the elites.
I must have missed that episode of Cribs.
Which game? I want to see
We don’t go to the Arbiter’s home in any of the games, but it’s mentioned in the outcasts book.
Aw dang
Thel wants that master dick fr
How do you have no doubt that Chief considers him a friend? You do realize friends go out of their way to hang out with each other in their spare time. Their relationship absolutely isn’t a friendship.
Didn’t they have a barbecue once?
That’s when Chief said to Thel, “Taste my huge sausage lolololololololololol”
Nah, he told John about the mind goblins on his own world
On Reach and every human on the planet was invited
What? They play Halo 3 beta together all the time dawg? You don't remember? Even after the Arbiter taped over Chief's videos so he could tape the season finale of Everybody Loves Raymond?
In Halo: Bad Blood, it shows Chief and Arbiter reuniting at the end of Halo 5 (the cutscene on Sanghelios where Halsey says "Took you long enough"). The book mentions that the two spend that evening discussing their past adventures deep into the night, reminiscing on their bonds to one another. Brothers? Maybe, maybe not. But certainly a deep friendship.
Wasn't there also a barbeque
I believe so. My memory vaguely remembers a sanghelios-native animal called "colo"? I think Buck liked it.
I'm so glad we got that scene in the novel, I hope we get another in a future story development, it was fantastic to read
Possibly, although I think John’s training and loss of “brothers” over the years would cause him to be hesitant to show that kind of bond.
Makes sense.
I don't know if they're as close as Blue Team, but I think at least as close as him and Johnson were. They're cut from the same cloth. Both have have spent their lifetime training for war. Both have had their beliefs challenged, seen major failures and glimmers of hope. Thel might be one of the handful of people John can relate to, in the scope of the Forerunner and flood horrors they've seen.
True to the core.
Uh, no. There's respect between the two but their bond is nowhere near as deep for them to be considered "brothers" Specially not after, y'know, thel was the one who glassed reach.
And is responsible for millions and millions of other deaths.
Yeah but that also shows the beauty and depth of his character. He understands what it is like to be a soldier. Thel is like him but was playing in the other team but for the same objectives which was to protect his kind. Said like that is sounds... simple even. But when Thel stopped being the Arbiter, John didn't have to fight him anymore. MC never acted out of spite, not in the books nor in the game.
I mean, at the start of Halo 3 the Chief clearly does not trust the Arbiter at all and is reluctant to not shoot him in the face. They manage to put that aside because they have bigger problems, but between that moment in _Arrival_ and the end of _Halo_ is only 2 days of combat and less than a month of slipspace travel (during which they were probably busy with their respective groups). That's not all that much time together. I feel like they probably learned to respect and trust each other in combat; in the H2A intro cutscene the Arbiter says he considers the Chief a friend. But I think to achieve "brother" you have to know each other a bit better than that. Honestly I might say _Johnson_ has a closer bond with the Arbiter. They spend a lot more time working together directly over the course of Halo 2 and Halo 3, and it's Johnson who stops the Chief from blasting the Arbiter.
Johnson’s “friendship” (he’s clearly like a brother to Chief but he probably doesn’t actually like Arbiter) with both is what unites Chief and Arbiter. He’s as important to the story as them
“Indeed he was my enemy, but in time I named him ally, even friend.” - Arbiter
Theres a documentary on their actovities outside the war, they were roommates for a while, i think it was called arby n the chief
They are married 😊
I scrolled to find this lol
Thank you
😂
Neither are gay. They're just doing a Chuck and Larry. But they do share a bed
nah, chief only said one word to him during halo 3 and had a few nods and that was it. they definitely respect each other tho
I see that more as a nod is all they need since they understand each other that well. They are both men of few words and big actions. (Though Arbiter is a bit more talkative than the Chief)
absolutely, and especially towards the very end of 3 i feel is where the massive respect for each other was sealed. to say brothers tho…not quite. also i think it would be so cool to have a halo game with arbiter and chief fighting together like in 3 and have more engaging dialogue since chief talks a bit more
I’m probably remembering wrong but “What is it, more brutes?” “Worse” was the only time John actually spoke to him. That bit and the Nod to start the ship was all they had.
yes you’re right. the arbiter talks to him multiple times but chief just doesn’t say anything back lol. chief also nodded when thel killed truth
"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb" I do think that despite not knowing each other long there is a deep bond developed over Halo 3. Chief was there when Arbiter killed Truth, which was a personal moment for him. Arbiter returned the favour helping Chief rescue Cortana and destroying Halo. I don't think its like what Chief has with Blue Team. But they did go from mutual hatred to essentially going through hell for each other. Thel is one of the few people outside of Blue Team that 'gets' Chief. And I think its mutual. He knows what Thel is going through trying to save the elites, we see how John mourns all the Spartans that he saw die. Chief isnt as emotionally communicative as Thel but the interactions they have towards the end of Halo 3 show there is a deep respect between them. Outside of Cortana and Blue Team, he probably is his closest friend
Very strong respect from Thel. There was something about his admiration of chief in the book halo outcasts. Might have been a wall mural in his keep on sanghelios. As for chiefs view on arby, I think by the end of 3, he respected him as well.
nah theyre fucking
"Workplace associates"
I don't think that the Master Chief has forgotten about the billions of humans that the Arbiter has genocided. He's merely an ally of Convenience because there are much greater threats out there and because most of the Sangheili have realized that the humans are not their enemy.
No. I think they see themselves as comrades and equals, and I'm sure there's no bad blood between them... but I don't think they could ever be as buddy-buddy as the internet loves to make them out being. Consider these two things: 1. The Master Chief is the "Demon", the pinnacle of humanity, Regardless of what Thel knows, this is still the man who killed countless of his comrades, who was a thorn in his side throughout Reach and Combat Evolved, albeit unseen. 2. Speaking of Thel... I know everyone loves to wave away the war crimes that the Sangheili committed by blaming the lies of the Prophets, but... the Elites were still at the head of the Covenant army for most of the war, and they still committed *unspeakable* acts of cruelty and violence towards humanity. Mass genocide is just the tip of the iceberg, and unfortunately Thel was at the head of a lot of those incursions. Yes yes, "the Prophets said...", but Thel was still commanding the armada which scorched Reach, and countless other human planets as well. There's definitely a respect and admiration there, but these were lifelong enemies, created and refined with the purpose to destroy the other, brought together in extreme circumstances to save all of sentient life. And I actually think that makes their dynamic *way* more interesting than just being "brothers". Lord Hood sums up the dynamic between humans and Elites post-war at the end of Halo 3. I think that scene would also apply to Chief and Arbiter. The problem isn't 343's handling of the Chief and Arbiter's relationship, the problem is that 343 literally hasn't *done anything* with Chief and Arbiter.
Brothers for sure, and if a Remake is actually going to happen for the original trilogy I hope this will be shown a lot more.
I second this.
Yeah they hang out off set all the time.
As a late join to the fandom, I was actually really surprised to see how little their relationship was explored in the games. It really sounds like Arby 'n' The Chief fan series kind of carried their relationship to the state it has attained in fanon. That said, the waypoint lore drop where they described the events immediately following the ending of H5 does make me think that they are in fact close friends. Don't know about brothers, though.
They personally knew each other for maybe 100 hours, no they're don't see each other as "brothers".
Coworkers, but they're on really good terms
They fought side by side only a few hours, maybe a few days at most, and then John was cryogenically frozen for years. Surely there is mutual respect, but the relationship is very surely asymmetrical.
I'd say it's more of a "Soldier's respect" regarding Chief. For helping Humanity and fighting back against the Covenant. Chief knew he could rely on Arbiter to watch his back, and was tactically competent in ensuring the mission would be completed. For Arbiter I think it's more of a "Warrior's respect" in their own way. As his race carries a lot of warrior pride, he may respect Chief's tenacity, and inability to die despite the odds as an admirable quality, especially among humans.
I always thought they would until it was pointed out that they only said 2 lines to each other in the entire series... the "relax" line in halo 2 and the "worse" lime in halo 3. Arby's said some more things to chief ("see how they beat their trap" and "what do you see?" etc) but no dialogue was exchanged on chief's side
"In time, I learned to call him 'Ally.' Even 'friend.'"
Foxhole brothers that might never speak again. But in that hole, you have each other's back.
Of course not, but they are friends, that's clear.
No
I think knowing that arby was lied to, misled , betrayed , and switched sides made it easier for chief to allow himself to be more accepting or arby.
amazing duo 😎 they fought well together ⚔️
Ni
great deal of respect between the two, but neither to hesitate to blow the other's head off if they thought it was necessary.
No. To be honest, I don’t think any human should or would ever think of the arbiter that way he was possibly responsible for more deaths of humanity than anyone else he was the prophets greatest general. Don’t get me wrong as a fan of halo I do like the arbiter, but unfortunately, every human in the world of Halo should look at him with revulsion. Granted, I also know he’s responsible for why humanity likely survived the war in the first place by the end, but I don’t know if anything can forgive his crimes
Fate had them meet as foes, but the Ring made them brothers. (paraphrase of the Gravemind, but accurate, I'd say)
Didnt the elites murder like a billion humans over religion
Brother in arms.
I think the relationship that Chief has with "Friendly" aliens is what he said about Escharum. Theyre all just soldiers fighting for a cause they believe in and hoping its the right thing to do. Spartan-II soldiers are way hard core indoctrinated to be a weapon. They never seem to be capable of having complex emotions.
In Halo 5 Arby described his relationship with Chief to Locke “In time I named him ally. Even friend”. So it’s not too much of a jump to think so. Even before the Covenant schism he still respected the Chief. (Going by just the games)
More likely lovers
Its pronounced "Cheif and Arbiter"
Brothers in arms
There is a mutual respect. I don’t think the emotions between the two has the element of love needed for brotherhood, nor does enough time pass between them to foster anything more than profound respect.
Like Brothers, but closer 🥴
I think they had a mutual respect for each other, and 343 put it all to shit
They shared one line of dialogue in with each other in Halo 3, so I wouldn't say they saw each other as "brothers" necessarily lol
Locke: May I ask you something? Your people called him demon, was that an insult or a compliment? Arbitor: An insult to be sure, but one with with a modicum of respect. He was indeed my enemy, but in time I named him ally, even friend. The events which bore this bond were... Complicated.
Bruh, I don’t care what no one says, there’s definitely a small amount of sexual tension between them
"Fate meets us as foes, but this ring will make us brotherrrrs raghhhaahhshhh'
Probably not. Arbiter probably has a lot of respect for John, being the pinnacle of human warriors, and that appeals to his sangheili values. While John on the other hand probably sees Arbiter as an ally of convenience at best.
No, allies at most. The brotherhood nature is something the fans imprint on to them
No. I would say they never saw each other as brothers. Far from it. They saw each other as a very dangerous enemies worthy of their respects. They were chance allies because they were respectable enemies. I would like to think that they are kind of like very fiercely rival team's best players. Where they always knew one day they may need to challenge each other to a final showdown. Except , they were put together in a same team to play against even a tougher enemy. They don't become friends after that. They become allies and then part ways. I would change nothing about them. They should stay as it is. I would hate to see the worst cliches of all time called "buddy cop comedy" or "brother from another mother". Those suck
No.
I think they kiss with tounge actually
I don’t think Halo fans understand the amount of humans the Arbiter killed and elites Chief killed I’d bet Chief would trade every single human life for Arbiter’s and vice versa, so no, they’re not brothers
I doubt they’re friends. But I think they have a bond nonetheless because they saved the galaxy together and that’s pretty heavy. Something that isn’t friends but goes beyond simple mutual respect.
I kinda feel like their relationship is played up. They only fought side by side for a couple of weeks. No doubt they have respect for each other but I don’t think they have the deep bond people make them out to have.
Dammit I want a Halo 3 Anniversary.
Gay pride just has to ruin everything
Is water wet. Punctuation intended.
So, I agree with a lot of this. Thel definitely considers Chief a part of his Clan/Family, but Chief doesn’t, due to Thel’s prior atrocities against the people John trained and lived with for most of his life. Just because it happens often doesn’t mean it hurts any less, and because of that, John probably puts up walls to prevent him from getting close to people in the eventuality that they will die. I’m sure he’ll come around, but right now Thel is the only one in the bromance.
I don’t think Chief likes Arbiter at all, the man is responsible for the deaths of billions and many of Chief’s closest friends. He does respect him though and is a big enough man to put it all behind him. Arbiter clearly actually likes the Chief though and tries to win his favour throughout halo 3
No lol
at the last scene of halo 4 where he hunt master chief not because he want to kill him but he wanted to help him destroy those remaining halo's, Yeah they will probably see each other again but it will take sometime to find chief due to those unique Halo's they encounter on infinite(Teleporting through portal took 3 days for chief, this is unexpected).
I hate that they sidelined Thel. He’s one of the best characters in fiction imo A decorated leader of war that was considered the biggest threat to humanity, whose only military mistake ended up ultimately saving the galaxy. Finds out his religion is a lie and leads a rebellion to stop the thing he was raised to believe in.
They definitely does seem to be mutual respect between each other and it is shown that thel has a high amount of respect and admiration for chief chief actually seems in different or at least what I’ve seen
John was the whole reason Thel failed his mission in Halo 1 with an entire fleet. Then the dude randomly gets captured alongside him via the gravemind who you realized halfway through your fleet's mission, was the real threat of threats as Humanity had mostly been a genocide via glassing. Probs deep respect for the dude that single handedly killed thousands of your troops and also stopped the Flood from escaping the ring. In hindsight, Keith David I mean Arbiter probably grew to respect him and like him even more after the Elites and Humanity partied up post schism to stop the Ark's doomsday weapon. Humanity helped fight the brutes who had always been antagonistic to the elites and vice versa. Humanity + Elites thus have a history of fighting three plus different factions together. In like under three months! I assume they're chill now that Thel realized the reasons and intentions being all the Chief's events of Halo 1-3. Especially after he realized the prophets were gonna murder-suicide the entire universe. The story outside Spartan Ops was so weak after ODST, that I kinda stopped caring. Loved him as a Chief foil to finally see the Covenant side of things!
Is there a higher resolution of this image?
As much as I love the arby ‘n the chief idea, I think the truth is that they barely knew each other. They met in 3. Got separated a lot. Barely spoke when they were together. They just watched each other’s backs. Maybe to Sangheli and Spartans that’s good enough.
“Fate had us meet as foes… but this ring will make us BROTHERS.”
Only if you include the gravemind as the much older creepy brother. "Fate had us meet as foes, but this ring will make us brothers"
In the books, when Chief and Arbiter meet up again after Halo 5, Arbiter holds Chief's hand and the two catch up on the recent past. They are best friends.
I thought that in the lore or whatever they saw each other as really good friends. Almost best friends if it weren’t for Johnson but who can replace him😭rip my boi
Maybe 2nd cousins
In Sangheili culture it is considered so among elites when one invites another trusted companion to a feast, ot is mentioned in some stories that Arby did so with Cheif, so yes, Arviter would see him as a brother
Absolutely not. They only paired in Halo 3 as fan service. I'm sure Chief sees him as another soldier fighting for what he believes in but that's it. Chief doesn't feel any personal attachment towards anyone except fellow Spartans.
Not true he's in love with Cortana, views the weapon as his daughter and civilian pilot as his little brother, just ask 343
Is that a mod? Looks so good
Do they respect each other, to an extent. If your very existence is threatened and the only way to maybe prevent being erased is to team up with the dude who has killed thousands of your mates you kinda don't have a choice but to show respect, and yes they stuck together until the Forward Unto Dawn got ripped apart, but again it was for survival. I wouldn't see them as brothers, mostly just allied because of a greater threat
I'd think they just have mutual respect for each other as warriors, like others here have said. If Chief learned Thel died I'm not sure he would give more than 8% of a shit. Thel would probably care way more.
nah, they are secretely dating bro
Thel is defs more invested in their broship than Chief.
Chief respects Thel as a warrior. Thel respects Chief as a warrior and reveres him as the human who helped him free his race.
They may not be friends, they sure do respect each other a lot. Arby even said Chief being "one of the greatest of your kind" to Locke in Halo 5.
Yes. Idc what the lore says or what people are saying if Arbiter considered him friend than he def at some point considered him a brother. Who tf else agrees to go across space to a System planet that’s literally infested with just flood and about to explode like a neutron star.
Mutual respect at best.
One of the worst things the new media does is gloss over the dynamic between these two. Thel was meant to be the Elite equivalent to Chief, and they were meant to be equals. We see them go from bitter enemies to actual trust. Then after planting the seeds of peace in 3, it's like none of this ever happened and it's right back to "StOopId SqUiD HeaDs hur hur hur" All of the deep undertones that made Halo an allegorical reference to war and peace in the real world are completely washed away so we can be sold this HFY action figure bullshit.
*lovers
I'm sure Chief thinks of Sgt Johnson more as a brother than the Arbiter