: *Shrugs*

: Cortana going evil after surviving Halo 4 isn't just out of left field, it
: undoes the narrative Halo 4 struggled to build. The fact that fans have
: been speculating about this for years doesn't validate it.

I dunno how it "undoes" anything. After Halo 4, I was concerned that when or if Cortana was brought back, it had to be done well—just "press X to retrieve Cortana" or "hey here's a new fresh copy of her" weren't really good options (although the latter had some interesting story options regarding the interplay between them.) I honestly didn't think Cortana turning into an adversary was in the cards at all, but it effectively assuages my concern about her resurrection—there's always gotta' be a cost involved, and the fact that Cortana is alive, but Chief and probably everyone else wishes that hadn't been the case sates my desire for narrative 'weight'.

Also, have to give a cookie to Dani/SlightlyLive, because I'm pretty sure he called her using the Domain to save herself as a possible out right after Halo 4 came out.