I agree with what you said lower down about perspective. Everyone's hands are covered in blood to some extent or another. At the same time, these Spartans we all love and care for so much could also be made to look pretty disgusting if we look at the Insurrectionist perspective, depending upon how that's conveyed.

343 can do a lot with all of these characters, but I just can't shake the feeling that the main agenda is seriously to just portray Halsey is awful, nothing else, and leave it at that going forward. Spartan Ops was the shining beacon of Halo 4, even with its many, many, many many many (you get the point) flaws. I really enjoyed it. I hope Halsey's character and writing doesn't betray itself. This stuff has to be earned, and I still have hope that she's on humanity's side and going to do the right thing somewhere.