The Most Hated Man on Earth | Dr. Wallace Breen | Full Half-Life Lore

[@Skyrionn]

To support the channel, please consider sharing, liking and subscribing. It would help a lot! Do you think Breen was a bad guy, or simply a desperate man attempting fast-track humanities evolution with the help of The Combine?

[@mysterythekitsune2988]

Both. He had had been the one to authorize the unstable sample test and may have secretly given an order to the USA military station near black mesa to shoot everyone in black mesa when Gordan meant the first US marines who were helping people event of those who were alive till Gordon arrived to meet the first US Marines. Then during the 7 hour war he did save humanity but at a price and instead of using b that position to undermine the combine he embraced the power he gained. In the end Gman may have been the reason to why Dr Breen became a villain

[@PackingPeanut]

He was the worst person imaginable. The entire reason the combine chose him was because he was a idiot.

[@ambrusraul2297]

Next up : Doctor Rosenberg please !

[@tactial_bonkz3711]

He is a simple manipulated man

[@male07447]

@@mysterythekitsune2988 uhhh... than why did he say "YOU NEED ME." ? I mean, we can still wait for episode 3. :]

[@friendlytalbot4050]

I personally believe that Breen's negotiation with the Combine during the 7-hour war wasn't as simple as just surrendering, but that he either figured out that the Combine wanted Black Mesa's portal technology, or they outright demanded it, and that he simply negotiated that he'd help them develop the technology if they let humanity survive. So they obviously put him in charge, as he could deliver that. That's why he's directly helping them with portal technology at Nova Prospekt, as he's fulfilling his part of the peace treaty, but it's also likely he's delaying its finalization. Because we don't know what the Combine plans to do with humanity once they get what they want. It's very likely, given the circumstances, they'd just exterminate us and move on once they got it, which would explain Breen's callousness, as he's trying to delay the inevitable. Also, I want to point to that he's named the INTERIM administrator. Meaning his position is very much temporary.

[@mattmedrala1947]

The combine observation post located right next to Black Mesa East is a big clue to Breen trying to delay the inevitable crackdown on the resistance. When Gordon literally delivered himself to BME, Breen was forced to assault them prematurely.

[@JeanneHamada]

@@mattmedrala1947 now that you mentioned it, I kinda see why the attack on BME was over so fast. Breen is literally trying his best to delay the attack, considering they probably had the area surrounded already

[@cheesemanthe2nd]

even though breen definently comes off as a master minipulator to me, he was defenently being pushed around by the Universal Union to do what he did twards the resistance. plus he's basically responsible for giving humanity a chance to survive and resist in the first place, so I can't hate him.

[@michaelironsights8347]

"His nose is kinda big tho" 😂😂 i like how that came at the end

[@Skyrionn]

I was and still am conflicted about his motives. He wanted to see humanity evolve, but against their will and in a brutal way.

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

The Combine's true name "The Universal Union" always scared me kinda. Like how can one culture be that prominant?

[@juanausensi499]

@@Skyrionn He probably thought there was no other way. Opposing the Combine, in his mind , meant complete extinction (and he was probably right). In the end, his actions allowed the breathing time to the resistance, F-Man and Gordon to start to strike back successfully. We need to differentiate between his actions and his motives. His actions (at least in the beginning) were more or less justified. His motives, tho, were very much questionable.

[@radicalrichardson9824]

i hope he isn't israeli

[@CrysisYaDig]

id like to mention that Breen does know about the G-Man when at the end he says “did you know your contract was open to the highest bidder”

[@Skyrionn]

I did allude to it in the video too :)

[@FUBBA]

based observation of you

[@__boo]

@@FUBBA I mean its super hard to miss.

[@ASlickNamedPimpback]

what kind of payment would such eldritch beings even use?

[@Mr_Nowh3re]

@@ASlickNamedPimpback Souls probably

[@desfox3685]

I used to think Breen was fully evil but recently I've realized that's not exactly the case, in Nova Prospekt you can hear him addressing the Transhuman Overwatch and mentioning that he wants to prove to the Combine that humanity is worthy of survival. This suggests that while corrupt, he IS genuine when he says that he is trying to aid humanity.

[@Skyrionn]

It's a very conflicting matter. He truly believed he was doing what was best for humanity.

[@Jay_Johnson]

Clearly Humanity stands no chance against the Combine outside of video game logic. Breen did have the rational approach for the survival of humanity but I would argue life under the combine is not worth living although that is entirely subjective. Because of that it is both entirely reasonable to cooperate and to resist.

[@jetpackdino5703]

Truly thinking that you are right makes you the most dangerous person.

[@AbandonedVoid]

@@jetpackdino5703 It's better than the alternative of standing for nothing, or do you just mean people are only right when they adhere to your values?

[@TheWalklingPractice]

@@AbandonedVoid Everything is flawed. Dogmatic belief makes a person become dangerous.

[@frozarburst6350]

I can't stop laughing that when you mentioned Dr. Magnusson, you showed footage of his microwave casserole Gordon so gleefully exploded. Even after all these years, the doctor's salty and Gordon is still laughing while Breen and Breengrub are wondering if all this could've been avoided if he didn't do that

[@Skyrionn]

The Casserole Incident is the most iconic part of the HL timeline.

[@Vlumpty_Vonty]

​@@SkyrionnMy god, what are you doing?

[@mrfixit9538]

​@@Vlumpty_Vonty???

[@SplotchTheCatThing]

16:25 it's always funny to hear Gordon called the "Free Man", 'cause when you think about it, while he might refuse to submit to the Combine, he's acting entirely as a proxy for G-man (and, in a meta sense, the player) meaning he's the only character in-story to be entirely devoid of free will. So it's ironic because anyone with the ability to call Gordon that is freer than he is.

[@olucaspc]

who has more freedom in hl, Gordon or the npcs ?

[@SplotchTheCatThing]

@@olucaspc Interesting question. I think the answer depends on how you define the word "who". When you think purely about the game design, it's obvious the player is the only thing in the game that has any amount of freedom and even that is limited by the linear game design. Buuuuuut, when you think purely about the game design, you also realize the concept of freedom doesn't apply to the npcs because they're not real people. In order for someone to either have freedom or lack it, you first need there to be someone. You need to have a "who", but when you're just thinking of npcs and game design, all you've got are "whats". When you think of the story written into the game, then you have characters you can see as people. All the 3D models and voice clips and little pieces of computer code tying them together now become heroic resistance members and villainous Combine. And that story is written in such a way that those resistance members made the choice to fight back against the Combine. The character of Gordon, by contrast, was forced into fighting against the Combine. And whether or not he might have still made that choice on his own could be said to be irrelevant, because he was never given the opportunity. Valve loves to play with the ideas of game design and storytelling and bend the rules with the way those two things interact. Half-Life 2's subtle commentary on the nature of free will is one of my favourite things about it. You've actually still hit on one half of the game's main subtext with your question there -- but I was talking about the other half.

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

@@SplotchTheCatThing Incorrect. Freeman is free. We know this for certain by Half-Life Alyx. The Vortigaunts freed Freeman from G-Man's control, since then he has been truly free.

[@SplotchTheCatThing]

@@jakespacepiratee3740 "Since then" happened at the start of Episode 1. It doesn't change the theming of previous events or the way they were written. It make sense from a story perspective to set Gordon free after the events of the original Half-Life 2 story, because for the writer that means he doesn't need to keep exploring the themes he's already finished with, and is free to find new ones. I'm not invoking Laidlaw's name here because I don't want to put words in his mouth -- I just want to use his story as an example. Reason I bring him up at all though is that while I'm all for "death of the author" when analyzing stories and subtext, I do think those things unavoidably change when a replacement writer is brought on board. So for that reason I don't think the theming of Alyx is has much bearing on the theming of Half-Life 2.

[@davisdf3064]

This reminds me of a old weird theory of mine. What if G-Man is literally Valve themselfes, Gordon is only special because of player's ability of remember deaths and Alyx was recently chosen by G-Man because she was recently our focus? This would explain how G-Man has beings above him (even though he seems to be nigh omnipotent), simply because he can't fight the Devs of the game. This also explains his "Employers".

[@skipp84]

the thing I loved about Breen was, that for how evil and sinister he comes off, he has a point in the Breen-casts. humanity would've been dead long ago if Breen never made that deal. humanity had no chance against the combine, humanity was facing total destruction, Breen did what he had to to save what was left of humanity. i see him thinking of the combine aiding the human race in some way as either propaganda or as a coping mechanism. to forget the fact that humanity is doomed. that whole "benefactors can make this race immortal" shpeel was simply him reading the lines off a paper in my eyes. in my opinion, I don't think Breen liked the combine any more then we did, but he had to pretend to like them to give humanity a hope in hell. though as the combine gave him more and more power, he lost his way and became power-hungry. he started to actually believe in that shite the combine were spewing. maybe that tells alot about Breens behavior, or how manipulative the combine can be. either way, its still a fun story.

[@lemmythebulldog8812]

The voice actor for Gordon freeman should be given an award for outstanding performance

[@planetearth2249]

I agree with this, 100%

[@ender-cq1ec]

What

[@kolorfool]

Basically us

[@TheSatanicGamerFromHell]

BuT hE dOsNt SpEaK!

[@planetearth2249]

@@TheSatanicGamerFromHell Yes he does! You can't forget his iconic line where he says " "!

[@cool_name9190]

Breen is one of the most interesting characters in the Half-Life Universe to me. He was the administrator of Black Mesa, the interim administrator of earth, had secret knowledge about the G-Man and the Combine. He alludes to the G-Man a few times such as in the Nova Prospekt breencast or in Dark Energy when he asked Gordon if he knew that his contract was "open to the highest bidder." Knowing all of this I find it interesting that Breen chooses this path of willful servitude to the combine by showing the usefulness of humanity. Although Breen knows things that we clearly do not and may understand more about this universe than we do, he did not to rebel against the combine even at the end or attempt to join Gordon at the 11th hour. He is so terrified of the combine that he truly believes that being a useful asset to the Universal Union is the only way to "beat" the combine. I find this to be terrifying, Even though he was aware of G-Man, Gordon Freeman, The resistance's progress, taking over the city and destroying nova prospekt he truly believed humanity had no chance of defeating the combine and that is terrifying.

[@asdbef3667]

No breen was still responsible for resonance cascade He is sole responsible for bringing the mess in the first place

[@ic0nic707]

@@asdbef3667 That has nothing to do with the comment.

[@Nikotheleepic]

​@@asdbef3667I doubt it was his understanding that this would happen, he was like the player, set up by GMAN

[@asdbef3667]

@@Nikotheleepic he is 50% responsible. Probably he wanted all the power to rule

[@Allen667sjja]

I don’t even see him as a villain really, he was trying to save humanity just in his own different way. He recognized the futility of direct resistance against the combine, and likely hoped to negotiate some sort of deal in exchange for portal technology. The game states as much

[@Allen667sjja]

He was simply a pragmatist, sure he had to tow the party/combine line until he was in a position to exert his influence.

[@foxeye245]

That is an extremely generous opinion to have of him. After all, he essentially sold his entire species into slavery so that he could appease a powerful alien race into making him the sudo-dictator of earth. And all his decisions in game were made with the intention of proving that he was still “worthy” of the position of power he held. Perhaps labeling him a villain is inaccurate, but he certainly was never interested in “saving” humanity. Everything he did was solely for himself and no one else.

[@TactfulWaggle]

@@foxeye245 Well what's the alternative? they were gonna kill everybody anyways, and they were losing the war if it weren't for breen, in 7 mere hours all the combined efforts of every military force was getting it's ass handed to it, the initial combine army was definitely hundreds if not thousands of times stronger than the small occupation force they left behind mainly supplied with human population and their modified technology.

[@jerrysmith8814]

@@foxeye245 he also essentially did everything in his power to turn humans into a mindless cattle, pretty much depraving them of their humanity

[@jerrysmith8814]

@@foxeye245 he also essentially did everything in his power to turn humans into a mindless cattle, pretty much depraving them of their humanity

[@UndeadGhostGirl]

I was excited to see this video. I never finished Half-Life 2, so I was never certain whether Dr. Breen was an evil dictator or just a guy doing what he thought was right. After having watched this video, I'd say it's a little of both. I think initially he was being honest and transparent, that he was only doing what made the most logical sense and would ensure the continuation of the human race. As time went on, however, he'd have had to justify his actions, especially to himself, and with everyone considering him a traitor, he'd have responded by doubling down. On top of that, it would be easy to see how the Combine treated him and say "Everyone would be treated this well if they just listened to me." when in actuality, the only reason the Combine bothered giving Breen any rights is because he was useful, and the only reason he was useful is because there *was* a resistance. In the end, *he* needed *them.* As far as the Breen Grub goes, I have a general rule of "everything is canon until disproved/refuted by canon," so unless there's something in Half-Life Alex or HL3 (lol) that disproves it, there's no harm in treating the Breen Grub as canon.

[@Skyrionn]

I think I have the same rule as you do regarding canon. Breengrub for me is a part of my own canon I guess.

[@marioman1242]

Basically half of Half-Life media (ha funny) is semi-canon. The Gearbox games, Epistle 3 and other Marc Laidlaw stuff, beta Combine troops and synths, it's all just in the camp of "if Valve uses it again then it's canon"

[@SirVergewaltig0re]

You never finished HL2!? whew I must sit down... this too much for me.

[@dkkanofkash8798]

@@SirVergewaltig0re I know right? That's an impossible feat right there.

[@Eatinbritches]

You didn't finish HL2? Why the hell not?

[@DoomMomDot]

during Gordon's trip inside the citadel he sees humans being converted into mutants. I assumed this is the "immortality" the combine planed for humans - immortal slaves with no memory of being anything else. In my opinion, even the complete destruction of the race would be a better fate.

[@culinaryspecialistsam]

Learning about the immortality thing in this video, I assume Breen knew about the slave mutants and was trying to reach a higher form of immortality and enlightenment. I thought that was the punishment for resistance members as it is a pretty big "fate worse than death" thing

[@trillrifaxegrindor4411]

delve into the mass effect lore and the reapers.........its quite amazing as well,with some similarities

[@Templarfreak]

@@culinaryspecialistsam no, it is the standard procedure for creating Overwatch soldiers. the process is more or less as follows: 1. join civil protection 2. progressively have your brain slowly more and more lobotomized. you are incentivized to do this with positive reinforcement such as being given more rations and "reproductive simulation and credits" and are incentivized with negative reinforcement as your own failures will not just result in your own death, but the death of your entire squad, your family, and their families 3. more and more of your body is replaced with cybernetic augments and eventually fully removing all of your memories and personality 4. the final goal is your brain is fully supplanted, removal of several basic brain components, such as autonomic functions, in favor of combine-controlled technology (you dont even get to breathe without their say-so), only military training and complete and total allegiance and reliance to the combine remain

[@staringgasmask]

@@Templarfreak actually you're wrong. You keep your autonomy and ability to think like a human. They just strip every single memory away, and insert memories designed for humans and humans only, that will make you a zealot for the Combine cause. Sort of like the Monolith did in STALKER, more like a brainwash than turning you into a drone (what happens to stalkers)

[@Templarfreak]

@@staringgasmask i didnt exactly say anything about autonomy. LITERALLY SPEAKING yes i guess you _technically_ still have autonomy, but practically you do *not.* i said autonomic functions, though. this is things like breathing and your heartbeat and such. the combine without question replaces several organs of an overwatch soldier, perhaps at times even for neutral purposes, but for the most part they *definitely* explicitly replace human body parts specifically for the purpose of controlling them, Stalkers are a decent example of this, where it definitely appears the vast majority of their organs are straight-up removed without any replacement, and the ones that are replaced, such as most of the face, it is replaced with mechanisms specifically designed TO control them.

[@jokerzwild00]

HL2 is so damn clean looking. I imagine a world where developers never bought in to heavy amounts of post processing and instead focused on raw polygon count and super high quality textures. It was easier for them to use post processing to cover up hardware shortcomings on the ps360 consoles though, so this is the path they took. I love the crystal clear look of older games running at high res with heavy AA. HL2 is a great example because it came along right before the post processing era. It was the pinnacle of relying on polygons and textures to make things look good, while still being able to use SM 2.0 to make surfaces pop. Only downfall of HL2 is baked in shadows and rudimentary, flat lighting. Love the Source engine.

[@rickyjohnson2739]

This has to be some of the best story writing for almost any game.

[@UCannotDefeatMyShmeat]

While I see this claim about anything anyone likes, like literally anything, yeah it’s pretty alright

[@coregod109]

During the combine teleport breen pleads with Gordon to stop and says something along the lines of think of the people below you're going to bring down the citadel. I'm also not sure if this is genuine or breen trying to manipulate Gordon for his own benefit. Something else to take note of when you arrive in breens office he can be heard talking to Eli about all the things he has seen in his time with the combine. The delivery and content of these lines gives some credibility to breen being genuine about humanity's evolution or betterment with the combine.

[@farfandelosgodos1681]

Combine(the orange bad empire) and the isithing(association) with eugenics(a sin of the Devil Hitler).

[@eyyTonyyy]

Love all of your Half-Life videos, there’s not many creators out there still doing HL content but glad to see you’re still sticking with them. I often listen to these on my walks.

[@Skyrionn]

Thanks for sticking with me. I hope they make your walks entertaining!

[@CrabGamingTF2]

This video was really good! Using Black Mesa footage instead of HL1 footage was the right choice I think. We need a Black Mesa lore video next with all those gorgeous visuals!

[@Skyrionn]

It was definately the correct direction to go in. It is a stunning game - and lore friendly depending on what I record! If people are open extended Half-Life lore, I'd be open to it!

[@Wertyhappy27]

@@Skyrionn Black Mesa deserves a video, talking about the different areas, leadership, events, allies, enemies, history, etc

[@calebtesfaye3925]

@@Wertyhappy27 Oh definitely!

[@TheFullswordslord]

Your videos are always of a crazily good quality. Ngl, I really started hating Breen even more after this video. Keep up the good work man! And keep those amazing cinematics!

[@Skyrionn]

I appreciate that I'll continue to put them together! I tried to at least see his side in the game, but yeah, he screwed over his race.

[@spaghettimkay5795]

I like to think that Breen was approached by Gman similarly to Gordon and Adrian. And same as them, he was probably kept in the dark, given just enough info to influence his decisions, and then was placed into the position he needed to be to play his role. Whether he believed in anything he said, whether he was aware of his role in all this, and how much he knew almost didn't matter in the end. He was a pawn for the Combine, and he was also a pawn for Gman. You can choose to believe that he was truly naive, that his self-righteousness was taken advantage of by both parties to make a perfect fall guy. I choose to believe that Breen was much more informed than we give him credit for. I think he was more than aware of his role as a pawn, but was betrayed when Gman's other "employee" played his role. His final words "You need me." Don't come off to me as the final desperate plea of a cowardly dictator that believed he was doing the right thing. They come off as an exacerbated cry of help of a man who has been led astray. I'm sure that Breen was told he was to be the one to ultimately save humanity, and despite the evils that were needed to reach that goal, he would have to do it because he was the only one who could. He believed in his last moments that Gordon Freeman had doomed his species. Because he knew what the Combine was capable of.

[@Capero10]

Great video! I think that Breen was the unlucky individual that had to be the ambassador of humanity, he probably knows more than anyone the sheer scale of the Combine as a multi-dimensional empire and how futile the human resistance is, trying to convey this idea to the rest of humanity without depriving them of hope. The writers of Half Life managed to convey a feeling of impotence that few games, movies and books managed to achieve, Half Life is one of the few games that can truly be labeled as "cosmic horror".

[@Master-Beef]

I would have loved to see black mesa’s Breen and his past up until Breen Grub. Like how and who he was prior to Black Mesa incident. Maybe we could have had more sympathy for him

[@Skyrionn]

I'd love to see that too. Maybe one day in a prequel maybe we'll see the events that led up to the resonance cascade

[@weiinn9944]

he was probably a good guy before meeting G-man tho

[@williampepe5516]

yu🇧🇧⏰🎱🫙🌘

[@newcastleman86]

Most villains don’t see themselves as villains in these types of situations. Maybe he did what he thought was best for mankind but then again one person should not have that power.

[@Skyrionn]

A great perspective!

[@andy56duky]

And yet he did for the gain of his own personal gain.

[@thecasualgamer9171]

@@andy56duky Thats up to debate rather than reality

[@Nikotheleepic]

​@@andy56dukylol okay, I'm sure he saved humanity from extinction just because he wanted a nice office

[@CrisisHedgehog]

@@Nikotheleepic well if he didn’t save humanity which includes himself, then he wouldn’t have that nice desk wouldn’t he?

[@PurelyHyperbolic]

"Think of the people below." This line kind of struck me the first time I heard it. There are 2 ways you could look at this, it can either show that Breen is somewhat concerned about the unnecessary deaths that could be brought from the destruction of the Citadel, or its another manipulative tactic to save his Status, The Citadel, and Himself.

[@idfk-x4f]

Definitely trying a desperate attempt to manipulate gordon into NOT destroying the citadel. Maybe at first breen only accepted the combine so as to not have humanity exterminated, but by the time of half life 2, its clear to me that he truly believes in the combine cause.

[@VanBourner]

I still think that Breen was manipulated by G-man same as Gordon. I'd like to think that G-man was a rogue advisor, one with whom Breen was discussing the reappearance of Freeman. Breen was the original plan for G-man and when that was failing as Breen was focusing more on humanity than on whatever G-man's plan is, he used Gordon to correct the course. Since that is what G-man does. And when Gordon was freed by vortigaunts, G-man took Alyx, who was yet another Black Mesa survivor to again correct the course.

[@demivideos8887]

Shepherd was the original interest of gman, it was never breen

[@Gremlinnnns]

@@demivideos8887 yeah corporal Adrian shepherd

[@concept5631]

Hoping to God Shepard comes back in HL3, if that ever comes out.

[@teachersynku444]

But the GMan only donated the crystal cuz he is a nihlant.

[@MrKixman]

"In the lore and story behyyyned" I love your videos man. Keep em coming💯💯

[@Skyrionn]

Thank you! Will do! There are more to come!

[@Grissbane]

RIP Robert Culp. Your voice and acting was legendary

[@Specoups]

I empathize with Breen. He did what needed to be done. It's just that in his position, he was most probably overwhelmed by the demonstrations of power the Combine showed him. Who whouldn't? He saw Earth fall in seven hours, and was in constant communication with the overlords. As such, he wrongfully thought that resistance was impossible, that closing the portal was out of question and that the Combine would inevitably crush any attempt of liberation of humankind. He was just wrong in his pessimistic assumption, and as such needed to be put down one way or another, as he was the one in charge. Freeman obviously took the fairest decision when he killed Breen. But as far as I'm concerned, except during his last months, Breen was a hero: he wanted to save humanity, and he saved it. It's just an issue of having your point of view gradually getting irrelevant with context shifting, really. Breen was no longer relevant in HL2, hence why the right man at the right time had to be Freeman.

[@ramontyson8872]

ngl, the way you explain everything in the lore videos are just amazing, you make it in a way that its interesting and not boring to watch! Keep up the good work!

[@TheLordGodric]

One of the first games i've ever played and still play it from time to time but i for some reason i never bothered to check the lore until now and just ..wow, well done!

[@Skyrionn]

I hope the lore complimented your memories of the games!

[@TheLordGodric]

@@Skyrionn It definitely did and i just finished the Xen video, and this channel earned a new sub, keep it up!

[@UnrelatedAntonym]

Great video. I like how it's hard to tell what Breen's ultimate motives were, whether or not he was trying his best for humanity or just himself. "You need me!" is still haunting to me. And I consider Breengrub as cannon, I LOVE that he talks about the Shu'ulathoi, their culture, them being conquered by the Combine, and other interesting lore.

[@Skyrionn]

You're going to like next weeks video...

[@UnrelatedAntonym]

@@Skyrionn Ooh, cool, I'm looking forward to it. :D I'm also enjoying your other HL lore videos. :D

[@Skyrionn]

@@UnrelatedAntonym brilliant. Since I updated the format, I'm getting a much better reception ☺ The Breengrub episode is currently available on Patreon/ KZbin membership too.

[@Freef_01]

Very nice video! HL2's lore is both simple to understand yet so complex when you do a deep dive into it, it truly amazes me how every corner of it tells a story, and by corner I do mean actual ingame building corners hahahhah

[@Alinarotster]

I don't know why but when I first played Half-Life 2, I actually liked and kinda sympathized with Mr. Breen. Which is crazy. When I was captured by Breen in the citadel, I actually wanted to negotiate with him about the fate of humanity and such

[@chocolatesquirrel2002]

Saddest thing is that he doesnt really have a say on it

[@queuedjar4578]

I don't know how you play the role as Gordon Freeman and expect being able to talk to anybody haha.

[@Alinarotster]

@@queuedjar4578 @Chocolate squirrel200 yea I know Gordon can't speak ingame lol. i said that as in the prospective of me, not gordon

[@chibisayori20]

@@Alinarotster someone could make a mod

[@jblockman_59nunyabidnis68]

Understanding whether someone's actions are evil or simply misguided we must look at the person's situation after collaboration. Someone who is misguided typically reaps little-to-no long or short-term reward, and are typically only used a single time. Another key feature is that the misguided are frequently lied to or not given enough of the big picture to make an informed decision. Looking at how things shake down in the story, dr. Breen more than likely got enough of the big picture to know that the deal was in fact a bad thing, but saw that he could essentially be placed in charge and therefore was advantageous for him. He may have been misguided in the resonance Cascade incident, but after that, he was nothing but a collaborator.

[@antarctica0938]

Dr Arne Magnusson instead of having his HL2 character model he had a clip of his delicious microwave casserole exploding. Amazing.

[@Twobraid]

Amazing work my friend

[@ratheonhudson3311]

Really well read and edited. Loved the many photos I never saw before

[@Jolis_Parsec]

Ah, Dr. Breen, otherwise known as the guy whose bust Jolly shot out of the gravity gun at Bonzi Buddy in a final act of defiance while telling him to “eat a Breen, [redacted]”.

[@rvh1999]

What the F are you talking about?

[@TheVincenzoGaming]

Jolly taking revenge on a Bonzi Buddy, what else do you think?

[@TactfulWaggle]

are you alright

[@Jolis_Parsec]

@@TactfulWaggle Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?

[@asdawasda]

Same

[@licenseman5422]

dude I could watch your vids all day. very well done

[@MrBubbaSkeeter]

I think that while Breen committed terrible crimes against humanity, he honestly believed that he was doing the right thing. All the best villains think they are the good guys.

[@GordonFreman1]

Breens perspective. Gordons just running through destroying everything and he's just sitting there accepting his fate lol

[@Andrew-vu9cr]

I love your videos! They're high quality and entertaining!

[@Skyrionn]

Happy to hear that! There's more to come!

[@whateverforevermusic]

I think it's awesome that almost 20 years on the community is still so invested in the story. The number of KZbin channels popping off last year around source games is incredible. I think as long as the community can make time for it there will always be new half life universe content

[@d3str0i3r]

presenting a third perspective: breen never believed humanity needed the combine, but he did know they were more than capable of wiping humans out, and he believed himself the only man who could convince the combine humans deserved survival

[@Darkmage1293]

Only Valve could make a game that, 18 years later, still get such scrutiny and analysis. Even Half-Life on a technical level gets noticed, the small little AI quirks. I really do hope that they really are in for making a Half-Life 3 after Alyx.

[@dietzel8988]

One thing i like about HL:Alyx is how it made the combine overseen population nore belivible by rewriting it to be a tiny bit less stirct, like PPL allowed to ride bikes, wear their clothing, mind their business as much as its possible in a situation like this , have their daily routins, but still have to be afraid of the overwatch and CP. It feels like that Breen is still actually car about humanity, but hes still feels like a puppet of the combine

[@LexiLunarpaw]

I love how when you mention Magnusson you just show his lunch being ruined

[@K1ng_Squ1dZ]

he looks like count dooku

[@Skyrionn]

100%

[@Kalz_]

breen is not a bad guy he just wants to see his race survive and evolve but with the combine his race can’t really evolve cause if he does not follow their orders, boom Humanity gone

[@Skyrionn]

Just a tough situation to be in I guess!

[@KnightedSilverWolf]

BS, THERES TOO MUCH DAMAGE. HE IS EVIL

[@Kalz_]

@@KnightedSilverWolf nah man that’s Gordon’s fault

[@idfk-x4f]

@@Kalz_ Blaming gordon over breen is ridiculous. HOW in EARTH do you blame the guy who simply pushed a crystal without any idea of knowing what would happen next, rather than the combine zealot who sold humanity and caused the creation of stalkers (which is literally hell on earth by the way. becoming a stalker is one of the worst fates in any media I have seen)

[@daleowen7086]

I grew up with this game, I'm a fan of Freeman, but let's be real, if I were Breen, against formidable forces that can do lots of damage within 7 hours, I think I'd choose "diplomacy" too

[@idfk-x4f]

In half life 2, humanity is going to end up dead anyway because of the suppression field. Just slower and with more misery. Sure gordon comes along and stops it, but breen had no idea that was gonna happen and he had no plans of rising up agaisnt the combine. He was simply going to sit and watch as his species went slowly extinct.

[@Nightmare279]

Here's how I see it- I think Breen is nothing but one of G-man's pawns as is Gordon. The G-man probably just appeared out of nowhere and told Breen how to communicate with the Combine, and Breen being a conscientious person probably saw himself as the only person capable of doing this so he took on that responsibility. With minimal effort the G-man made him do his bidding. Then in his newfound position he witnessed the true vastness of the Combine and realized resisting them was futile. So, scared shitless he does everything in his power to kiss up to them and make the transition into joining them go as smoothly as possible, and being the pragmatist he is he didn't just believe what he was doing was the right way, he actually saw no other way to help humanity. HOWEVER, he wasn't doing all this because he loves humanity so much or the combine, he actually doesn't care about either, but since he's still human and only a middle man to the combine, if they get dissappointed, Breen dies with the rest of humanity. At the end of HL2 when he mentions "the highest bidder", it seems the combine have found out that Gordon is aided by the G-man and it's no longer Breen's responsibility, so they were willing to make an exception for him and let him join as long as he gives up his human body. Now seeing that everything he worked for is ruined and that he's been given an opportunity to jump ship alone, he goes for it, officially becoming our enemy #1. So, Breen was never actually a villain per se, but he was a survivalist and an opportunist, so while he was working towards ensuring humanity's survival he was doing it with the intention of ensuring his own first and foremost. Not your cookie cutter villain, but very corrupt and conscientious nevertheless.

[@Mr.Needle-Hamster]

I used to think Breen was pure evil. But overtime I came to a realization, he did all of this cause he thought that this was the best possible outcome for humanity. Now does that mean I support his actions, no, definitely not! However I at least understand that he's acting as a puppet for the Combine empire.

[@DelimGaming]

Now I see why the combine soldiers doesn't attack Breen in Gmod.

[@ceu160193]

Chances are, that computer network crash at the start of Half-Life 1 was cover up of someone contacting Breen. But who?

[@Skyrionn]

Good idea. Maybe one day we'll get more information on what was actually happening behind the scenes that day

[@RhodokTribesman]

Could have been weird EM effects from G-Man being around with the crystal and all that, but no idea

[@spartanfoxie]

4:15 i like how in between animations he gives you the quick side eye

[@thecynicaloptimist1884]

Plot twist: What if the Combine's subjugation of Earth was actually something of a blessing in disguise? They wanted to control humanity before the G-Man and his Employers could (the Employers & the Combine are evidently hostile to one another). The Combine are extremely brutal, but the Employers would have been even worse.

[@strelis6615]

That's actually a good theory but Gman himself let everything happened but during HL:A he replaced Gordon with Alyx being Eli surviving the attack from the Advisors.

[@TitaniumRobotSeacow]

@@strelis6615 That's the cool thing about him,he can reactivate a nuke to clean witnesses. And also save a girl's Father from a doomed timeline click cut and paste with the place of the advisor. And put a random soldier in stasis for safe keeping because he persevered against all odds which reminded him of himself.

[@mrsupremegascon]

Wallace Breen reminds me of Philippe Pétain, the leader of Vichy France. A leader who cared deeply for his people, but gave up hope of defeating the occupying force, believing that the best chance of survival is to cooperate. It is easy to hate them when they are in a video game or studied through history, but I don't think that would be the same in reality. Active resistance against an overwhelming occupying force, will lead to the death of many civilians for a very small chance of winning. Breen and Petain chose to cooperate with the enemy to stop an unnecessary massacre, an unnecessary massacre that the resistance is trying to restart. We now know that the Nazis have lost in Europe, or the Combine in this video game will most likely lose as well. But what if they didn't, as we thought when Breen and Petain took over. Why is trying to start a civil war that will cause millions of deaths for an unknown future morally preferable to cooperation that might improve our lives after a while? I'm not saying that resistance is bad of course, I just support the idea that active resistance against evil, could sometimes cause more evil, and should not be done automatically. For example, the early resistance in France were not mostly good people, fighting for freedom and democracy, but fascists (ironically) and Germanophobe who preferred to continue the war until the last man standing, then came the Communist when Hitler invaded Russia and Stalin ordered the French Communist party to rise against Germany. Most French resistant joined at the end, when chance of victory was bigger, so sacrifice was worth it, and when the horrors of the nazis were know.

[@urazoktay7940]

Amazing video analyses. I enjoyed it throughly.

[@christianjackson9298]

If it wasn't for Breen's smugness, his sacrifice may have been accepted in the lore. I mean, we can question his motives. However, he may have created a living hell for the humans of the game, but in 1000 years, he may have been seen as a visionary, the surviving humans knowing they had him to thank for their lives. Just sayin..

[@lifebeforedeath1788]

So that kind of bugs me, does humanity actually have a chance to survive? It seems to me the only thing keeping us alive is the Combine’s fascination with us. They could wipe us out easily if they decided to. To me, resisting seems like a horrible idea. We need to stay on their good side if we want to live.

[@TactfulWaggle]

But then you live as their slaves getting tortured, experimented on, with the normal population dying out to not having children while cooperative population gets better food better conditions but are more mind controlled and fight for the combine's goals.

[@lexscott2911]

Human kinds only hope is our abilities in Science. Idk how it's possible a powerful force like Combine doesn't have local portal tech-. But they don't, Mossman says they don't understand the science. Imagine if by the time the combine regroup and come back to attack earth and Gordon has the portal gun from Portal. They would be NERFED

[@AlexanderWinship]

Being able to increase the playback speed really helps this video. Certainly one of the best features KZbin has added in the last few years.

[@nunyabizness6553]

I'm personally of the belief that the G-man is playing both Gordon AND Breen. I think he told Breen he'd have access to some nebulous power in exchange for helping the Combine

[@Clown_the_Clown]

Excellent video, I'm ecstatic to see more coverage of my favorite universe! You've earned yourself a big sub!

[@sobrietyliiving]

New follower. Just wanted to say I'm enjoying your videos so far

[@gethwuh9107]

i like how Magnusson's Casserole got nuked as you mentioned him

[@Skyrionn]

I had to put something haha. He will always be known for that casserole!

[@Lifeless_husk]

Gotta love lord videos! Keep up the great work man!

[@Skyrionn]

Glad you like them! There's more to come!

[@Source_Yt]

ive loving the channel man

[@Skyrionn]

Thanks, will do! I appreciate you watching :)

[@Source_Yt]

@@Skyrionn

[@onqr]

Another great Half-Life 2 video, you produce these things like magic....

[@Skyrionn]

I'm glad you're enjoying them. I love putting them together!

[@patrickmuhwheeney6518]

Great job. Thanks for the upload!

[@SHDW-nf2ki]

I think Breen really did believe his own bullshit, at least on some level. I think he genuinely thought integrating with the combine would be for the best

[@Skyrionn]

I mean - he had a plan for humanity that in his view, would have improved them. But it shouldn't have been his decision

[@woomino1246]

I don't think anyone let Breen negociate the surrender, because at that point I don't think there were any governments left to object. I think he just found a way to contact the Combine and started talking. But imo it seems likely he helped plan the Resonance Cascade, meaning he was in cahoots with them since the beginning. Maybe G-Man was the go-between.

[@damianrodriguez7165]

Ya know I wonder how long Gman has been involved with Breen. Think about, in the newspaper Breen was described as an "Obscure Scientist". How was he obscure if he was a head of a major science facility, yes it was a secret facility but Kleiner was more know than Breen, he was on magazines and known. How did a "obscure scientist" become Head? How did he contact a invading force from space?

[@muggrootbeer]

WHOOOO! another lore video, although I cant watch it rn bc I'm playing VR LOL. I'll watch it when I'm done with VR.

[@Skyrionn]

Watch in vr haha!

[@muggrootbeer]

@@Skyrionn lol yea

[@rockhound3.14]

Here we explore in the lore and story of, Skyrionn.

[@Skyrionn]

Welcome welcome

[@me12-17]

2:29 i like how gordon walks like that

[@falloutgamer347]

Its been a decade since breengrub started, damn i feel old now

[@Skyrionn]

Now I feel old haha

[@paladinboyd1228]

Never, heard of Breen Grub until now but I do like the idea of an I have no mouth and I must scream ending for him, he wanted Humanity to be improved by the combine and he is now trapped in a living hell by the technology he sold out Humanity for.

[@shenaniganboycarterson]

4:58 I really love seeing the citizens in their everyday clothing before the uniforms, and how i think this is supposed to be the shelling of ravenholm

[@snowboarderslis]

It’s funny that the “black mesa” footage is just as vibrant as my 8 year old brain initially found the game all those years ago!

[@MicahTheManiac]

Both Half-Life and Breaking Bad take place in New Mexico, both are two iconic series in the worlds of videogames and television respectively. Now, imagine if instead of our beloved Gordon Freeman working at Black Mesa, it was Walter White. We do know from the show he is good with crystals.

[@rickyjohnson2739]

I believe that Breen is a good person. There is only so much he can do in his position.

[@harryoliphant8760]

Sick video, after watching this this has also changed my mind, your a top g 👌

[@portalman1677]

2;26 I like how u made reference to a old easter egg

[@guymanuel4260]

Here I am ready to consume more hl universe lore looking outside through the window with rain pouring longing for half life 3

[@Skyrionn]

Sad times. Valve are working on projects at the moment. You never know!

[@UCannotDefeatMyShmeat]

I’m sincerely amazed Judith wasn’t publicly killed as a collaborator, whether she changed her mind or not. I don’t even necessarily think that’s the thing to do, I’m just amazed nobody else did it.

[@julianbell9161]

16:49 And there, the Combine wins as Gordon falls to his death.

[@deadboy1638]

Amazing video man, very interesting things 🙌

[@Skyrionn]

Glad you think so!

[@Zombologist83]

Breen always came across as desperately trying to put forth the idea of composure. As though he was always trying to prove he was the adult in the room. I didn't know about Breengrub, but it makes perfect sense the combine don't seem to leave much waste behind. Everything that can be reused often is.

[@rhyanchuwan1208]

When I was playing GMOD, i was like "this breen guy makes water, so he must be cool right?" How wrong I was.

[@KanieX]

if y'all REALLY think about Breen was actually helping when he make earth surrender, by surrendering, it buy MORE TIME for humanity to recollect and form a rebel faction than it would have been of Earth were to not surrender imagine how more crude and genocide Combine can be if Earth wasn't surrender, human could have even wiped out it's like surrender to get locked into prison and having more time to plan for a prison escape than to get shot and die in an instant

[@reckless8815]

Great video as always

[@zenphaz]

Keep up the good work

[@Skyrionn]

Thanks bud!

[@AmericaLexicon]

I couldn't imagine some science bureaucrat taking that much power in real life.

[@Skyrionn]

A sad thought indeed.

[@thesorrow4664]

Anthony Fauci

[@jendouglas9781]

Dr Breen: Cold, calculating manipulative puppet leader Cave Johnson *"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!? I'M THE MAN WHO'S GONNA BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN WITH A LEMON!!"*

[@idioticbuffoon8960]

Gordon freeman woke up, saw his former boss in charge of earth and immediately decided that the conbine must go

[@Goober89]

Such a good video - Thanks

[@Skyrionn]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@CapitalTeeth]

Coming from the dialogue that's spoken when you see Dr. Breen in person in HL2, more specifically when he says that he can dictate the terms of any bargain he makes with the combine now that he has Gordon, Eli and Alyx in captivity... I'm willing to give Breen the benefit of the doubt. In his eyes, he knows the Combine thinks that humanity is insignificant, so I believe he was planning to use Gordon, Eli and Alyx as bargaining chips to hopefully make things better. In Nova Prospekt it was also implied that he wants to use the Transhuman Overwatch to convince the Combine that humanity is worth something. I think Breen wanted to save humanity. He just wanted to do it by trying to negotiate, instead of rebel. From his perspective, that's not hard to think, since Breen himself saw how the Combine conquered the entire planet in the span of a good nights sleep. How can you stand up against a force as overwhelming as that?

[@kooyah6420]

I've never played HL2, so for the longest time I only knew Breen as 'that guy from the idiot box who throws computers at hackers'

[@carmelosgro6413]

A continuation of Breen's story would be great

[@Skyrionn]

I agree completely.

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

BreenGrub and Epistle 3 gave me satisfying insights in my opinion.

[@RKSNomad]

16:49 Gordon casually falls to his death