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

Dr. Wallace Breen is one of the main antagonists in the Half-Life Universe. Having been given favour with the Combine Empire during the Seven Hour War, Wallace attempted to propel the advancement of humanity with the help of the Universal Union.
How did Wallace’s actions affect The Resistance, What did Breen do before the Combine Invasion and how does his story end? In this lore episode, I went to the Half-Life Universe and took a deep dive into Dr. Wallace Breen.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
01:05 Before The Fall
04:41 The Seven Hour War
08:11 The Most Hated Man on Earth
13:55 A New Threat
18:28 The Fall of Wallace Breen
23:10 Legacy
24:45 Breengrub
26:01 Closing Thoughts
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Standard Sources
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AUDIO USED
Half-Life 2 OST: Lab Practicum
Half-Life 2 OST: Triage at Dawn
#WallaceBreen #Lore #HalfLife

[@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

[@tazerfnaf4402]

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

[@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?

[@SomeYouTuberGuy]

@@ASlickNamedPimpback Souls probably

[@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

[@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???

[@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

[@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.

[@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 " "!

[@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.

[@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

[@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

[@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?

[@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).

[@euniceamemberoftheevergive7029]

"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.

[@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?

[@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!

[@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.

[@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!

[@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.

[@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".

[@Grissbane]

RIP Robert Culp. Your voice and acting was legendary

[@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!

[@antarctica0938]

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

[@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!

[@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]”.

[@rvh1702]

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

[@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

[@ratheonhudson3311]

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

[@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!

[@urazoktay7940]

Amazing video analyses. I enjoyed it throughly.

[@patrickmuhwheeney6518]

Great job. Thanks for the upload!

[@licenseman5422]

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

[@TheGrimeyGrim]

Amazing work my friend

[@Andrew-vu9cr]

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

[@Skyrionn]

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

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@spartanfoxie]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@reckless8815]

Great video as always

[@GordonFreman1]

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

[@sobrietyliiving]

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

[@deadboy1638]

Amazing video man, very interesting things 🙌

[@Skyrionn]

Glad you think so!

[@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

[@wedoalittletrolling723]

@@Alinarotster someone could make a mod

[@franciscoestrada2093]

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

[@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

[@harryoliphant8760]

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

[@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

[@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!

[@cumsupermacist]

Love your videos man. I know that a lot of people saw Epistle 3 as a kind of ending but; the ending with him showing up in the future not knowing what happened seems like a clear indicator that the next installment will have the same type of time skip between HL1 + 2

[@k3digichaos]

these videos are so well done man! can you do a mega video with all linked or in a playlist?

[@Nin0z1]

Great video as always! 🙏

[@Skyrionn]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@k3digichaos]

these videos are so well done man! can you do a mega video with all linked or in a playlist? A raid on Black Mesa East video would kick ass I think. Your animation is very fluid. Superb work!

[@Clown_the_Clown]

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

[@GSCSTRYDER]

Wonderful video

[@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

[@Goober89]

Such a good video - Thanks

[@Skyrionn]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@LexiLunarpaw]

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

[@SofaMuncher]

Wonderful video!

[@Skyrionn]

Thank you very much!

[@damsen978]

I love the Gordon player model you got from the gmod workshop. It's canonically the closest we got to his actual Valve-made appearance and i think it fits perfectly with the game's 2004 graphics.

[@anticorn6635]

Incase you weren't aware, the model he's using in this video is official. It's from half-life 2:Survivor, a japanese-exclusive arcade game in the half-life 2 universe.

[@damsen978]

@@anticorn6635 I know

[@anticorn6635]

@@damsen978 Ah, just wanted to tell ya and make sure

[@igmata]

Well done

[@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..

[@zenphaz]

Keep up the good work

[@Skyrionn]

Thanks bud!

[@rockhound3.14]

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

[@Skyrionn]

Welcome welcome

[@keithyostin4482]

Enjoyed the vid.

[@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!

[@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.

[@portalman1677]

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

[@lxaw9374]

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.

[@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

[@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

[@DelimGaming]

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

[@me12-17]

2:29 i like how gordon walks like that

[@weiinn9944]

Good video man

[@Skyrionn]

Appreciate it

[@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.

[@minecraftweedemoji]

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

[@johndezuxxerr5324]

such an underrated channel

[@Skyrionn]

We're growing stronger every day! Thanks for being a part of the journey

[@carllinden533]

16:48 Didn't expect that lol

[@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.

[@krajtus489]

Amazing video.

[@Skyrionn]

Thank ye! Thanks for sticking with the channel and watching the content!

[@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

[@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.

[@dronespace]

Love your videos

[@Skyrionn]

Thanks! I appreciate that.

[@UCannotDefeatMyShmeat]

22:57 when Breen sees you complete this section in less than a minute

[@Arukandi]

The half life story is also similar to the ocupation of Poland by the soviet union. It was isolated from the rest of the world, the only way to acquire more luxury, was either to join the political party as an law enforcer, or get it from the Black market. My mother told me how it was during these times, that to even get things basic as fruits, you would need to purchase them from a smuggler, or wait nearly a year. People were taken to special facilities where they've been tortured and interrogated, my grandfather got to one of these prisions, beacuse he created a company of his own. As long as you worked, you got special tokens which you could trade for food, the members of the Political Party recieved more of these.

[@Ethorbit]

Great video

[@Skyrionn]

Thank you for watching! There's more to come

[@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!!"*

[@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

[@falloutgamer347]

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

[@Skyrionn]

Now I feel old haha

[@dum_tard5528]

wallace breen genuinely wants to help humanity but he doesnt know that he is doing it in a EXTREMELY wrong way

[@Soneone.]

Oh my god I was rewatching this video and the thumbnail just reminded me of the In The Virtual End video

[@epictrollmanmoment]

it starts with

[@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.

[@rickyjohnson2739]

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

[@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!