Having foiled yet another Templar scheme to make him late, Acharky is here to join us for some good old-fashioned parental neglect.
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Even back when I first played Assassin’s Creed 3, I was fond of this section where Ratonhnhaké꞉ton and Haytham enter into an uneasy truce in order to take out person they’re both targeting. It’s a rare and excellent example of using the actual mission structure and design to support the story.
What occurs in the fight at the end of the tracking mission is merely a microcosm of the rest of the Sequence. Haytham is willing to provide aid and support only when he feels it is necessary, and at all other times he is either as unhelpful as possible or outright in the way. Further, he expects absolute command for the duration of their alliance while neither reciprocating nor providing a strong justification for it.
It’s a great moment of characterization not just for him, but for the Templars as a whole, one that we don’t get too often. He genuinely, sincerely believes that he is doing what he does for the right reasons, that it is necessary to assert control over the masses in service of an artificial, negative peace. However, when he encounters even minor resistance, he is quick to either lash out at or eliminate the source of the disruption, committing murder merely because it is convenient and expedient to do, even if it isn’t necessary to advance his goals.
It makes him a great foil for Ratonhnhaké꞉ton, who sees the intrinsic value in both life and freedom, and goes out of his way to avoid taking lives when it is possible to do so. This tension between them, even while they are working towards the same end, is excellent work from the creative team who was in charge of Assassin’s Creed 3.
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