First of all, let me be clear that I intend no trouble with this. As much as I like the romances in Mass Effect (1 and 2), there is a single romance that I feel is thoroughly unappreciated by many, simply because we are immediately blinded by one unique and outstanding feature associated with the character involved in this romance -- Thane Krios.
Let's forget Thane's death for a moment, and go deep into the roots of his life and future relationship with Female Shepard, and why I think it is an exceptionally well-written romance subplot that goes beyond mere love and/or friendship.
It amazes me how difficult it has been for Thane to even want to live anymore. The hanar chose to train him as an assassin when he was six years old, when his life hadn't even started yet. He went with the training for years, until turned 12 and made his first kill. Life goes on, working as an assassin, under the supervision of the hanar, and everything seems as good as it can be, regardless of all the difficulties he must have gone through at this stage of his life.
Thane then meets Irikah during an assassination mission years later, a complete stranger who risks her life to save another complete stranger. The two fall in love, and they give birth to Kolyat. Thane continues his work as an assassin as usual, leaving both Irikah and her child to take care of themselves. He kills this one batarian, and in response, the batarians, not having enough gut to go face Thane himself, go after the weak Irikah and kill her in revenge for their leader whom Thane had killed.
I can only imagine what happened at this point. Irikah, lying on the floor, covered in blood, taking her last breathe, destroyed, and betrayed by her husband's absence. And then there is Kolyat, who I imagine was only getting started to get used to it all, only to lose his mother in a horrible, horrible way. Thane mourns Irikah, leaves Kolyat with his aunts and uncles, and goes on to avenge Irikah's death.
Somehow Kolyat managed to get away from his uncles. Thane returns after finishing the job, and finds out Kolyat had gone. How insanely difficult must this have been for him? He had just lost his first love, admittedly feeling that it's all because of him, and now his son, the only thing left of Irikah, is nowhere to be found. Anyone not strong enough would have probably committed suicide by this point, but Thane stood still, strong, and full of faith, yet somehow he believed he was dead, losing all that God had given him -- a wife that actually cared, and a son.
Knowing that he faces an impending death due to a common condition between his species, a death that comes closer with each and every passing second, and feeling even more destroyed and guilty day by day, he was strong enough to hold it together for ten years, after which he managed to finally reunite with Kolyat, with the help of who he believed was an angel from above.
Even at this point, after finally reuniting with Kolyat, and after finally finding a chance to atone and make up for his past guilt, he still feels down, full of treason, and full of sadness and sorrow because of what happened over ten years ago. With his death less than a year away but having reunited and spoken to Kolyat, Thane feels he is at peace, ready and accepting his inevitable fate, which is now closer than ever.
...only for that angel to awake him, to re-open his eyes, to refresh him, to show him what hope and faith can do, even when reality seems to be taking over. Who would've thought? Ten years of sadness, of psychological destruction, of death, of lifelessness, of thinking and dwelling, would end up like this? Who would've thought that Irikah was not, in fact, the only person with a true heart -- that there was always someone, perhaps sent by the goddess, to watch over him, to show him that life and joy are still, and always will be, welcoming, no matter how much guilt one may have been involved in?
It wasn't until Shepard emerged and showed him herself, like a phoenix rising from the ashes and turning back into its spectacular brilliance and beauty. It wasn't until that moment that what Thane had always thought and believed in, became mere thoughts. He found someone worthwhile, someone that cared for his well-being, someone that encouraged him and reminded him to participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world, since one cannot cure the world of sorrows, but they can always choose to live in joy.
This is especially interesting if we look at it from Thane's perspective. How is it that, after all the misery, after all these years of sadness, you meet an angel that smiles upon you with joy and whispers right to your heart that everything is going to be fine? How are you to believe this "angel" is even real? Giving you a chance to atone, helping you reunite with the only one you care for in the universe, and then telling you that she cares for you? Stranger still, this happens mere months prior to the inevitable, which you had always accepted with open arms -- until now?
It seems rather clear that Thane just needed someone to awake -- or rather, reawake -- him. Having gone through all this misery, and, above all, staying strong and hanging in there for years, while also accepting his fate, Thane has simply earned it. He has every reason to believe this angel is "Siha", the warrior-angel, the tenacious protector, the divine watcher, simply because she believed, and showed him that nothing is worth the trouble.
Yet even then, after the sudden change of heart, after the awakening, Thane is ashamed of himself, of his fate, but still wonders deep inside: How can I love you so much with only a few months left of life, my angel? How can you be so hopeful and loving even though you know I have nothing to live for anymore? Why do I feel I am able to stand on my feet again, simply because you told me to, after ten years of apparent darkness? And more importantly, why do I feel affection and love towards you, when I have never, ever felt emotionally attached to any non-drell species before?
Even from Shepard's own perspective, there is meaning, and one word sums it up perfectly -- faith.
Now come to think of it; isn't it amazing how Thane suddenly finds himself back to "the memories"? Solely because someone, someone in this dark galaxy, believed in him? Someone that refused to see him suffer, and gave him hope, when everything in his life seems lost?
What's beautiful is how Thane even admits as much on more than one occasion. With Thane, Shepard does, in fact, have a reason to pursue a relationship, because it is not solely for her own gain, but rather to make a man who has suffered what would have destroyed most realize that there is more to life, and that the world does not end so easily, even so she knows that her relationship with him may not continue once Kepral's Syndrome has reached its critical point, but she still has the decency to show him mercy and happiness before the world takes him away.
She wanted to prove him wrong when he said that there would be no one to mourn him when he dies. She wanted to allow him to make a difference, to the make the universe brighter, to make him realize that she's watching over him and is always there by his side, when he has no one else to go spend his final months with.
Modifié par FieryPhoenix7, 22 septembre 2010 - 07:10 .
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And I apologize for my opening statement...a writer's peeve that I have, nothing personal.
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