Sorry for any potential spelling or grammar mistakes. I'm writing this later into the night than I should be. I'll fix them tomorrow and edit this out.
Spoilers ahead. They're big.
First, I'll put together all the evidence I've seen, relating to the ending sequence of the game. While some of the concepts were brough to light by others, I have played the ending several times (notepad in hand) to confirm them. I will distinguish clearly between fact and opinion.
Okay, let's start with the start of where things get weird. Shepard charges with his or her squad towards the 'jump point' we'll call it, only to be struck down in some fashion by a "Sovreign class" reaper. It fires a beam that hits near you, though by this point in the charge; that's happened several times with little consequence. The force of marines charging in is cut down as well. Next, you find yourself getting back up. The immediate scenery has changed, and a soldier you'd met before (belltower boy) is dying right infront of you. He's a fellow marine, but shepard doesn't stop. Your squadmates, your very best friends, those chosen to follow you into hell itself (figuratively) are nowhere to be seen. (At least when I looked, on the second and third shots at the ending.) The reaper that was stopping your forces from getting to the reaper's most important defensive point just up and leaves. You do not see anderson anywhere.
You shoot a random reaper indoctronation victim, a turian, which goes down too easily to your weapon that has infinite ammo. That enemy was nwhere to be seen before you were knocked out, and he certainly wasn't INFRONT of the charging army. Someone would have noticed. Shepard makes it to the portal and gets beamed up, though I'm not sure why they didn't just turn off their own portal to the citadel, at least for a moment.
Rising from the floor, you find yourself among countless dead, likely sent up to the citadel... But for no apparent purpose. The only hypothisis given is that they wanted to make another reaper, again. Anderson contacts you, making it clear that he's in a similar creepy dark hallway. Shepard pulls himself to his feet, BADLY wounded after getting hit by the reaper's vaguely close blast. You continue on down this hallway.
Anderson contacts you again, stating that he's in some new room, which you would soon enter. The room is at the end on this hallway with no line of sight obstruction and the place is very brightly lit. Yet somehow he's gone through the door without you being able to see it open. In the next room, you encounter shifting gizmos off to the side of the platform, as he described. You're just a few seconds behind him, and yet don't see him up ahead; but there's a long line of sight here. The timing doesn't seem to make sense at all. Again, with awkward timing, just as you reach the end of this walkway he contacts you about a control panel that is just a few yards away. You reach him just seconds later to find that he's being controlled by the illusive man who has gained the reaper's power.
This is where it gets weirder.
The illusive man seems to be capable of exerting incredible and immediate control over both you and Anderson, without indoctronating you. Not even sovreign was capable of this, when you fought "Saren" for the 'second' time on the Citadel. Even being able to throw off Shepard's aim would have been enough there. TIM doesn't shoot you, but instead proceeds to talk, all while shepard and Anderson are helpless. You talk him into comitting suicide, just like saren. Then some other %^&* happens that I'll skip, but Anderson gives shep the proverbial pat on the back before dying, leaving with a final "You did good kid." But Shepard hasn't won yet...
Just before passing out and giving up, Hackett calls in, telling Shepard that nothing's happening. Shepard crawls forward to the control panel, but realizes he doesn't know what to do with it. He feints, and is carried up to the roof. Shepard ends up on the outside of the citadel without a helmet on, but he's not dying for some reason. (I can't logic my way through this part...) The super AI thing introduces itself as the catalyst, a -thing- needed to use the Crucible super weapon. For some reason he looks like the little boy from earth, who has haunted Shepard's dreams, and came to represent all his worst fears. Shepard doesn't question this, at all. He doesn't even broach the subject.
The child explains that he created the reapers as a way to impose order on organic life, before otherwise it will make synthetic life and destroy itself. The repaers preserve the essense of all species they harvest, and allow new ones to have their turn. Shepard does not bring him EDI or the Geth-Quarian alliance. He then presents shepard with three choices:
1. Take control over the reapers.
He offers you the chance to take them under your control. Then a little cutscene with the illusive man plays, tinged with a blue color filter. TIM is grabbing the two power conduits set up, and has power surging through him. He says you can take control of them, but it will "destroy all that you are." He tells us there is always an 'illusive man' character in these struggles. The archetypes always appear, and he is one of them. He is a servant of the cycle just as the Reapers are.
2. Join synthetic and organic life completely.
He offers you the power to merge all synthetic and organic life into one new form, creating the next step in evolution. This does not seem to change the behavior of organics in related cutscenes, however, and would not presumably effect synthetics in a noticable way either. Very confusing. He claims this will end the otherwise inevitable conflict. Though I'm not sure why he didn't just do this in the first place that that's the case.
3. Destroy all sentient machines.
He offers you the power to destroy all true artificicial intelligence in the galaxy, including the reapers. Then a little cutscene with anderson plays, where he shoots the thing. It's tinged in orange. This will sacrifice the Geth, and EDI, but preserve organic life in it's current form, and does not instantly kill you like the other two. Shepard takes a few confident strides forward, before gunning down the power conduit and wiping out the reapers once and for all.
Some of these choices do not appear if you dont bring enough resources, supposedly because the catalyst kid doesn't think you're worthy.
The final cutscene plays. The variances on these are unimportant, it's what always remains the same that counts in my opinion. No matter the outcome, we see the Normandy... They're fleeing through FTL space, apparently attemping to escape the blast, but something is wrong. It's unlikely that the normandy would have picked up your crewmen that had charged the portal with you while such a large battle was going on and a reaper was so nearby. Not to mention how big a target the Normandy is after all it's done.
Somehow, and with little reason, it jumps ahead of the shockwave in an attempt to escape it. Again, with little explained reasoning, as no one else seems to show much imemdiate fear of it. They're caught in it's wave and crash. Maybe they're glittering with robot skin, maybe EDI is dead, but no matter the consequences they step out of the ship with smiles on their faces. They're stranded on an unknown planet, have no confirmation on the fate of the reapers, don't know if Shepard is dead, just abandoned Shepard, and don't seem phased. Even Joker, despite losing EDI, is entirely okay and happy. With the synthesis ending, they also seem to care little that they've just been irrevocably changed into some form of cyborgs with glowing flesh and eyes.
I don't actually think this was some kind of colossal narrative failure. The script was just too good throughout the game for such horrific, sub-rookie mistakes. I think there may be deeper meaning that's gone way over our heads due to poor presentation.
Now, let me get onto my main point. I think this final sequence represents not the war for the galaxy, but the war for Shepard's mind. The games have always been about Shepard, not the crew, not earth, not the Reapers. It may be fitting that the last battle Shepard faces is not one fought through overwhelming firepower on the battlefield, but in his own mind over who he truly is as a person and how convicted his is to what he thinks is his goal.
Let me piece this back together for you with new, hypothetical context, and see if it makes more sense for yourself.
Shepard lies in the rubble, burried by materiel thrown up by the Reaper's blast. Meanwhile, emotionally bloodied and bruised, shepard's subconcious mind decides to see if he's really capable of pushing forward. Does he even want to? Rising from the dirt, he's wounded, badly. He's suffered and sacreficed through all of this, working through many emotional traumas that each, singularly, would have broken lesser men. But they all take a small toll, finally leaving him limping on, just barely hanging in there.
He sees the marines, the men who sacrificed for him, died for him. They're lying all around in pools of their own blood, and just as he reaches each of them, they die one at a time. He can't save them, any of them. The blood of brothers and sisters on his hands, sacrificed to get him to where he now stands. He can't stop moving... He can't give up on the very ground stained with their loss, no matter how badly it hurts.
Reaching the citadel, he sees the bodies around him. Countless civilians and soldiers, the innocent who's blood was used as a bartering chip to buy time. "This isn't their fight, but they're buying us time with their lives." He couldn't bare leaving earth, it's people's-- his people's suffering worsened for every second that he spent gathering forces. This very concept nearly broke Liara's will within a day, and it's been weeks for shepard.
Ahead of him is death and darkness, the only way forward, past the bodies of his people. Anderson calls, telling shepard that he's been teleported inside, but somewhere else. Shepard pushes forward into the pitch blackness, the unknown, still unwilling to quit. His friends drive him, those he looks up to, and those whom look up to him. Anderson was almost like a father to him, and not someone he would let down. No matter how beaten he was, how little he could physically do, he continues on to avoid leaving a friend alone in a fight.
The two encoutner the illusive man, someone utterly corrupted by their hunger for power. Everything that's wrong with humanity packed into one. He seems physically helpless to his and his people's very nature. He can't change them, can he? In a position where Shepard is feet away, someone who wants him dead, he doesn't end it. Despite holding all the cards, he can't help but gloat, allowing his ego to get the better of him. Shepard uses this change to show him how wrong his is, talk him into fighting. He's forced to shoot anderson, another showing of TIM's seemingly unlimited control. The illusive Man pleads his case, and pleads it well; as though temping Shepard towards the dark side. But he convinces him that he can't control the reapers and TIM takes his own life to avoid being controlled in turn. Would Shepard prefer to kill himself than become that? Than becoem Saren? Who else would he kill to avoid this fate? Who would he let die?
Anderson tells Shepard that he's done well, and the two share a brief moment merely staring at the battle unfolding just beyond the station's arms. Shepard needed this. Reassurance, a varification that Anderson was proud of him and that he's already done everything he could. Anderson dies, and Shepard is just about to follow when Hackett calls in. Shepard doesn't hesitate, putting off the pain and the exhaustion without second thought. He's needed again, and that's all that has ever mettered to him.
Having found that nothing is happening, and trying to use the controls to no avail, shepard finally passes out. Suddenly, the floor moves, carrying him to the outer wall of the citadel. There he sees the battle taking place around him, and earth burning in the background. A child appears, as though some sort of AI hologram, but this is no ordinary child. It's the one that has haunted his dreams since earth. The embodyment of what this conflict has meant to him. "You can't help me." were the least words this child spoke to him as he fled earth, leaving everyone to their fates. He's confused, and yet understands. It's as though the entire situation is set out before him. What's at stake, and how he's torn. He pain, the doubt, the anger, the helplessness... It's all right here.
The child proceeds to explain that he is the catalyst, and go over details I mentioned earlier. He core principle here being that he makes the reapers a reasonable figure, something shepard can wrap his mind around. Surely they must have a reason for doing this, for such chaos and destruction can't be on a whim, can it?
So his choices are presented, now in a more logical context:
1. Control them.
If given the chance, would he control them? Would he follow him TIM's footsteps? Does he believe he's simply superior, or is it because he's being handed the power instead of taking it. How desperate is he? A losing battle rages around him. Did he do enough to prepare? If not, perhaps he feels convinced that TIM was right all along, perhaps this truly is the only reasonble option under such pressure. He watches as the illusive man takes power, representing his own desire to take control of such an unstoppable force. His fear of their power, and natural desire for it himself.... He can't help but feel some twinge of need for this, hes only human.
2. Join them.
This cycle must end, and perhaps for it to truly be over everything must change. He secrefices what humanity is, for survival, a supposedly eternal peace. Is changing humanity at it's very core the only way to save it? He's seen first hand how inherently flawed all sentient beings are. The illusive man proved it. Does he in fact sympathize with the reapers and their goals, if not the methods perhaps. Can we be fixed? If we can, he doesn't have to power to do it.
3. Destroy them.
No, they must be destroyed. He watches anderson do it, knowing this is what he would want, what humanity woud want. EDI will die, and the geth will die. They seem like the only good that's come out of this war, and he is willing to destroy them to ensure it's end. No matter the cost, no matter the pain to himself or others, he will destroy the Reapers. Shepard steps forth, his purpose true and unshakable. He will kill them all.
Option's 1 & 2:
Sheprard gives up, leaving the fight to his friends. He's unsure of himself, his purpose, or both. The wounds, both physical and mental, finally take their toll on earth's hero. He can't control the reapers, can't learn why they're doing this or how to dominate them. Maybe he can't change humanity's nature, and having seen it's true face; cannot deem it worthy enough to save. His legendary willpower finally fails him, and dies among his allies, on the world he called home. Perhaps the war is won, perhaps a new hero steps forward in these final moments, spurred on by shepard's sacrifice. Perhaps not. It's too much, too complex... and like the Geth sparing the Quarians, he just can't predict the possible consequences. What if they're worse than this?
He sees his friends, and his lover. Maybe they'll end up somewhere warm and happy, like Garrus always talked about. A beach on a tropical world. They'll be happy, content and at peace. No matter what I've done. Even if I quit, even if I can't make it... They'll be safe somewhere, together.
Maybe people will tell stories about me to their grandchildren some day.
Continued for option 3:
The camera pans in on concrete rubble reinforced with rebar, which can't be found on the citadel. His body feels broken, but shepard knows what he must do. His lungs draw breath, defying every odd that's ever existed. He's made a career of it...
They underestimate Shepard, one last time.
The wrap up/TL;DR:
Having reviewed the evidence and possible underlying themes, I believe this final sequence was the battle for Shepard and not the Citadel. If you choose option 3, he awakes, in what is clearly non-citadel rubble. Perhaps this is not exactly what they were thinking, but it's all up to interpretation. This is not what Shepard felt, it's what I felt. The feelings that these events invoked were more important than what was actually taking place. Shepard doesn't question the dream-like logic of the situation because it's just that; a dream.
Maybe the reapers were doing it to him, but it's not important. The final battle you wage is the battle for Shepard. what truly happens to the galaxy after he wakes up is all left to your imagination.
While I'd bet a lot of money of my idea being correct, I'm sadly finished with the series. Unless some DLC expands on the ending, I can't bare to play them again. I wanted to pick up Overlord, Kasumi, and that asteriod dlc before going through the series as a whole, but I know that it basically goes nowhere in the end. Maybe I'm right, or maybe none of it made sense, but my level of Apathy couldn't be worse. I used to shout this series from the rooftops, but now I'm trying to turn others away to spare them the pain, as weird as that feels to admit.
Goodbye Mass Effect, it was fun while it lasted.
If you have anything to add to this idea, comment it below. I will read ALL the comments. I'm OCD like that.
Modifié par Slappy Ya Face, 10 mars 2012 - 08:58 .
Retour en haut
Also, just to put in there in support of the original premise of the OP, even Joker is smiling if you kill EDI, which I don't really think would be the case, so..
