Okay...

The ending.......

the ending.

Many people see different things in it, some see art, some see plot holes....

I honestly think we're overthinking this.

If we strip the ending down to the most basic level, it comes down to this:

1.) There are three choices. One is unlocked at 5,000 EMS. If you have low EMS, Earth gets destroyed. Having these variances reflects that are choices do have an effect. Some choices will create a higher EMS, simple as that.

2.) The Space Kid's logic, regarding the cycle. The Reapers destroy advanced civilizations so they won't create synthetics that will ultimately destroy all life. The Reapers don't destroy all life, they try to preserve less advanced lifefroms. The logic in this makes some sense. Sure, the Geth are working with the Organics, but who's to say that that will be the same 200 years from now?

3.) Multicolred choices. Okay, the cutscenes are the same, but the choices are different. You all know this, so I won't go into much detail about this. It's just not worth it.

4.) Joker running away. Obviously a huge problem. Nobody has been able to come up with clarification for why he runs away, I think BioWare needs to explain this.

The themes we can find on the surface: pyrrhic victory, fear, resolution, sacrifice, preservation, hope.

I don't have strong feelings about the ending. It wrapped up the story. Sure, the plot holes are gaping but those could be explained, clarified. The ending is not the worst ever, but we need to know what happens to the races, and to the characters. We need to know if the citidel can ever be repaired. We need an epilouge, at the least.

There's two main reasons why this ending recieved so much backlash, and they're connected. First, the buildup. This was one of the best stories ever told, certainly the best sci-fi one told in awhile. Every moment had a laugh, a tear, or something in between. We got sucked in, for good reason. The fact of the matter is, ending something like that is hard. BioWare could try over and over and over again, and there's a possibility they still wouldn't get it right. That's not a knock against them, it's praise for the story. We're so emotionally invested that the ending is going to stay with us. The scale of the story is so huge, that finishing it almosts requires a cop out. We're talking about stopping a unbeatable enemy here. There's a weapon that's supposed to do it. I don't think an ending where they just had it work properly to where it wiped out the Reapers and nothing else would've worked. People would've called that lazy. They tried to push the envelope and fell short for many.

The second thing is the promises. "No A,B,C endings." It seems really unacecptable, but the fact of the matter was he was selling this game. He had to make it seem as good as he possibly could. Telling a lie as blatant as that one is unacceptable however. He could've prevented this whole fiasco by NEVER mentioning the endings. I'm sure he meant no ill will when he did this, but boy was it a mistake. An apology might be acceptable in this case, but I'm not sure if he'd give one, or if we as a community would accept it. I don't think he's an evil guy, just a bad salesman.

To wrap this up I just want to say we're a community. We should not be destroying ourselves like we have been doing. We should not harrass the people on these forums, the people on other websites or the employees of BioWare. Each of us has a point to make, but we must remember there's a time and place for everything. Making our point 50 times a day in 20 different places is not contructive or proper. I'm not a retaker or a pro ender, I'm just a fan who loves Mass Effect and is disappointed to see what this brialliant ending to the saga has done to us. We love Mass Effect, we just need to remind ourselves why.

Cheers.