Yo, 401 Kill suggested I take a look in here, thanks to those who recently re-earthed the thread.
I finished ME3 a few days ago and was blown away by the ending. I had heard that a lot of people were furious with the ending, so I had a look around to find out why, and found these forums. I felt that a lot of people weren't giving the ending enough credit, and that if this reaction sets a precedent, game companies in future might be wary of producing thought-provoking stuff like this in the future. I posted some of the
stuff I thought here.
Basically I figured while playing the ending that the StarKid was trying to indoctrinate me, but having read posts in the IT Mark III thread, it seems my thoughts on what happened don't really fit with what many IT supporters think. 401 Kill mentioned this WNT thread as more closely resembling what I'd postulated.
Having read the posts here, I can see that WNT doesn't exaclty mirror what I thought either, but I'd rather not make a new thread with a new Theory Name, because I don't really like boxing these ideas under a heading that everyone can choose to support or not. Instead, I just wondered what you guys might think of how I saw the ending, and whether it fits with your interpretations, or where you think WNT might explain things that don't really make sense the way I've described.
I've typed so much stuff over the last few days trying to pin down exactly what I think happened, and to reproduce it all here would be pretty much pointless. So I'll try to summarise:
> On the final sprint to the Citadel beam, Shepard is shot at and injured, presumed dead by Harbinger and everybody else.
> Shepard regains consciousness and enough strength to make it to the beam. The scene is dream-like, but different from the other dream sequences in a number of significant ways, so I think it is happening. (Though it's undeniable that, at the very least, the scene is at least meant to make you think that you migh be dreaming).
> Shepard is beamed up to the citadel, exhausted again, but is woken by Anderson on her earpiece, and proceeds to the final chamber where Anderson awaits.
> TIM appears and demonstrates his ability to control Shepard and Anderson somewhat, making Anderson turn away from the controls, and making Shepard shoot Anderson.
(Not sure entirely what is ahppening here. I can only imagine that TIM here is being influenced by the Reapers but believes his actions to be his own. But really, the indoctrination process is beginning, with some measure of physical, but not mental, control being exerted over Shepard and Anderson. The point of this is to demonstrate that your actions are not entirely your own now - that you are capable of being controlled.)
> Shepard goads TIM into using the Cricible himself (using a Renegade option on the dialogue wheel), and he is unable to comply. Shepard asserts that this is proof that TIM is being controlled, and not the one in control.
> TIM ultimately dies in some way (choice dependent). Anderson, if alive, speaks briefly with Shepard before dying from his injuries.
> Shepard is bleeding badly, and losing consciousness. Hackett (or someone) pleads over comm that the crucible isn't doing anything. Shepard struggles forward to the controls but passes out before reaching them.
(I think this is where the full hallucinations begin. The lift represents Shepard ascending to a dream-like plane.)
> Shepard does actually "wake up" now, but what she sees is basically a full on hallucination. I think she is still at the controls, but they seem enlarged, massive, like she's on a trip. The Reapers now try to indoctrinate her directly, by presenting their thoughts in the form of a Child-like AI: an image that resembles the child she couldn't save back on Earth, who haunts her dreams, representing her guilt for failing to save innocents in the galaxy. The child appears harmless and innocent, but basically suggests that she join the reapers by 'controlling' them (i.e. herself becoming part of a new Reaper), or by taking the radical step of converting all life in the galaxy into a synthesis of synthetic and organic material.
> I think almost everything the StarKid says is basically true, that it represents the collective intelligence of the Reapers, and about their purpose. But I don't think the kid has any power here. I think Shepard is at the controls still, and is becoming aware of their use in the same way that she was able to understand Vigil on Ilos, and in the same way she was able to see Reaper thoughts via the beacon on Eden Prime. Because she is hallucinating and being indoctrinated simultaneously, she thinks it is the StarKid who is making her aware of the choices, but I don't think it is.
> Basically, the Crucible allows her to destroy the Reapers. She knows this because the console has made it known to her (like the beacon and Vigil). The StarKid cannot withold this knowledge from her now. So instead, it makes her aware of the implications of destroying the Reapers (killing all synthetics including EDI, the Geth and possibly even Shepard herself).
> But it also presents her with two alternate options. One is Control, which basically means, stand away from the console, and come over here to unite with the Citadel, and thereby create (or add to) a new Reaper. (I guess this Reaper could be called Shepard in future ME lore
) The other option is Synthesis - and I'm really stretching things here, cos I can't exactly explain it - but which maybe would involve allowing the Reapers to use the Crucible to broadcast a different signal across the galaxy: instead of destroying all synthetic life, it would merge organic life with synthetic life to redefine life across the galaxy.
The indoctrination is occurring because, presented in this way, it seems to Shepard that she can control the Reapers, and use them for good, or even allow life to advance to a future level of evolution; both these options avoid conflict, and the need to kill anyone (save herself). But of course these options are widely discouraged throughout the series (see all kinds of evidence and examples in other threads) and so Destroy seems the more sane, less megalomaniacal choice. But genocidal of course.
There are a number of holes in this idea, which I won't repeat here for now, and which you can probably figure for yourselves, but I was wondering which bits if any you guys think might be possible or plausible, and how they might tie in (or not) with your own interpretations.
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