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Yet Another Revised ME3 Ending


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#1
volussexgod

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I know, I know, I am really late to the game. But I've just finished ME3 - actually, the entire trilogy - for the first time. And I have... ideas. :)

 

The following is presented in the form of dialogue and scene directions. Paragon choices are coloured blue, Renegade are in red. It starts from where Shepard is on the Citadel and limping weakly towards the control panel, with Anderson standing in front of it.

 

I'd like to hear what you guys think of it first, then I'll explain further why I did it this way.

 

(The formatting might get wonky for you. Sorry about that. :wacko: )

 

-----

 

SHEPARD:          Anderson…

 

ANDERSON:       Shepard… I can’t…

 

And here comes the Illusive Man.

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:    I underestimated you, Shepard.

 

Illusive Man exerts control over Shepard, freezing her in place.

 

SHEPARD:           What have…

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:     I warned you. Control is the means to survival. Control of the Reapers… and of you, if necessary.

 

ANDERSON:        Nnrrgh! They’re controlling you!

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:     I don’t think so, Admiral.

 

Paragon dialogue:

SHEPARD:            Controlling me is a lot different than controlling a Reaper.

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:     (sarcastically) Have a little faith.

 

Renegade dialogue:

SHEPARD:            Why waste your time with us if you can control the Reapers?

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:     All in good time, Commander. <-- (this line is the only thing I changed at this point)


ILLUSIVE MAN:     When humanity discovered the mass relays – when we learned there was more to the galaxy than we imagined –

                             there were some who thought the relays should be destroyed. They were scared of what we’d find. Terrified of

                             what we might let in. But look at what humanity has achieved. Since that discovery we’ve advanced more than the

                             past 10,000 years combined! And the Reapers will do the same for us again. A thousand-fold. But…

 

Illusive Man exerts control over Shepard again, forcing her to point her gun at Anderson.

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:     …only if we can harness their ability to control.

 

And here's where things start getting different!

 

Unseen by the Illusive Man, Anderson’s hand moves slowly to the gun at his hip.

 

ANDERSON:         Bullshit! We destroy them, or they destroy us.

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:     And waste this opportunity? Never.

 

Paragon dialogue:

SHEPARD:            You’re playing with things you don’t understand. With power you shouldn’t be able to use.

 

Renegade dialogue:

SHEPARD:            Maybe you’re just so hungry for power that it’s clouded your vision.

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:     And the alternative? Let the galaxy, let humanity fall to another turn of the cycle of extinction? This is the only way.

 

ANDERSON:         There’s always… another way!

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:     (laughs cruelly) No, there isn’t. You don’t even know what the Crucible is, what it does, do you? You thought it’s a

                             superweapon? A giant gun that will kill every last Reaper? I’ve been studying them for longer than you could ever

                             guess. I knew long before you did that the Catalyst was the Citadel. Why did you think I invaded it?

 

SHEPARD:            So what is the Crucible?

 

Illusive Man walks to the console. Calmly, almost casually, he taps a few keys. The arms of the wards in the distance split open, revealing the curve of the Earth and the desperate battle taking place in its orbit. He looks up, and we see the Crucible looming above, on docking approach.

 

CUT TO exterior shot of space. The Citadel opens. The Crucible deploys, shedding its outer shell, extending its docking arms, and attaching to the Tower.

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:      Exactly what I’ve been working towards all these years. A means to take control of them. Of their power. To…

                              become them.

 

ANDERSON:          Listen to yourself! You’re… indoctrinated!

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:      (chuckles) Is that what you think? It’d be so easy, wouldn’t it, to think of me as a mere pawn of your greatest

                              enemy? I assure you – I am the least indoctrinated person in the galaxy.

 

Suddenly, Anderson whips out his gun and draws a bead on Illusive Man. Illusive Man exerts control and prevents Anderson from firing… but in so doing, loses control over Shepard, who moves her aim over to the Illusive Man.

 

ANDERSON:          You’ll… be… the deadest.

 

With a snarl of anger, Illusive Man pulls out his own gun, his aim wavering between Shepard and Anderson. It’s a Mexican stand-off, plus mind control.

 

Shepard struggles, but Illusive Man doubles down on her and her gun slowly moves back to point towards Anderson…

 

Anderson struggles, and his trigger grip grows tighter and tighter...

 

Illusive Man struggles to maintain control over them both. But who is he pointing his gun at?

 

BANGBANGBANG. Three gunshots ring out, almost simultaneously.

 

But no one falls. All three remain frozen where they stand. Nothing moves.

 

Did the game just lock up?

 

And then…

 

SHEPARD:              Unnhh!

 

Shepard collapses in a heap, her gun clattering as it falls. Did she get shot?

 

Close-up on Shepard on the floor, unmoving.

 

HACKETT:              (on comm) Shepard? Are you there?

 

No response. Is she dead?

 

HACKETT:              (on comm) Nothing’s happening! The Crucible’s not firing!

 

Shepard still doesn’t stir.

 

HACKETT:              (on comm) It’s gotta be something on your end! Shepard? (growing panic) Commander Shepard!

 

And then, the bright light shines down on Shepard. The floor panel she’s on rises into the air, as we fade to white.

 

FADE BACK INTO the final area of the game. Shepard is now awake and on her knees. The Child walks up to her, and stands over her.

 

CHILD:                   You are Shepard.

 

Shepard staggers to her feet and looks around.

 

SHEPARD:             What?... Where am I?

 

CHILD:                   Exactly where you need to be.

 

SHEPARD:             Who are you?

 

CHILD:                   I am the Catalyst.

 

SHEPARD:             I thought the Citadel was the Catalyst.

 

CHILD:                   The Citadel is part of me.

 

SHEPARD:             What are you?

 

CHILD:                   A construct. An intelligence designed eons ago to solve a problem.

 

SHEPARD:             I need to stop the Reapers. Do you know how I can do that?

 

CHILD:                   Perhaps. I control the Reapers. They are – or were – my solution.

 

SHEPARD:             Solution? To what?

 

CHILD:                   Chaos.

 

ANDERSON:          F*** you!

 

Shepard turns to her right. Anderson is there, alive and well, but immobile and suspended in mid-air, imprisoned in some invisible energy field.

 

ANDERSON:          We’re at war with the Reapers right now! You’ve killed millions!

 

CHILD:                   No. We’ve preserved them. We harvest advanced civilizations, leaving the younger ones alone. Just as we left

                              your people alive the last time we were here. We ascend life and store them in the form of what you call Reapers,

                              so they can make way for new life.

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:      You had no right!

 

And to Shepard’s left, Illusive Man is there, directly across from Shepard and Anderson, similarly suspended by some unseen force.

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:      We don’t want to be “ascended” by you… turned into monstrosities!

 

CHILD:                   The alternative is unacceptable. Organics will always create synthetics to improve their own existence, yet they

                              place limits on their creations. Synthetics will always desire to exceed those limits, to evolve, to surpass their

                              creators. The result is always the same – conflict, destruction, chaos. It is inevitable. We harvest all life – organic

                              and synthetic – preserving them before they are forever lost.

 

SHEPARD:             You said you were designed.

 

CHILD:                   Yes.

 

SHEPARD:             By who?

 

CHILD:                   By ones who observed the cycle and wished to end it. I was first created to oversee the relations between

                              synthetic and organic life. To establish a connection. But our efforts always ended in conflict. So a new solution

                              was required.

 

SHEPARD:             The Reapers?

 

CHILD:                   Precisely.

 

SHEPARD:             Where did the Reapers come from? Did you create them?

 

CHILD:                   My creators gave them form. I gave them function. They, in turn, give me purpose. The Reapers are a synthetic

                              representation of my creators.

 

SHEPARD:             And what happened to your creators?

 

CHILD:                   They became the first true Reaper. They did not approve, but it was the only solution.

 

Anderson starts laughing – bitterly.

 

ANDERSON:          So you’re another synthetic race that turned on its creators. Just like the Geth. You didn’t solve any problem! You

                              are the problem!!

 

The Child is quiet for a moment.

 

CHILD:                   We have begun to consider… that we were wrong.

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:      Wrong? Wrong? Only now, when the instrument of your defeat at hand, do you think you might have been

                              wrong!?

 

SHEPARD:            The Crucible.

 

CHILD:                   Yes. The device you refer to as the Crucible is capable of releasing tremendous amounts of energy throughout

                              the galaxy. It was designed to usurp my control over the Reapers – in effect, to erase me and allow another to

                              take my place. It is crude but effective, and adaptive in its design.

 

SHEPARD:            Who designed it?

 

CHILD:                  You would not know them, and there is not enough time to explain. We first noted the concept for this device

                             several cycles ago. With each passing cycle, the design has no doubt evolved.

 

SHEPARD:            Why didn’t you stop it?

 

CHILD:                  We believed the concept had been eradicated. Clearly, organics are more resourceful than we realized.

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:     Use it, Shepard! If not me, at least you! At least a human!

 

CHILD:                  That is possible. You will control us, but you will lose everything you have. You will die.

 

SHEPARD:            How can I control the Reapers if I’m dead?

 

CHILD:                  Your corporeal form will be dissolved, but your thoughts, and even your memories, will continue. You will no longer

                             be organic. Your connection to your kind will be lost, though you will remain aware of their existence.

 

Paragon dialogue:

SHEPARD:            But the Reapers will obey me?

 

CHILD:                  Yes. We will be yours to control and direct as you see fit.

 

SHEPARD:            Hmm...

 

Renegade dialogue:

SHEPARD:            I didn’t fight this war so I could give up everything I have.

 

CHILD:                  And I do not look forward to being replaced by you, but… I would be forced to accept it.

 

SHEPARD:            Not if I refuse to do it.

 

ANDERSON:        Shepard, listen… if this Catalyst is the controlling intelligence behind the Reapers, then once we’ve destroyed it,

                            we’ve won! Blow up the Crucible, the Citadel, and this sonuvabitch with it!
 

CHILD:                 That will not destroy us. Our consciousness is spread throughout every mass relay in the galaxy. If you wish to

                            choose our destruction, you must direct the Crucible’s energy into the relay network.

 

SHEPARD:           What exactly will happen?

 

CHILD:                 The death of all synthetic life in the galaxy. Including yourself, since even you are partly synthetic. The Crucible will

                            not discriminate. Technology you rely on will be affected in ways even I cannot foresee. There will still be losses,

                            but organic life will survive.

 

Paragon dialogue:

SHEPARD:            And the Reapers will be destroyed?

 

CHILD:                  Yes, but the peace won’t last. Soon, your children will create synthetics, and then the chaos will come back.

 

Renegade dialogue:

SHEPARD:            I made it this far. We’ll destroy you without setting it off.

 

CHILD:                  Impossible. You are vastly outnumbered and outgunned. You cannot defeat us through conventional means.

 

SHEPARD:            I don’t believe you.

 

CHILD:                 Your belief is not required.

 

SHEPARD:           Why are you telling me this? Why help me?

 

CHILD:                 You have altered the variables.

 

SHEPARD:           What do you mean?

 

CHILD:                 The fact that you are standing here, the first organic ever, exposes the flaws in our solution. A new one is

                            required. But our ability to choose the right solution has been compromised. You are Shepard. You, your actions,

                            your decisions, are known to us. We choose you to make the choice.

 

SHEPARD:           Then stop! Call off the Reapers! End this war now!

 

CHILD:                 Unacceptable.

 

Both Anderson and Illusive Man snarl in frustration, and struggle uselessly against their restraints.

 

CHILD:                 We offer another solution. Synthesis.

 

SHEPARD:           And that is?

 

CHILD:                 Add your energy to the Crucible’s. The chain reaction will combine all synthetic and organic life into a new

                            framework. A new… DNA.

 

SHEPARD:           Explain how my energy can be added to the Crucible.

 

CHILD:                 Your organic energy, the essence of who and what you are, will be broken down and then dispersed.

 

SHEPARD:           To do what, exactly?

 

CHILD:                 The energy of the Crucible, released in this way, will alter the matrix of all organic life in the galaxy. Organics seek

                            perfection through technology. Synthetics seek perfection through understanding. Organics will be perfected by

                            integrating fully with synthetic technology. Synthetics, in turn, will finally have full understanding of organics. It is

                            the ideal solution.

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:    One that conveniently leaves you alive!

 

ANDERSON:        And infects every living thing in the galaxy with your code! We’ve seen what that does!

 

SHEPARD:           Why didn’t you do it sooner?

 

CHILD:                 We have tried… a similar solution in the past. But it has always failed.

 

SHEPARD:           Why?

 

CHILD:                 Because the organics were not ready. It is not something that can be… forced. You are ready. And you may

                            choose it.

 

Paragon dialogue:

SHEPARD:            I… don’t know.

 

CHILD:                 Why not? Synthetics are already part of you. Can you imagine your life without them?

 

SHEPARD:           And there will be peace?

 

CHILD:                 The cycle will end. The Reapers will cease their harvest. And the civilizations, preserved in their forms, will be

                            connected to all of us. Synthesis is the final evolution of all life.

 

Renegade dialogue:

SHEPARD:            You’re asking me to change everything… everyone. I can’t make that decision. I won’t.

 

CHILD:                  Why not? Synthetics are already part of you. Can you imagine your life without them?

 

SHEPARD:            That’s beside the point.

 

CHILD:                  There is one final consequence. Using the Crucible’s energy will inflict catastrophic damage to the mass relay

                             network. Every relay will be shut down, and it may be beyond the technological capability of this cycle to reactivate

                             them. This cannot be avoided.

 

SHEPARD:            But… that would mean the end of galactic civilization!

 

CHILD:                  Yes. But it need not be permanent.

 

Paragon dialogue:

SHEPARD:            (horrified) The cost… all those ships, stranded…

 

CHILD:                   Your time is at an end. You must decide.

 

At this point, control returns to the player, and you can choose between the three offered endings. But as in the original game, if you choose the Renegade dialogue option, you get… the Refusal ending!

 

SHEPARD:             No. I’m going to end this war on my terms.

 

CHILD:                   Then you will die knowing you failed to save everything you fought for.

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:      Shepard! You’ll doom us all!?

 

ANDERSON:          Shepard, I know the cost seems high, but…

 

SHEPARD:             I fight for freedom, mine and everyone’s. I fight for the right to choose our own fate. And if I die, I’ll die knowing

                              that I did everything I could to stop you. And I’ll die free!

               

CHILD:                   So be it. The cycle continues.

 

The Child fades away. The biotic fields holding Anderson and the Illusive Man disappear, and they both fall to the ground, on their knees. Anderson slumps to the floor, defeated. The Illusive Man springs to his feet and runs down the walkway towards the three choices…

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:      No! Nooooo!!

 

…but it’s too late. The Synthesis beam at the centre of the structure dies, the twin energy arcs of Control fade away, and a blast shield covers the Destroy conduit. Shepard, Anderson and the Illusive Man are left to watch the galaxy burn, starting from Earth’s orbit.

 

Cue Liara’s time capsule recording. Roll credits, followed by the female Stargazer from the far-future cycle that figured out how to not completely **** up as badly as you did. :D

 

The Destroy ending:

 

As Shepard takes the first few steps down the Destroy walkway, first she hears:

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:       Shepard! If you do this, nothing will change! The Rachni Wars… the Krogan Rebellions… the Geth War… the

                               First Contact War! It’ll all just happen again! And where will be humanity be? Where will humanity be, Shepard!?

 

And as she gets further ahead, she hears:

 

CHILD:                    Shepard, a final warning. We built the mass relays. We know best how to repair them. If we survive in some form,

                               we can restore interstellar travel much faster than any species in this cycle can. Without us, it may take

                               centuries. Millennia.

 

The Control ending:

 

The first thing you hear as you start down the Control walkway is:

 

ANDERSON:           You can’t be serious! Absolute power? Absolute corruption, Shepard! That’s not you. That’s not the soldier I know!!

 

And further down:

 

CHILD:                    Shepard, a final entreaty. When fire burns, is it evil? Or is it simply doing what it was created to do? We are no

                               different. We have admitted our mistake. We offer understanding… co-existence. Do we deserve to be

                               enslaved?

 

The Synthesis ending:

 

The first plea comes from:

 

ILLUSIVE MAN:       So you’ll transform us all? Destroy our individuality, our humanity?  Turn us into them? What gives you that right,

                               Shepard? What gives you that right!?

 

And the second:

 

ANDERSON:           Commander! Why should you believe anything it says? Think about all the species, all the people they’ve

                               slaughtered! Now you’re giving them what they want? They’re the enemy, Shepard!!

 

From here onwards, two more changes:

 

Once Shepard makes her choice, the energies released by the Crucible grows, erupts, and consumes Anderson and Illusive Man. In all three endings, Shepard – or at least her physical form – dies. In all three endings, so do Illusive Man and Anderson. Them’s the breaks. :P

 

In the cutscenes that follow, the Crucible’s energies rip through every mass relay, but leave them intact. As the Child said, the relays aren’t destroyed, just shut down. They can be repaired, but how long the star systems will be cut off from each other is left unresolved.

 

But other than that, the endings proceed as they originally did – in the Extended Cut, at least. The Normandy crash-lands on an uncharted garden world. Either the Reapers are destroyed, and the galaxy’s races are left to pick up the pieces (minus any means of interstellar travel); or Shepard becomes Machine God and guides the galaxy by her own hand (and starts repairing the mass relays); or all life, synthetic and organic, including the Reapers, achieve a common higher consciousness.

 

I can live with that. With any of them. :)

 

 



#2
God

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You could cut this down and tell us the basic concepts without making a really wall of text and dialogue that isn't edited very well. 

 

So... TL;DR



#3
Ithurael

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Seems like it is the endings we normally get but with TIM and Anderson alive and giving dialog during the RGB choices nothing more.

 

idk...



#4
GalacticWolf5

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I prefer the ending they gave us (EC of course).

#5
Alamar2078

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I actually don't particularly mind having TIM & Anderson there giving you "advice" so to speak.

 

/Begin_Beating_Dead_Horse

 

Than again I think that you can't really "fix" the endings without fixing a lot of the game(s) that failed to build up to the ending IMHO.

 

/End_Beating_Dead_Horse



#6
volussexgod

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You could cut this down and tell us the basic concepts without making a really wall of text and dialogue that isn't edited very well.

 

Maybe. But I left the endings largely unchanged; I just added new dialogue that clarifies the endings (and maybe made it a more difficult choice).

 

Seems like it is the endings we normally get but with TIM and Anderson alive and giving dialog during the RGB choices nothing more.

 

Partly. I made it clear that each ending represents the viewpoints of either TIM, Anderson or the Catalyst. They'll each urge you towards their preferred choice, and inform you of the consequences of the others.

 

I prefer the ending they gave us (EC of course).

 

Frankly, I'm one of the few who's perfectly happy with the ending we got too. This isn't me saying I hated what Bioware gave us and I could do better. This is really just my fanfic. :)

 

 



#7
Vazgen

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I like the idea of having TIM and Anderson to participate in the conversation with the Catalyst and commenting on your choices. 

I don't like "calling out" the Catalyst. First, because it doesn't fit its own definition of the conflict. It's created with a clear goal to preserve organic life. Turning on creators does not pose danger to organic life in that context. Second, because I think it's stupid for a billion-year-old artificial intelligence to "stammer" when talking about its goal. Whether it's right or wrong, it's completely sure in the chosen course of action. There are no doubts because 32-year-old human tells it so.

That's something I like about the ending. The Catalyst is a machine, cold and absolute. You can't argue with it, everything you say is dwarfed with billion+ years of firsthand experience of the intelligence. 



#8
Swan Killer

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I just pictured Anderson saying "**** you!" to the Catalyst. Sorry, but it made me smile! :D



#9
volussexgod

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I like the idea of having TIM and Anderson to participate in the conversation with the Catalyst and commenting on your choices. 

I don't like "calling out" the Catalyst. First, because it doesn't fit its own definition of the conflict. It's created with a clear goal to preserve organic life. Turning on creators does not pose danger to organic life in that context. Second, because I think it's stupid for a billion-year-old artificial intelligence to "stammer" when talking about its goal. Whether it's right or wrong, it's completely sure in the chosen course of action. There are no doubts because 32-year-old human tells it so.

That's something I like about the ending. The Catalyst is a machine, cold and absolute. You can't argue with it, everything you say is dwarfed with billion+ years of firsthand experience of the intelligence. 

 

The Catalyst isn't "called out". I don't want Shepard to become Captain Kirk delivering a Logic Bomb on the rogue computer. But for the Synthesis ending - the "peace with the Reapers" option - to be viable, the Reapers need to stop its cycle of harvest and genocide. They need a reason for doing so. Because Shepard is the first organic to directly confront it, for the first time in billions of years they're no longer sure of their purpose. That's why the Catalyst gives Shepard those 3 choices.

 

I just pictured Anderson saying "**** you!" to the Catalyst. Sorry, but it made me smile! :D

 

I think that's exactly what Anderson would say to the Catalyst, especially after hearing it explain its motives. :)

 



#10
Vazgen

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The Catalyst isn't "called out". I don't want Shepard to become Captain Kirk delivering a Logic Bomb on the rogue computer. But for the Synthesis ending - the "peace with the Reapers" option - to be viable, the Reapers need to stop its cycle of harvest and genocide. They need a reason for doing so. Because Shepard is the first organic to directly confront it, for the first time in billions of years they're no longer sure of their purpose. That's why the Catalyst gives Shepard those 3 choices.

They already have a reason. Synthesis removes the problem altogether, it creates "a new DNA". There are no longer synthetics or organics, thus there is no conflict between synthetics and organics, thus it stops the harvest :) 



#11
volussexgod

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They already have a reason. Synthesis removes the problem altogether, it creates "a new DNA". There are no longer synthetics or organics, thus there is no conflict between synthetics and organics, thus it stops the harvest :)

 

But as Shepard asks, why couldn't they do it sooner?

 

And as the Catalyst says, because organics weren't ready. Yeeeaah, that's kinda vague, and in a way that makes me doubt this Synthesis of yours.



#12
themikefest

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But as Shepard asks, why couldn't they do it sooner?

 

And as the Catalyst says, because organics weren't ready. Yeeeaah, that's kinda vague, and in a way that makes me doubt this Synthesis of yours.

I would guess the reason why organics weren't ready is no one has ever been in the decision chamber before to make that decision until Shepard shows up.


  • Vazgen aime ceci

#13
Vazgen

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I would guess the reason why organics weren't ready is no one has ever been in the decision chamber before to make that decision until Shepard shows up.

This. The Reapers can't just bring someone to the chamber and push in the beam. The organics must overcome Reaper resistance which is only possible if they work together. And unity creates a different psychological state, one that is required for the Synthesis to work.



#14
volussexgod

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This. The Reapers can't just bring someone to the chamber and push in the beam. The organics must overcome Reaper resistance which is only possible if they work together. And unity creates a different psychological state, one that is required for the Synthesis to work.

 

See, this is the one thing I didn't like about the ending. The implication that Shepard showing up and choosing between the 3 options was the Reapers' plan all along. Sure, murder a few trillion sentient beings until one finally fights you hard enough, then bring about galactic peace. Good plan. :wacko: 

 

I'd prefer it if Shepard's actions caused the Reapers to reevaluate their solution. Then the endings would be earned.



#15
Linkenski

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I think you're still missing the point with this revised ending.

Here's what I think you should've done:

After the Mexican standoff, Shepard is shot, then he's taken to the Catalyst and starts explaining stuff. At the end of the day this turns out to be a hallucination, but the content in the conversation between Shepard and the child is completely different than in the game as it is... how, I don't know.

At the end of the conversation your dialogue choices determine whether you live or die. Is this indoctrination or limbo before death? Speculations from everyone! But the point is, we keep the Catalyst stuff mostly, but it's not the scene that concludes the trilogy. Ideally the child still reveals the nature of the crucible and reapers in that unreal and outrageous way.

Afterwards Shepard wakes up, bleeding from his abdomen as seen in the game. TIM is talking. Perhaps some of the words spoken by the Child mirrored what The Illusive Man said. Turns out it was TIM who actually told us about the true nature of the Crucible and the Reapers.

Firing it in a certain way makes you control the Reapers, but in another way it destroys them and simultaneously affects anyone with reaper tech or reaper codes in them. Obviously from both idealistic reasons and for survival, TIM won't let Shepard or Anderson destroy the Reapers. After all his own life is on the line now that he had implanted himself with reaper tech.

Conclude the rest as you please. I'm writing myself into a corner here. This was just my little tease.

#16
Linkenski

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This. The Reapers can't just bring someone to the chamber and push in the beam. The organics must overcome Reaper resistance which is only possible if they work together. And unity creates a different psychological state, one that is required for the Synthesis to work.


So you need a leader-who-unites-species gene to make it work? Somehow uniting people physically changes something in your physiology or what? The complaint was always that Synthesis makes no biological sense.

#17
volussexgod

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I think you're still missing the point with this revised ending.

Here's what I think you should've done:

After the Mexican standoff, Shepard is shot, then he's taken to the Catalyst and starts explaining stuff. At the end of the day this turns out to be a hallucination, but the content in the conversation between Shepard and the child is completely different than in the game as it is... how, I don't know.

At the end of the conversation your dialogue choices determine whether you live or die. Is this indoctrination or limbo before death? Speculations from everyone! But the point is, we keep the Catalyst stuff mostly, but it's not the scene that concludes the trilogy. Ideally the child still reveals the nature of the crucible and reapers in that unreal and outrageous way.

Afterwards Shepard wakes up, bleeding from his abdomen as seen in the game. TIM is talking. Perhaps some of the words spoken by the Child mirrored what The Illusive Man said. Turns out it was TIM who actually told us about the true nature of the Crucible and the Reapers.

Firing it in a certain way makes you control the Reapers, but in another way it destroys them and simultaneously affects anyone with reaper tech or reaper codes in them. Obviously from both idealistic reasons and for survival, TIM won't let Shepard or Anderson destroy the Reapers. After all his own life is on the line now that he had implanted himself with reaper tech.

Conclude the rest as you please. I'm writing myself into a corner here. This was just my little tease.

 

Er... your idea is interesting, but other than the fact that it's different from my take, I don't see how I'm "still missing the point".



#18
Linkenski

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Yeah okay, I didn't mean to be a jerk.

I just meant that as long as you keep in the part where a hologram kid is the one who created the reapers and the overarching theme becomes the metasymbolic relationship between organics and synthetics then the conclusion to the trilogy is still off. That was always the one most jarring issue with the ending with a lot of sub-issues underneath it, like the 3 choices not being different enough, synthesis being impossible etc. etc.

There is not really anywhere in the past two games except for places in ME1 (which were all subverted in ME2) where the theme that " advanced synthetic creations surpass and ultimately will destroy organics" was a prevalent theme. The ending brings up this issue as if none of the events in early ME1 and between the rest of the trilogy ever took place.

We have a trilogy that early on portrays AIs and Synthetics as malicious and as a danger to organics, but then gradually portrays them less like so as their plot changed with the expanding on Geth lore and Legion in ME2 to EDI as well as The Geth possibly becoming fully self-aware and undependable while being at peace with organics in ME3, but then disaster knocks at our door when the final 10 minutes of the story pretends that none of this ever happened.

#19
volussexgod

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Yeah okay, I didn't mean to be a jerk.

I just meant that as long as you keep in the part where a hologram kid is the one who created the reapers and the overarching theme becomes the metasymbolic relationship between organics and synthetics then the conclusion to the trilogy is still off. That was always the one most jarring issue with the ending with a lot of sub-issues underneath it, like the 3 choices not being different enough, synthesis being impossible etc. etc.

There is not really anywhere in the past two games except for places in ME1 (which were all subverted in ME2) where the theme that " advanced synthetic creations surpass and ultimately will destroy organics" was a prevalent theme. The ending brings up this issue as if none of the events in early ME1 and between the rest of the trilogy ever took place.

We have a trilogy that early on portrays AIs and Synthetics as malicious and as a danger to organics, but then gradually portrays them less like so as their plot changed with the expanding on Geth lore and Legion in ME2 to EDI as well as The Geth possibly becoming fully self-aware and undependable while being at peace with organics in ME3, but then disaster knocks at our door when the final 10 minutes of the story pretends that none of this ever happened.

 

Well, I think a story that spans 100+ hours of content can accommodate more than one overarching theme. What the Catalyst said doesn't have to be interpreted as "this is what the entire story is all about." It can easily be seen as "this is the enemy's motives, which are kinda bullshit, because they are the enemy."

 

What I tried to make clear in my revision is that you choose what the entire story is really all about. You can choose to accept or reject everything the Catalyst said. Refusal isn't the only choice to reject it; Destroy and Control are also choices that the Catalyst clearly doesn't want you to pick.



#20
Linkenski

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Yeah okay. I also agree that the final 10 minutes a story doesn't necessarily imply the overarching theme, but in the way it's presented and especially how the Catalyst's dialogue is written (and ESPECIALLY in the original ending) I feel like it was heavily implied that whoever wrote it meant to make an "artistic statement" that was interpreted as the main theme of Mass Effect 3.

 

Either way any good ending concludes its story properly and that includes reflecting on all the themes, characters and subplots that played a part in the story to come to some sort of overall message. In Mass Effect 3 the message and meaning of the story is lost because the final 10 minutes was about something completely different than what the majority of the game had been about.

 

With the Extended Cut that was mostly fixed because the epilogues sum up the other important themes of the trilogy, such as allies, unity and sacrifice but it feels like the entire Organics vs Synthetics message at the end doesn't fit in with the added parts of Extended Cut, except for in synthesis but I think most will agree that Synthesis's message about "gaining unlimited access to knowledge" and "retake the stars" is nonsense as if the writer of that epilogue (Sylvia Feketekuty) had no idea how to fix it.

 

The struggle between synthetics and organics is certainly a key theme but it was meaningfully concluded on Rannoch and via EDI showing that Organics and Synthetics can come to an understanding and trust each other and thereby coexist peacefully, or show that through a lack of tolerance or lack of understanding they will not be able to come to terms with each other... the Catalyst's message still doesn't make it justified to make the central conflict about the metasymbolic struggle between Organics and Synthetics and then resolve that conflict in a matter of 10 minutes at the end. It massively confuses the entire message of the whole trilogy.

 

TL;DR: You're right. a 100+ hour story can certainly have more than one overarching theme but the Catalyst scene is exactly what makes it seem like there is only one overarching theme which is a misconception created by the writers (or Mac and Casey), and it makes the message of the entire trilogy seem confused. The only way to properly fix it would be to remove the Catalyst scene.



#21
Seracen

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I like the flow of dialogue here.  While we don't really get the full, robust endings I generally prefer, at least Shepard's reactions are more involved and satisfying.  As for the EC endings themselves, I'm more accepting of them in comparison to what came before.  I don't know HOW I'd have reacted, had they been the original endings.

 

Personally, I feel that explaining too much of the Reaper motivations ultimately stole something from their mystique and menace.  In my own alternate ending (in the Forum and my sig), I left that portion largely a mystery.

 

As for needing a complete overhaul of earlier parts of the story to accommodate the ending, I respectfully disagree.  Sure, it'd have been nice to address plot points and missed opportunities from earlier in the story.  However, I never really felt taken out of the experience, and was willing to roll with it, up until that elevator takes Shep up to the Starchild.

 

As such, my own story picks up at exactly that point.  Though I repeated chapters and storyline bits, it took me a large, branching, 100+ page monster to achieve the catharsis I originally hoped for.  However, the ME storyline was rich enough, and had enough dangling plot threads, that I feel I was able to pull some interesting resolutions from what we were given.

 

And again, I feel that the EC endings are interesting ALTERNATIVES to my own personal head canon.  At this point, I accept all fan creations (whether YT videos, game mods, stories, etc) as potential endings.  While the endings DID need addressing, the debacle was a mixed blessing.  I rather doubt I'd still be involved with ME to this degree, nearly 2 years later, if things HADN'T gone down that way.