Yes, yes this is ANOTHER Mass Effect 3 ending thread, and yes I am as disappointed as the rest of you. I am here however to pose a question. Is it possible that the entire ending scene was effectively a dream sequence as a result of indoctrination? I understand that this probably makes less sense than the original ending, but bear with me for a while as I explain.
First things first, let's take a look at the avatar that the Catalyst took on. It took on the form of a child that has been haunting Shepard for the entire game, a child that NO OTHER PERSON interacts with. Yes, the child is only alive for one mission, but neither Anderson nor the soldiers in the shuttle even acknowledged the kids presence. What if this is the beginning stage of indoctrination, with the Reapers using the child to twist Shepard's emotions in an attempt to control him. If anyone has read the Mass Effect books, namely Ascension, Grayson experiences indoctrination as voices in his head and images that haunt him in his sleep. Now, Shepard is bleeding out and has practically passed out from blood loss at the base of the command podium of the Citadel.
This child again re-appears and it is from this point that most players have an issue with the ending. I would suggest reading this [http://www.gamefront.com/mass-effect-3-ending-hatred-5-reasons-the-fans-are-right/] article, as an important point came up when reading it. Basically, "Instead, much like the victims of the Reapers themselves, the player is robbed of all free will or even the chance to make the case for it. They must do as they are told, and choose." Shepard has no choice but one put forward to him by the Reapers, fooling him into completing their will. What if synthesis, supposedly the "happy" ending, is where the Reapers continue to harvest all life and store them in a synthetic Reaper form as they have done for every cycle, a mix of organic and synthetic, a point the Catalyst admits is the purpose of the Reapers.
As for the other two endings, lets evaluate them for a second. Taking control of the Reapers is coloured blue, to which many associate with the paragon option, while red is renegade and "bad". However, in this case, blue is also linked with The Illusive Man, and red with Anderson, who throughout the entire series have been considered bad and good respectively. What if this is the Catalyst manipulating you into a decision that is ultimately bad for the entire galaxy?
With this, bear in mind that the only ending that Shepard will survive in is if you take the destroy option and have a high enough EMS. When Shepard awakes, he is in rubble that looks like the Earth he supposedly left to board the Citadel, but what if he never left? What if the whole sequence was Shepard fighting indoctrination in his head?
This unfortunately doesn't explain much of the ending cutscenes afterwards, but lets not even pretend they made sense in the first place. Thoughts? Maybe you might agree, or just decide I'm completely batshit insane, but either way let me know.
First things first, let's take a look at the avatar that the Catalyst took on. It took on the form of a child that has been haunting Shepard for the entire game, a child that NO OTHER PERSON interacts with. Yes, the child is only alive for one mission, but neither Anderson nor the soldiers in the shuttle even acknowledged the kids presence. What if this is the beginning stage of indoctrination, with the Reapers using the child to twist Shepard's emotions in an attempt to control him. If anyone has read the Mass Effect books, namely Ascension, Grayson experiences indoctrination as voices in his head and images that haunt him in his sleep. Now, Shepard is bleeding out and has practically passed out from blood loss at the base of the command podium of the Citadel.
This child again re-appears and it is from this point that most players have an issue with the ending. I would suggest reading this [http://www.gamefront.com/mass-effect-3-ending-hatred-5-reasons-the-fans-are-right/] article, as an important point came up when reading it. Basically, "Instead, much like the victims of the Reapers themselves, the player is robbed of all free will or even the chance to make the case for it. They must do as they are told, and choose." Shepard has no choice but one put forward to him by the Reapers, fooling him into completing their will. What if synthesis, supposedly the "happy" ending, is where the Reapers continue to harvest all life and store them in a synthetic Reaper form as they have done for every cycle, a mix of organic and synthetic, a point the Catalyst admits is the purpose of the Reapers.
As for the other two endings, lets evaluate them for a second. Taking control of the Reapers is coloured blue, to which many associate with the paragon option, while red is renegade and "bad". However, in this case, blue is also linked with The Illusive Man, and red with Anderson, who throughout the entire series have been considered bad and good respectively. What if this is the Catalyst manipulating you into a decision that is ultimately bad for the entire galaxy?
With this, bear in mind that the only ending that Shepard will survive in is if you take the destroy option and have a high enough EMS. When Shepard awakes, he is in rubble that looks like the Earth he supposedly left to board the Citadel, but what if he never left? What if the whole sequence was Shepard fighting indoctrination in his head?
This unfortunately doesn't explain much of the ending cutscenes afterwards, but lets not even pretend they made sense in the first place. Thoughts? Maybe you might agree, or just decide I'm completely batshit insane, but either way let me know.
