Mass Effect 3 - the *real* ending

[floppylobster]

I hate to start another ME3 thread but I am really, really curious. So many people hated the ending (a few were okay with it). Now they have a new ending and still some people have problems with it. I don't want to know what you liked or disliked about the ending I'm just really curious to hear this -

What is the ending you would have written if you could have?

You can be vague if you have to, or post a full script if you're incredibly bold.

Is there anyone out there brave enough to outline a better ending so we can compare with what was delivered?

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

An ending where that little shithead The Catalyst doesn't exist would be a good start. I was very fond of the indoctrination theory. But that was too smart for Bioware. Let's say that The Catalyst has to exist. I would at least want an ending where I can refuse to accept options he gave me and win if I have the necessary war assets. Since war assets don't really do a god damn thing at the moment. I would write an ending that doesn't force people to accept faulty logic of an ancient A.I. An ending that takes into account your previous choices in the game.

 

[Terminal Blue]

snip

An ending where galactic civilization dies like every other galactic civilization before it over centuries of unending war against impossibly powerful enemies who are too numerous and technologically advanced to ever defeat?

Sorry, despite broadly agreeing that the ending was pretty bad, this is one thing I don't get and never have. There was always going to be a McGuffin. Did you honestly sit there at the end of the first game and think that the fleet of nigh-invincible AI dreadnoughts was going to get blown up by in good old fashioned space laser fight?

There was always going to be a virus or a artefact or some other plot device which commander Shepherd could retrieve or activate or do something with on foot (because you know, the entire game takes place with commander Shepard running around on foot shooting stuff) which would make the reapers go away by magic. I'm not disputing the one they chose was kind of dumb, but there was always going to be some level of dumb. That's what happens when you write yourself into a corner by making your primary antagonist too big and too powerful.

I'm not disputing the game should have given you the option, but it would be kind of like accepting the Reticulan offer in UFO: Aftermath or joining the Unity in Fallout. There's no reason it couldn't be a satisfying loss or one with something to say from a storytelling perspective, but it would still technically be a loss.

I personally think they should have left the Catalyst as a Prothean superweapon rather than trying to pull an M. Night Shyamalan and ending up, well.. doing an M. Night Shyamalan. Using it as an exposition-delivery-system was pretty awful, they could have worked in those reveals through an existing character like Harbinger, who really deserved a bigger role after ME2. It's little things adding up to make a big pile of stupid, but it's not like the rest of Mass Effect is somehow devoid of stupid, there's just an exceptionally large pile of it here.