Mass Effect 3: The Ending Part 2
For a while, as you could see in my previous post, I was devastated. I couldn't pinpoint why, but I felt like the air had been taken from me, that I couldn't move, that no video game would ever be the same again, if I could even play another again. I read theories on the ending, I read why it should be changed, I read why it shouldn't be, I read for hours before trying to find fic to make my heart feel better, but nothing did it. I do, however, have my own ideas, and questions, about what happened.
First of all, the biggest theory on the net now is that Shepard was being indoctrinated throughout ME3 and, by the end, the final decision was whether or not she could break free of the Reaper's will. There are different branches for this theory, although all say that the events on the Citadel were a dream, but who plays what in the dream is up for debate. I believe another says that the events on the Citadel actually happen up until the point you meet the deus ex machina kid (which I feel fits better into the indoctrination theory and ties up loose ends with TIM). Of course, after reading so many pages of text on the subject, I'm prone to forgetting the minute details. I also like to hand-wave a lot, shrug at the plot, and move on with my life. Take BSG for instance: who/what was Kara Thrace? I don't know and I don't care, but I loved her.
Back to the theory, the most important part was that Shepard was important to the Reapers; they wanted her body back when she died, and indoctrinated TIM for the purpose of getting Shepard. Many, many pieces of evidence support this, this being the best explanation to date but also there's a list of events that happen to make it easier to skim (thinks to skybound2 for the link). I think it's the best idea that's come from this huge debate going on right now, the biggest I've ever seen in the video game industry, and if BioWare did this, I think it would have been the most interesting, well thought-out, and thought-provoking idea/ending to a video game ever. It would tie together everything from the first game to the third, making the trilogy complete, and making what Shepard, our avatar to a universe so many have fallen in love with, went through worth the pain, heartache, and suffering. We all knew she'd die in the end. We had to.
There's also another, interesting theory regarding Synthesis found here but I'm not quite as convinced.
I believe in the indoctrination theory, even if there are still problems with it, but one theory, which I can't remember where I read it this awesome post explains it all! <3, says that the indoctrination was not just of Shepard but of the player as well. Because we associate red with bad and blue with good, the choices were reversed for the control and destroy endings. Synthesis, an idea from the first game, is a "neutral" green. I fell for it, thinking that Synthesis was better for everyone but in the end hating it. Readings themes on the game on a why we should get a better ending, was that the three games all pushed us towards openness, a tolerance for all species, and bringing people of all types together under one roof, or leader as it may be. Synthesis is completely against all three games and, in essence, against Shepard. The players who thought that was a good idea choose it because, "oh Green!" and, "special option!" We too were deceived/indoctrinated. The entire game we had our heart-strings pull by major decisions, watching friends from previous games die, and betrayals that went beyond anything we could have thought of. In becoming Shepard, we became indoctrinated.
Destroy, then, was the "best" option, imho. If showed to the Reapers, to whoever controlled them, that Shepard was stronger than they were and that she would evade their grasp on her mind.
The one thing that bothers me the most, however, is how Anderson is "shot." He isn't. He dies but doesn't. It, in its own way, proves the indoctrination theory as Shepard is really the one who gets shot, probably by Anderson. Or who we believe to be Anderson. Too much like the Matrix and BSG for me. *sigh*
The other important idea was that of Shepard as "the shepherd." If the Reapers were testing Shepard, then by destroying them and eluding their grasp, she proves that she is the bringer of a new age, a new cycle that never needs to see this destruction again, the leader that will not back down, the new Catalyst (which is really how I think of Shepard: a catalyst for change). It also goes with the vision Liara, no matter if Shepard and she were lovers or not, showed as a goodbye before the final assault from the FOB: an explosion not unlike that of a thousand suns. A rebirth, a beginning, a hope yet one that first comes from destruction, like a sun being formed. I think that message Liara gave Shepard was foretelling the future in a way that the destruction could only bring (and synthesis too...except not as nice).
More importantly, this was, as BioWare has said, the end of Shepard's saga. Her story ended here and it did. The Reapers were dealt with in some form, Shepard died, and civilization was saved. Plot holes aside -- which I'm never good at dissecting -- the ending was marvelous, stomach turning, and produced so many tears that even still I can't help but cry when I rewatch the destruction ending. I believe that all the outrage over the end is not because of the plot holes (which center around the Normandy's, Shepard's, crew making it to another planet, including whoever you took on the final assault) but because it ended. When people are sad we like to get angry instead. Anger is a much easier emotion to handle than sadness as it allows you to blame, normally someone other than yourself, and choose them as the root of all your issues. We do get angry at the ones we love the most, we hurt them more than we can bear sometimes, and I think that the fans, just like me, who have poured so much of their life, their character, their being into this set of games, into this one, defining character, are so sad that our journey is over and our hero dead that we lash out. We want to blame anyone and everyone, even those who enjoyed the ending for what it was, because we cannot handle the grief.
I know I'm sad, not even sure what to do with my time now other than surf the internet for more theories and take three hours to write this up, but I'm not angry. I believe, truly, that BioWare made a game purely out of love for it, as much, if nor more, love than we have for the universe, the series, and Commander Shepard, and they wouldn't just make up an ending for the sake of having an ending. Even if the indoctrination theory is not true, that everything I saw/described was real, I can accept it. Shepard dies, mystery is still surrounding us, but the galaxy is saved. Her crew escaped just in time -- my head!canon is that Joker and Cortez got everyone out, including my squadmates from the final assault into the Normandy and rushed the hell out of there as quick as possible, mainly due to their value as being the closest to Shepard -- to a planet where they can either live out the rest of their lives together, as a crew, or wait to be rescued...somehow. I also like to believe that there will be at least one little blue baby with a Shepard mark on her (Asari reproduce with other species, and their own, by taking the father's DNA via a meldy process). That crew, which went through hell and back with Shepard, are the proof of the resiliency of life. Even if some contend that they would never leave Shepard to die alone, I disagree. I think that Shepard, above all, would want them to live. They've had their goodbyes, said their words, kissed and embraced, and followed her to the very end of her life. No person would want their friends and lover to go down with them just for the sake of being there. I know my Shepard would have screamed at them to leave, to get out of there, if she could, and they would have listened. And maybe she did, somehow, and there they were.
As for other plot holes, like the ones where different species are all stranded in our solar system, I believe that if they can come together and fight the Reapers to fight for their lives, they can band together to fight a different one along the same lines. Perhaps the Mass Effect relays can be rebuilt, which seems perfectly plausible. Or maybe they stock up on food and then take the VERY LONG trip back home. I'm not sure but, technically, why do we worry? Again, I point to "Shepard's tale" and leave it at that. No one cared what Odysseus did once he got home, just that he got home and reasserted his power. Shepard's odyssey is over; now it's the galaxy's turn to take up the mantel and drive forward in a new direction.
Although, with each argument I see against the ending, about how horrible it is, they all want a choice. Technically, we were given ones but they didn't like them. I constantly question why I appreciate, if not enjoyed, the ending and still I find myself content in the knowledge that Shepard's life, her choice, saved the galaxy. Again. Maybe I'll change my mind in the future just, as for now, I am content with how it happen, if only heartbroken it ended.
As for the extra scene where you see Shepard, or the assumption of Shepard, taking a breath, I can think of two ways to interpret this: when people, or even animals, die, you normally get the fake breaths. I know I was warned of that when my grandfather died, that there can be a few breaths in and/or out when the person is really dead. The heart and brain may have stopped but the lungs could have just the right amount of energy and blood left to take a good breath. The next is that, well, Shepard was indoctrinated, the Reapers were destroyed, and Shepard lived to tell the tale as she lays in the rubble of London. Either way can work for me and I oscillate frequently over which I'd prefer.
Overall, this was a journey I couldn't have taken any other way, with any other medium, with any other character other than with Commander Shepard. It was an emotional ride, particularly the last game, but every one was full of choices that, although did not directly affect the ending, it did affect how I got there and how I felt afterward. It affected me in ways I cannot begin to truly understand this trilogy, this game, this character, will stick with me for a very long time. I may even be one of those old crazy cat ladies talking about the good old days when video games first started to make the player feel and cry (and this was the first one to really do it for me...mostly the crying bit) because it was that sort of story. It transcended the media as we know it now and something new, something different was produced. I'm only happy I got to experience it.
But damn BioWare for making me FEEL EMOTIONS! AND CRYING! Bastards.
P.S. - This is one fucking long entry. I'm so sorry it got out of hand...I just had a lot to deal with. Might take some time to eat now or something. Oh, I have more cheesecake left! YAY!