Posted on: Wednesday, March 21st, 2012
Posted in: Featured
Comments: 746
Indoctrination Theory & Proof of ME3 Ending DLC
I’ve got a huge amount of responses regarding Mass Effect 3 Ending, maybe you are tired of talking about it, but I find myself engrossed. Chief among the explanations for the nonsensical ending is the “Indoctrination Theory” which explains away the ending by saying Shepard is hallucinating everything. I was severely skeptical so I poured myself into researching the topic and the following is what I’ve discovered!
Indoctrination Theory or no, I’m convinced Epilogue DLC is on its way. That’s either good or bad depending on your point of view.
if you people knew all the stuff we are planning you’d, we’ll – hold onto your copy of me3 forever.” -Michael Gamble's Twitter Account
From where I’m standing, I love the series so much, I hope it’s true, that it’s free, and that they never pull this shit again.
Big Thanks goes to many people for engaging in discussion with me and having such dedication to an enjoyable dissection of the game.
Do you believe in the Indoctrination Theory? Or do you think these are fans who as grasping at straws looking at Mass Effect’s Lore for any reason to throw out our current ending? If you do believe in the theory, do you think its right for a company to break off the real ending from a game and offer it as DLC (real or not) at a later date?
Big Thanks to these Sources:
ACAVYOS 21min Youtube Video Indoctrination Theory Explanation
Fan Complied Google Document
Bioware Social Network Indoctrination Theory Support Thread
Bioware Social Network Indoctrination Detractors Thread (Must be signed in)
Indoctrinated Shepard Artwork
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746 thoughts on “Indoctrination Theory & Proof of ME3 Ending DLC”
I believe that it is true because I’ve been pist off lately about the me3 endings atleast now things make sense after playing the game. So I hope that in the next game my shepard gets back up and kills some reapers.
I think you’re just trying to rationalize really shitty writing.
I replayed ME2 and ME3 and with everything pointing that way, it would be pure madness from Bioware to Back off the Indoctrination Theory!
This makes sense the the damn extended cut DLC
You can tell from the very beginning of the game that the child is a hallucination. I literally mean the very beginning of the game. That first cut scene where you see the child playing with a model of the Normandy on what looks like a little park/field on a rooftop. You see NO way to get on or off of that rooftop, how would a little kid possibly be able to do that? Also, Shepard “betrayed” humanity and the Alliance by helping TIM, why would they ever manufacture a toy representing Shepard’s ship? Many people barely even recognize Shepard as the savior of the Citadel, let alone an Alliance hero worthy of his own damn toys.
1. The soldiers didn’t see the kid because they were fucking busy fighting reapers!
2.The dreams are just Shepard remembering people who died because of him, either direcly by his fault or because he couldn’t save them.
3.How your teamates escaped in the normandy is showed in extended cut (Harbinger doesn’t shoots down the Normandy because he has other priority, like the guys who were heading for the laser beam)
4,1.When the only survivors are 1 or 2 guys who can’t even walk straight, you can say the force was decimated.
4,2.Harbinger leaves because everyone is dead, why would he stay here watching over a pile of corpses while there’s still an army of spaceships to wipe out.
4,3.The radio survived, and Hacket simply picked his signal. Maybe the fact that the Citadel was closed blocked the radio, now that it’s open, it works
5. Why Shepard hadn’t see Anderson, because Shepard was in front of him, he says:”I followed you up”.
6.It’s because of the reaper tech he has surgically implent in him that he got his powers.
7. The child’s speech is improved in the extended cut. (I have to admit, it was really unclear at first)
8. I admit to have no explanation for the eyes
9. In the other two he is desintegrated, he can’t survive that.
10. I don’t understand the pertinance of number 10
So I guess it’s clear, I don’t believe in indoctrination theory.
Anderson followed Shepard…But got there before him…When there are no other visible paths to the control room. that makes tons of sense. Oh, and I guess those bushes appeared out of nowhere.
except for the bushes part, if you look around the control room and on the bridge before the control room you can see that there are many different hallways one of which anderson can use, and he did mention that the walls shift, that’s why on the control room itself there’s only one walkway available for shep, coz it shift from anderson’s usage to shep’s..
Shepard = Limping, losing blood, nearly losing consciousness.
Anderson = Didn’t charge directly in with the other soldiers and wasn’t counted among the corpses in the final push towards the beam heading into the Citadel, therefore nothing conclusive exists as to how he’d be handicapped enough to arrive at the control center after Shepard despite arriving after him.
the eyes are implants, shepard died in ME2,burned during reentry and exposed to the vacuum of space, i’m a nurse and the eyes are one of the most sensitive parts of the body, hence the need for IMPLANTS, now the illusive man’s head honcho of cerberus and of course he’s got to be in tip-top shape, need them or not, artificial eyes are better than natural ones, they match with the suit too
i believe in the indoctranation theory
the illusive man has his powers because in the mission at the cerberus base there is a video of the illusive man approving a surgery on himself
While they do make a strong case in the end it doesn’t really help things, because then that means either the “real” ending was/is planned for dlc or that our big ending for the whole trilogy is one big cliffhanger! Of course I wouldn’t put it past EA trying to monetize endings like that or they would pull a bait and switch just to make another game.
Personally I think the best ending is the one in my own head where my Fem Shep tells the kid to fuck off, uses the crucible to destroy just the reapers, and retires to a tropical planet with Garrus, Tali, and Liara ^^
I haven’t seen the expanded ending yet, waiting for my new computer that doesn’t crash and lose my saves between games, so I can play all 3 games in a row.
But on the indoctrination theory: Joe makes some good points. It would be possible. But it doesn’t save the ending. “It’s all been a dream” is nearly always a poor ending unless it’s very well handled (See the Inception endingm where the whole movie was about distinguishing dreams from reality), and not only has Mass Effect never been that kind of story, but they don’t even come out and say it. You need to piece together hints from all around the games that this may have all been a dream.
Now, if the original ending had gone exactly like it had, AND THEN let you wake up, let you see what really happened, it would have been brilliant. Give the player, who has spend the entire game fighting the Illusive man who wanted to control the reapers because destroying them is the only proper way, a fake-out cutscene. Let them think that destroying them will be terrible and say they can really control them, or stop the fighting. And any players who take it, get the ending cutscene as it was… then fading to what was really happening, showing that going by their gaming-instincts of “here’s three endings, the one you were planning sounds really bad, you can just pick another one, don’t worry, just pick whichever you like” they screwed all life over…
Well, the words “Would you kindly” spring to mind. A great way to incorporate strange story artifacts in games that gamers would take for granted and then giving you a shocking revelation that makes perfect sense in the story forcing you to really think how strange it was. In Bioshock, it was linear gameplay (And intentional or not, I really was thinking “Why am I following this Atlas’s guy’s orders anyway, it seems safer to take the Battysphere back to that lighthouse for rescue.”, but I kept playing because it’s a game, you’re supposed to go to the next level), Mass Effect 3 could’ve done the same to those A,B,C multiple endings that they mocked in their pre-game press releases.
But it requires the game to actually show that it happened. Immediately, not in a DLC a year later. Why spoil their twist like that? The only thing I can think of is if they knew players would just go “huh, nice one”, then reload their last save before the choice 2 minutes ago and pick the correct option. This delay forced players to wait and remember their ‘definite choice’ before nailing the point home. But A, they shouldn’t have waited this long, B, they shouldn’t have said that for the new ending sequences you have to replay everything from the collector’s base again (indicating that they weren’t really planning ahead) and C given that I heard they had to bring the voice actors back for the new cutscenes, it’s highly doubtful this was their intention all along.
It is now June 26, 2012 and Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut DLC is out. I have seen all four, I repeat FOUR “Possible” endings and this is my conclusion.
Bioware destroy the Mass Effect Series with this Vanilla favored dialogue end THAT STILL TASTE LIKE SHIT!! NO INDOCTRINATION THEORY, NO EPIC BOSS AND NO MUPTILE ENDS!!!
I only thing I say to your all: Do not get this DLC, Do not buy any Bioware Games agian and my last and most importuned advice: do not buy any Games with EA Logo on it.
Here is also like to The Indoctrination Theory – A Documentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caAqFFhBn2U&feature=related
Sometimes I think that maybe EA made BioWare screw up with ending to make it “open”, but devs gave all this clues just to give us this theory as a hint for the true ending that was originally planned. MAYBE.
I shouldn’t hope for EC. I know if I will it’ll make me fell sad again as ending did. But damn, I do hope for this. I do hope for fix.
Ok so I just beat mass effect 3 a couple of days ago I was devastated by the ending that I decided to look up the other endings so I wouldn’t have to do another play through, I then stumbled upon this video on youtube so I watched it and everything seemed to fall in place and so after watching it I delved further into the indoctrination theory. I know their are a lot of people who feel we are just denying that the ending was real well I have read a lot of these comments on different websites and I have several points to add to this
1 In any choice you choose at the end of ms3 you destroy the mass relays one problem if any of you have played ms2 dlc arrival at the end you destroy a mass relay which wipes out the batarian galaxy so if that is the case earth is wiped out along with any system with a mass relay in it so honestly choosing any ending is actually a bad choice.
2 Why is it you don’t respond to any one on your radio when you wake up like saying “hey im badly wounded but im heading for the beam” granted every one is “dead” around you but wouldn’t you let your command know your alive?
3 When the vi child is explaining the choices you don’t say anything about destroying the reapers but when it comes to controlling them or synthesizing with synthetics you practically sound like your all aboard with those to plans?
4 The vi child says ” i know you want to destroy us” then it shows Anderson destroying the reapers then it shows TIM trying to control them I feel this is a good point in its self if Anderson is the embodiment of your will and Tim is the embodiment of the part that is Indoctrinated inside of you why not just it picturing Shepard controlling or destroying the reapers on unless they are halves of you so you should go with Anderson.
5 You shoot Anderson he does not seemed to be phased by it he doesn’t hold his wound or look like he is in more pain than before and after TIM is dead I think you would apologize for shooting him even after they are sitting down he doesn’t groan or hold his side Shepard doesn’t even seem concerned at all about it.
6 Is it me or does it look like Shepard is standing outside in the vacuum of space while talking to the child?
7 Where the hell is joker running off to seriously I don’t feel joker would run away during this fight and I don’t think admiral hackett would let it happen joker is to loyal to Shepard to leave this battle he didn’t take off and just leave shepard at the collectors base and Im pretty sure EDI wouldn’t allow it either.
8 I’m not to sure about this one but all three choices are based on three characters
8. A: Saren was trying to synthesize with synthetics
8.B: TIM wanted to control the reapers
8.C: Anderson want’s to destroy them
All in all the three heavy hitters that played some of the biggest roles through out mass effect embodies the last three choices you have to choose from and two of them are indoctrinated
9 I have heard this all over the VI on thessia you are not fully indoctrinated yet javik even says as much that the VI they had in his cycle couldn’t recognize the sleeper cells that doomed his race. Also I read people saying why not just kill Shepard rather than indoctrinate him if its a slow process the codex tells you in MS3 this is what it says ” should a reaper subvert a well–placed political or military leader, the resulting chaos can bring down nations in this case Shepard is a great military leader along with one hell of politician.
Hope this sheds some more light on the indoctrination theory
the indoctrination theory has some points but when did shepard was actualy indoctrinated since eden prime or at the arrival DLC ,did everything shepard did was fake and one last thing why control only shepard
My problem with the Indoctrination Theory: Shepard is hit by Harbinger and is left in a pile of rubble, which means he never got beamed up to the Citadel, which means he never put a end to the reaper threat because he/she’s be laying on his/her ass for the last 15 minutes. And if he/she did stop the Reapers, pray tell how so? Because they had a dream about it!? This isn’t fucking Inception!! I’m sorry, it sounds nice but at the end of the day I just see EA/Bioware fucking up royal and due to a mixture of pride, arrogance, and stupidity they are unable to admit it and do the right thing by fixing their mistake. I don’t see this Extended Cut DLC adding any clarity to a clearly broken ending. I hope, I pray even, that I’m wrong.
You have to remember that it’s Harbinger trying to control Shepard, not giving him the chance to stop them. The destroy option is Shepard’s mind giving him a chance to escape. If he chooses that he’ll simply wake up outside of the teleporter with Harbinger probably staring straight at him powering back up after invading his mind. He didn’t defeat the reapers, he simply rejected them.
I honestly believe that the indoctrination theory is complete BS. According to the codex, symptoms of indoctrination are hallucinations, hearing voices, etc. Shepard experienced NONE of these whatsoever in his/her final moments. There are quite a few things people like to point out that they think proves the theory’s idea, but when one actually thinks and pays attention, these can be discredited.
The biggest thing that makes me think the indoctrination theory is complete BS can be said with just five words: SHEPARD IS GIVEN A CHOICE.
I’ve noticed that when someone’s indoctrinated, they tend to have no real control over what they do. They also seem to know, on some level, that they’re being controlled by an outside force. I go on to assume they have this knowledge, because they tend to appear as if they’re fighting something off at times. Again, this did not apply to Shepard during his/her final moments. Shepard was in complete control of him/herself and, apart from the injuries, didn’t seem to have much difficulty heading over nor did it seem he/she was being pulled over to a “reaper-beneficial” choice in any way. Shepard had complete…free…will. It surprises me how people actually overlook that.
Well I think the Reapers can expand influence through an indoctrinated victim. An example would be Saren and Matriarch Benezia.
Thank you Joe you this video restored my faith in Mass Effect
I find it scary how many people picked to keep them alive. I love the indoctrination theory cause I still killed the reapers in my first play through. When I was told I was gonna die, I decided to kill every damn reaper that did this. So I’m pretty happy that I lived ^^ lol. I did it for selfish angry reasons though so I feel like I picked the renegade option in a way.
I’ve done some research using the Mass Effect Wiki to show that Shepard has been indoctrinated. The “dream” part of the theory is not nearly as sound. I offer some contradictory points to that ending on my blog: thedaybyday-tahj.blogspot.com. Check in to learn more.
The Indoctrination Theory seems, to me, to be a little more insidious than that. Shepard’s not being given options to spare the reapers. Shepard’s not being tricked into letting them go on. Shepard doesn’t stand to lose anything in any of the three choices: according to the Godchild, he’s dead no matter what.
WE are being lied to. WE are being tricked into sparing the reapers. WE’RE the ones shown the endings, given false hope, little eden-like jungle worlds, things like that. Shepard isn’t being shown those things after his choice. He’s not there. He sees the dream sequences, and we see him, since the game is third person.
The Indoctrination Theory is actually positing that since the Reapers can’t beat Shepard, they’ll beat US. People who pick the Paragon options are usually the 100% completionists. We need every little nitpicky collectable: we’re the ones most likely to try to get it “just perfect.” So at low completion, you only get to pick the red, or “renegade” option. But you don’t get the Shepard Alive breath if you pick that at a LOW fleet number. You need to go absolutely BONKERS in your quest to destroy the reapers. You need to THEN stick to your guns and not try to compromise. You need the rare combination of the person who got all the allies to the fight AND is willing to now give EVERYTHING to destroy the reapers and make their stand on their own choices.
That’s why the Godchild is who he is. He’s the poor boy who died in the begining, and he’s ALSO the voice of the trusted hero, Shep, who we’ve put so much effort into. The voice is innocence and experience. We’re supposed to remember our gut reaction to when the shuttle exploded and also feel like we can trust what he’s saying. I’m ashamed to say that when I beat the game for the first time, I picked to Control, because I wanted to spare the Geth, who I’d put so much work into.
Think about that: The Red Option would destroy all Synthetic Life: HOW? Not all technology, all Synthetic Life. That’s impossible. Synthetic life, since it’s not based on things like DNA, could take tons of forms. Wipe out all organic life with a pulse that rips all DNA apart? Sure. Destroy all Mass Relays? Sure, they’re identical. Destory all tech? EASY! I’d even accept a pulse that would detonate all Eezo. But how would a pulse that’s theoretically hundreds of thousands or even MILLIONS of years older than the Geth be able to fry their Synthetically Alive lives to nothing, but leave non-sentient tech alive? It’s BS: just another lie to keep Shep- to keep US from picking the only option that makes the reapers actually DIE. Just think about it.
Your words ring so true with my understanding of the ending.
Alas, I have one tiny bit to contribute:
You state the God child would indicate Shepard’s death as a result no matter which option he/she chooses.
Did you notice that the God child in fact does *not* tell you that Shepard would die if you chose to destroy the Reapers?
He does so – prominently – for the Control and Synthesis options but *not* for the Destroy option.
Listen closely what he’s actually saying (maybe with subtitles – visualising might be helpful).
The God child simply tells you that he knows that Shepard had been thinking of destroying the Reapers. Then, after a short pause, he tells you that you’ve the power to destroy all synthetic life – you have the power (it’s not a necessary outcome of your upcoming choice) – yes, of course, you have the power because if you choose the destroy option you have finally defeated the Reapers, you’ve managed to prevent them from indoctrinating you (and Shepard
– that’s a first – NO other organic lifeform has ever achieved this – as the God child tells you when you arrive at the Crucible (“you’re the first organic to come here” or something like that).
When I realised that, I was distraught – for I, too, did choose Control in the first run – how could I?
did you noticed when harbinger going aways he got the yellow light that reapers have when they make direct control ;P
O.O I did not… Duuuude…
I noticed some things you yourself said in the video don’t make any sense at all. In order of your listed theories 1) It’s possible the child could have survived the explosion if he crawled far enough into the vent, didn’t you notice the room with the vent was relatively undamaged? Also the soldiers might have been panicking to keep reaper ground forces from attacking and simply didn’t notice the child. 2) The dreams themselves are just dreams, Shepard chases after the child trying to save him because he failed to do so on Earth and when Shepard dreams of himself with the child burning it might be because Shepard feels like he won’t survive his final battle with the reapers. 3) Okay yeah you got me with this one, I didn’t understand why the Normandy would be running away or why the glowy stuff makes them crash. The landing I can get simply because it is a game /shrug. As for teleporting the rest of your crew to the normandy that was on earth, how did shepard reach the citadel? Through a teleportation beam thingy, so yeah, they were probably telepart, maybe. 4) The reason no one cries out “Oh there’s Shepard!” is because his armor and body is so messed up they probably couldn’t tell that it was Shepard and as for he guys crawling around they wouldn’t send a rescue team in to get them, if it was that easy to reach that spot then the forces rushing the beam would have made it, there’s just too many enemies in the area. Harbringer probably left to chase some more alliance that were in the area or retreating, he’s a reaper I doubt he’d just sit by and let people retreat he’d chase them, he probably thought he killed everyone headed to the beam and if not that the reaper forces on the ground would take care of the rest or Illusive Man would take care of anyone who reached the Citadel, the reapers probably put Illusive Man inside to make sure no one got in. As for the radio, no idea Shepard is part synthetic so maybe he has some sort of radio in his ear or something. I didn’t get how Anderson beats you to the console on the Citadel myself, unless Shepard was knocked out and Anderson mistook his charred and messed up body for just another corpse. The Illusive Man got up there easy because he’s indoctrinated so the reapers let him go up to stop Shepard or anyone else who might have gotten on the citadel. As for Shepard’s wound on his right side, how do we know it’s a bullet hole? It doesn’t really show much except for blood and a charred suit. 6) If you remember ME2 when you find the reaper corpse there are videos of people seeing things and hearing things even though they weren’t yet indoctrinated, way I see it is they emit some sort of radiation that affects the mind even if you’re not indoctrinated. If I’m not mistaken they kinda say something along those lines in ME2 during that mission. 7) Eh I can’t really argue this if we’re going by the assumption Shepard is still on earth fighting his indoctrination. Synthetics can be hacked and controlled, like what they did to the Geth, twice I might add. As for the Synthetics fighting Organics, no idea, maybe it was poor writing on biowares part, and they forgot to include in the ending for you allying the Geth and Quarians? They probably brought it to Earth for ease of use, they were using it to create reapers and the beam allows the husk and other indoctrinated to bring the dead up without needing tons of earth / space transport. The Citadel was built many cycles before the Protheans according to Javik and, as it is said numerous times, the Crucible design is very simple so maybe color coded things added to that simplicity? You have SOME synthetic tech in your body it never says that you are completely synthetic, we don’t know what parts of Shepard’s body are synthetic but obviously it was few enough that he could still breathe afterwards. Also Shepard doesn’t limp when you choose the Synthesis option, he get’s quite energetic and healthy and begins to run then jump, so your correct choice assumption based on that is wrong.
If you pick the control ending you become part of the reapers so it would make sense for your eyes to look like that. The same thing can be said for the synthesis ending because Jeff’s and Liara’s eyes are the same, only green. I thought this would be pretty obvious and was kind of stumped by your reasonings behind your theories. And maybe your skin disolves because untolds amount of energy is melting away your body to turn you into a digital form so you can control the Reapers? Or to synthesis with synthetics? Once again, kind of obvious. 9) Him living through the endings or not doesn’t matter. As Cerberus has proven he could easily be brought back to life again using the same tech that brought him back the first time. And for those who ask how when his body was obliterated, Cerberus kept samples of his original body. As for the cement that is impossible to have been on the Citadel… What? Have you forgotten that there is cement EVERYWHERE on the Citadel replay the mission where Cerberus tries to take over the Citadel and pay attention to the walls, rails, floors, and any damaged area, they’re made of cement. Just because the Citadel was built eons ago doesn’t mean when it was colonized they didn’t use cement in certain areas to build other structures. And the Citadel is massive so there would be tons of cement. Also I believe Shepard could have survived the re-entry depending on howt shielded he was by parts of the citadel crashing into earth. The Citadel was massive and even though a lot would burn in the atmosphere, there could still be plenty of it left to shield Shepard. As for Shepard surviving the explosion, how the hell did he survive a direct shot from a reaper laser? And then after that get shot by a marauder and STILL keep going. And then after all of that get up after losing so much blood to walk (Or run, depending on your ending choice) and destroy the reapers? I’d says there’s a chance he could’ve survived the explosion, small but much larger than surviving a reaper blast head on w/o any protection except some cheap body armor and a crappy shield. 10) I leave that to you because I haven’t kept up with anything on twitter or forums, this is the firs video about ME3 that I’ve looked at so you are more informed on this matter.
Some of your arguments were well made but easily explained if you played the game and paid attention to it. I myself never played ME1, I played ME2 around 6 times, and ME3 3 times. So my arguments are just things that I noticed and feel you were wrong or mistaken about. Pretty good video though.
This theory is the only thing that has allowed me to get over my disappointment enough to actually play the games again. A good thing considering I just discovered them and didn’t do a crapload of things in the first two.
Great video.
There are so many strange things in the endings.
For example, in my final, i have 1245 EMS, and the only choice i have was control, not destroy.
Here is my video:
http://youtu.be/1a7B8QzckXo
Everything makes sense except that if Shepard was unconscious back on Earth and everything after Harbinger’s beam was a hallucination how was the Citadel blown up with colored explosions?If that is true then after the breathing scene the Reapers are still there and they battle continues(unlikely) or they have already won.So the ending was actually a victory for Shepard’s good side against his dark side which means nothing is over!
I just thought of something…if the indoctrination theory is correct doesn’t that only leave room for two maybe three possible endings? Scenario 1- Shepard survives, goes up to the Crucible and most likely kills the Reaper threat Scenario 2- Shepard is Indoctrinated and goes after his/her friends, ending all hope for the cycle. Scenario 3- Shepard is indoctrinated and is killed by her/his team then the team fire or dont fire the crucible. So much for all those endings we were promised.
Hey Joe, I was wondering if I could make some comments about your indoctrination theories:
btw your video is GREAT, I didn’t think anyone could come up with counter arguments.
Here is my counter arguments to the counter arguments to YOUR arguments:
the one with the Maurader is easy, Shepard did not leave earth, technically it could not be counted as a dream.
the one with the illusive man shooting Shepard might be that Shepard is partly indoctrinated or there is indeed a chip in him: remember the scene where Miranda tells Shepard about planting a chip in him which was stopped by the illusive man, maybe that scene was to fool the players, cos the chip is indeed planted without Miranda knowing, but the illusive man did not use it until the last moment after he was fully indoctrinated by the reapers, this could explain why Shepard can be killed in a dream; also need to point out there is a scene where Shepard having doubts about whether he is actually a high tech VI that thinks he is himself – foreshadowing?
Thanks
ME3 is on two(2) discs.Yet It is without doubt the shortest of the three games.It could have easily fit on one disc. Is the upcoming DLC a code to unlock the rest of the game? I can only hope so. Actually it is my last hope.Bioware has so much to gain from this. I can’t imagine them being this stupid. Even if this was their original intention they can’t fail to miss this opportunity to miss making more money and fame. If they pull this off……
Well Joe, i think after watching this video bioware guys are thinking ”great now we have to write something different…” Even if it WAS like this they wont accept that their scenario got busted and make some indoctrination DLC. They will try something not speculated i think.
Why would the reapers give you the choice? Well for one, that question remains even if IT is false. Why did they bring the citadel to Earth?
A theory. I know this is practically fan fic, but this is what I hope to see in the DLC.
The reapers give the choice because the reapers want synthesis chosen in order to break 50,000 year cycle, but for some reason they cannot implement it themselves. (Which could be any number of reasons… synthesis enacted by a “bd person” would somehow be bad. Maybe Harbinger wants it but other reapers don’t. Anyways.)
The reapers are synthetics that complete the cycle in order to protect organic life (generally/on the whole/in its entirety) from being wiped out by synthetics created by advanced organic civilizations. In the long view, which the ancient reapers have, they protect organic life. If everyone is part synthetic, they will fear synthetics less. If synthetics are part organic and moreso if they have the “reaper code” you can allow Geth VI/Legion to upload on Rannoch which makes them individuals, they will be able to relate to organics better. (Several people suggest it is the lack of purpose organics have that synthetics don’t get. This lack of purpose is tied to individuality.)
To me, the many holes in the reaper tactics harm the story more than anything, and an alterior motive would be more satisfying. (Why bring the citadel to earth, to the crucible, to the one person who has united organics in a democratic and powerful way? Why give the C/S/D option at all? Why not destroy the Normandy instead of the shuttles the boy first gets on? That reaper clearly looks at it. Why bother assaulting colonies before Thessia (they may need husks for land assault but still, go destroy the fleets)? Speaking of fleets, why leave the quarians to the geth? Sail in and wipe out the biggest fleet, no husks needed.
The game insinuate at various times synthetics will destroy org
The thing about the indoctrination theory is that it really is people grasping at straws to try and make a more interesting ending than what they got. It’s like how you can try to prove the Abraham Lincoln and Kennedy are somehow the same person (look it up). If you look hard enough, you can make any conclusion from anything if you include and ignore the right facts. For instance, why would they make the Red ending the easiest to get? Or hell, why would it even be an option presented to him by the reapers if it means he can wake up. If the reapers are able to induce this level of hallucination onto Shepard, surely they could just leave out that option, or just have him be indoctrinated anyways if he picks it, since he’d still be at a better peace of mind. Why would the Synthesis option be the hardest to unlock? Do you really think they’d make you work your ass off, just to unlock a second “bad” ending?’
If anything, if the IT were true, the correct choice would be to not chose anything the reapers presented in front of you, like I said, why would they give you that option in the first place. Like, the correct choice would be to turn around and give that kid a stern talking to. One of the most important things about mass effect, is that there are always choices, but one of the other most important things, is that there are usually no “correct” choices. The biggest problem I have with the IT, is that it makes it so that there is only one correct choice you can make, and gives a big “F U” to everyone who picked the other 2, again, choices that you need to work harder in order to even be able to choose.
I mean, sure, there are a few hints you could claim as evidence for this theory, but why would they have the entire ending cutscene go on after you picked the “wrong” option. If they wanted to go with an IT ending, they could’ve spent 5 minutes to make a glaringly obvious clue that it was all false. And don’t say the “crew teleportation” thing is proof, that’s obviously a glitch and not intended, plus it doesn’t always happen. It’s like claiming Shepard’s really a ghost because I glitched through a wall once or twice. They could’ve put a critical mission failure thing after the credits or something to make it clear that was the intention, not just changing the way the eyes look slightly so that if you record it and pause it to examine the image you can see that his eyes look more robotic, which could’ve just been implants, since he was rebuilt from basically scratch in ME2. I mean, EDI has those eyes too, does that mean she’s indocternated too? Or maybe those are just what eye implants look like if you don’t cover them up with fancy stuff to make them look more human.
I’ll admit, if the IT were true, it’d make for a great ending to a great series, but if they wanted to truly go that way, they probably would’ve done better to make sure that’s clearly the ending they were going for. There are better ways they could’ve gone about to show that ending, than barely putting in a few unclear hints in such hard to find places. Really, I guess it’s impossible to know for sure until the ending dlc comes out, but I wouldn’t give the IT much hope for becoming canon. If it does at some point, like further dlc if this batch doesn’t work out, I think it’ll be more of an ascended fanon than something planned out from the beginning.
Indoctrination, like brainwashing is gradual but absolute. The reapers already know how to make husks, they want a thinking servant in full control of his facilities. The choice of destruction at the end was a final test to see if the indoctrination worked. If you chose it that meant it failed.Even Saren was attempting to overcome it at the end. They didn’t want risk that with Shepherd. And yes we are grasping at straws, a little hope is better than none.
Great finds, Joe and everyone else that contributed. The IT didn’t even cross my mind until I watched this video… I had as much disappointment as you’ve already shown in your other video – 10 reasons we hate the endings… But now I have some hope that things might change with the future DLC(s) (corporate greed I guess). There are more plot holes in the IT though:
1. Shepard only has this dream haunting him after the reaper’s attack on Earth. There’s no indication of Shepard’s indoctrination until this point and I find that odd, because he’s been under house arrest for a while.
2. Shepard’s conversation with the reaper killed on Rannoch doesn’t indicate that he’s part of the indoctrination process or otherwise a “sleeper agent” as people state, but the conversation is open to some interpretations so it’s not very clear.
3. When Shepard meets Kai Leng the second time on Thessia, the VI in the Prothean Beacon gives a warning of an indoctrinated presence, but at this point Shepard already had his creepy dreams full of “oily shadows” and running boys. This is near the end of the game as well…
4. The endings – blue and red. These are the primary colors in the ME choice options that represent paragon and renegade that one can associate with the appearance of the Illusive Man (blue eyes – paragon) and Shepard (red eyes – renegade). This gets far fetched, of course, because it’s obvious that Paragon is canon and the Illusive Man is not one. In both synthesis and reaper control Shepard’s body burns and reveals what lies under his skin – mechanical eyes and body. While it might not be his whole body, at least his eyes are since his death in ME2. The pupils are the same on EDI, IM and Shepard, but hers don’t glow and renegade Shepard’s ones are upside down and glow red. That indicates implants, not indoctrination, some of which are visible after Harbinger’s attack even if you repaired Shepard’s face in ME2.
Whatever comes next, I’m sure we’ll still have more questions than answers.
As far as the ending goes I have my own theory of Shepard’s indoctrination. Let me start out by saying that by the final battle I had over 10,000 war resources. So when Shepard is faced with the (incredibly unoriginal) three choices, all of which are no-win situations for anyone, instead of just saying “I’ll take my chances that my spaceships can beat yours” he chooses one of the TERRIBLE options.
Aside: Why are all the choices so terrible (in a purely canonical sense)?
Well, they all result in the destruction of the mass relays, effectively ending any serious interstellar travel, pretty much forever. Also in the red ending all synthetics are wiped out (and it’s implied that it’s also a giant EMP, effectively knocking all civilizations back to the dark ages) including EDI and the recently uplifted Geth. Sure, you could argue that in the green/blue endings that the Reapers would rebuild them, but that opens up a whole other can of fridge logic that needs to be addressed.
A) WHY THE FUCK WAS THE NORMANDY RUNNING FROM EARTH!?!?!!?!?
(ahem) Why and how was the Normandy fleeing Earth WITH MY ENTIRE CREW ON IT? Did Liara and Garrus just decide that they didn’t actually like their lover/best friend enough to help him while he was bleeding out? And why are they leaving? And how did they get back to the Normandy? Certainly not with Cortez.
B) Did Bioware just tell me to go fuck myself?
‘Cause apparently the end result of all Shepard’s work is a best case scenario of his death and the destruction of all the mass relays (green ending). And if you chose the other two, well, too bad for you. You’re either now a pawn of the Catalyst or thrown back to the dark ages.
C) You do realize that the pretty much the entire military of every species is now trapped in the Sol system right?
D) Did the writers just forget that (according to them) when you blow up a mass relay it wipes out the entire system?
E) If much of Shepard’s deeds have been lost to time (another way Bioware has just told you to go fuck yourself), as Stargazer claims, how come (if we still believe that this is a story being told to a young child) does he have play by play, graphic knowledge of the fight’s Shepard’s been in?
E-2) Why is he telling the little kid (in apparently fairly graphic detail) about all my kinky Shepard on Asari action?
so, in conclusion, I have just ranted for a LONG time and Bioware needs to change/explain more of the ending.
Oh yeah and what was up with the Catalyst? I prove TWICE that synthetic and organic life are completely compatible. The uplifted Geth are now my staunch allies and EDI (synthetic life) is in a stable relationship with the organic Joker.
You guys know that proof of Some synthetic/organic friends does not prove nor disprove a repeating cycle where some form of synthetic always arises that kills all organics. You can’t logiclly assume either.
Then why leave any organics? just wipe them out, leave none. Have a galaxy of just synthetics.
I came to the conclusion that Shephard IS indoctrinated, but not like most of the people see it.
People think that everything after the Harbinger beam happens in a “dream”, to me it happens for real, while is struggling to not fall intro reaper control, Remember Saren and Benezia? those two where fighting to break the indoctrination, but it was for real, not a dream. Also Rila, Rila did it too.
Now think for a minute, Shepard has been fighting to destroy the reapers since ME1, that was the only thing he/she belived, and you too, as a player had been told to destroy them was the only and real way since ME1, every thing tells that, why, Shepard(you) is going to change opinion in the last 5 minutes? if it do it was because it was indoctrinated. In the last 5 minutes Bioware litterally is playing with YOU to change your decicion and if you do, it was an indoctrinated ending, where the reapers arent destroy, and the cycle still goes on, they may leave, but when chaos return so the Reapers.
Another thing, i think Bioware intended to show that it was not the first time that happened, for example, i think both Sovereign and Harbinger are two different persons that in older cycles attempted to “Control” the reapers, is a bit strange that those two are the only Reapers with names, so if Shepard takes the control ending, it will reemplace Harbinger, and the reapers will obey him, yes, but he has to obey the catalyst.
And the green ending it may have happened before too, its like you are “guiding” evolution to do a big step forward, maybe the last one was to give organics leg, arms or love, who knows.
The destruccion of the Citadel and Mass relays means nothing, the reapers build them, so they may rebuild them, and they probably have already did it several times.
This is my best explanation for the ending i can think, i think Bioware intended to show us that, but they ran out of time. That may also explain with the DLC explains things and they do not bring any new ending.
Ok, I’m seriously mad at myself, that I’ve never played “Mass Effect” series. It seems like a great, really well thought game. Shame on me…
I do like the indoctrination theory, it is nice to think that is something that might have been intended. And while I can not give a better theory there are just too many holes in it to ignore. For example:
1. The slow indoctrination of Shepard is plausible. However, Shepard has not been in constant or enough contact of the Reapers, (such as Saren has or the Illusive Man, who did it to himself), to be of consequence. Though I do believe that some lingering effects from those few contacts coupled with the stress and seeing the kid die may have led to the dreams.
2. Who is to say that nobody saw/noticed the child. During the “heat of battle” things take priority. I would say making sure no Reaper ground forces are shooting at the shuttles so they can escape would be much higher on the priority list than helping a kid, who can get in the shuttle himself. As for the kid running into the locked door, I would chalk that up to a graphical glitch or an unintended error on the programmers part. Hard to catch them all. The most interesting point is that soon after, the husks seem to be pounding on that building (as if trying to chase the poor kid down). And there was enough time for the kid to get into the vent and hide before the Reaper hit the building.
3. The dreams please refer to point 1. The slow motion is an effect to make you feel like you are injured. A very common use of the slow motion effect, look at Modern Warfare. The trees and shrubs were always there, just need to look around as you run toward the beam.
4. You do have a point with the whole Relay and the Normandy. Though I do think that you are the first to state the explosion part, most seem to think that the Normandy jumped through the relay, when in fact there is nothing in that scene that states as such. I always figured that Joker was trying to outrun the explosion of the relay while remaining in the sol system using FTL, saving the love of his life; his ship. And the whole crew thing didn’t bother me too much provided the ones getting off the ship were not the ones I took with me on the final push mission who I thought had died with the rest of the folks on the ground.
5. Harbinger flying off, “assumed” that everyone was dead. A.K.A – Assumptions are the mother of all F***-Ups. As for camera angles, I chalk that up to good cinematography or someone said “that looks cool, let’s use it”. Of coarse, what good is a story if the hero dies with Reapers still alive. For the infinite ammo on the gun, weird yes, but it has been done in previous games. The husks and the marauder can be explained as the Reaper beams killed a lot of them as in the battle right before the run could attest to. You can use the beam to kill the ground forces closing on your position. Good way to help you stay alive during that fight as long as you keep mobile and stay in the middle.
These are just a few of the holes I found in the theory. There are more, some clear as day, other not so much. Mostly I chalk this whole ending issue up to some idiot who chose to ruin a possibly good ending to a great trilogy by leaking what was supposedly to be and because of that, the rest of the gamers have to pay. I do not blame Bioware, I blame the hole that decided it was a good idea to spill the beans.
Harbinger is a machine, Vigil told us how thorough they are. I don’t think it lacked the capacity to detect life signs and certainly not Shepherd’s. It would leave any job half finished, or in the hands of Marauder Shields. Plus why was there not any minions on the Citadel? and as big as the Citadel is why was he beamed up so close the control panel?
In the video, you ask why Harbinger gave Shepard a choice. I don’t think he did. People have been able to break indoctrination, if only temporarily. My strongest evidence would be Saren. [ME1 Spoilers!!!]
Shepard can cause him to have doubts which only subside when Sovereign installs the implants into him. Even then, as a final act of freedom, he shoots himself. I think the choice was his last vestiges of freedom and willpower to break the indoctrination.
on another note, why couldnt bioware just release the IT DLC as a “what if” ? that way can keep their artistic integrity(for whatever that’s worth) And give some over the top boss battle and then all that closure crap. that way, people who liked the original can keep it, the rest of us will have “our” ending
that producer guy at the PAX panel was asked about the indoctrination theory, and of course he deflected. But why wouldnt he just say yey or nay? Maybe it’s to keep the vast majority who believe in it under control as long as possible.
Maybe this extended dlc is the indoc theory after all, as he mentions that their not changing the ending. Which is fine, considering that what happened in the ending happened in his mind and now their going to explain it in their new content.
But then again, im probably just grasping straws like the rest of us. But as i mentioned before, if it is proven wrong i’ll eventually try to develop a mini vid on my own for my own conclusion(with the IT in mind).
an indoctrinated shepherd is something i never ever considered. but it makes something thats always bothered me make some since. back in mass effect 2 whenever harbinger would take control of a collector he always said something like “I don’t want to destroy you but i will” or something to that effect. I always wondered why he would say something like that but it makes since that he would say that to a “sleeper agent” who doesn’t know he is a sleeper agent.
P.S. HOLD THE LINE!
After much surfing and researching; here are some comments/observations/questions relating to the Indoctrination Theory as visited in your vid:
There is an idea that if we, the player, being indoctrinated, it actually extended into real life, (even raising real $$); it has elements of Magic Realism, which places the real and fantastic in the same stream of thought, and in this scenario, in real life. Since the writers keep claiming artistic license, this line of thought might actually fall in line with writing devices.
1) The plot problems seem to begin with the Arrival, the latest DLC added to the ME2; the Reaper artifact, the Mass Relay distruction issue. Based on your analysis we then conclude that with ME3′s current ending, all choices lead to annihilation of the galaxy, which is contrary to what Shep was fighting for. This builds a case for the Indoctrination Theory.
2) Anyone notice that when the god-child is explaining what happens at each choice station, the example it uses at the Destroy option is actually Anderson (Paragon)? And the Synthesis option uses the Illusive Man (Renegade) as example?
3) Possible proof that the child is a Reaper, when being picked up by the escape vehicle; directly behind him another civilian is being helped on by the soldiers; the child is not.
4) The LI exiting Normandy smiling; could it be happy to see Shep or that the Reaper threat is destroyed? Whereas in the Synthesis version, the LI does not exit. Also, anyone remember Shep swearing to return to Liara (if LI) after Shadow Broker? No mention at all, incongruent with the rest of the series.
5) The scene after the 2nd dream sequence, Shep looks at a Datapad and says, “What the…?” Will we later find out what was on that Datapad?
6) What’s up with Liara’s “Project?” In a game that didn’t offer many cut-scenes, this was included. Could that be significant or is it merely bad writing? If Reaper tech is destroyed, then so is the Project; whereas if they aren’t destroyed, it could stand as a lasting memorial to Shep and the battle.
7) Is it possible to REALLY write that badly? Is that why we’re all so outraged? Can you really screw up this badly, when it seems that you had been so true to the story?
Questions regarding Bioware:
Seems like very bad business sense; but think about it from a writing standpoint, why couldn’t the player have had the information that is supposed to be coming in the Extended Cut DLC? Why would it be free (esp. given they want you to play the MMO at more cost)? Was the real ending intentionally delayed, and planned (being free hints at that)? If so, could it be that we’ll get information held back in the original game, perhaps get a different perspective of Shep and not be able to change your decision while knowing exactly what’s going to happen? This is also a writer’s device that is used to create suspense. Either informing the audience with info that the protagonist does not have, or witholding info that you get later to change the significance of events (Magic Realism), both writer’s devices and therefore, artistic. By delaying the DLC, it buys time for more to play, although may have gone further than Bioware would have liked.
Finally, some lingering questions:
Purpose of the beam and the Citadel being moved to Earth?
Why does Harbinger leave?
Why build/design the crucible?
Why build a human Reaper in ME2? None of the other Reapers look like their captors.
What is the debris in the background of the Breathing scene?
And finally, has anyone else considered that EA is an affiliate of Cerberus or that the writers of Bioware were themselves indoctrinated if it turns out that the Indoctrination Theory holds no water? If it does, or we are even partially correct; this could go down as the greatest sci-fi game/series/story ever created with a very high bar to ever match, perhaps even rivaling a War of the Worlds type stunt. And maybe, just maybe, that’s just what this is, with all the other nods to significant sci-fi genres included in this game, could that be just one more to think about. It’s the hope I need right now, that might just get me to play one more time.
if the new DLC isn’t recieved well, doing this might be their only recourse.
I believe that what they’re “planning” has something to do with the next mass effect, ME4 Galaxy at War or some shit where im guessing your choices at the end (control, synthesis or destroy) have an impact in the next sequel.
While it’s good to have an idea for the next game, they have made a key error here and it will not go over well for the future of Bioware
Well, I’m just over an hour from finishing the game for the first time, then I went to see what all the hooplah was about the suposed Bad Ending.
I had no problem with the ending. However, if this theory is correct, and only the Destruction option was the ‘right’ one, then I will REALLLY be pissed.
Before now there was always some hint that a decision would be a bad one (or at least a clear Renegade option). For the game makers to ‘trick’ us into believing we picked a Galaxy Saving choice, and then his us with a potentially for pay ‘good’ ending, would really suck, in my opinion.
There are many loopholes….A minor thing through the ending. Look at Shepherd’s face, there a trickle of blood running down his face. Why hasn’t he wiped it off.
Many associate the red option to “Renegade.” There is many symbols to the color red, Fighting and Destroying the Reapers, The Heart decision. The Child tells us the Destroying the Reapers would ultimate kill Shepherd, and all synthetic life. Goodbye Normandy. EDI is the Normandy, After Joker made her that way in the last game. The Normandy wouldn’t be destroyed, but she would loose power as soon as beam came out. Think about this.
Despite the announcements at PAX this weekend, I still think there’s plenty that can be read into the endings, and while I don’t agree with everything in the Indoctrination Theory, I think it shows just how much is open for interpretation.
Some things that I haven’t seen touched on yet –
Shepard’s conversation with Vent Boy (“you can’t save me”) – there’s an interesting little warning sign to the right of Veny Boy’s hidey-hole:
http://twitpic.com/96t5sf
An indication that something is “inside your head”, maybe?
Also, every time Shepard wakes up from one of the Vent Boy nightmares, Shep does so with an audible, shocked gasp of breath… exactly the same as in the final “Shepard Breathing” epilogue if you choose the destroy option…
from what I gather is that the ending it about 95% The same on each of the 16 endings. And there are only small minor differences in each. This could just be a company trying to squeez as much money as they can out of it before the trilogy ends. If this company had no publisher like croteam or frictional games did and published the game themselves , they could have taken their time to create a good game with a good ending. The constant rushing publishers place upon companies now is the reason why most games suck. Just remember all the companies without publishers seem to create better games than a company with a out side publisher. In conclusion, be your own publisher
Angry Joe really needs to weigh in on this “bioware artistic vision” but he hasnt been around i guess.
Its Still BULLSHIT as angry joe stated so elegantly.
Sorry to say it but I hear a collective F*CK YOU BIOWARE from most of the fans. I wont be buying anymore bioware games.
They are now officially an EA indoctrinated slave affiliate.
GOOD JOB BIOWARE. You have managed to piss off your fans, lose money from sales from the 80% who dont trust you, and disgrace yourself being arrogant with your “artistic vision”
EA does it again, Joe you need to make a new villain, similar to corporate commander regarding EA alone heres the full version:
http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/324/index/11028404
“Are there going to be more/different endings or ending DLCs in the future?
No. BioWare strongly believes in the team’s artistic vision for the end of this arc of the Mass Effect franchise. The extended cut DLC will expand on the existing endings, but no further ending DLC is planned.
What is BioWare adding to the ending with the Extended Cut DLC?
BioWare will expanding on the ending to Mass Effect 3 by creating additional cinematics and epilogue scenes to the existing ending sequences. The goal of these new scenes is to provide additional clarity and closure to Mass Effect 3.
When will the Extended Cut DLC be available?
Currently the Extended Cut DLC is planned for this summer, no specific date has been announced at this point.
Why are you releasing the Extended Cut DLC?
Though we remain committed and are proud of the artistic choices we made in the main game, we are aware that there are some fans who would like more closure to Mass Effect 3. The goal of the DLC is not to provide a new ending to the game, rather to offer fans additional context and answers to the end of Commander Shepard’s story.
Be good to each other and Summer is coming…”
This was the FAQ given regarding a press release for the extended ending dlc, what worst is this;
http://gamerant.com/ea-bioware-anti-gay-letters-response-mole-142057/
and this
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2012/04/05/ea-is-the-target-of-an-anti-gay-letter-writing-campaign/
its getting harder and harder to find objective reports about this, released the same day EA announces the extended cut dlc, seems like EA is trying to PR their way out of this and it looks like it working, their deflecting the anger until summer.
I’ve begun my official boycott of anything related to EA. I’m boycotting activision and capcom as well, it seems like they trade the whos the worst spot light a lot lately only to make the others look good. its disturbing, it hints that they are all working together to shift the market in their favor.
Good god damned arggghhhh i read that post from the link provided.For all of its bullshit manuvering it never actually answers shit.And then it slaps its consumer base yet again by saying that some of its players were unsatisfied.SOME try 85% on the best poll for bioware and ive seen 91% on some polls.
Closure.We don’t want fucking closure.We wanted an ending to the universe we helped create.never fucking mind bioware blantantly lied twice to its consumer base.Saying it had radical endings based on player choice and that a perfect ending could be achieved solely in single player wich were both blantant lies.
i wont go into Char cutting wich is shit.In 2 i romanced jack and was happy with it to find out in 3 i get 3 kisses and a promise to maybe maybe get to see the N7 tat on her ass if we survive this.But no.fucking no.what we get is a hallucination ending that doesnt mean shit.
And an ending that can only be theorized about.WTF it so fucking unclear that nobody can say yea this is what happened but only theorize it.
If i were’nt pissed before i am now with biowares sidestepping.Take it in the face like a man and act like it.Quit being a pussy and deflect the very real fucking concerns of your player base.85% of your fucking players said you fucked up and you still wont answer a straight fucking question.All you said was this summer.and that was it.
Never fucking mind i payed 70$ for a game to have to wait 6 months to get all of it.
You didn’t create shit. The people at BioWare did. BioWare is good enough to listen to its fans, so we maybe helped shape the Mass Effect universe in certain ways. We have no actual creative input, so don’t fool yourself, nor for that matter do we actually in any way “own” what BW puts out there. We are not shareholders… we are fanboys and fangirls with a strong emotional connection to the commercial products we consume, be they video games, movies, TV shows and other media.
I love Mass Effect and I am not happy with some of the plot holes and plot ambiguities the ending leaves but neither am I baying for BioWare’s blood or acting like I am entitled to anything where BW’s games are concerned. In an ideal world EA would respect BioWare to the extent that they would give them room (ie. time) to work out their products at their own pace in such a way that nothing gets rushed (like Dragon Age II did or that ME 3 and its ending and indeed parts of the game as a whole) RATHER THAN following a faulty, greedy business model which suggests that EA believes that if sequels to succesful franchise aren’t put out every two years, fans will lose interest and move on to other things; clearly they do not have a clue as to the devotion of BW’s fans.
As to the problems addressed by Joe and others, I will discuss in some detail the ones that bother me:
1) Joker fleeing. This would make sense only if the fleet was in active retreat after Shep gave them all the order via radio to FTL the hell away from Earth in case whatever s/he was about to unleash from the Crucible didn’t distinguish between Reapers and spaceships; really there should have been dialogue choices instead of a cutscene where the Catalyst just talks at us. Either way I would take it as read that Shep might err on the side of caution when dealing with unknown, untested Prothean technology.
2) Normandy Crash Landing. I’d have no problem with this if it was better explained and if there were multiple cutscenes EXCLUDING the two party members left behind on Earth. They could also just do away with this aspect all together.
3) Stranded Fleets. Mass Relays allow instantaneous travel across distances that might take weeks, months, years, or as much as a decade using ordinary FTL tech. The nearest star from Earth wouldn’t be that far from Earth using FTL. The fleets might have somewhere to go. As to the Quarians and imminent extinction, well I figure the Flotilla ships are equipped to grow food the Quarians can eat. It might take time but they could reach Rannoch eventually. The loss of the Relays would slow galactic civilization down for sure and certainly fragment it, but not doom it.
4) Different Coloured Endings. I smell set-up for a sequel (a second trilogy?) set centuries in the future where galactic civ has adjusted to the ramifications of Shepard’s choices and is dealing with some new problem. This might be problematic though since if you apply any thought to it, the three choices would actually have pretty varied consequences on the face of galactic society. The destruction of synthetic life might lead to a society much like in the Dune books with its Butlerian Jihad where AI are outlawed. Synthesis leads to a transhumanist (perhaps transorganic would be a more appropriate term). Shepard’s consiousness living on in the Citadel and keeping the Reapers at bay creates some interesting possibilities as well: what if Citadel Shep goes mad with power and uses the Reapers to create an evil galactic empire with the Reapers as its formidable foot soldiers and enforcers (pretty scary).
5) Shepard: Dead or Alive?
Shep is the new Catalyst or Shep is absorbed and spread across the galaxy or Shep lives! (if you got enough resources). Either way Shepard becomes a legend and besides BioWare always intended to end his/her story with the third game anyway… honestly not sure how to feel about this. Each scenario should still yield an optimal ending where Shep survives if enough resources are earned.
Shepard absorbed into the Citadel should be powerful to build a synthetic body. Synthesized Shep could emerge as a new lifeform, the first of a new type of life. The optimal destruction ending already has Shepard waking up in the rubble of the Citadel (sorry but Indoctrination is 100% BS; I believe Word of God from BioWare has confirmed this).
I nearly forgot. As far as and ending worthy of Shepard, and bearing in mind that I can live with the tri-coloured choices IF the implications of your decisions are demonstrated via cutscene or at the very least Dragon Age: Originsesque post-game epilogue captions, I would like to see Shepard one last time be it as a holographic representation of her/his physical form or with a new synthetic body a la EDI (Control Reapers ending), as a organic/ synthetic hybrid (Synthesis ending), or alive (and unchanged; Destruction ending) reunited with the two party members left on Earth (or the whole crew if they scrap the Planet of Eden scenes). If Shepard dies due to failure to achieve optimal readiness, have a funeral scene reminiscent of the Warden’s in DA:O if the player chose to sacrifice him/her to stop the Blight. If Shepard fails and gets the default destruction (bummer ending) then goddamnit, I want to see it!!
P.S. It should also be made clear that the Mass Relays are used to spread the energy of Shep’s choice but that they do not blow up afterwards but merely deactivate as though hit by an EMP. This would lay to rest the debates about whether the Mass Relays wipe out 95% of galactic civ or not.
P.P.S. With Earth devastated, I wonder if this would make the humans of Earth the next major nomadic species a la Quarians prior to retaking Rannoch? It would be an interesting scenario for the next game, although they could likely use FTL to get to nearby human colonies.
If any lasted against the reapers