Another spoiler warning. While this is "head-canon" territory, I will have to reference the actual ending. Leviathan DLC spoilers are in here as well.
Assuming Direct Control of this ending
With this alternate, hypothetical ending, I fix my two main gripes while also making the ending better overall. This is TL;DR territory but I hope you give this a chance. Assume certain things about the ending are the same but here is the 8 steps I would take to make this a better ending.
Step 1: Change the Catalyst to Harbinger
While not a huge gripe with me, I didn't like that the Citadel is the catalyst. I basically called that at the beginning of the game, along with I assume, everybody else who played the game. Why use the Citadel again when the Citadel was the MacGuffin for the first ME?
The easy fix is, make the catalyst Harbinger. After having a huge part in ME2, he (it) is barely in ME3. Sure, he became something of a punchline with his taunts in ME2, but it's weird to have him featured so little in the finale. He doesn't need to talk much, plus he'd be a better surprise than the Citadel. He's already mentioned a few times early in ME3 so he already has proper foreshadowing. You can even explain this as Harbinger having the "master Reaper code" or some shit because he is the original Reaper and why he is needed for the Crucible to only target Reapers.
I am aware that my solution is cliche but it's still better. And hey, I said easy fix.
Step 2: Make the Final Mission More Like the Suicide Mission
And maybe add a little color.
While this doesn't address my two main gripes in part 1, and the Earth mission is pretty good as is, it is still a let down after the great ending to Mass Effect 2. ME3 does not have the same style of build up for its final mission, so it was going to be a let down regardless. Still though, the final mission could be better.
Instead of choosing squadmates to do specific tasks, how about choosing what war assets to use at certain points. Say you have Harbinger surrounded on Earth and he's trying to process humans faster because he really, really, hates Shepard or something....whatever....just a reason for him to be on the ground. Harbinger has now replaced the conduit since the Citadel is no longer necessary and he takes the role of the defending Reaper the missiles are used on. Reaper forces have built up strong defenses to defend Harbinger, so Anderson brings Shepard in to talk over the assault.
Since there are SO many war assets in this game, lets say you get to pick TWO for each choice. Here are some examples of what that could be like:
- Say the north approach to Harbinger is wide open with little cover and has a lot of Brutes and Banshees. Who do you want to send? The Krogan forces right! And who better to send with them than the Turians who now have experience fighting alongside them and are the second best at handling a fight like that. The Geth would be good at this too since they seem to shy away from cover anyway.
- Maybe the eastern approach is impassible except through some buildings with a lot of tech issues....choose the Quarians/Geth. Both though? Hmmm, maybe there is still some bad blood there and some friendly fire may turn this to shit. Maybe choose one and the Shadow Broker team or the Spectre unit. Even Salarian STG.
- Maybe the western approach has a lot of narrow corridors, perfect for Asari commandos and their biotic barriers. Jack and her students could get used there too.
- Say there is a air strike squad to distract Harbinger like on the Tuchanka mission. You can choose a slew of fighter ship assets.
- Finally, I would do a support squad who maybe take positions atop the buildings as sniper/artillery support. The Turians would probably be best for this but Salarian STG would be good too. (I'm ignoring the main Salarian forces because you can only get them by sabotaging the Genophage Cure and fuck that). The assets you choose for the support role will boost the ratings of the other forces and help determine if anybody dies.
Obviously, Shepard and crew would take the southern approach, maybe along with whatever leftovers and the humans (obvs). Choose poorly, and former squadmates will die. Maybe Kasumi is helping with the tech approach, for example. Jack is with the biotics. Grunt with the Krogans, and so on. Pick really poorly and current squadmates die. I don't really know what to do with the ones you don't choose to go with Shepard, (lead the other squads maybe) but I would have liked to see them be extra friendly AI on Shepards approach. Maybe you can't control them, just the two you pick, but at least they are there participating. Maybe they even get a few kills.*
*I have my doubts the game would run well with that many allies and enemies with Shepard in the area but this is all hypothetical anyway.
This makes the finale so much more like the Suicide Mission. Everyone is involved, your final choices could get people killed, and just....SOOO much epicness would happen. Man....I want this.
Step 3: Add a Harbinger Section
It can be similar to this but not dead.
Once you reach Harbinger, who is knocked out but not dead from the missiles at the end of the Earth mission, you need to kill some time so...Collectors! Why not fight a handful? I highly doubt a spacefaring species would have EVERY SINGLE MEMBER in one location. A few Collectors are probably still alive, only as Harbingers personal black ops squad or something. Also note, I am eliminating the run to the conduit entirely.
During this brief mission, Harbinger wakes up and starts flying toward the Crucible. Everyone is wondering what the hell he is doing but continue on mission soldier!
But here is where we smartly change the rules. Say there is a cutscene and a Collector rushes the squad out of nowhere. You shoot him, but only after hitting the Paragon interrupt....that's weird. Shouldn't it be Renegade? Anyway, you come up on something, maybe a weird door and Shep starts talking to Garrus and a Renegade interrupt pops up. You hit it, thinking maybe Shep will just break the door down, but no, HE/SHE TRIES TO SHOOT GARRUS but luckily misses. After each of these. that weird headache wah-wah sound effect happens as well as the "squiggly lines" that happen in the current ending but only after each interrupt......
This sound effect was weirdly hard to find.
While it's obviously not canon, I'm talking about the excellent fan theory, the Indoctrination Theory. It's a pity Bioware didn't do something like this because it would have been obvious to end with. While Shepard and the crew is travelling up Harbinger, in a last ditch effort, Harbinger is attempting to do the fast indoctrination on the squad. You can even have cutscenes where the squad is out of character or even try to kill Shepard. That said, the game should not OUT RIGHT say Harbinger is attempting to do this. The player should figure this out on their own with the clues the game drops.
Also, have Anderson lead a 2nd team in there (maybe NOW the mistakes in the previous section kill characters?) with more hints about indoctrination. Maybe he radios Shepard about James trying to cha-cha with a Collector or something.
Not sure how to end this section, maybe a crappy boss fight? Maybe it's Harbingers core or something, I dunno. It's the part I have the most trouble with. Either way, this MUST end with Harbinger connecting with the Crucible.
Also, Shepard and Anderson get severely wounded from an explosion or something. The rest of the crew says their goodbyes and Shepard tells them he/she will finish the job. The reasoning is that being inside of Harbinger when the Crucible goes off probably isn't too safe.
Also, Shepard and Anderson get severely wounded from an explosion or something. The rest of the crew says their goodbyes and Shepard tells them he/she will finish the job. The reasoning is that being inside of Harbinger when the Crucible goes off probably isn't too safe.
Step 4: Illusive Man
This can be virtually identical only now it takes place in Harbinger....near the top, I suppose. Anderson still dies I guess. You can still maybe shoot the Illusive Man or talk him into shooting himself. Whatever.
At this point, Harbinger is docked with the Crucible. The game drops a few hints that the obviously indoctrinated Illusive Man was there to do something on a control panel....but what, the player doesn't know yet.
Shepard passes out from his injury and starts the Star Child sequence the same.
Shepard passes out from his injury and starts the Star Child sequence the same.
Step 5: Star Child and The New Reaper Motive
I am indifferent to the Star Child as a thing. It's okay I guess. Now though, we can use the Star Child as a manifestation of Harbinger since his indoctrination attempts means he has read Shepards mind. Shepard is speaking to Harbinger but isn't aware yet.
So evil.
Here, the Star Child explains to Shepard what the Reapers are and why they are doing this. This is where I change one of my two main gripes. The Leviathan DLC should be INCLUDED in the main game to help explain this too.
In the Leviathan DLC, the Leviathans explain that they created the Reapers. Yes, yes, that is the same, but here I run with their big deal of being the apex race, as in the apex of evolution.
The Leviathans controlled the galaxy and enthralled all the lesser races, but over time, they determined those other races were not reaching their apex of evolution fast enough or progressing correctly or whatever. So they had top Leviathan scientists look into it and to help them, they created an AI to watch over every race in the galaxy. After a while, they asked the AI why other races were not catching up to them. The AI concluded that they are incapable of reaching their apex and that EVEN THE LEVIATHANS are not the "apex of evolution". The Leviathans ask the AI what is the apex, the AI describes something like a Reaper, the Leviathans attempt to shut the AI down, it then goes to war killing off the Leviathans and so on.
The Star Child (Harbinger) explains that the Reapers are the apex of evolution and monitor the advanced races of the galaxy. If they are not progressing in a way that makes them LIKE Reapers, they are destroyed. The Reaper motive is about evolution now. No more "we don't want you to get killed by synthetics so we created synthetics bullshit." Sure, this is another rogue AI story now, but at least the motive is unique. A rogue AI that monitors evolution? Shit man. Hire me now Hollywood.
Step 6: The New Choices
For shits and giggles, lets just keep the choices to the main 3 but with several tweaks. And for the record, I would get rid of the refusal ending entirely....because it's kind of important in my completely different version.
The Star Child (Harbinger) would explain all three endings the same only now the "headache wah wah sound effect" and those "squiggly lines" would happen after questioning him. Shepard is still unaware that he/she is being indoctrinated but dialogue choices should sound skeptical of the Star Child.
If the player chooses one of these, the indoctrination will have worked.
I'm planning on a part 3 of this series but I need your help. I assume my alternate, hypothetical ending still has big plot questions that haven't fully been solved or explained so I'd like you to ask me. Either in the comments below or on Twitter, ask me a question you have regarding this ending. I'll probably think of some questions of my own too, but I'll include yours and mine in the next part and try to answer them the best I can. Uh....hopefully you read this far.
Part 3 is now up.
......wait.
Step 6: The New Choices
For shits and giggles, lets just keep the choices to the main 3 but with several tweaks. And for the record, I would get rid of the refusal ending entirely....because it's kind of important in my completely different version.
The Star Child (Harbinger) would explain all three endings the same only now the "headache wah wah sound effect" and those "squiggly lines" would happen after questioning him. Shepard is still unaware that he/she is being indoctrinated but dialogue choices should sound skeptical of the Star Child.
Then the Star Child explains the hidden 4th choice that violently murders every puppy in the Galaxy.
If the player chooses one of these, the indoctrination will have worked.
- The Destroy (red) Ending now has the crucible target all organics. With the Geth alone, they don't last much longer and are destroyed or assimilated as well. Everyone dies. Bad ending.
- The Control (blue) Ending now is reversed with the Crucible letting the Reapers control every human. Shepard and every human squadmate turns against their allies. Maybe a cool cutscene happens in the Normandy with the humans turning on the alien squadmates but they escape. The rest of the aliens in the Galaxy continue the war but over time they eventually lose just like the Protheans. Maybe we get a few more cutscenes of characters going out in a blaze of glory/desperation
- The Synthesis (green) Ending lets the Reapers control everyone. It ends the war right there. Maybe we get a cutscene with Shepard and friends living out the rest of their lives, waiting to be processed, with a narration talking about how they have accepted their fates and how the Reapers are actually correct and blah blah blah.
Step 7: The Bittersweet Ending
Or, if the player realizes they're being tricked, they can refuse to do any of those choices. Shepard questions the Star Child more and uses dialogue like "something isn't right here", "why should I trust you?" and "(confused muttering)". Shepard then can have another dialogue boss fight, similar to the Illusive Man one, and break free from the indoctrination. Shepard snaps out of the dream conversation with the Star Child to find him/herself just about to push a button on that same control panel The Illusive Man was going to use!
Shepard realizes the plot twist that Harbinger was going to use the Crucible against the races of the Galaxy, but needed a human to change the controls because the Crucible was built by Humans and others and what not. By doing nothing, the Crucible charges up, and targets only the Reapers now that it has uploaded the master Reaper code from Harbinger. Bam!
The Crucible fires, killing Reapers throughout the Galaxy just like in the destroy ending but this time doesn't destroy the Mass Relays cause that plot hole was not necessary. However, as Harbinger too starts dying, Shepard races to an escape pod, or, one of those Reaper fighter "jet" things you see in cutscenes and during the suicide mission of ME2.
In this ending, Shepard dies. He/she makes the escape pod but succumbs to his/her injury. The Normandy finds the pod but he/she is just a corpse upon arrival. There is a funeral scene, then the slideshow still happens showing all your choices affects on the galaxy. Then it cuts back to a sombre party with the crew as they await the unveiling of a Shepard statue on the Citadel. The end.
Kind of like this but without the gasp.
Step 8: The Good Ending
Or Shepard survives!
I'm not sure what the criteria for this should be but I think using the choices in the final Earth mission is a good idea. Get a certain number of characters killed, Shepard dies. If you only get a few characters killed, or all of them survive, Shepard lives. I'm open to other options on this though. Maybe you have to make specific dialogue choices in your final talk with Star Child?
Anyway, Joker fears the worst but notices only one Reaper signal remains on the censors. They fly up to the escape pod, open it, and find a barely alive Shepard. -Cut-.
One month later or so, we see the Citadel Council talk about rebuilding efforts as well as (choices dependent) the Krogan, Quarians, Geth and so on getting embassies on the Citadel as well as opening the council up to every race. Maybe they say something smart-assed like, "I wish Shepard was here to help us" only to keep the suspense going. Then, the slideshow happens.
Afterward, we see the crew having a sombre party just like the bittersweet ending only this time, the camera pans up to see a statue of Anderson (!!), then you hear Shepard say, "he was like a father to me", then the camera turns around and shows him/her still in bandages and putting his/her arm around the romance option character. Credits (skippable).
In only this ending, you get a long after credits scene where a now fully healed Shepard has a joyful party with the crew, ending with a kiss to the romance option on some balcony overlooking a beautiful night sky and holy shit I'm going to Starbucks to write this screenplay.
"Then Shepard, Master Chief, and Batman stepped inside the Bang Bus......"
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I love this idea and wish it was real. The Reapers motive is no longer stupid and based on flawed logic. The choices are now a ruse. A game that made player choice a big deal suddenly uses an in canon reason to not trust any choice and forces you into an ending that is essentially more linear,* but would be better received across the board. And this alternative ending isn't even entirely my own idea since I borrow heavily from the Indoctrination Fan Theory (which again, is not true....but damn is it clever).
*I know some people will bitch here but come on. What did you expect from Bioware? For them to make 67 totally different 50 minute long ending scenes? That is not going to happen. I like the idea of changing the rules this time. Indoctrination, plus giving you choices but all of them are bad, and the only way to win is to choose no choice. It makes narrative sense.
Part 3 is now up.
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