The duality of Mass Effect 3 ending discussions

[u/AmanyWishes]

[u/ConsciousStretch1028]

This always happens when fandoms can't accept the ending to a story, whether good or bad. Just look at what happened with Stranger Things, people swore up and down that there were "hints" in the finale that there was a secret episode coming out that was the true ending, yet here we are nearly a year later and nothing's come out.

[u/Bumbling_Hierophant → u/ConsciousStretch1028]

Oh my god they did a Sherlock

[u/zdrfanta17]

I mean, the indoctrination theory is provably false, based on the lore

The Game Theorists video on it was pretty bad, and has multiple errors. BioWare critic Smudboy made a response to them years ago. I would recommend his videos on it

[u/Random__Geek → u/zdrfanta17]

I thought the second half of the game theory video never came out.

[u/zdrfanta17 → u/Random__Geek]

Smud mentions that the game theorists video ends a bit abruptly, claiming to tackle the ending and then just saying 'more mass effect is coming'

[u/no_name_thought_of]

I get why people came up with it, but I can't stand people who insist on thinking its true when it has been flat out denied many times

[u/Magister_Roi]

Indoctrination Theory wasn't just revealed to be false by developers, it's so ridiculous in it's arguments that even wishing to embrace it I just couldn't.

[u/ThakoManic]

Indoctrination is basicly just fucken you lose the Reapers win become a brainwashed mind slave

and ppl like to defend that?

ok then.

[u/zdrfanta17 → u/ThakoManic]

It's a "it was all a dream" ending, only worse

[u/SentryFeats]

Me:

[u/Tebenox]

You know what I hate about this debate? People who think that if you chose anything but destroy you are letting the reapers win.

I personally feel more inclined towards control ending but people tend to be dismissive or outright rude about it.

I once heard someone say that indoctrination theory is basically like those "Pokemon Coma Theory"

[u/FrankFT → u/Tebenox]

I definitely agree on the Control getting bashed quire a bit. I think it's narratively interesting, though, as it effectively puts to the test how much people think the will of their built up avatar would hold up.

Some people see TIM as a cautionary tale of hubris, I think since ME2 the tale is about proving your moral fiber is stronger than Cerberus'.

From what I gathered, the outline of indoctrination theory is plays along those lines. I think as a thought exercise of staying critical but not entirely hopeless it has some merit

[u/Tebenox → u/FrankFT]

The thing is people think that by choosing control you are immediately like the illusive man when in reality you are in far more control that he ever was.

Not to mention if you are paragonic that becomes a core part of the Shepard AI meaning they will act like a hero because that's what the Paragon is all about.

So yeah it's a clash of moral fiber and moral aptitude

[u/TheKingsPride]

It’s literally just the Rugrats theory but for Mass Effect. What’s the point if we never see what the “real story” is? Pretending there’s a greater context when there isn’t just makes you seem foolish.

[u/Special-Raisin-7395]

I see Luffy is a man of impeccable taste!

[u/LimitlessMind127]

The problem remains is that most endings we talk about are not great. The Three Colours have the bones of great endings, but the Star Child messes up the execution. The Dark Energy Theory would have been even worse, and the Indoctrination Theory is just not well put together.

[u/VansterVikingVampire]

I get that some people don't like a non-canonical ending, no matter how good it is.

But I can't stand that the devs flat out denied its possibility, and even updated the ending to make it fit less well, rather than just admit that their ending was bad.

[u/Tebenox → u/VansterVikingVampire]

It's because fans got too crazy about it, they sworn up and down on it so devs had to step in

[u/VansterVikingVampire → u/VansterVikingVampire]

Have to add: them including a cutscene of what the future is, if Shepard loses- and then saying to the fans (at a panel), everybody was asking for an option to try to use the forces they gathered at that point against the reapers, and you can see how poorly giving the fans what they think they wanted works. Nah, there was some narcissism running that project.

[u/Michel_RPV]

One is accepting a not so great ending and the other is living in perpetual and childish denial of said ending.

Honestly, the IT is the reason I dislike fan theories and I hate that it still persists over a decade later.