There's been a lot of stir concerning the ending to Mass Effect 3 the past week, growing more and more as people finish the game. Perhaps the easiest reason to explain it is that those who are up in arms about it were expecting something conventional in regards to the ending, and understandable viewpoint; conventional endings are just that because it's what most people want and expect. What they weren't expexting was that Bioware did not want end their sci-fi trilogy in a conventional manner. They wanted something divisive and thought-provoking, something which would transcend mere entertainment.
So Bioware gave the Mass Effect trilogy a Gainax Ending [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GainaxEnding].
Does that mean it's a terrible ending?
Only if you let it be that way.
---
"Thought-provoking."
A loaded descriptor if there ever was one. If it can be applied to anything, it means that there's never a "right" answer or even an acceptable one. When applied to the ending of a narrative, it usually means that things weren't wrapped up neatly for the audience and they're left to figure it out for themselves. Quite often the wrapping up of events is discarded in favour of looking at the underlying themes of the story; this is because, in the viewpoint of the writer/author/creator, what happens afterwards is irrelevant. The real focus of this type of ending is the question(s) it's asking; it's meaning, not it's consequences.
When you really get down to it, the final decision in the Mass Effect trilogy is a "What You Are in the Dark? [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WhatYouAreInTheDark]" moment. It's just you and the Catalyst; who, for all intents and purposes, functions as the villain. He's taken the form of the child who has haunted Shepard's thoughts and dreams since the beginning of the game, the embodiment of Shepard's guilt (not touching the "indoctrination theory" nonsense, save it for the fanfics); and it presents you with the three choices, and leaves it up to you to decide. No one will ever judge your decision (in the story), nor will say it was whether or not it was right or wrong; anything to end the threat of the Reapers destroying advanced sentient life in the galaxy, anything.
"Destruction" is linked with both Anderson and Renegade, which will definitively end the threat; but at the same time, will inflict a lot of collateral damage by destroying all synthetic life. "Control" is linked to The Illusive Man (TIM) and Paragon, which will end the threat without killing synthetic life; but there's no guarantee it will stay that way, and in a sense you're oppressing the Reapers themselves ("Isn't submission preferrable to destruction?"). The final option, "Synthesis", is a wild card brought about by the Crucible which no one knew what it would do; you change all life into something else and the reason for the Reapers' harvest is now gone (because you did they job for them), but it has unforseeable consequences and there's no idea if everyone wanted it.
"What You Are in the Dark?" typically involve the hero being given the choice to commit an evil act for his or her own benefit without any reprecussions, while the good act either leaves them with nothing at best or dead at worst; it's often a secret test of character to see whether or not the hero really is a one or not. The twist with the choices at the end of Mass Effect 3 is that none of them are outright "good"... but at the same time, they will fulfill a heroic deed by saving the galaxy from the Reapers (unless you end up killing everyone). Without the clear beneftis and consequences, it becomes less of a sadistic choice (which people were probably expecting) and more of a philosopical one. Neither the villains or the heroes were wrong, everyone one was right; it's all just different points of view.
---
Are you be the merciless destroyer, who will save the day at the expense of the many?
Are you the oppressive controller, who tries to save as many as possible but not forever?
Are you the one who will lead life to a new frontier, regardless of whether they want it or not?
Only you, Shepard, can answer that question.
So Bioware gave the Mass Effect trilogy a Gainax Ending [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GainaxEnding].
Does that mean it's a terrible ending?
Only if you let it be that way.
---
"Thought-provoking."
A loaded descriptor if there ever was one. If it can be applied to anything, it means that there's never a "right" answer or even an acceptable one. When applied to the ending of a narrative, it usually means that things weren't wrapped up neatly for the audience and they're left to figure it out for themselves. Quite often the wrapping up of events is discarded in favour of looking at the underlying themes of the story; this is because, in the viewpoint of the writer/author/creator, what happens afterwards is irrelevant. The real focus of this type of ending is the question(s) it's asking; it's meaning, not it's consequences.
When you really get down to it, the final decision in the Mass Effect trilogy is a "What You Are in the Dark? [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WhatYouAreInTheDark]" moment. It's just you and the Catalyst; who, for all intents and purposes, functions as the villain. He's taken the form of the child who has haunted Shepard's thoughts and dreams since the beginning of the game, the embodiment of Shepard's guilt (not touching the "indoctrination theory" nonsense, save it for the fanfics); and it presents you with the three choices, and leaves it up to you to decide. No one will ever judge your decision (in the story), nor will say it was whether or not it was right or wrong; anything to end the threat of the Reapers destroying advanced sentient life in the galaxy, anything.
"Destruction" is linked with both Anderson and Renegade, which will definitively end the threat; but at the same time, will inflict a lot of collateral damage by destroying all synthetic life. "Control" is linked to The Illusive Man (TIM) and Paragon, which will end the threat without killing synthetic life; but there's no guarantee it will stay that way, and in a sense you're oppressing the Reapers themselves ("Isn't submission preferrable to destruction?"). The final option, "Synthesis", is a wild card brought about by the Crucible which no one knew what it would do; you change all life into something else and the reason for the Reapers' harvest is now gone (because you did they job for them), but it has unforseeable consequences and there's no idea if everyone wanted it.
"What You Are in the Dark?" typically involve the hero being given the choice to commit an evil act for his or her own benefit without any reprecussions, while the good act either leaves them with nothing at best or dead at worst; it's often a secret test of character to see whether or not the hero really is a one or not. The twist with the choices at the end of Mass Effect 3 is that none of them are outright "good"... but at the same time, they will fulfill a heroic deed by saving the galaxy from the Reapers (unless you end up killing everyone). Without the clear beneftis and consequences, it becomes less of a sadistic choice (which people were probably expecting) and more of a philosopical one. Neither the villains or the heroes were wrong, everyone one was right; it's all just different points of view.
---
Are you be the merciless destroyer, who will save the day at the expense of the many?
Are you the oppressive controller, who tries to save as many as possible but not forever?
Are you the one who will lead life to a new frontier, regardless of whether they want it or not?
Only you, Shepard, can answer that question.
