The Catalyt's argument seems flawed. Why would the Reapers have need of Sovereign, who aligned with Saren and the Geth, if they were simply "doing what they were created to do"? Aren't the Geth the very synthetics the Reapers were intended to protect organics from? I understand the eventual indoctrination of Saren and the Illusive Man as being a part of their integration process, but why even bother using them if they were not interested in causing more conflict then necessary?

So much synchronicity

The shot where the Catalyst says "I am the catalyst for peace between organics and synthetics" as you get a shot of the absolute destruction in the background speaks volumes. He's full of shit and knows he's moments from losing if he can't convince Shepard not to destroy the reapers

111 xo

Honestly the catalyst should've been Kaiden or Ashley....

The result of a writers ego. Someone wrote it to be incomprehensible and then someone else thought he could do better.

The AI and its goals should have stayed incomprehensible.

Bullshit

The Synthesis is the final evolution of all life. The paths are open, but you have to choose - The Catalyst

WaKe Up, Daddy!

The kid helped shepard because he was the first to reach there, but didnt illusive man was there as well?

Star Child: all synthetic life will kill organic, it is inevitable and nothing has ever happened to prove otherwise Shepard, who united the Geth and the Quarians: Well yes, but actually no.

This and Crying suns are the best approaches I ever seen regarding Godlike AI scenarios.

Ceau Adriane

Catalyst question: This is profoundly stupid. The only thing that makes sense is that the catalyst was created to be a bonding element ... Of..... Profoundly stupid ideology between organics and synthetics. See how easily I'm lost Bioware in stupid??! Reapers question: that doesn't explain it at all... What? The concept of it being created to represent their creators that oversaw the conflict of synthetic and organic life is stupid unless you rephrase that by saying something smart about the subconscious shadow and corruption., which this is too profoundly stupid to do. Leviathan question: redundant Shepard, prior to the question, asks who their creators are. After repeating itself FIVE TIMES "By those that recognized...." Profoundly stupid. It was created to solve the problem of organics vs synthetics to over see the relations of organics and synthetics by those that recognized the relations of organics and synthetics.... What?? This is just reaching. Crucible: oh hey it's barely a battery. I'll repeat myself instead of giving any new information because it's profoundly stupid, in a profound way that makes it stupid.

Synthesis, the greatest ending to a story that i have ever saw in 26 years playing video games.

tbh i always found the kids solution and reasoning flawed, its also inconsistant with sovereign statement that all life was evolved to serve their own ends from ME1, the kid said he was exterminating all life and reforging it into reapers to save it, but he didnt mention that there would need to be an end one day to rebuild all that was lost to reaper form, the problem is that he was storing everything in reaper form and squiriling it all away with no end goal in mind, not one he spoke of, these cycles were pointless

I don't get all the hate for the ending. The Reaper army was simply too strong. Their Blitzkrieg made victory via warfare impossible. The Leviathan were beyong any current life forms in power and abilities. I always believed that ending it wanted was the merging of synthetics and organics. The destruction ending, control ending, and refusal endings were the less desirable ending. It had the power, it always had the power. It follows with the narrative throughout the game, the war is unwinnable, only the superweapon can win it. Well, this is how.

So basically, there's no real point in doing the Leviathan DLC, because we don't even see them playing a part despite the fact that they can each take out one of the big Reapers alone.

Chaos still in fashion

Funny thing about the catalyst is that it’s the literal problem put in place to fix said very same problem yet the crucible was too stupid to realize it was literally the same problem it sought to eradicate. Not to mention that bitch lies to you all synthetics don’t die I saw Edi alive

3:33, the Reapers are not interested in war? So, apparently the Reapers are called the Reapers because they are soooo peaceful. All that combat and suspense with the Reapers because the cocky Catalyst killed them against their will and turned them into war machines. Peace? Preservation? Yeah right? The explanation only gets worse when the Catalyst explains how and why Harbinger was made to begin with: People begged this Catalyst to solve conflict, the Catylist saw them as part of the problem the people wanted to be solved, and thus made them into Harbinger. And the irony of it all is that Catalyst made both Harbinger, Leviathon, and the rest of the Reapers…to end conflict. Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! The GCN dude was right to tear this Catalyst a new one for about 30 minutes.

at this point shepard is the most powerful being in the galaxy

i love that the game used anderson and the illusive man for their respective endings

the kid and the stupid dreams annoyed me so much that on my first trilogy play-through i shot him as i walked towards the destroy ending and almost choked when it was a bad end

I chose Synthesis

This ending is total dogshit, The Leviathan has to be an organic life form if it was capable of creating another life form. So for Star Child to say that Reapers are a preservation of Organic life to make space for others is nonsensical. They were created by organic life, obviously the highest levels of existence can co-exist.

Honestly guys the ending for Mass Effect 3 still fails, despite all the edits, extended cuts & DLCs from Bioware, here's why. Leviathan in the DLC talked about how there were many minor civilizations back in ancient times, which ended up destroying themselves due to their creation of AI machines. Leviathan said his own race decided to create its own AI, to help figure out a way to save lesser civilizations/ lesser forms of life from going extinct, kind of like how we humans create animal reserves on earth to preserve endangered animal species. At some point the AI, for some inexplicable reason, perverted the idea of "preservation of life at any cost," and saw its creators as an obstacle to this mission, and wiped them out. That part is still yet to be explained. Not that it needs an explanation, it's just bad writing by this point. The best explanation I can come up with is this: the Reapers were given an objective by their creators, that organic species who developed a true Artificial Intelligence would inevitably endanger their own existence. Then the Reapers pervert this logic by extending it multiple times... First, an organic race that created AI would also become dangerous to other organic life around it. Second, an organic race that made ANY AI in general, was then considered dangerous. And finally third, since OUR creators are organics who had created AI, they will also inevitably become a danger to themselves and other organic species around them, and so they too must be eliminated. Again, at the end of the day it's just bad writing. By this point in the story Bioware had written themselves into a corner. The Reaper mythos and their origin story could've gone in a better direction, or just left unexplained outright. Anything to get us away from this lame conclusion to the biggest question of the entire series.

If 'synthesis' is a solution to the problem, why didn't this kid do that in the first place? How does controlling the Reapers solve the problem? Couldn't the Reapers just be guardians that protect organic life from synthetic life? If the catalyst can destroy all synthetic life when destroying the Reapers, why doesn't it just do that every time synthetics arise? Oh, because the crucible 'changed' him and created new possibilities and can't do them himself because... And why would the kid even tell you how to destroy the Reapers if that brings about his apocalypse? Sounds like a really dumb AI.

If you think this ending is poorly written, you're stupid. That's just a fact. Doesn't matter whether you like it or not.

FART!!!!

Wrex: come on shepard we're gonna take down the leviathan and i'm helping

Sovereign: you are ants to us. You cannot comprehend our goals Idk man, sounds pretty comprehendible and fucking stupid.

Feak this endings.

So would it be possible for EDI to be restored? After all, it was created by Cerberus and now all its data is in the possession of the Alliance, would it then be possible to recreate it, since they can restore the technology?

Years later... Still, I don't buy its arguments and the choice presentations. I choose our own future every time. Adiós kid.

Control! Aaaaaall the way! As HUGE fan of the M.E. universe who has played the trilogy countless times i tend to choose Control more often than destroy or Synthesis. With Control everyone survives Organics, Synthetics EVEN Shepard as the new Catalyst. Yeah Yeah i know i know he survives on the Destroy ending as well of you have enough Alliance, but is it really worth it? You killed the Geth, EDI among every other Synthetic life in the galaxy.

Before Mass effect finished production Mass effect 1 I wanted to do synthesis ending of Mass effect 3. Life is boring with primitives. But with my friends I wanted to be the light dude out of boredom.

Really wish the star child was avina the citadel ai

What a disapoiment that the leviathan didn´t appear floating: "Destroy The betrayer piece of filth "

So, while it's been a minute now I will say this: The Star Child as the antagonist at the end is BS. For say, an Earthborn Shepard. Why would (s)he care about some random kid getting zapped? Considering ANYONE from earlier could've been a better candidate to break Shepard. Or the Colonist Shepard. Add in the Sole Survivor background and there would be an extensive list of familiar faces to break Shepard down. As for Spacer, eh. Fk Spacer background. But yeah, a run and gun ending where your squad would die one by one would've made for a more impactful ending. Especially if the love interest made it with you to the end, only to be cut down by TIM. But, while not a satisfactory ending. It was an ending.

Stupid circular logic. This thing should've at least adressed the quarian/geth conflict resolution and say that they saw that in other cycles but it never lasts or something like that. Or better, why don't do they kill the synthetics instead of their builders? And why left behind technology that will end up accelerating technical evolution precissely towards the creation of synthetics? And how do they know synthetics kill ALL ORGANIC LIFE instead of just their own creators leaving the rest of the galaxy alone? Oh, and the "you would not know them and there is no time to explain" is just the cherry on top of the asspull from nowhere that is the weapon

"Commander throw it in airlock" "No, don't" "Aaaaaaa"

Reapers: I am inevitable, we are solution Shepard: And I am commander Shepard

Even if I get everything right in a run, I always destroy the Reapers. On general principle; Fuck 'em.

This plot is so stupid. If he is the Citadel why did Sovereign need to come back to let the other reapers in? The catalyst could’ve done everything from the beginning. It’s also annoying how every Reaper has been talking about us being pointless, our death and destruction, but star kid comes along and tells you how you have choice and hope. It’s such a bizarre flip flop. I wish they kept the original plot

BioWare gave us choices at the end of the trilogy but according to the ME5 teaser trailer, your preference doesn't matter: the canon choice is the destroy ending. Another middle finger to us.

the "synthetics will kill organics" was weak excuse they should have instead went with the same excuse as the contingency in Stellaris : if left to advance technologically some civilisation may advance to a point where it might destroy reality itself (for instance with False vacuum decay or any other type of singularity) and so to protect reality civilisations must not be allowed to advance past a certain point.

As much as I like the ME series, you have to be snorting some strong copium to think this is good writing.

This is the dumbest argument and game ending in the history of the Universe.