User blog comment:Matthew Paul/BioWare never made a case?/@comment-3046679-20130110160425/@comment-3543731-20130111041702

The problem (that I have at least) with the Dark Energy ending is that the Reapers would do better at regulating this dark energy if they hadn't created the mass relays for us to use, or themselves for that matter (Eezo cores). Your reasoning behind the relays would be like us creating nukes for the middle east so they wouldn't have to, yet kill them because they want to use it. Sure we want to prevent them from having nukes now but at least we didn't give it to them in the first place. And whose to say we would have built our own relays anyways? And if you don't want to take the Catalysts word on synthetics, why would you take his word on dark energy. As you have agreed with me on there has only been 2 known instances of dark energy acting up and that is ME2 (with only one being dangerous and that was Haestrom's star - one...star...); would not him talking of dark energy been out of left field? What makes dark energy so special? In fact, dark energy is not a threat; or at least not a very prolific one. Hell, 70% of the universe is believed to be made of dark energy, and while the universe is projected to rip itself apart, that won't be for another 20 billion years. What I love about the OvsS theme is that its more immediate. It can be seen as a legitimate problem that would give reason for a 50,000 year harvest cycle.

Also, the Catalyst would not eventually kill all of it. He's not continually cutting the plant; he prunes it where needed and then lets it grow (50,000 year cycles). In that growth time, more organics arise, evolve and advance to a point where he believes they become a danger to themselves (the point where they inevitably create synthetics which then rebel against them, either through their own aggression or through organic pressure).

And themes are normally very integral to a story. One such example is that of the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn. Once of the major themes throughout the book is Redemption and the act of pursuing it. At the end of that book the reader finds out that SPOILER the clergyman who sentenced the woman who "committed adultery" to wear the scarlet 'A' is actually the father of her child, and for the past few years has been torturing himself for what he had did to her. In the end he confesses his sin to everyone and dies in the woman's arms with her child kissing him, redeeming him of his sins (<---Redemption of sin theme present in ending).

In the end, you and I have completely competing opinions. And I can see no matter what I say; no matter how many examples I give I am never going to change your mind. I found Mass Effect 3's endings to be quite prolific. The final three CHOICES gave me pause when I was presented with them as they required me to think and reflect on my past actions to make another decision that'll effect the entire galaxy. For now all I can say is that ME3 has sparked more conversation than any other game I know of. And from what I can tell, that might have just been the objective all along...