User blog comment:Markurion/A better ME3 endings/@comment-2228120-20120721155613/@comment-24174486-20120721222112

"And what really bothers me is that the final 'choice' is actually but a SINGLE option - to do as the Catalyst says, witha couple of cosmetic changes."

Ignoring that Destroy and Control are not the Catalyst's options, the problem with this argument is that the Catalyst wants to stop the Reapers. Which is the entire point of the series.

"throughout the series, having a Paragon/Renegade option in addition to the three basic options was basically a rule for every major decision, and I don't see why they are missing at the most crucial point."

One could argue that the three choices do have morality slants to them. Personally, I see Destroy as Renegade, Synthesis as Paragon, and Control as either based on Shepard's own morality. Destroy utterly crushes the enemy at the cost of all synthetic life and is the only ending in which Shepard can survive. Synthesis works with the creator of the Reapers to find a peaceful solution at the cost of Shepard's own life, bringing about an improvement to all life. Control is slanted towards either Paragon or Renegade based on Shepard's morality; as the Extended Cut confirms, a Paragon Shepard would have a distinctly different mindset for the Reapers than a Renegade Shepard.