Category: Episode Enneagrams

Shepard reaches for the Citadel console, even though she sees no other button to press, and collapses before she can solve the problem. That’s when the floor panel she lies on rises up and ascends.

She’s lifted to a new area, and there he is. It’s Boy, limned as a transparent computer construct. He chastises her. He’s in charge, the one who directs the Reapers to harvest mature civilizations. It’s the only way to save organic life. Eventually every species will reach a point where synthetic life will threaten them. Before all organics are killed, the Catalyst — Boy — looses the Reapers. Mature species are processed to become new Reapers. Immature species are left alone to develop over the next 50,000 years.

(Talk about an exposition dump!)

The galaxy throws everything at Earth as Shepard prepares to shuttle down to London. Before landing, Joker rises from his pilot’s chair and salutes us. It’s a pause in the story that feels like a key beat.

Then we’re on the ground. It’s a good battle that turns absolutely hellacious as we fire up missiles to take out the Reaper blocking the street ahead. 

The Reapers are sending humans up to the Citadel via this conduit, a giant light beam. It’s our only way in, as the Citadel arms are closed.

Most of this is straightforward endgame. Teammates have tender goodbyes, fighting is at its most difficult, and the prospects are very grim. Shepard holds it together, encouraging soldiers that we’ll win, but this is a dark ruin of a future.

And then things get weird. 

Chasing after Kai Leng and the Illusive Man, Shepard finds Sanctuary, a world devoted to taking refugees. However, it’s a false front. Cerberus is using the humans for experiments on Reaper indoctrination, turning people into husks. Miranda’s father leads the research. He does discover a way to reverse engineer the process, so that he thinks he can command Reapers. Kai Leng escapes with the data and returns to the Illusive Man. Because Miranda’s planted a tracker on Leng, he leads Shepard and the Alliance to Cerberus’ doorstep.

Admiral Hackett goes for a final check-in: once the fleet makes a move on the Illusive Man, the Reapers will become aware. The Crucible is ready except for the Catalyst. Everyone hopes that the Illusive Man knows what it is and how to implement it. Otherwise, humanity battles Reapers over Earth as, probably, a last stand. Shepard gives the go-ahead.

Immediately, we’re back in the molasses realm, chasing that Boy.

Shepard in armor watches as Boy runs into the arms of Shepard in casual wear. They all gaze at each other. Shepard awakens in bed wearing her underwear. (This is the point where Shepard becomes intimate with anyone she romanced. I just couldn’t work up the energy to care, although I’ve pursued all the options in the past.)

And then we’re on Cronos Station, the Illusive Man’s base.

It’s a straightforward fight into the center to recover the Prothean VI. Along the way we see the giant skeleton Reaper from the Collector base. Apparently the Illusive Man retrieved it. It’s just hanging there in tatters.

Many worlds are burning, including the Asari homeworld. Finally the Asari Councilor informs us that a religious temple there has an important artifact. We go to retrieve it.

The fight against Reaper minions is tough. When we reach the temple the place is deserted, the scientists dead with their throats cut. Liara, who insists on accompanying us, tells us this temple is ancient, a legacy of a near-dead religion. The large statue of the goddess, though, hums for Shepard. She can hear it. Underneath the statue facade lies a Prothean beacon, intact.

Briefly we can lament that the Asari, the most advanced species in the galaxy, hoarded the Beacon and gleaned knowledge that propelled them to their status. The universe really could’ve used this information earlier in its battle against the Reapers.

This is one of the more fascinating themes of the story. Quarians invent Geth as a servant robot race, but they’re AI and they evolve into consciousness. When the Quarians realize this, they decide to wipe out the Geth. The Geth resist and fight back. Eventually the Quarians are driven from their homeworld and have since lived for centuries on the Migrant Fleet, a flotilla of nomadic spaceships that house the entire race.

Chase Boy through a dead forest again. This time shadowy smoke figures fade in and out, while our dead companion’s voice (either Ashley’s or Kaidan’s) relives their last moment. The dead haunt Shepard. 

Just as Shepard reaches Boy, a Reaper light shines on him and he runs, giggling as if he’s playing tag. (Is it wrong I wish Shepard could draw her gun? Too Renegade?) Again he finally stops and gives a last, soulful look as he bursts into flame.

The idea that Shepard doesn’t sleep — she’s too busy to rest — and then when she finally does it’s not restful, may or may not resonate later in the story. She’s still mentally and physically sharp. It’s only when she awakens that she’s not herself. Weakness and vulnerability are not normal characteristics for her. However, this is immediately after Mordin’s scene, so fatigue born of anguish is logical.

And now Udina, the politician Bioware wants us to hate, actually becomes a villain. We’re called to the Citadel. Cerberus, with Udina’s cooperation, has attacked. 

Our first encounter with Kai Leng, the Illusive Man’s henchman, is here, and we barely rescue the Council from a kidnapping. Also, our teammate (Kaidan or Ashley) doesn’t understand. They defend the Council, following Udina’s lead to usher them into the waiting shuttle. We actually have a guns-drawn showdown before we can resolve the stand-off.

Anderson and Miranda, separately, mention knowing Kai Leng and fearing his fighting skills. For Shepard, though, he’s a new character. 

It’s strange to introduce someone critical at this point in the trilogy. He’s just a dude, probably enhanced and indoctrinated, but he feels like a lazy creation. I wish they’d incorporated him earlier. How awesome would that have made our fights! And I wish they’d given him a more distinct character design. Nothing about him furthers the story. He’s just a boss battle with none of the pizazz.

One little story drop that only makes sense later: Anderson asks why Cerberus would be interested in taking control of the Citadel. In retrospect, after playing endgame, I realize that the Illusive Man has a small part of the Prothean archive data from Mars. He has the Catalyst portion. I like when a game ups the replayability with subtle plants like this.