The Perfect Destroy Ending Probably Isn't Canon

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The perfect destroy ending doesn't match up with what the next Mass Effect trailer shows us.

The trailer hints at Shepard's return, and since the only Mass Effect 3 ending where Shepard "survived" is perfect destroy, naturally fans have speculated that is what the trailer shows. I dive into 5 reasons why the trailer kills the perfect destroy ending is canon theory, and provide my best interpretation for what the trailer does show us.
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👽 *More Mass Effect Content*
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✅ *My Socials*
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📖 *Chapters*
00:00 - Intro
00:18 - Reason #1
01:24 - Reason #2
02:05 - Reason #3
02:57 - Reason #4
03:28 - Reason #5
04:31 - Alternative Explanation
05:53 - Trailer Is Intentional
06:18 - Outro
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Which theory makes the most sense to you for the next Mass Effect? Let's discuss, feel free to comment below!

#masseffect #masseffect4 #masseffect5

[paragonseven]

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:18 - Reason #1
01:24 - Reason #2
02:05 - Reason #3
02:57 - Reason #4
03:28 - Reason #5
04:31 - Alternative Explanation
05:53 - Trailer Is Intentional
06:18 - Outro

Which theory makes the most sense to you for the next Mass Effect? Let's discuss, feel free to comment below!

[ming]

Analyzing Liara's wrinkles as a sign of age is ridiculous. Legendary Edition literally shows Liara's skin wrinkling when she smiles during the Citadel apartment invite. Facial expressions cause wrinkles people.

[yunogamii]

I have a theory. -Anderson who climbed into the Reapers' laser elevator and shot the crucible which destroyed the reapers. -Sheppard stayed on Earth under the rubble, surviving in the end. Conclusion: The end of Mass Effect for me was Sheppard's mental struggle.

[olivercole]

This too is my favorite franchise on the Citadel. This certainly isn’t my theory, but the more the merrier. Looking at something from different angles is bound to strike gold. The multiverse theory is very convenient tho considering why Shepherd’s body would be there. I gotta do some thinking and back to this.

[throwingbeef]

I mean, I'm not against the whole alternative universe theory, I just do not think Bioware would go that route. I think this trailer is just a metaphorical representation of what to expect. Hopefully, we'll get another trailer on N7 that will clear some of this up. Either way, I'm still super hyped!

[arcadeinvader]

We never see which of the celestial bodies liara actually lands on, and since the planet is in shadow we can't see it properly. In fact, she almost looks like she's headed for the nearest of the moons and not the planet itself. It could even be a gas giant for all we know. Plus, the planet in the final shot is massive, way bigger than any of the moons looked before. I think claiming that it is definitively alchera is jumping the gun a bit.

[barakreeves]

It’s possible she survived ME3 and that planet was where she decided to live the rest of her days. However it seems that shepherd is once again needed.

[deltathepsycho]

If you look at stargazer's planet, it is also a likely landing site. We know James became an N7, so I personally don't believe that the armor piece has to solely be Shepard. However, that armor could be Shepard's and just from an old battle as well, possibly something that was not included in any of the games. I haven't heard much speculation on the subject, but in one of the teasers, Liara is talking to what sounds like a geth. It's possible that Shepard chooses control and then is later downloaded into a geth body. Based on what I have seen, there's not enough to give definitive answers on anything and Bioware may even be looking into fan theories so they make it more pleasing to their base (wishful thinking on my part I'm sure).

[j.rileyindependentproductions]

Technically, a time skip allows for ALL endings to be considered true.

Let me explain. As the Reaper tech would still be around, whether or not active in all three endings, as well as the Catalyst; the Synthesis ending could be reversed engineered and still happen in the other choices but by other people later. Plus, say, 700 years is well enough time for a Genophage cure (if one didn't cure it), Reapers returning to Dark Space in Control and Synthesis, as well as other "discontinuities" to be explained away... Allowing for "technically" all endings to be potentially true.

So, technically, Bioware could easily make all of the endings count, with just a few minor dialogue mentions here or there by the Council, a historian, etc. depending on each person's past choice.

[BlazeTheCatMan]

and also ive seen pictures close up with blurrs of them characters in the background and i figured out that those are a unnamed krogan and salarian and the one human is possibly ryder or unnamed human or james vegas or if heck maybe shepard

[oliviamoore]

Wouldnt it be easier that Shepard’s clone survived falling out of the Normandy, you don’t see her or him die, and Shepard is one lucky s o b 😅

[Nephtys]

The simplest solution is still that the trailer is just completely unrelated to the actual game. ME3 as well as MEA were nowhere near a distinct game loop or plotline during this time of their development.

It stands to reason that Bioware did the same thing here as they did when they posted the first MEA teaser.

On the other hand, an alternative reality would bring nice elements, but it will always leave a bad taste in the players' mouths.
It's like hearing 'somehow, palpatine returned'. It retroactively diminishes previous titles. A multiverse by definition makes any single universe less important.
Even time travel is a better narrative device, and it's still a horrible idea.

It's going to end up being a retcon, and the explanation why Shepard had not fallen to earth will either be some kind of wormhole explanation (after all, the citadel is a mass relay, and it would be a nice plotline overall turning everything more into Stargate than Star Trek post reapers), or it will be Luke Skywalker - Shepard has recovered long ago and vanished now separately from the whole reaper war, so Liara is looking for them anywhere in the galaxy.

And the armor? N7 armor is basically a consumable thing in ME1, so it stands to reason Shepard wore and lost countless helmets before and after ME1.
If the teaser trailed was actually important to the story, the armor would hold more relevance, but the trailer is just way too generic and meaningless, mixing things we already knew or most fans want (Liara, dead reapers, back to milkiway, Shepard not dead in the ground).

[BlazeTheCatMan]

this may sound crazy but ive been thinking that the planet in the trailer is most curtainly serves as a trash planet where they throw all the stuff on it for after clean up after when the reaper war ended after the destroy ending most likely they might have taken shepards body and then liara probably ends up getting a hold of the guys that cleaned up during the war cuz she wants to find his body cuz she ends up figuring out how to revive him and then so she goes to that planet to find him and then recovers him and also i really think this could fit well with this other captain america thoery this other youtuber named mrhulten came up with which explains what happend to shepards body cuz if he was not on this planet then if liara if looking for him this may explain why shes on this planet and then mrhultens theory tells that after the reaper war his body is in some medical facility and then she has him frozen in cryosleep and maybe this part happens maybe after she is looking for him so maybe this trailer is the beggening of the game or maybe later on in it or towards the middle of it so if you want you could make a video on this but i am just telling you what i think

[monstersrelease]

Hi there, first time viewer and I do say that you make some compelling arguments. But, alternatively, my theory on the teaser is that it's just some iconic Mass Effect imagery thrown together to get people excited for the next game. Teaser Trailers have a tendency to propel the hype train to full speed and usually have imagery and "events" that can be found nowhere in the final product. I personally would consider the teaser as "hey guys! Look what we're working on!" as opposed to a canon preview of things to come. But who knows, perhaps you're right and it's a multiversal situation. Would certainly be interesting to see!

[cttommy]

To be fair, the fact we are getting ME 4 is an atrocity. Bioware should have focused on Andromeda and polished the sequel instead. Considering the current Bioware is, frankly, just bad at their job, I see nothing but pain and suffering for fans of ME.

[gamesadergaming]

I doubt the Normandy would be outfitted with just 1 N7 helmet and 1 N7 Armor. In Reality, Shepard would have more, and that piece could from another helmet. Maybe it is Alchera and Liara is there trying to figure out why the Reapers are there sifting through the wreckage of the Normandy SR1.

[leroyrussell]

Many many assumptions

#1, everything is based off the assumption...yes assumption that it was Shepard's armor she was picking up. Where has this been confirmed to be the case.
#2, assuming that it is Shepard's armor...it's still an assumption it from him falling from the Citadel/Crucible. Where is this confirmed? How do we know it's Shepard's armor, or that Liara is even searching for Shepard's armor, or searching for Shepard? How do we know Shepard wasn't healed up, and worked as an N7 again, but went missing...something to do with the new danger in Mass Effect 4?
#3, We know 100% that if they did choose a Canon Ending, which is likely, it was NOT synthesis. It is an assumption, but the teaser shows more than one dead reaper in a small area...3 if I remember right, so while not conclusive, it would point to Destroy being the chosen canon ending.
#4, Is Shepard even coming back? I don't remember seeing this confirmed, but I do think it would be a good idea for him to, even if not a playable character. In fact, my preference would be for him to be somebody who go talk to...a lot...but you now play as your choice...Asari, Human, Turian, Salarian, Krogan, Quarian, Geth, or Drell. Maybe do a DLC that involves an extended mission where you play Shepard...for nostalgia's sake.
#5, It's actually an assumption that the armor even has any actual relevance to the upcoming story...especially assuming it has anything to do with Shepard. Or was this just a way to show N7, without giving anything up from the story?
#6, It's an assumption as to what the numbers mean on the teaser. Was it even a date? If so, does it actually mean anything with regards to the time frame of the game. Keep in mind, a time jump does not have to be present from the very start of the game. The time jump could happen after the completion of a mission or two, half way through the game, or right near the end of Mass Effect 4. It could even take place at the beginning of Mass Effect 5.
#7, You have to start with the assumption that Liara, in the teaser, is searching for Shepard's armor, relatively soon after the Reaper War. An alternate possibility is that Shepard lived, recovered and then worked as an N7 again. Then something happens to cause a time jump. He jumped 600 years into the future...or maybe even to Andromeda. Liara finds his armor where the jump happened, if he went to Andromeda, or she is finding his armor in the future...in the Milky Way. Geth survived, so it's also possible that a small number of Reapers also survived...we are assuming that these Reapers died during the war in ME3.


To expound on #3, the teaser clearly shows that Synthesis is not the canon, if a single ending is canon. Is there one ending that is being canon? I would say yes. Why? Because BioWare talked how the decision tree had become bloated in the OT. So do you really think they could make Mass Effect for based off all three ending choices, especially given that so much would have to be different in ME4 through ME6, for each ending choice? Even just choosing for Shepard to be alive, or not, could cause massive changes in the story. So it is very reasonable to assume that a canon was chosen, and it is NOT Synthesis. It can't be Synthesis, if we are to assume Liara's face is correct. She shows zero signs of Synthesis. She was on the Normandy at the end. The crew had been converted if synthesis is chosen.

So this leaves two possibilities. Destroy...and that's what the dead Reapers in the teaser signify, or Control...and the Reapers only signify some dead Reapers, killed during the conflict...or dead from the threat in ME4. Given these two choices, I really don't think Control would be what they would choose. Now, if I were BioWare, and I were trying to please the fans, I would have Shepard in the game, as somebody you talk to a lot, but get to choose from any species as your main protagonist. It's what people want...and they make that clear a lot, in the comments of any video or thread on social media, talking about the multiplayer. People talk about how fun it is to play as the other species, and wish they could do it in the main game. It's just my opinion, but if BioWare wants to please the most fans, Perfect Destroy is the canon. 600 year time jump? Maybe.

Your description says, "The perfect destroy ending makes no sense with what the next Mass Effect trailer shows us." Sorry, but you did not make a credible case to prove this point. It's opinion only. Nothing in the teaser implies that Perfect Destroy is not the chosen canon. I'm sure BioWare would like the chosen canon to be a mystery, since we are likely at least 2 to 3 years away from the game releasing, but nothing in the Teaser implies that perfect destroy could not be the chosen canon, nor does it imply that a time jump can't happen. We all have to make a lot of assumptions, and BioWare likes it that way.

[AllyMonsters]

Or it could just be any other N7 trooper. Say, like James or someone else.

A new planet that isn't the one that has the Normandy crash site. I doubt they'll go this far, but they could have a mass relay now connecting the Andromeda galaxy if the time skip is over 600 years.

They could have moved Shepard to a new location to try and rebuild 'em like Cerberus did. Maybe stored him in a vault like a piece of art.


But Alternate realities and such seems a bit far to go. They already have that ME story plot with dark energies that they were going to use for the original ME3 ending before it got leaked, they can come back to this time (it's also the only galaxy ending subplot that they ignored in the original trilogy). So I doubt they need to go to an Alternate reality.

The only thing I can say for sure is, I kinda want to be surprised by what ending they pick rather then all this guessing. Though they'll prolly reveal it before the game gets released.

[oousan]

Shepard can somehow be brought back to life; A 2nd Lazarus Project, bringing another Shepard from the parallel universe, with the end of the synthesis, the whole galaxy is mobilized, a time machine can be built and Shepard can be saved before sacrificing himself, and even Samara and Thane's prayers can be accepted and Athane and Kalahira can bring Shepard back to life; It's up to the producers

But the part I want to mention is about the teaser; We should save our theories for 2 years from now. In my opinion, this planet is Alchera, the things Liara found belong to Shepard, but this teaser takes place during the time when Sheppard was dead. In the teaser, Liara examines the wreckage of the Normandy SR1 and is later happy to find something belonging to Sheppard. She says that in the 2nd game, she searched for Sheppard within Cerberus and when she found him, she handed him over to them to bring him back to life. So the teaser takes place in the time period between the second and third games. Also, the snow layer is not thick at all, it does not look like a 600-year-old wreck. Liara's Samara'

The only thing I can theorize is that the thing seen behind Liara as she climbed was not the Reaper, but a piece of the Normandy's wreckage. If there was a Reaper, Liara's ship would be attacked as it approached the planet. Even if the Reaper woke up as Liara left the planet, the ship would have no chance of escaping.

[oscarcordero]

My theory is that The Reapers actually harvested everyone but Liara Survived because she said that she could live to see the reapers return to dark space and maybe the Characters we see are the Arks that left to the Andromeda Galaxy. But now they are returning to tell their respective races about andromeda but find the galaxy empty but only Liara Remains.