10 Video Game Villains You Didn't Want To Kill

Saren Arterius is the primary antagonist of Mass Effect 1. He is the longest serving turian member of the Spectres - elite operatives that answer to the Citadel Council, who preserve galactic stability by whatever means necessary.

When Saren encounters the Reaper Sovereign he ends up being mind-controlled by it, "saving" the races of the galaxy by attempting to convert organic life to synthetic.

This twisted logic sets him on a collision course with player character Commander Shepherd. As both hero and villain race to one-up one another, Saren ultimately questions his own motivations. He discovers that Sovereign will only ever see Saren as a finite resource to exploit, and as long as he remained useful, he would continue to have full control over his mind.

The next time we meet Saren, he has been fully indoctrinated, and has become a cybernetic being completely under the reaper’s control. It is entirely possible, with enough persuasion, to appeal to his remaining humanity, (or Turianity?) and convince him of one final surefire way to stop Sovereign, leading to a touching cutscene where Saren thanks the Commander and takes his own life.

Saren was "right" all along: Sooner or later the reapers will return, and he was only doing what he thought would protect everybody.