7. The Indoctrination Theory Was Right All Along
Bioware essentially wrote themselves into a hole with the very notion of the Reapers. It's par for the course that once you've introduced a galaxy-wiping reset button, the stakes are irrevocably changed for the worse - but fans picked themselves up and came up with 'The Indoctrination Theory' to explain everything away in the face of overwhelmingly naff odds. The original theory in a nutshell, is that Shepard passes out aboard the Crucible and is mind-controlled by the Reaper, Harbinger. The Starchild is a continued manifestation of the Reapers vying for control of his mind from the very beginning of the game when the same child is seen, and only if Shep chooses to destroy the Reapers - thereby freeing himself of their control - does he wake up after the credits. The assumption by fans, is that Andromeda will carry this forward; Shepard survived after all, and his tale continues to reverberate around the galaxy. Andromeda's plot is rumoured to be focussed on mankind searching for a new place to colonise out in deep space, and if the events of the original trilogy did actually matter, it could be a great way to carry on. However, does going with a 'definitive' ending fly in the face of all those who chose otherwise at the close of ME 3, or please everybody by reframing and salvaging all of Mass Effect 3's worst moments? Answers in the comments.