I love that it's Wrex mourning Shepard when they think the Reaper debris crushed him. Like, it feels RIGHT that it's Wrex, who will one day call Shepard 'brother'.
AND... for every Krogan... the name Shepard will mean HERO! TBH the biggest thing to me in Mass Effect was that it allowed me to... act like everything was bigger than me. That I could feel the weight of every decision. A lot of comments are cocky about letting the council die. For me... it was bigger than me and my feelings. And that... will, I think... never be repeated in gaming history.
I know the councilors are total idiots. But in the long run, you have to save them. Not just to gain the destiny ascension. In Mass Effect 3. But also so the galaxy can remain stable.
They just get replaced by more generic ones if you don't save 'em, so you might as well save the most fairest member, Tevos, the most quotable ("Ah yes, the reapers, we have dismissed those claims) Sparatus, and I guess the salarian too.
They're not idiots, it's just Shepard was too dense to realize, that if the truth about the Reapers came out, then it may create panic across the galaxy and that won't help anyone. Also I don't think these councilors had a lot of power in their homeworlds, Shep should've appealed to the Asari, Turian and Salarian governments (Just like he did in ME3, but it was too late) instead of trying to reason with the Council between ME1 and ME2.
@samuelw4380 Thing is, the Council holds ultimate authority over those in Citadel space. And while covering up the Reapers to prevent panic is logical, not doing anything about it is also illogical. It took Garrus practically shouting to the heavens, and his own father, for the Turians to at least prepare. Humanity was the only one who took the threat seriously, and that's because of people like Anderson and Hackett. I say it's a very mixed bag tbh
This moment always fills me with immense pride. Especially when the Destiny Ascension Commander says “It’s the Alliance! Thank the Goddess!” Damn…I hate the Council but they sure make it satisfying to save their dumbasses.
@@AdeptKing I mean yeah…feels great to shove it in the Council’s face. But that’s not why I love this moment. Although I wish Joker could’ve said something like “Huh…funny seeing you here. I mean, the Reapers aren’t real right?” if you hang up on the Council every time before that.
And to think, ME2 and 3 only happened because Sovereign let things get personal and used a lot of its energy to control Saren's dead body to try and kill Shepard, only for that body to be killed again, thus weakening Sovereign enough for the fleet to finish him off. lol
I assume Shepard being in the master control unit prevented him from opening the relay part of the Citadel and summoning the rest of the Reapers, and trying to beam them would destroy it screwing with his plan forever, so he had no choice sans waiting to wipe the entire fleet before Assuming Direct Control before it was cool which would still leave him a sitting duck after losing.
@@BDH38 Yeah, Shepard got something from the Vigil(?) AI to stop Nazarra opening the relay part of the Citadel and give Shepard full control. I think if Shepard was only slightly too late, the Reapers would've made it through.
They may not listen, but I still felt a duty to save the Council. It’s not a warriors place to force his betters into taking his advice; only to defend them till his last breath. I demonstrated through action that my claims were real, and saving them even despite their refusal to take my warnings seriously felt appropriate: here they are, thinking the human won’t dare to risk the lives of his own people, especially not after all the shit they’ve put him through, only for them to be carried out of the fire by that very same man, alongside the species they had so little faith in, without even so much as a moments hesitation. It was a poignant message that I wanted the galaxy to remember in their bones: humanity might be young, we might be short lived and short tempered, and we might be crude at times…but when we make a promise, we fucking _keep it._ You earn our trust, and you’ll have no better friend. Break that trust, and you’ll wish you and your entire species had never crawled from the primordial soup.
Well said, that's my reason too for why I saved the Destiny Ascension. I didn't give a damn about the Council, but choosing to save the Destiny Ascension went beyond just the Council. It was about sending a message to the entire galaxy that humanity weren't just a bunch of impulsive apes who were incapable of seeing the bigger picture beyond themselves. It was to show that humanity was 100% prepared to lay down their lives to save a bunch of nameless people on a ship to that carried 3 people that denied the existence of the very threat that was was about to destroy them.
Am I the only one who likes Sparatus arc through out the entirety of the series he just dismissive of Shepard but when the reapers show up he’s the only one that went out of his way to actually help and took his word immediately when he presented the crucible
I say this every time I see this clip, I sent the Alliance fleet to not only save the council, but to save and protect the 10,000 souls aboard the Destiny Ascension. Yes, at the cost of human blood, but to stay idle and do nothing is how evil prevails.
What i love the most about this scene is that unlike in Star Wars or other sci-fi movies where most space battles take place in a vertical line this scene shows how space battles would really be fought. The Geth and the Citadel Defense are fighting on a vertical plain, but the Alliance arrives from above making it look like it's raining hellfire upon the Geth ships. Love that they thought of that.
I always loved how no matter the decision you make here, it’s never perfect. If you save the Council, they still doubt Shepard in ME2 & ME3 despite Shepard literally dying for the cause and sacrificing Alliance lives in ME1 to save them, but you also gain the Destiny Ascension in ME3’s final battle If you sacrifice them, Shepard still gets roped into Citadel politics that attempt to push the Reapers under the rug, but it guarantees the safety of practically all of Hackett’s original fleet and it gives Humanity their first Council member
It's a good cutscene, but saving the Destiny Ascension and whatever Turian ships are left in the Citadel fleet would minimize Alliance casualties. You'd have to take out the Geth fleet either way and it's a lot easier with the extra ships. Then the combined fleet could take out Sovereign.
You also "arguably" have an easier time with your mission in ME2 if you save the Council. Providing you don't deliberately antagonize them, they restore Shephard's Spectre status officially, which story-line wise gives him greater authority to act during the ME2 plot-line and helps get through red tape. There's even a few side missions and DLC where conversation options allow Shephard to flex his status due to this (although he has the option to just bluff that he has it if he doesn't, Tela Vasir won't buy it if you lie during the conversation mid boss fight in the DLC). The new Council though wont even talk to Shephard, so he gets absolutely no help there. So again, it's just lore-wise that it changes, but considering how Spectres can literally run roughshod over any planets objections to their presence and can commit to any action with the authority of the Citadel over-riding any Planetary Law? It helps in a story sense.
Don't know if anyone noticed but during 2 minutes 50 seconds when the Normandy is going into the open arms of the citadel, you can see Sovereign is pulling it's arms out ready for combat.
ME1 ending : its the end of the battle, but the war is just begun ME2 ending : the war is in the front door ME3 ending : the time for absolute peace trough sacrifice
I just thought, I don't think we ever see the Ascension actually shoot anything after it got hyped up by Ash and Kaiden in the first game. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Do any of the companions ever suggest saving the council? I can't recall in my playthroughs any of them saying anything other than, "screw the council they deserve to die"
Each character will always be one or the other. There will always be a devil/angel on the shoulder here. Wrex for example looks at saving them tactically if he isnt the one suggesting sacrificing them. He notes the value of the DA as a dreadnought and the fact the asari are decent military allies.
@@PerfectAlibi1fun fact, od you play as female Shepherd you can influence Kaiden, who is by default the most Paragon one, into renegade. If you romance him and choose renegade option when discussing about aliens he will suggest to kill the council even if the other companion is Wrex
Just finished ME1 for the first time with no spoilers (somehow). I decided to tell the fleet to focus on sovereign. It was such a bittersweet moment that fit my character. He was a Paragon 99% of the time but was always a "sacrifice the few to save the many" commander
Council dies: Wow shepard you let the old council die, how can we trust you?? Save Council: Wow thx for saving us Shepard, we still won't help tho. Kill every counciler no matter the cost.
Only annoying thing about this is the council still decides to disrespect Shepard again when they return in ME2. I know its more complicated than that but its still annoying.
Fully agreed. They only respect Shepard and take his word on things when it’s too late. I personally only saved the council because they were a byproduct of my true goal, saving the Destiny Ascension. It’s a mighty ship worth a lot of war assets in Mass Effect 3. But admittedly, sacrificing the Council, so that Shepard can speak to the more reasonable ones in ME3 is more worth it imo.
No matter how many times I play the trilogy I just can't save the council. The Reapers can pour out of the gate at any minute, its just not realistic to prioritize the Council. Game is very good at pace and urgency
This was my take. It was a split second decision: save a ship of political wankers who’ve blocked every action you’ve tried to take and denied all evidence presented to them until it’s literally tearing them apart…or stop a reaper invasion. It’s a no-brainer
All these years later this is still one of the first things I think of for coolest video game cutscenes
Hell yeah, we Humans are pretty awesome! We also love a good fight!
I love that it's Wrex mourning Shepard when they think the Reaper debris crushed him. Like, it feels RIGHT that it's Wrex, who will one day call Shepard 'brother'.
AND... for every Krogan... the name Shepard will mean HERO!
TBH the biggest thing to me in Mass Effect was that it allowed me to... act like everything was bigger than me. That I could feel the weight of every decision. A lot of comments are cocky about letting the council die. For me... it was bigger than me and my feelings. And that... will, I think... never be repeated in gaming history.
I know the councilors are total idiots. But in the long run, you have to save them. Not just to gain the destiny ascension. In Mass Effect 3. But also so the galaxy can remain stable.
And they actually help by utilizing the Destiny Ascension to save Earth
@@Artaxian_Debacle You got that right my friend. Not to mention the Asari Dreadnoughts that help when you find them.
They just get replaced by more generic ones if you don't save 'em, so you might as well save the most fairest member, Tevos, the most quotable ("Ah yes, the reapers, we have dismissed those claims) Sparatus, and I guess the salarian too.
They're not idiots, it's just Shepard was too dense to realize, that if the truth about the Reapers came out, then it may create panic across the galaxy and that won't help anyone. Also I don't think these councilors had a lot of power in their homeworlds, Shep should've appealed to the Asari, Turian and Salarian governments (Just like he did in ME3, but it was too late) instead of trying to reason with the Council between ME1 and ME2.
@samuelw4380 Thing is, the Council holds ultimate authority over those in Citadel space. And while covering up the Reapers to prevent panic is logical, not doing anything about it is also illogical. It took Garrus practically shouting to the heavens, and his own father, for the Turians to at least prepare. Humanity was the only one who took the threat seriously, and that's because of people like Anderson and Hackett.
I say it's a very mixed bag tbh
"Its the Alliance! Thank the Goddess!"
Nu, thank Shepard for deciding to have the Alliance help.
This moment always fills me with immense pride. Especially when the Destiny Ascension Commander says “It’s the Alliance! Thank the Goddess!” Damn…I hate the Council but they sure make it satisfying to save their dumbasses.
eh, I still sacrificed them. Humanity first.
@@RSCJOHN That’s how feel about Batarians, except that one from the Omega DLC. Bray I think.
Really all three games can be a big "I told you so" from Shephard to the Council, especially the third one.
@@AdeptKing I mean yeah…feels great to shove it in the Council’s face. But that’s not why I love this moment. Although I wish Joker could’ve said something like “Huh…funny seeing you here. I mean, the Reapers aren’t real right?” if you hang up on the Council every time before that.
@@regalcartoon5932 Oh of course. Its a very heroic and epic moment of course.
I love this moment so much this was always the moment for me that cemented humans as worthy of the council
And to think, ME2 and 3 only happened because Sovereign let things get personal and used a lot of its energy to control Saren's dead body to try and kill Shepard, only for that body to be killed again, thus weakening Sovereign enough for the fleet to finish him off. lol
I assume Shepard being in the master control unit prevented him from opening the relay part of the Citadel and summoning the rest of the Reapers, and trying to beam them would destroy it screwing with his plan forever, so he had no choice sans waiting to wipe the entire fleet before Assuming Direct Control before it was cool which would still leave him a sitting duck after losing.
@@BDH38
Yeah, Shepard got something from the Vigil(?) AI to stop Nazarra opening the relay part of the Citadel and give Shepard full control.
I think if Shepard was only slightly too late, the Reapers would've made it through.
Yeah, that’s why Harbinger only fights in alternate forms when his physical body is still safe in dark space.
Reapers are strong but Sovereign alone wasn't powerful enough to destroy an entire Alliance fleet.
@@oreroundpvp896
One Reaper is basically an advanced Dreadnought that can handle fighting smaller ships by itself.
Also the same council two years later:
wHuT rEaPeRs???? sToP dRiNkInG!
They may not listen, but I still felt a duty to save the Council. It’s not a warriors place to force his betters into taking his advice; only to defend them till his last breath. I demonstrated through action that my claims were real, and saving them even despite their refusal to take my warnings seriously felt appropriate: here they are, thinking the human won’t dare to risk the lives of his own people, especially not after all the shit they’ve put him through, only for them to be carried out of the fire by that very same man, alongside the species they had so little faith in, without even so much as a moments hesitation. It was a poignant message that I wanted the galaxy to remember in their bones: humanity might be young, we might be short lived and short tempered, and we might be crude at times…but when we make a promise, we fucking _keep it._ You earn our trust, and you’ll have no better friend. Break that trust, and you’ll wish you and your entire species had never crawled from the primordial soup.
Well said, that's my reason too for why I saved the Destiny Ascension. I didn't give a damn about the Council, but choosing to save the Destiny Ascension went beyond just the Council. It was about sending a message to the entire galaxy that humanity weren't just a bunch of impulsive apes who were incapable of seeing the bigger picture beyond themselves. It was to show that humanity was 100% prepared to lay down their lives to save a bunch of nameless people on a ship to that carried 3 people that denied the existence of the very threat that was was about to destroy them.
YES!
A warrior shall always save those who cannot defend themselves. No matter the cost.
Am I the only one who likes Sparatus arc through out the entirety of the series he just dismissive of Shepard but when the reapers show up he’s the only one that went out of his way to actually help and took his word immediately when he presented the crucible
I did enjoy that part
Ahh, yes. "Reapers". We have dismissed that claim.
I say this every time I see this clip, I sent the Alliance fleet to not only save the council, but to save and protect the 10,000 souls aboard the Destiny Ascension. Yes, at the cost of human blood, but to stay idle and do nothing is how evil prevails.
9,997 *is* more than 3...
...And that's just assuming 3 of that 10,000 is the Council...If they aren't than 10,000 is *still* more than 3, I guess...
What i love the most about this scene is that unlike in Star Wars or other sci-fi movies where most space battles take place in a vertical line this scene shows how space battles would really be fought. The Geth and the Citadel Defense are fighting on a vertical plain, but the Alliance arrives from above making it look like it's raining hellfire upon the Geth ships. Love that they thought of that.
Those Alliance heavies fighting Sovereign point blank, gets me every time. Balls of steel straight from Earth.
I always loved how no matter the decision you make here, it’s never perfect.
If you save the Council, they still doubt Shepard in ME2 & ME3 despite Shepard literally dying for the cause and sacrificing Alliance lives in ME1 to save them, but you also gain the Destiny Ascension in ME3’s final battle
If you sacrifice them, Shepard still gets roped into Citadel politics that attempt to push the Reapers under the rug, but it guarantees the safety of practically all of Hackett’s original fleet and it gives Humanity their first Council member
It's a good cutscene, but saving the Destiny Ascension and whatever Turian ships are left in the Citadel fleet would minimize Alliance casualties. You'd have to take out the Geth fleet either way and it's a lot easier with the extra ships. Then the combined fleet could take out Sovereign.
You also "arguably" have an easier time with your mission in ME2 if you save the Council. Providing you don't deliberately antagonize them, they restore Shephard's Spectre status officially, which story-line wise gives him greater authority to act during the ME2 plot-line and helps get through red tape. There's even a few side missions and DLC where conversation options allow Shephard to flex his status due to this (although he has the option to just bluff that he has it if he doesn't, Tela Vasir won't buy it if you lie during the conversation mid boss fight in the DLC).
The new Council though wont even talk to Shephard, so he gets absolutely no help there. So again, it's just lore-wise that it changes, but considering how Spectres can literally run roughshod over any planets objections to their presence and can commit to any action with the authority of the Citadel over-riding any Planetary Law? It helps in a story sense.
Don't know if anyone noticed but during 2 minutes 50 seconds when the Normandy is going into the open arms of the citadel, you can see Sovereign is pulling it's arms out ready for combat.
ME1 ending : its the end of the battle, but the war is just begun
ME2 ending : the war is in the front door
ME3 ending : the time for absolute peace trough sacrifice
The three headed hydra meme definitely shows up here:
1. Ominous sequel incoming.
2. Ominous sequel incoming.
3.DERRRRRRRRRP!
Ah yes, the reapers. We've already dismissed that claim.
@@garygood6804 Theyre a bunch of self concerned jackasses Shepard.
This scene will go down as one of the hardest and most badass video game cutscene of ALL TIME
I just thought, I don't think we ever see the Ascension actually shoot anything after it got hyped up by Ash and Kaiden in the first game. Correct me if I'm wrong.
I think you're right. A real missed opportunity. I wanted to see how it fired.
that and shepi becoming a spector might be the most iconic gaming moments of the last 30 years.
Been watching too much of Prime Radiancy's playthrough cause default male Shepard looks so weird to me now lol
You too see bardonjoe
Space Mr Red T is something i never thought I'd get used to
I'm still kinda used to 10Piece-Nuggg Shepard from Kevduit's psychopath playthrough.
I dont care about anything, the normandy is the best ship in videogames
It should be escorted by the enterprise
I love the no matter what the universe, Humanity always believe in facing the enemy with a MAC gun
Do any of the companions ever suggest saving the council? I can't recall in my playthroughs any of them saying anything other than, "screw the council they deserve to die"
Each character will always be one or the other. There will always be a devil/angel on the shoulder here. Wrex for example looks at saving them tactically if he isnt the one suggesting sacrificing them. He notes the value of the DA as a dreadnought and the fact the asari are decent military allies.
Liara
@@longshucksgaming
Wrex is almost always the renegade option though, as he has the highest renegade score
@@PerfectAlibi1fun fact, od you play as female Shepherd you can influence Kaiden, who is by default the most Paragon one, into renegade. If you romance him and choose renegade option when discussing about aliens he will suggest to kill the council even if the other companion is Wrex
@@Mile2357
I know.
Council made me Spectre and pays me money. Of course I'm going to save them!
Callo was good and such. But Joker grew from dissain into loving him.
still the best game i believe out of them all, u could so damn much more in that then those others, and the music waz badass
It's certainly one of my favorites. I love this style of space combat too.
Just finished ME1 for the first time with no spoilers (somehow). I decided to tell the fleet to focus on sovereign. It was such a bittersweet moment that fit my character. He was a Paragon 99% of the time but was always a "sacrifice the few to save the many" commander
That closing song is awesome
Council dies: Wow shepard you let the old council die, how can we trust you??
Save Council: Wow thx for saving us Shepard, we still won't help tho.
Kill every counciler no matter the cost.
I will still always save them, it ensures higher stability in the galaxy.
Filthy xenos.
On the contrary, they are the cause of most of the galaxy's problems.@@PerfectAlibi1
@@mateusfroes9552
But with them gone, all the other species hate humans even more...
@@PerfectAlibi1 They can't hate us when they're dead. It's important to remind the aliens that they're not made in God's image.
Just finished my 1st playthrough. I let the council die.
They didn't believe my multiple warnings, suffer the consequences 😂
damn i just finished it i let them die now im reading the comments thinking i shouldnt have done it
Only annoying thing about this is the council still decides to disrespect Shepard again when they return in ME2. I know its more complicated than that but its still annoying.
Fully agreed. They only respect Shepard and take his word on things when it’s too late.
I personally only saved the council because they were a byproduct of my true goal, saving the Destiny Ascension. It’s a mighty ship worth a lot of war assets in Mass Effect 3.
But admittedly, sacrificing the Council, so that Shepard can speak to the more reasonable ones in ME3 is more worth it imo.
No matter how many times I play the trilogy I just can't save the council. The Reapers can pour out of the gate at any minute, its just not realistic to prioritize the Council. Game is very good at pace and urgency
shepard explains in mass effect 2, the destiny ship was about 10,000 people, the other ship turian i think was 300
@@King-ww6ni I meant if you go save the council, you're literally putting the whole Galaxy at risk.
This was my take. It was a split second decision: save a ship of political wankers who’ve blocked every action you’ve tried to take and denied all evidence presented to them until it’s literally tearing them apart…or stop a reaper invasion. It’s a no-brainer
@@cybergothika6906 do you remember what shepard says? ''no matter how hard you try you cant save them all''
Funny enough you actually need the original Council later. Its just the game doing hard solutions that makes it fun.
yuh