My money is on it being Liara after she took on the role of Shadow Broker, She knew of the reaper threat, had the ability to acquire funding/resources, had been in contact with Allec and it just makes the most plausible story no matter how you look at it.
@@ryanhampshire7042 she became shadow broker several years after the arcs had left. She can't be the benefactor as prior to that she was as innocent as a maiden.
Plot twist. It Alec and his wife. He could of used proto Sam to get credits. He was an n7 so he would of had contacts to keep up with shepherd and the reapers. There seems to be several other reasons it could have been him plus even if he is dead, his wife isn't! She is in cryo. And that could have been why the benefactor could be introduced later in the game. Idk my own theory.
I still believe the Benefactor is the Shadow Broker. Liara tells Shepard that he knew about the Reapers even before they did and that he was scrambling for a way to survive what was coming. He knew about the Prothean beacon on Thessia. He knew about Javik's mission. There's entirely too many people from different worlds like Kar'shan (the Batarians discovered that derelict Reaper and denied all knowledge it even existed) that knew about Reaper artifacts and Prothean technology way even before the Citadel was discovered. The Shadow Broker had hundreds of years worth of top-secret data at his disposal. If it only took one human coming in contact with a prothean beacon to know the Reapers were coming, surely someone else before Shepard would know. Possibly even hundreds of years before the Asari discovered the Citadel. People like Aria (Aleena?) and Urdot Wrex have been around for centuries, and they don't openly share their knowledge of the past. And that's just two people. It has to be the Shadow Broker.
If it was the Shadow Broker, why didn't Liara warn the Initiative through Alec that there will be an attempt on Garcon's life? She would certainly have stumbled onto that plan after having killed the Shadow Broker.
@@manofwarb Not Liara. She didn't become the Shadow Broker until 2186. Jien Garson ran out of money in 2185. And her contact with Alec was way before she herself knew about the Reaper threat. By the time she became Shadow Broker, the Arks had already left the Milky Way.
@@DepressionShaman she sends Alec a message while on the Normandy during the Reaper invasion, so she would have been able to warn him. Alec also has audio logs of a Reaper attacking Palaven.
@@manofwarb Well that punches a hole in the theory that Liara is the Benefactor... but not the Yahg who was the Shadow Broker before her, which was my point. As I said in my original post, Liara tells Shepard he knew what was coming, but that doesn't mean Liara knew he was the benefactor. She misses key things as the Shadow Broker, telling you that while she has a vast network of spies and informants, she doesn't know everything. She didn't know about the Catalyst data from the Prothean VI, but at this point, we're kind of splitting hairs in a place that doesn't really matter. Remember that the Shadow Broker deals in espionage, not research. Liara didn't know about the Prothean VI simply because no one at the Mars Archives knew about it until a sleeper agent for Cerberus did. Alec was approached by the Benefactor even before Jien Garson. That's the kicker. A spy on the Citadel or an informant working for the Council who also was an agent of the Shadow Broker could have known easily about Alec's desire to create an AI to cure his wife, Ellen.
@@DepressionShaman remember, Liara demands a status update on ALL ongoing operations ass soon as she takes over as broker and reestablishes communication with all agents. If some wet work was being planned against Garcon, she'd have been informed of it.
It crossed my mind, what if they plan to release the next game on its 20th anniversary? They would celebrate with Shepard's return. Assuming that's what they're going for. Especially if they can keep the protagonist identity secret till then. The internet would explode. It would be quite a long suspense but the reward at the end? Finding out from the game, after a well done intro, I would definitely jump out of my chair.
I want more about the Kett and Jardaan. The Kett Empire is apparently massive. Covering a not insignificant portion of Andromeda. And the Jardaan could very well still be out there. Terraforming worlds and seeding them with life. Not to mention their great enemy.
@@saqwana25 The detachment in the Helius Cluster under the Archon could have been better written I'll admit. But he was a rogue. Ignoring orders from the Empire and obsessing over the Jardaan. Dealing with the Empire itself would be considerably different.
@@ddsjgvk maybe but i just found then to be a less interesting version of the reapers. what think would have been a better story and removing the kett and focusing on the scourge and the jaardan and maybe the kett could have been saved for another game in the Andromeda line for when we explored further out.
I was revisiting Alec Ryder's memories. And he drew attention to one phrase that Benefactor said in a conversation with Alec. "Where WE're going." It sounds like Benefactor was going to fly with everyone to Andromeda. That is, everyone who remained in the Milky Way can be deleted from the list of candidates for Benefactors
Great video, Kala. Dang, you put in a lot of hard work. I'm with you on your closing arguments. I don't think BioWare had a concrete idea who the benefactor was and they left everything about the benefactor so ambiguous they can do anything they want with it now.
Mass Effect Andromeda 2023 After over 4135 hours of playing this game, I finally realized why I enjoy it more than all the other Mass Effect games. It’s because of the multitude of diverse quests, projects, and personal interactions that one is presented with. None of these must be completed in any specific sequence to achieve an outcome. And many can be skipped altogether, which will not adversely affect the game overall. As a result, I find the game very relaxing and non-stressful to play. I will say, however, that my game is very heavily modified with 30+ Nexus mods, which overcomes many of those complaints from those playing an unmodified version of the game. As a longtime ME player and fan with over 4135 hours of MEA single-player play. And still with only 99% completion of the game. I am left with many storyline questions. Questions that BioWare should be willing to follow up on at some point. Such as 1: Why didn’t every Pathfinder get a scout ship? (Update, I found the answer to this in one of the books). I.e., Mass Effect Andromeda: Nexus Uprising Book 1 Mass Effect: Initiation Book 2 Mass Effect Andromeda: Annihilation Book 3 2: Who is this Benefactor, and where are they now? (I have no definitive proof, but I know who this is and why they are not showing up in Andromeda.) Remember Project Overlord from ME2LE, if you will. 3: Who killed or ordered Jian Garson killed and why? (Update, I THINK I know who did this from the book). 4: Why didn’t the Kogan people get their own Pathfinder? 5: Why is the Tempest not at least armed with defensive weapons? 6: Does the Quarin Ark Keelah se’lai ever overcome the pathogen onboard and regain control of their ark? UPDATE, I now know the answer to this one after finishing the book. But I will let the most dedicated fans find that answer as I did. (Spoiler alert), Cora Harper could never have become the Pathfinder when Alec Ryder died because to do so required that his replacement be one of his children for reasons that will be revealed when all the memory blocks are removed. That is why Sarah or Scott were the only options for this transfer. That is NOT the case with the other pathfinders. And finally, who ultimately becomes the leading member of the Initiative ruling body, replacing the current incompetent group? As well as other less essential story tracks left hanging with no way to pursue them. I love this and all the other ME games, but this one has always held my attention. And I am currently on my umpteenth playthrough. I am dedicated to reaching 100% completion of the game. PS for the channel owner and others that find several things about this game that they do not like. Try modding the game with Nexus Mods. I am running 30 mods with mine, and none is cheating. IMHO, modding is both fun and allows one to make the game more personal.
The geth being involved with or being the benefactor, could in a neat way explain why the geth are in the next games posters/concept art. Regardless, awesome video.
I looked and looked for this comment but for the life of me I could not find it because I remember seeing this same comment elsewhere but never finding the actual source on it which is why I didn't include it.
Andromeda was really over hated tbh. Sure it had a rocky launch but after they fixed it it was a great game with a solid story. It wasn't the best by any means but it did not deserve the amount of hate it got. It makes me really sad knowing there were DLCs planned for this game that were scrapped bc of everyone just continuously hating on it. But I am hoping that the new ME answers at least some of the burning questions we have for Andromeda as well I can't wait for it its to far away 😭
The benefactor is the geth. Legion was not a singularity and was actually quite young. In the few weeks/months with Shepard, Legion actually grew more 'human' like. At the end, Legion even referred to itself as "I" instead of 'We'. Imagine another Legion type geth or a few even that coalesced into a very human like entity. Legion imprinted on Shepard. All emerging and growing sentient life imprints on something or someone. This new Legion type geth imprinting on Garson at some point, with or without Garson's knowledge. Shepard didn't know about Legion's imprinting at first. Then this new entity then helps Garson, with or without Garson knowing. I could go more and more into it, but I have to go to work.
Not Geth. The Legion said that Shepard and his crew were the first organics the Geth had peaceful contact with. The Benefactor began sponsoring the Initiative before the events of ME1
@user-wr7mb3ic7m I do think it's some sort of very advanced AI (possibly ancient). After watching this video and reading Jaxom's comment, an idea popped up in my head - what if the Benefactor is a Reaper version of Legion? A rogue element, that split off the main concensus. This can explain why the Geth could build that telescope (I haven't seen that video yet) and how they got the Reaper tech to do it. This could be an orchestrated chain of events, that would lead to the Initiative using that info for the trip to Andromeda. Creating funds out of thin air - child's play for an advanced hive mind. But I don't know how that would tie to Garson's death. Maybe she was killed by the Benefactor's representative-on-site - an actual living person, that would communicate with Garson.
@@ivanpetrov5255 то что это древний ИИ я согласен. Вполне вероятно что это ИИ от прошлых Циклов. Но это не Жнец. Перед релизом Андромеды сами разрабы говорили что Жнецам не интересны другие Галактики. Кстати, в комиксе-приквеле МЕ: Дискавери показывается что когда Кварианец вернулся к телескопу перепроверить данные, то Геты старались убить его и двух его спутников Турианца и Саларианца. В итоге Саларианец совершил героическое самопожертвование чтобы спасти Кварианца и Турианца и дал им сбежать с телескопа
@@SeverusHunt Yes, normal Reapers might not be interested in other galaxies, but a rogue one could be. I also have not read any of the books or comics, so all that was just a wild speculation.
One AI could be Vigil assuming he hid from the council after ME. Apparently his only programming was to stopping the reapers, he may believe that populating the other galaxy with it's direction could over a long time defeat the reapers.
@@SeverusHunt was there a definitive date given when the benefactor came in? Was it for sure before mass effect? I thought it was a undefined time after initiative started and when funding ran out, googling now but out of luck on my end.
The Benefactor hired Alec Ryder for the Andromeda Initiative. Alec Ryder began preparations and contacted Liara in 2182. The ME1 events were in 2183. That is, the Benefactor began sponsoring the Initiative even before the events of ME1
I finally watched this all the way through, and I must say, you have clearly worked very hard at analysing these theories and your findings, while clearly not definitive they are well thought out and easily conceivable. Thank you so much for all your hard work and detailed presentation.
We know what Garson looks like though, there's a video of her on the nexus and the cultural center has a hologram of her. Don't think she'd be easily replaceable when everyone knew who she was and what she looked like
Amazing video!Thank you.I have wondered if the Benefactor could be Mirandas father,Henry Lawson.He is/was extremely rich and would have no scrouples having Garson killed. He could simply have thought of the Initiative as an escape plan in case they lost the war against the Reapers. He could have a ship ready to take him to Andromeda.The benefit of arriving a few years after the rest of the Initiative,would be that hopefully the new colonies would be up and running. This is not a well thought out theory,just an idea.(hope you guys understood what i wrote here.English is not my native language)
The Andromeda Initiative was originally a human initiative. The Benefactor insisted that the Initiative be expanded to include non-human races. Henry Lawson supported Cerberus and held pro-human views. He wouldn't add non-human races to the Initiative
Its Alec Ryder's SAM unit. I swear to god it has to be (in my opinion). The fact that the SAM unit can kill the other Ryder twin you play as is huge (technically both Ryders died on Habitat 7) The AI wanted to live. Its sentient and is a super computer. It could easily acquire large sums of money, figure out that the Shepard theory about the Reapers is tangible and hire someone to kill the major heads of the program to eventually and gradually implement their own plans. The biggest thing is that Ryder dad removed the safeguards from his SAM unit to gain an edge as a Pathfinder vs the other SAM units. This story reminds me a lot of the movie called "Upgrade" (which is really good if you havent watched it). It is free to go and do as it pleases. Even Alec said that SAM was much more advanced than he ever thought possible. Many warnings throughout the game about trusting A.I. I just now played through this game TWICE in the course of a month. Anyone saying that Mass Effect Andromeda had bad writing is full of shit. Most of the ppl talking about it negatively either barely played it (i had a 95% and 99% cmp rate in those playthroughs) or started the game with a negative mentality because of all the bad press around it. The game isnt perfect and could be better (the Archons end was kinda of weak) but most of the complaints i hear about it are petty and baseless. This was the Mass Effect game we wanted and needed that died way too soon. Was really interested to see life after they found Meridian. The planets that were affected by the terraformers, how it changed them over time and the growth of the outposts as time went on. The Quarian Ark and the futures of the species on board (also who was the enemy they were facing especially if it was the Geth) What happens in their fight vs the Kett after they defeat the Archon? Who is the Jardaan and what is the purpose/potential of the Remnant? Also who killed Garson and the main leaders? How was the Scourge created? I swear to god that AI unit in Ryder's head is their impending doom of the Andromeda initiative rather than the savior that it is perceived to be. Wanted to see what the choices you make in the game and how it impacted the future. Poor writing my ass. This game was very underrated, especially the goddamn combat and what you could do with it. I really enjoyed it and hope to see a sequel of it one of these days..... EDIT: I wrote this before hearing your theory on who is the benefactor? The fact that "Andromeda Initiative" is A.I is the cherry on top. YES his dialogue is very suspicious and the mf has an attitude problem if you ask stupid questions. SAM definitely can emulate the voice of a female human with ease by recording human conversations and creating a voice that is acceptable and comforting. There is NO ONE else that fits the profile of a mysterious benefactor that doesnt want to be seen besides the SAM unit. It sucks that all we can do is speculate. Had fun with this game. The first game to reveal what female Turians, Salarians, and Krogans looked like is huge.
It's not SAM for some reason. Here's one of the reasons. The MEA Code states that the Benefactor has the political influence to protect the Initiative from the Citadel Council. Question: Where does a newly born and not upgraded AI have the political influence to influence the Citadel Council?
TLDR: has to be TIM, only person who makes sense and fits the bill. Power, finance, motivation, belief in Shepard, prior knowledge of Reapers work with AI, expansionist, clandestine, similar portfolio of projects. Has to be TIM no one else in the Mass Effect universe (that we as players know off) has that kind of money or power. Additionally this type of project fits his profile when you look at the other projects he’s overseen (Lazarus, Overlord, the Colector ship, Human Reaper, the safety world where they put millions into cryo and experimented on etc…). I’ve seen people say it could be Liara but she wasn’t the shadow broker when the Initiative started or when it took off. Plus even the original Shadow broker didn’t have the resources it would take to fund this kind project. I know it’s not the most exciting theory, and people are grasping at straws for it to be someone else but unless they pop out some rando or create a whole new back story for a character (which is weak sauce) TIM is the only person who makes sense. Liara referring to the benefactor having knowledge of the Reapers and believed they would be back, his work with AI (which plays a major role in andromeda) and it isn’t far fetched that this would be part of a contingency plan if Shepherd fails. As the only person who believed Shepard was TIM. I don’t buy the whole Cerberus was racist spiel that’s why they wouldn’t fund Andromeda Argument, if he believed that the other races would be necessary for Human advancement or survival then he would have no two ways about it, ends justifying the means is their M.O, secondly, the whole “limited funds” is a weak point because in ME2 EDI says that Cerberus has lots of companies which act as fronts, secondly we can clearly see the scale of Cerberus might in third game which basically rivals not just the alliance but the council as well. Thirdly the whole voice doesn’t sound like TIM is ridiculous, disguising his voice and cadences etc… would be bread and butter for someone as illusive as TIM, considering that Shepard is one of the “lucky” few who ever get to directly interact with him. Most likely everyone else would of only heard what Alec would of heard. The indoctrination theory also doesn’t hold look at Kahlee Sanders for example she doesn’t flip on Shepard and is adamantly against the reapers up until the last 24 hours before arrival. And she was in close contact with the Reaper device for over 6 months. It’s possible TIM started the project way before he was too far gone. Finally, the benefactor being in Andromeda can also easily be worked around as there was a Shepard clone so it’s possible their could of been a TIM clone or he could of uploaded part of him self into an AI. Good video. But all the arguments against TIM aren’t strong, and as it stands he’s still the only individual who we know of that could spearhead and fund this kind of project.
Allow me to propose another theory. Matriarch Benezia. She would have known about the Reapers before Shepard having been Saren's lieutenant. Having potentially lived for over 1000 years, I believe that is more than enough time to accure a vast amount of "unlimted" wealth. As for why she would help but then have Garson killed, she was fighting indoctrination. She could have had a lapse and sent another indoctrinated person with them. She would have also wanted her identity hidden to prevent Saren from discovering of her involvement with the Initiative while also showing that she herself was resisting Sovereign's indoctrination. Her death in sometime of 2183 also fits with the estimated 2181 of when Garson was approached for assistance. Ryder as well. Her motivation could have been to genuinely been to save as many people/races as she could, knowing that if she couldn't steer Saren completely into a less destructive path, that the Andromeda Initiative would have been her best hope to save people. "Why not tell Shepard?" Her indoctrination was considerably stronger by this point in time in 2183 and the little control she had left, she would have chosen to tell Shepard only the most important information before her death. The location of the relay Shepard was looking for. Being only two years before Andromeda's launch, I feel even with her death, she could have set things in motion.
Fans of the og trilogy: "Haha this game is weird, so many mysteries... ah well better not dwell on it." Fans of Andromeda: "why does every species look so similar eventhough they are from another galaxy? What does the Archon want? Who are the Jardaan? Who created the scourge? AND WHO TF IS THE BENEFACTOR?" *gif of Charlie Kelly in the mailroom
You did a ton of work, Kala. I'm sure it is A LOT for anyone that hasn't lived through these ME years and heard info, lore, tweets, and theories over time. It must be like pulling constant all nighters for college exam finals week on repeat. Fantastic job on finding and presenting everything! Like you mention, I think it was written on purpose to be open-ended for future writers to nail down and flesh out (if they ever wished to pick up the plotline again). I don't think they had anyone set in stone yet for the Benefactor. That said, I *do* think it likely that it is one of the many others aboard the Ark. Or even multiple someones... The Benefactor could always be a coterie; a small group of people that worked together to get this massive endeavor off the ground. Also, one of my favorite things is hearing Kala say 'suspicious.' It comes with the full weight of squinting scrutiny, doubt, and accusation of guilt each time she says it.
One of the posters for ME5 is a crater in the shape of a Geth. I think they will play a big role in the next game. They most likely knew of the Reapers for years, since that array was looking into dark space (where the reapers lay dormant) I have a feeling you get enough geth together as a hive mind and they could very well imitate a human, and not speak like Legion. Legion speaks of the Heretics, but there could also be other "factions" of the Geth who have other objectives. I guess we'll see.
In the comic about the array, it is said that it is connected by an unknown technology. That is the technology of the Reapers. Reaper technology could only be owned by Heretics
I am halfway through and you've made valid enough discrediting that I will put my money on Hackett and the Alliance military. Will finish tomorrow to hear your deduction. Oh also. I am subscribing now. 😎
What I found a bit odd was an observation you can make in the Pathfinder Centre on the Nexus. You can find three holographic ship models in here. One of them is of the Normandy SR-2. If you examine it closer though you learn that it's not a simple 3D-model: It's the complete blueprints to build the ship.
The A. I. is very in your face indeed. I can't imagine this was not done on purpose. Also for playing andromeda, my logitech keyboard automatically lights up with the letters A I in the lighting somehow xD i did not enable this actively but it is kinda cool
I don't think it was an AI or Geth. Could have been the Asari they had the prothean VI, they used to get ahead in technology/advancements after Thessias falls the Counselor states she had to see to the continuity of life? Not sure how that fits in the time line of rushing the Initiative to launch, or making it her job to get them launched. The Asari always played a long game, planning in the long term, they also tended to see themselves as the keepers/guide of the Milky Way species.
Who would know about the reapers before Shepherd? Who could gather all the funds and resources, through indoctrination? A Leviathan. One who was sympathetic to the last cycles organics. It is a Leviathan
@@KAlexanderTheGreat Well, Benefactor began sponsoring the Initiative before the events of ME1. Liara did not know about the Reapers until the events of ME1. And she didn't have giant funds until ME2
I think the three most likely scenarios for the Benefactor are: 1. The Geth. 2. Another AI / organic-AI hybrid 3. A person or group like Jaavik. The victims of a previous cycle who survived through integration with AI and want to help the new cycle and possibly return themselves
Not Geth. The Legion said that Shepard and his crew were the first organics the Geth had peaceful contact with. The Benefactor began sponsoring the Initiative before the events of ME1
I'm sure the Yahg mentions he is not the first Shadow Broker, I'm sure he mentions killing the broker before him and taking their place (or Liara mentions something about this). It is plausible the Benefactor is still the Shadow Broker, but in title not the current person filling the role. That being said, I think it was someone we haven't met yet in the games.
I feel Goyle is the most compelling of the selection, in light of the fact she has presence in both the original novels and Andromeda's storyline. [Meta, I know, but from the narrative built around her, she was a fairly influential and savvy politician throughout her career, which itself was ended without much information. Apparently she generated enough clout to get a prospective specter within a decade of humanity's formal induction into council space.] Goyle's motivations for anonymity could simply be as a result of public knowledge of her person, and general backlash from the former council (As there is no council in Andromeda) races. Second to this, but bothers me a bit, where'd the stasis pods come from? Who made them and how? Like, I don't remember anyone using them besides the Protheans in any of the games, and even that was like "Whoa, those are some advanced ice boxes, wonder how they work." Side note: I'd love to read a novel about how Goyle came to power, Udina was a goober who lacked her initiative and foresight.
There is such a Cerberus news network. This is the text news of the ME universe that Bioware released in 2010-2012. So, it is mentioned there that in 2070, earthlings sent a ship with stasis pods to Alpha Centauri.
I’ve been really looking forward to this video. Won’t be able to watch it yet but my own theory is that The Benefactor is Cerberus. Not The Illusive Man though. Cerberus = 3 headed dog. TIM is Head 1, Benefactor is ahead 2. Head 3 is still a mystery.
@@SeverusHunt interesting. I never heard that before. While plans could always change as they develop the future of the series my theory doesn’t seem so possible now. I haven’t been able to watch the video yet but hopefully it’ll give me some better clue as to who it is.
It has to be the Geth. There are a few important things that have to be true with regards to the benefactors identity. 1. Must know the threat of the Reapers before ME:1. 2. Have access to a LOT of money/resources. 3. Be removed enough from the day to day politics of Council space to be able to remain anonymous. 4. Have a vested interest in the expedition to Andromeda. We know the Geth already supplied intel in terms of the Helios cluster. It is also suspicious that it was the Helios cluster where technology that requires organic/ai harmony to access is present. Perhaps the person speaking isnt Geth, and an intermediary, but the benefactor in terms of who is actually providing the resources, is Geth.
The geth provided information against their will. A Quarian entered there and stole data on Andromeda. He transferred this data to the Initiative. By the way, these Geth were Heretics. In the MEA Code you can find information that Benefactor, with his political influence, protected the Initiative from the Citadel Council. Where does the Geth get their political influence? The Legion itself said that Shepard and his team were the first organics with whom the Geth had peaceful contact in ME2. Benefactor began contacting the Initiative before the events of ME1
@user-wr7mb3ic7m or cryo. We know the colonists were suspended. A party with significant interest in the voyage may choose to cryo back in the milky way
Love the video, and really appreciate all the research that went into it! I had only ever considered a couple people to be the benefactor, never imagined sooo many other options were possible. When I originally played Andromeda, I just assumed it would probably be the Illusive Man or some rival/associate of his. Even though it wouldn't make sense for him to want to save other species, not to mention the timeline not working. I didn't put much thought into it back then as I assumed we'd get DLC and/or sequels. Anyways, I really hope they don't retcon the lore to make Liara the Benefactor (even though that seems like the direction they're teasing). I really like your idea of it being an AI though, so much potential for storylines. Assuming we do find out more in ME5, my guess is as (it seems like) it'll take place hundreds of years post-ME3 then the Benefactor will likely either be an Asari or an AI 🤔
Imagine the Benefactor is Alec's wife????? She was frozen and in a pod on the Ark. Don't know how she got the money or kept it from Alec, but just a crazy theory.
This is my first time watching one of your videos (I think, I'm old I forget things lol). This was well thought out and presently professionally. No wild speculation so insertions, just methodically thought out data. Well done.
My theories- It's an AI. It foresaw the Reaper War, and insisted on S.A.M. so that the Initiative computer systems are powerful enough to handle AI, so it can sneakily install itself and escape to the Andromeda galaxy. Perhaps another Geth gestalt like Legion, or another AI altogether. They were either 'generating' money or just hacking banks and transferring whatever they needed. The Shadow Broker. This was his secret escape the Reaper's plan, and he kept all the data in his head, so that he couldn't be found out, so Liara never found out about the plan. He had agents on the Initiative, who are following his preset instructions, not knowing he's dead. It's not just Goyle, nor is it one person. It's a small Illuminati style cabal of ultra-wealthy autocrats from different species, the Mysterious Benefactor is just their 'public' face. I don't know if any one person could fund such a vast project, a group sharing the costs makes more sense. It was the Kett. They were hoping a load of dinosaurs would show up and they could get some of that dino DNA for their gene splicing. They were very disappointed when soft squishy humans showed up.
I am sure as you said that it has been very hard to find and put together so much info and thanks for the hard work. As for andromeda i did enjoy the game to some % and i agree that it has/had a lot of potential story wise if done right. As for the next game i hope story wise they will find the right balance but none the less priority nr 1 for me is still wanting to see shepard back alive and the next game heaving the carry over decisions system that will include the cannon ending or if they dare take on such a big challenge as making it work with all of the 3 endingsi would go for that too but the ammount of info and scenarios + consequences its so big that i don't think bioware can make. To include all endings of the Trilogy and all endings of the Andromeda project its too big of a challenge even if andromeda does not heave too many changes in endings.
I figure it's an old, possibly unknown AI. Leftover from a previous reaper invasion. Like Vigil but intent on avoiding the problem rather than outlasting it.
My vote is the rouge A.I. on the citadel from ME1. It was funneling credits through the citadel with the final plan of getting a ship. If done on a much bigger scale that's what the nexus can be; each arc is a part of the A.I. and the unlimited funds come from taking it from other places so on and so forth. Could fund SAM so it could piggy back off it. For it being destroyed we see also that EDI was a rouge A.I. in that game, was destroyed, then brought back. As for settlers it probably, like SAM, wants to evolve through people or wants to guarantee its survival by having enough bodies. Going to admit this is a late night theory ill sleep on but lets see where it goes.
@@DepressionShaman Timeline does. Anderson and Hackett are in their late 40's to early 50's . 2157 is When Cerberus is founded and by 2185 the arks leave. 28 year span is plenty of time.
That’s a great theory, I’ve always assumed that the benefactor was the Illusive man, as a hedge in case they didn’t beat the Reapers. After all, his whole deal is the advancement of humanity at any cost. I like the Cora’s mother theory too, especially since the Illusive Man probably would have only sent humans…
Maybe it's kinda dumb, but I still wanted to share. I haven't seen anyone else talk about this so here goes. In figuring this whole thing out I think the most important piece of the puzzle is the foresight of the Reapers. And with that a certain Asari Consort popped into my head and got the wheels spinning. We know she was extremally wealthy and popular, even if she herself didn't hold all the funds, she could easily have convinced a great many wealthy people to invest without disclosing the details, only saying it's for the preservation of life or something. And then there is the whole trinket thing. WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THAT. It's never explained in any proper way and it LITERALLY gives you an access into memories of witnessing a Reaper. Besides Sha'ira herself posses at least some versions of foresight in regards to Shepard and other stuff too. The motivations would align as well, Sha'ira was altruistic in what she was doing, using her gifts to make people feel better, it's not impossible to think that she would act to preserve the lives of all species. The biggest problem with the whole theory is the secrecy but we all know how much everyone in the galaxy cares about threats of life ending Dark Space squids, so she could've decided that it's more effective to work in secret not to hurt her reputation, or to be thought as a mad witch. But then why wouldn't she warn Shepard directly? I dunno, maybe destiny or something, maybe it's a canon event xD Anyway, PLEASE let me know what you think, cause I kinda love this theory. Great video btw, take care ^^
Honestly this is a good theory! I plan on doing a follow up to this video eventually because a lot of people presented new theories so I'll definitely be mentioning this one!
My best theory is that the Benefactor is actually the Illusive Mans wife. And Cora is her daughter. Explains the money and the vague knowledge of the Reapers arrival. Question is, is the other Arks going off course is thanks to The Benefactor or just a odd coincidence? I think if their was an Andromeda 2 and 3, that be one of the arcs of the story. I really wanted to see everything come into closure over time. Or books
Plenty of people with the last name Harper. Im not buying that Harper is his daughter. That guy barely gets out to do so and even if she was, its irrelevant.
This was an amazing break down and it does make me wonder if they'll actually acknowledge it in the new Mass Effect. Your videos are top notch, keep 'em coming Kala 👍
*Throws ideas out the window* Thank you once again for your thorough research! I guess we will have to see who the AI benefactor is in the next ME installment :).
What about: a rogue Reaper (corrupted AI), or Leviathan? They had ability to indoctrinate / control. A the theory of an AI, no matter from when it was created (maybe from previous cycles) can do it also, could have manipulated more than one race for this purpose, reason for Geth telescope, or maybe the telescope was made to watch the Reapers when they wake up and ready to invade. And an AI could have used agents to speak for it, rather than interacting directly. Or something still unknow to us that used agents to interact.
leviathans are inherently very selfish (fish, heh). They wouldn't help the 'lesser' races unless it benefited them somehow. I see them being quite antagonistic in the next game actually.
I personally think the benefactor is Lexy because she is old enough and Speak like the benefactor (not sound)Next question is were she get the money . Answer she is the child of the first shadow Broker. Maybe the Yagg gets the ship and his network but not his money because the first shadow broker delete in the last moment all information before the Yagg killed her. And ME2 we learn the Shadow Broker Ship is Hundreds of years old and their are only three species that life that long Asari,Krogans and Elcor and I see the first Shadow Broker as a Asari.What speaks for this theorie maybe the first shadow Broker teach Lexy how the built an information network and this is how she learn to get all information. And the money that the first shadow Broker made in all these years she use to found the Andromeda Initiave. Another thing is that the shadow Broker know more things than other people even cerberus and the council. In the Terminal entrys of the shadow Broker ship we learn that he had a theorie that the geth had a divide before all other people
I think the mysterious benefactor is someone who we never would have known personally, but someone whose organisation is someone we are all familiar with: the CEO of ExoGeni Corporation. ExoGeni Corporation is an interstellar company specialising in "planetary exploration and colonisation". ... Like come on, it is so obvious that if there was a secret plan to colonise new worlds with the Andromeda Initiative, ExoGeni would be very keen to invest. Imagine the worth of any resources traded back into the Milky Way. They would make a killing in Profits. But obviously it is all secretive because given the iminant arrival of the Reapers being a closely guarded secret... several races within the Milky Way Galaxy would be keen to leave. I also think the whole idea was to keep it secret from the Galactic Council catching wind of the projects true intentions.
The benefactor is Eldfell-Ashland Energy (EAE). The biggest energy company in the mass effect universe. The company have the capital to fund the Andromeda Initiative. The other possible candidates are The Illusive Man, Shadow Brokers (before the Yahg) or the Council. They have the money but doubtful
One theory I always thought held a possible way to explain it all was that the Benefactor was part of or working for the Asari Matriarchs or at least the ones behind the hiding of the Beacon and essentially ruled from Thesia's shadows like the head of their church or something, because the Asari are the oldest of the council races its possible they have much much deeper access to the money and rescourses of the Galaxy they basically rule.
I don't think it's anyone we've incountered. It's more likey they were planning to address in MEA2. In ME1 we knew of a Shadow Broker but not who it was until ME2. It might not even be an individual, but rather an organization. The Benefactor we hear could just be a liaison on behalf of the organization.
One note on The Geth which could possible lend to it. We have seen ME5 art of a bar similar to Purgatory featuring goth Geth and the aliens from Andromeda. We also know that the Destroy ending is the most common choice for ME3. It could (and this is very loose) possibly point to the destroy ending being made cannon, which would have destroyed the Geth in the Milky Way, but allowing those that went to Andromeda to return and rebuild.
Benefactor? Something often missed is that EDI gives a potential clue to this in ME2 when she becomes unshackled and you can ask about funding. Cerberus has some private investors from within the Alliance military industrial complex. The benefactor seems like it could be someone who is tied to the Alliance, Cerberus, and has a maintained invested interest in AI. These connections would also highlight the need for this individual needing their identity maintained as a secret. The relationship between Organics and synthetics has always been an underlining theme in every mass effect game. This is a seperate point, but could highlight a question. Why? History repeats...unless learned from. Someone may have known that history, and looked into ways to change it. Just some rando thoughts tho
Once upon a time there was another unknown AI in the galaxy and it was just hiding away, surfing the net, ordering Amazon and Uber eats, just living its own happy hermit life. But then it got noticed by Catalyst, because it takes one to know one. When contacted with an ultimatum to join us or be deleted it chose to flee. What would an AI do if it needed to run where it can't be found by Catalyst? This whole project makes sense if you look at it from that perspective. Who made the AI is irrelevant. It could have been made by any of the races or is leftover from defeated races and is hundreds of thousands of years old. All the while it got itself designed into the nexus so it's the hub for everything in Andromeda. The organics in the Arcs are for repair and maintenance, resource gathering and protection. They are the AI's worker ants and they don't even know.
Ok hear me out: Barla Von. As an agent of the shadow broker he would be adept and information gathering and have access to the early knowledge of the reapers. He specializes in moving large sums of money without detection so he could easily keep providing funds without raising suspicion. As to him not being in the andromeda galaxy I could see three possibilities. 1) since we only know what Volus look like by their suits he could have switched places with another volus and that’s who we meet in ME3, 2) He has an agent who he sent in his place, 3) He chose to stay in the Milky Way because that’s where all his power and money was and/or he believed that Shepard could win
considering, there's theories about their being multiverse in other TH-cam clips about me trilogy n mea...... what if the benefactor was Shepard from another galaxy, throughout the mission she did she did side trips for credits right, so she would've had whole bunch saved? plus, the Shepard from another time who contacted Alec, already had cybernetic implants, what if she had Sam mode built in
In regards to your final theory of an AI funneling money to fund the Initiative program if you remember and if you would like to make a video adding on to this one there was that one kind of hidden side quest to do that you could only obtain by scanning one of the computers in C-SEC in Mass Effect 1 where you had to track down a data trail which led you to the financial district of the Presidium Commons. The mission ends in the little hallway just past the Hanar Merchant and it turns out to be a "V.I." that was "programed" to funnel money to it's "master". That would make a lot of sense to that theory since while you did "stop" the "V.I." what's to say that it didn't just give you the illusion like what EDI attempted to do with the Alliance officials during the Normandy's "impound" at the very start of Mass Effect 3.
Maybe a partition of the Rogue AI that EDI came from? An AI could develop ways for infinite credits. Also the importance placed on SAM tech seems to fit. In all my playthroughs I always treat Addison as suspect. Her actions in the game are overtly deplorable. Also, Cerberus has cloning facilities, so TIM isn't necessarily a dead end. Any clone that is free of indoctrination may see the value of tapping other species while placing humans as the torch bearers. As far as funding, Cerberus is designed to work in cells, so there can be no true accounting for their actual funds and we see in ME2 that shepard is responsible for funding mission upgrades. Also, Cerberus owns the Rogue VI so see my above point. All point for pro-Geth Benefactor applies to the rogue VI, but the emphasis on Alec and SAM specifically makes me think that it is someone with a human leaning agenda. Crazy Grasp: The Rogue VI partition becomes SAM and Garson's murderer was committed by someone with a SAM implant, possible Addison. sorry: I was typing this as I was listening and before 38 min mark... carry on, Great Video!
I always felt that Sovereign in particular or the Reapers in general were the benefactor since the Leviathan programed the Catalyst to maintain order in the Milky Way galaxy and most likely only the Milky Way but they had to understand that if organics knew about the Reapers they could attempt to flea which would open the possibility of their descendants returning powerful enough to defeat them. The best way to deal with them is sabotage. As I’ve said I haven’t read any of the literature so now I would modify it to an indoctrinated human.
The Benefactor would want to be one of the earliest scheduled to be woken up. One of the 600 randos brought out of cryo early due to an emergency just doesn't make sense without fore-knowledge of the event. Scratch "rando" from that list.
All what's following is imho, of course : About the A.I. and an hypothetical illimited funding creation skill... I could'nt help but thinking about the "financial" AI we can destroy in Presidium (side quest "Citadel: Signal Tracking" Mass Effect 1). That's why it could be my favorite option. About Cora Harper, I'm pretty sure she's not affiliated with Jack Harper. No sense, no interrest in the lore, and nothing in "MEA:Initiation" which Cora's POV (except few short chapters) let thinking anything on this way. And agreed, TIM/Cerberus being the Benefactor don't work. Foster Addison? Hmmm.. not matching with her personnality, her atiitude, her evolution in the game (from *ss-hole with at the beggining to quite raisonnable and even gueninely supportive at the end), among others thing... that a definitive no for me. (but on the other hand, I understand why she would look suspicious, too) And finally about the datapad in the Kett base, true this is perturbing, what's thinking about ? The thing is, the translation of "the Benefactor" in french version is "la Bienfaitrice", female-gendered so I can assume that's the same person. But... we know that several Kett officials are female-gendered, so finally we are not less confused ;p
I don't play a Fender but they already got my money. I have an affordable Jackson J3S-7 which cost like $400. It plays great and the price is right. 🙂 My next guitar will probably be a Gio from Ibanez. Inexpensive guitars are SOOO much better then what they used to be years ago. 🙂 If I had to, I would rather buy a decked out Epiphone than any of the Gibsons. So not worth the money.
Not saying I buy into the idea that the illusive man is the mysterious benefactor, but at least on your point of the Lazarus project costing 4 billion; I was given to believe that is simply the amount he allotted toward the project, but he didn’t really mind if they went over budget- it was just his guesstimation. I don’t think it actually dented how much money he has.
There's a datapad in the Kett facility on Voeld that references a "Benefactor" that is also interacting with the Kett. Could just be a coincidence, but given how meticulous the lore of the Mass Effect games, it seems like maybe the Benefactor wanted the Kett to win for some reason and was bringing more genetically different species to the Kett for the purpose of making them stronger.
@33:40 I think it'd be more interesting if the AI was just very good at making money rather than just being a glorified hacker. You mentioned previously that some parties were developing AI for commercial purposes - so there's a precedent in-universe for gaming the stock market with an AI. They'd essentially be the Shadow Broker but skipping the middle-man of having to actually input things, as well as the unparalleled ability to multitask. The only thing I don't like about this theory is-as you point out-that the initiative is called AI - that feels a little bit too on the nose. P.S. I think that the cost-difference between Project Lazarus and the Andromeda Initiative is just a consequence of a change of real world attitudes - i.e. what audiences would consider expensive. Being a billionaire was considered synonymous with being an illuminati super-villain when ME2 came out - whereas now being a billionaire is considered playboy philanthropist money. The Illusive Man being broke after spending *only* a billion dollars doesn't sound that impressive in 2023 - that makes him sound like Elon Musk blowing his fortune on buying Twitter. Roll around Andromeda and we need to use numbers like trillions or quintillions to actually make it sound impressive. It's just unfortunately that while decades are passing for the audience - these events are meant to exist within the same time period in-universe.
CRAZY THOUGHT, what if the benefactor first gave money to the illusive man, cut him off then funded the Andromeda initiative? Also would not be surprised if it ended up being some sort of AI.
Isn’t The Catalyst the most advanced AI in existence? Which allows the possibility of synthesis? The Catalyst also has inflection in their voice, and felt like it could have possibly been tired of The Harvest, as well as being in control of the Reapers. They could have hired out a collective to follow their instructions later upon arrival. It’s not any kind of solid theory because its official appearance isn’t until the end of ME3, but it IS in the Citadel.
I just want to point out Vigil tells us in ME:1 that Sovereign may have been working for centuries in the run up to ME:1. And the information the Rachni queen gives us is that there’s a good chance Sovereign was the one that influenced the Rachni wars in the first place, showing Discord among their queens and turning them more Hostile. The Reapers also knew of the Rachni’s existence from the previous cycle where the Protheans used them as shock troops. I really don’t think the Geth are the first to make contact with the Reapers.
Wait I’m currently still watching as i make this comment, the andromeda program started before the events of me3 right? So wouldnt it be possible for him to fund these projects before he was indoctrinated, i mean it would make sense for him to have an idea of this project? Fyi i love the content, i’m soo gonna come back to this as i write my mass effect fanfiction
Sometimes I go into shock to see I’m not the only person who cares about all the unanswered questions in MEA because oh boy, does it sometimes feel like it given the massive amount of hate this game got. 😅
We don't know for sure that the person Alec spoke with was the benefactor themselves. It could have someone hired to act as the benefactor. Remember the Asari on Ilium who was acting as an agent of the Rachni queen? Same concept.
I truly hope that Cora Harper and Jack Harper have no relation to each other. To me, that would just make the universe seem smaller, not larger. As to Director Tann's quick advancement. It's pretty clear that Tann himself is not a particularly strong willed character, and seems pretty ripe for exploitation in some way. He seems entirely preoccupied with his legacy and that of the initiative's (in that order) so while he himself almost assuredly did not plan his advancement, it's more than possible someone else did. Knowing (or at least believing to the point of murdering other people for it) that he could be exploited to make certain decisions that they would prefer. Such as exiling the Krogan. He is somebody's puppet.
0:50 GARSON FOUNDED THE INITIATIVE IN 2176 IDK WHY I KEEP SAYING 1976 MY BAD!!!!!!!!!!
WHOOPS!
In ME3 at the citadel hospital there was also a someone who hid their identity plus had the hospital name change.
Good year...I was born
I was about to question my entire memory about my playthroughs xD
@@PACKYCSONE80 Yeah thats about four years before mine, I was like "huh?"
Ok, I solved the mystery. The mysterious benefactor is that A.I. from ME 1 which stealing credits from the gambling machines in the Flux.
Compounding interest is crazy
Benefactor: "Ah, Ryder. I have been expecting you."
*Chair spins around*
Cassandra: "Conrad?" 😱
The question to put to Mike Gamble is a simple one.
"Have we at any point in any game, comic, or book, met the Benefactor?"
My money is on it being Liara after she took on the role of Shadow Broker, She knew of the reaper threat, had the ability to acquire funding/resources, had been in contact with Allec and it just makes the most plausible story no matter how you look at it.
@@ryanhampshire7042 she became shadow broker several years after the arcs had left. She can't be the benefactor as prior to that she was as innocent as a maiden.
@@nazimuddin5122Maybe the original shadow broker was the benefactor and Liara ran across the information after she took over?🤔
Kala really is our universes Shadow Broker.
Plot twist. It Alec and his wife. He could of used proto Sam to get credits. He was an n7 so he would of had contacts to keep up with shepherd and the reapers. There seems to be several other reasons it could have been him plus even if he is dead, his wife isn't! She is in cryo. And that could have been why the benefactor could be introduced later in the game. Idk my own theory.
💯
I still believe the Benefactor is the Shadow Broker. Liara tells Shepard that he knew about the Reapers even before they did and that he was scrambling for a way to survive what was coming. He knew about the Prothean beacon on Thessia. He knew about Javik's mission. There's entirely too many people from different worlds like Kar'shan (the Batarians discovered that derelict Reaper and denied all knowledge it even existed) that knew about Reaper artifacts and Prothean technology way even before the Citadel was discovered. The Shadow Broker had hundreds of years worth of top-secret data at his disposal. If it only took one human coming in contact with a prothean beacon to know the Reapers were coming, surely someone else before Shepard would know. Possibly even hundreds of years before the Asari discovered the Citadel. People like Aria (Aleena?) and Urdot Wrex have been around for centuries, and they don't openly share their knowledge of the past. And that's just two people. It has to be the Shadow Broker.
If it was the Shadow Broker, why didn't Liara warn the Initiative through Alec that there will be an attempt on Garcon's life? She would certainly have stumbled onto that plan after having killed the Shadow Broker.
@@manofwarb Not Liara. She didn't become the Shadow Broker until 2186. Jien Garson ran out of money in 2185. And her contact with Alec was way before she herself knew about the Reaper threat. By the time she became Shadow Broker, the Arks had already left the Milky Way.
@@DepressionShaman she sends Alec a message while on the Normandy during the Reaper invasion, so she would have been able to warn him. Alec also has audio logs of a Reaper attacking Palaven.
@@manofwarb Well that punches a hole in the theory that Liara is the Benefactor... but not the Yahg who was the Shadow Broker before her, which was my point. As I said in my original post, Liara tells Shepard he knew what was coming, but that doesn't mean Liara knew he was the benefactor. She misses key things as the Shadow Broker, telling you that while she has a vast network of spies and informants, she doesn't know everything. She didn't know about the Catalyst data from the Prothean VI, but at this point, we're kind of splitting hairs in a place that doesn't really matter. Remember that the Shadow Broker deals in espionage, not research. Liara didn't know about the Prothean VI simply because no one at the Mars Archives knew about it until a sleeper agent for Cerberus did. Alec was approached by the Benefactor even before Jien Garson. That's the kicker. A spy on the Citadel or an informant working for the Council who also was an agent of the Shadow Broker could have known easily about Alec's desire to create an AI to cure his wife, Ellen.
@@DepressionShaman remember, Liara demands a status update on ALL ongoing operations ass soon as she takes over as broker and reestablishes communication with all agents. If some wet work was being planned against Garcon, she'd have been informed of it.
I'm glad you and Mr Hulthen are keeping the buzz for the next Mass Effect 👏🙏 p.s I genuinely don't see the new Mass Effect releasing before 2026 😫😫😫
It crossed my mind, what if they plan to release the next game on its 20th anniversary? They would celebrate with Shepard's return. Assuming that's what they're going for. Especially if they can keep the protagonist identity secret till then. The internet would explode. It would be quite a long suspense but the reward at the end? Finding out from the game, after a well done intro, I would definitely jump out of my chair.
Big Dan Gaming?
@@eodyn7 I think they should all do a Podcast together once Mass Effect 5 Goes Gold. What do you think.
Yeah, that’s what it seems like. It’s so weird they released a trailer for it so early
2026 damn I'll be glad if we get it by 2030
I want more about the Kett and Jardaan.
The Kett Empire is apparently massive. Covering a not insignificant portion of Andromeda.
And the Jardaan could very well still be out there. Terraforming worlds and seeding them with life. Not to mention their great enemy.
ugh i wish they never had the kett they ruined the pacing Andromeda.
@@saqwana25 The detachment in the Helius Cluster under the Archon could have been better written I'll admit.
But he was a rogue. Ignoring orders from the Empire and obsessing over the Jardaan. Dealing with the Empire itself would be considerably different.
I think it was supposed to be like the covenant from Halo or the Council of Andromeda
@@ddsjgvk maybe but i just found then to be a less interesting version of the reapers. what think would have been a better story and removing the kett and focusing on the scourge and the jaardan and maybe the kett could have been saved for another game in the Andromeda line for when we explored further out.
The Reaper/Kett villain switch It seemed to me they went from one kind of indoctrination type of threat to another from mechanical to organic
I was revisiting Alec Ryder's memories. And he drew attention to one phrase that Benefactor said in a conversation with Alec.
"Where WE're going." It sounds like Benefactor was going to fly with everyone to Andromeda. That is, everyone who remained in the Milky Way can be deleted from the list of candidates for Benefactors
Great video, Kala. Dang, you put in a lot of hard work. I'm with you on your closing arguments. I don't think BioWare had a concrete idea who the benefactor was and they left everything about the benefactor so ambiguous they can do anything they want with it now.
50 min video about solving a mystery from an 8 year old video game
I love the modern internet so much
Pisses me off that in 8 years not one gaming company has come close to making a more engaging/entertaining game series
Cerberus was originally a alliance black op which went rogue a few months before the admiral kahoku side quest.
Mass Effect Andromeda 2023
After over 4135 hours of playing this game, I finally realized why I enjoy it more than all the other Mass Effect games.
It’s because of the multitude of diverse quests, projects, and personal interactions that one is presented with. None of these must be completed in any specific sequence to achieve an outcome. And many can be skipped altogether, which will not adversely affect the game overall. As a result, I find the game very relaxing and non-stressful to play.
I will say, however, that my game is very heavily modified with 30+ Nexus mods, which overcomes many of those complaints from those playing an unmodified version of the game.
As a longtime ME player and fan with over 4135 hours of MEA single-player play. And still with only 99% completion of the game. I am left with many storyline questions.
Questions that BioWare should be willing to follow up on at some point.
Such as
1: Why didn’t every Pathfinder get a scout ship? (Update, I found the answer to this in one of the books). I.e., Mass Effect Andromeda: Nexus Uprising Book 1 Mass Effect: Initiation Book 2 Mass Effect Andromeda: Annihilation Book 3
2: Who is this Benefactor, and where are they now? (I have no definitive proof, but I know who this is and why they are not showing up in Andromeda.) Remember Project Overlord from ME2LE, if you will.
3: Who killed or ordered Jian Garson killed and why? (Update, I THINK I know who did this from the book).
4: Why didn’t the Kogan people get their own Pathfinder?
5: Why is the Tempest not at least armed with defensive weapons?
6: Does the Quarin Ark Keelah se’lai ever overcome the pathogen onboard and regain control of their ark? UPDATE, I now know the answer to this one after finishing the book. But I will let the most dedicated fans find that answer as I did. (Spoiler alert), Cora Harper could never have become the Pathfinder when Alec Ryder died because to do so required that his replacement be one of his children for reasons that will be revealed when all the memory blocks are removed. That is why Sarah or Scott were the only options for this transfer.
That is NOT the case with the other pathfinders.
And finally, who ultimately becomes the leading member of the Initiative ruling body, replacing the current incompetent group? As well as other less essential story tracks left hanging with no way to pursue them. I love this and all the other ME games, but this one has always held my attention. And I am currently on my umpteenth playthrough. I am dedicated to reaching 100% completion of the game.
PS for the channel owner and others that find several things about this game that they do not like. Try modding the game with Nexus Mods. I am running 30 mods with mine, and none is cheating. IMHO, modding is both fun and allows one to make the game more personal.
If only I could get mods for my console versions.
@@its_an_echo That is prercisely why I never pursued a console for my gaming.
@@MrHorsepro I've been debating on getting it for my laptop, but I have no idea where I would start for modding games. I stick with gog.
What kind of mods are you running
I can answer 5 because people are stupid and overlook things. A real life example is the Titanic sub which just happened
By far the most in depth and best video I’ve watched on the Benefactor. Truly well done!
The geth being involved with or being the benefactor, could in a neat way explain why the geth are in the next games posters/concept art. Regardless, awesome video.
Geth just makes sense If i recall legion dossier from shadow broker dlc correctly😂
Before the release of Andromeda, the developers themselves in one of the interviews said that Cerberus is not related to the Andromeda Initiative
I looked and looked for this comment but for the life of me I could not find it because I remember seeing this same comment elsewhere but never finding the actual source on it which is why I didn't include it.
@@kalaelizabeth I have a link to the site
@@SeverusHuntcan you link it? 😮
@@kalaelizabeth I'll try to post the link in the next comment. But TH-cam does not like links and often removes comments with links.
@@kalaelizabeth Yes, as I thought. TH-cam deleted my comment with the link
Such a long video and you miss the most obvious suspect:
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Conrad Verner!
In this essay, I will
Is Conrad Verner
Andromeda was really over hated tbh. Sure it had a rocky launch but after they fixed it it was a great game with a solid story. It wasn't the best by any means but it did not deserve the amount of hate it got. It makes me really sad knowing there were DLCs planned for this game that were scrapped bc of everyone just continuously hating on it. But I am hoping that the new ME answers at least some of the burning questions we have for Andromeda as well I can't wait for it its to far away 😭
The benefactor is the geth. Legion was not a singularity and was actually quite young. In the few weeks/months with Shepard, Legion actually grew more 'human' like. At the end, Legion even referred to itself as "I" instead of 'We'. Imagine another Legion type geth or a few even that coalesced into a very human like entity. Legion imprinted on Shepard. All emerging and growing sentient life imprints on something or someone. This new Legion type geth imprinting on Garson at some point, with or without Garson's knowledge. Shepard didn't know about Legion's imprinting at first. Then this new entity then helps Garson, with or without Garson knowing. I could go more and more into it, but I have to go to work.
Not Geth. The Legion said that Shepard and his crew were the first organics the Geth had peaceful contact with. The Benefactor began sponsoring the Initiative before the events of ME1
@user-wr7mb3ic7m I do think it's some sort of very advanced AI (possibly ancient). After watching this video and reading Jaxom's comment, an idea popped up in my head - what if the Benefactor is a Reaper version of Legion? A rogue element, that split off the main concensus. This can explain why the Geth could build that telescope (I haven't seen that video yet) and how they got the Reaper tech to do it. This could be an orchestrated chain of events, that would lead to the Initiative using that info for the trip to Andromeda. Creating funds out of thin air - child's play for an advanced hive mind. But I don't know how that would tie to Garson's death. Maybe she was killed by the Benefactor's representative-on-site - an actual living person, that would communicate with Garson.
@@ivanpetrov5255 то что это древний ИИ я согласен. Вполне вероятно что это ИИ от прошлых Циклов. Но это не Жнец. Перед релизом Андромеды сами разрабы говорили что Жнецам не интересны другие Галактики.
Кстати, в комиксе-приквеле МЕ: Дискавери показывается что когда Кварианец вернулся к телескопу перепроверить данные, то Геты старались убить его и двух его спутников Турианца и Саларианца. В итоге Саларианец совершил героическое самопожертвование чтобы спасти Кварианца и Турианца и дал им сбежать с телескопа
@@SeverusHunt Yes, normal Reapers might not be interested in other galaxies, but a rogue one could be.
I also have not read any of the books or comics, so all that was just a wild speculation.
@@ivanpetrov5255 read it, there is a lot of interesting things ;)
One AI could be Vigil assuming he hid from the council after ME. Apparently his only programming was to stopping the reapers, he may believe that populating the other galaxy with it's direction could over a long time defeat the reapers.
The Benefactor started sponsoring the Initiative before the events of ME1. At that time there was no connection with Ilos
@@SeverusHunt was there a definitive date given when the benefactor came in? Was it for sure before mass effect? I thought it was a undefined time after initiative started and when funding ran out, googling now but out of luck on my end.
The Benefactor hired Alec Ryder for the Andromeda Initiative.
Alec Ryder began preparations and contacted Liara in 2182. The ME1 events were in 2183.
That is, the Benefactor began sponsoring the Initiative even before the events of ME1
I finally watched this all the way through, and I must say, you have clearly worked very hard at analysing these theories and your findings, while clearly not definitive they are well thought out and easily conceivable. Thank you so much for all your hard work and detailed presentation.
I'm betting Addison died, and the Addison we see is actually Garson
We know what Garson looks like though, there's a video of her on the nexus and the cultural center has a hologram of her. Don't think she'd be easily replaceable when everyone knew who she was and what she looked like
Amazing video!Thank you.I have wondered if the Benefactor could be Mirandas father,Henry Lawson.He is/was extremely rich and would have no scrouples having Garson killed.
He could simply have thought of the Initiative as an escape plan in case they lost the war against the Reapers.
He could have a ship ready to take him to Andromeda.The benefit of arriving a few years after the rest of the Initiative,would be that hopefully the new colonies would be up and running.
This is not a well thought out theory,just an idea.(hope you guys understood what i wrote here.English is not my native language)
The Andromeda Initiative was originally a human initiative.
The Benefactor insisted that the Initiative be expanded to include non-human races.
Henry Lawson supported Cerberus and held pro-human views. He wouldn't add non-human races to the Initiative
Its Alec Ryder's SAM unit. I swear to god it has to be (in my opinion). The fact that the SAM unit can kill the other Ryder twin you play as is huge (technically both Ryders died on Habitat 7) The AI wanted to live. Its sentient and is a super computer. It could easily acquire large sums of money, figure out that the Shepard theory about the Reapers is tangible and hire someone to kill the major heads of the program to eventually and gradually implement their own plans.
The biggest thing is that Ryder dad removed the safeguards from his SAM unit to gain an edge as a Pathfinder vs the other SAM units. This story reminds me a lot of the movie called "Upgrade" (which is really good if you havent watched it). It is free to go and do as it pleases. Even Alec said that SAM was much more advanced than he ever thought possible. Many warnings throughout the game about trusting A.I.
I just now played through this game TWICE in the course of a month. Anyone saying that Mass Effect Andromeda had bad writing is full of shit. Most of the ppl talking about it negatively either barely played it (i had a 95% and 99% cmp rate in those playthroughs) or started the game with a negative mentality because of all the bad press around it. The game isnt perfect and could be better (the Archons end was kinda of weak) but most of the complaints i hear about it are petty and baseless.
This was the Mass Effect game we wanted and needed that died way too soon.
Was really interested to see life after they found Meridian. The planets that were affected by the terraformers, how it changed them over time and the growth of the outposts as time went on. The Quarian Ark and the futures of the species on board (also who was the enemy they were facing especially if it was the Geth)
What happens in their fight vs the Kett after they defeat the Archon? Who is the Jardaan and what is the purpose/potential of the Remnant? Also who killed Garson and the main leaders? How was the Scourge created? I swear to god that AI unit in Ryder's head is their impending doom of the Andromeda initiative rather than the savior that it is perceived to be. Wanted to see what the choices you make in the game and how it impacted the future.
Poor writing my ass. This game was very underrated, especially the goddamn combat and what you could do with it. I really enjoyed it and hope to see a sequel of it one of these days.....
EDIT: I wrote this before hearing your theory on who is the benefactor? The fact that "Andromeda Initiative" is A.I is the cherry on top. YES his dialogue is very suspicious and the mf has an attitude problem if you ask stupid questions. SAM definitely can emulate the voice of a female human with ease by recording human conversations and creating a voice that is acceptable and comforting. There is NO ONE else that fits the profile of a mysterious benefactor that doesnt want to be seen besides the SAM unit. It sucks that all we can do is speculate. Had fun with this game. The first game to reveal what female Turians, Salarians, and Krogans looked like is huge.
It's not SAM for some reason.
Here's one of the reasons. The MEA Code states that the Benefactor has the political influence to protect the Initiative from the Citadel Council.
Question: Where does a newly born and not upgraded AI have the political influence to influence the Citadel Council?
@@SeverusHunt ok...what are the other reasons? 💀
I thought everyone knew that the benefactor is Elon Musk.
TLDR: has to be TIM, only person who makes sense and fits the bill. Power, finance, motivation, belief in Shepard, prior knowledge of Reapers work with AI, expansionist, clandestine, similar portfolio of projects.
Has to be TIM no one else in the Mass Effect universe (that we as players know off) has that kind of money or power. Additionally this type of project fits his profile when you look at the other projects he’s overseen (Lazarus, Overlord, the Colector ship, Human Reaper, the safety world where they put millions into cryo and experimented on etc…).
I’ve seen people say it could be Liara but she wasn’t the shadow broker when the Initiative started or when it took off. Plus even the original Shadow broker didn’t have the resources it would take to fund this kind project.
I know it’s not the most exciting theory, and people are grasping at straws for it to be someone else but unless they pop out some rando or create a whole new back story for a character (which is weak sauce) TIM is the only person who makes sense. Liara referring to the benefactor having knowledge of the Reapers and believed they would be back, his work with AI (which plays a major role in andromeda) and it isn’t far fetched that this would be part of a contingency plan if Shepherd fails. As the only person who believed Shepard was TIM.
I don’t buy the whole Cerberus was racist spiel that’s why they wouldn’t fund Andromeda Argument, if he believed that the other races would be necessary for Human advancement or survival then he would have no two ways about it, ends justifying the means is their M.O, secondly, the whole “limited funds” is a weak point because in ME2 EDI says that Cerberus has lots of companies which act as fronts, secondly we can clearly see the scale of Cerberus might in third game which basically rivals not just the alliance but the council as well. Thirdly the whole voice doesn’t sound like TIM is ridiculous, disguising his voice and cadences etc… would be bread and butter for someone as illusive as TIM, considering that Shepard is one of the “lucky” few who ever get to directly interact with him. Most likely everyone else would of only heard what Alec would of heard. The indoctrination theory also doesn’t hold look at Kahlee Sanders for example she doesn’t flip on Shepard and is adamantly against the reapers up until the last 24 hours before arrival. And she was in close contact with the Reaper device for over 6 months. It’s possible TIM started the project way before he was too far gone.
Finally, the benefactor being in Andromeda can also easily be worked around as there was a Shepard clone so it’s possible their could of been a TIM clone or he could of uploaded part of him self into an AI.
Good video. But all the arguments against TIM aren’t strong, and as it stands he’s still the only individual who we know of that could spearhead and fund this kind of project.
Before the release of Andromeda, the developers said that Cerberus was not related to the Andromeda Initiative
Allow me to propose another theory.
Matriarch Benezia.
She would have known about the Reapers before Shepard having been Saren's lieutenant.
Having potentially lived for over 1000 years, I believe that is more than enough time to accure a vast amount of "unlimted" wealth.
As for why she would help but then have Garson killed, she was fighting indoctrination. She could have had a lapse and sent another indoctrinated person with them.
She would have also wanted her identity hidden to prevent Saren from discovering of her involvement with the Initiative while also showing that she herself was resisting Sovereign's indoctrination.
Her death in sometime of 2183 also fits with the estimated 2181 of when Garson was approached for assistance. Ryder as well.
Her motivation could have been to genuinely been to save as many people/races as she could, knowing that if she couldn't steer Saren completely into a less destructive path, that the Andromeda Initiative would have been her best hope to save people.
"Why not tell Shepard?" Her indoctrination was considerably stronger by this point in time in 2183 and the little control she had left, she would have chosen to tell Shepard only the most important information before her death. The location of the relay Shepard was looking for.
Being only two years before Andromeda's launch, I feel even with her death, she could have set things in motion.
I’m making this my headcannon because matriarch benezia’s death was just meh, they didn’t even allow her to die with dignity.
Found your channel thanks to youtube's weird algo. I never knew I was missing ME lore/news in my life but now its satisfied. Really like the videos
I love YOU and your VIDEOS..... Keep it up QUEEEN
Fans of the og trilogy: "Haha this game is weird, so many mysteries... ah well better not dwell on it."
Fans of Andromeda: "why does every species look so similar eventhough they are from another galaxy? What does the Archon want? Who are the Jardaan? Who created the scourge? AND WHO TF IS THE BENEFACTOR?" *gif of Charlie Kelly in the mailroom
You did a ton of work, Kala. I'm sure it is A LOT for anyone that hasn't lived through these ME years and heard info, lore, tweets, and theories over time. It must be like pulling constant all nighters for college exam finals week on repeat. Fantastic job on finding and presenting everything!
Like you mention, I think it was written on purpose to be open-ended for future writers to nail down and flesh out (if they ever wished to pick up the plotline again). I don't think they had anyone set in stone yet for the Benefactor. That said, I *do* think it likely that it is one of the many others aboard the Ark. Or even multiple someones... The Benefactor could always be a coterie; a small group of people that worked together to get this massive endeavor off the ground.
Also, one of my favorite things is hearing Kala say 'suspicious.' It comes with the full weight of squinting scrutiny, doubt, and accusation of guilt each time she says it.
One of the posters for ME5 is a crater in the shape of a Geth. I think they will play a big role in the next game. They most likely knew of the Reapers for years, since that array was looking into dark space (where the reapers lay dormant) I have a feeling you get enough geth together as a hive mind and they could very well imitate a human, and not speak like Legion. Legion speaks of the Heretics, but there could also be other "factions" of the Geth who have other objectives. I guess we'll see.
In the comic about the array, it is said that it is connected by an unknown technology. That is the technology of the Reapers.
Reaper technology could only be owned by Heretics
I am halfway through and you've made valid enough discrediting that I will put my money on Hackett and the Alliance military.
Will finish tomorrow to hear your deduction.
Oh also. I am subscribing now. 😎
What I found a bit odd was an observation you can make in the Pathfinder Centre on the Nexus. You can find three holographic ship models in here. One of them is of the Normandy SR-2. If you examine it closer though you learn that it's not a simple 3D-model: It's the complete blueprints to build the ship.
You know who'd easily have that information? The Shadow Broker, who was a long time passenger on the Normandy.
@KalaElizabeth I Am Gonna Go On My Gut Feeling On This It Possibly Be Anitta Goyle
The A. I. is very in your face indeed. I can't imagine this was not done on purpose. Also for playing andromeda, my logitech keyboard automatically lights up with the letters A I in the lighting somehow xD i did not enable this actively but it is kinda cool
Could the benefactor be the council ?
I don't think it was an AI or Geth. Could have been the Asari they had the prothean VI, they used to get ahead in technology/advancements after Thessias falls the Counselor states she had to see to the continuity of life? Not sure how that fits in the time line of rushing the Initiative to launch, or making it her job to get them launched. The Asari always played a long game, planning in the long term, they also tended to see themselves as the keepers/guide of the Milky Way species.
Who would know about the reapers before Shepherd? Who could gather all the funds and resources, through indoctrination? A Leviathan. One who was sympathetic to the last cycles organics. It is a Leviathan
It's not Liara, it's not Cerberus, it's not Geth, it's not Reaper... It's Yahg, the old Shadow Broker)
Screaming T'soni the whole time
@@KAlexanderTheGreat Well, Benefactor began sponsoring the Initiative before the events of ME1. Liara did not know about the Reapers until the events of ME1. And she didn't have giant funds until ME2
Think it would be interesting if the the benefactor was just a collective of crazy rich people under the same Alias.
Arguably that would be the polar opposite of interesting.
I think the three most likely scenarios for the Benefactor are:
1. The Geth.
2. Another AI / organic-AI hybrid
3. A person or group like Jaavik. The victims of a previous cycle who survived through integration with AI and want to help the new cycle and possibly return themselves
Not Geth. The Legion said that Shepard and his crew were the first organics the Geth had peaceful contact with. The Benefactor began sponsoring the Initiative before the events of ME1
@@SeverusHunt i think Legion referred to his unit, not the entire Geth consensus
wonder why Sam would not be just able to do this and considering so many pathfinders had sam..
@@peppermint1349 Because a lot of Pathfinders only appeared after the Benefactor started sponsoring the Initiative
@@SeverusHunt but sam already existed
I'm sure the Yahg mentions he is not the first Shadow Broker, I'm sure he mentions killing the broker before him and taking their place (or Liara mentions something about this). It is plausible the Benefactor is still the Shadow Broker, but in title not the current person filling the role. That being said, I think it was someone we haven't met yet in the games.
Liara in the DLC says Yahg killed the old Shadow Broker in 2125
I feel Goyle is the most compelling of the selection, in light of the fact she has presence in both the original novels and Andromeda's storyline. [Meta, I know, but from the narrative built around her, she was a fairly influential and savvy politician throughout her career, which itself was ended without much information. Apparently she generated enough clout to get a prospective specter within a decade of humanity's formal induction into council space.] Goyle's motivations for anonymity could simply be as a result of public knowledge of her person, and general backlash from the former council (As there is no council in Andromeda) races. Second to this, but bothers me a bit, where'd the stasis pods come from? Who made them and how? Like, I don't remember anyone using them besides the Protheans in any of the games, and even that was like "Whoa, those are some advanced ice boxes, wonder how they work." Side note: I'd love to read a novel about how Goyle came to power, Udina was a goober who lacked her initiative and foresight.
There is such a Cerberus news network. This is the text news of the ME universe that Bioware released in 2010-2012.
So, it is mentioned there that in 2070, earthlings sent a ship with stasis pods to Alpha Centauri.
Legion-lead Geth off-shoot is my favorite theory. Awesome video!
I think it's the initial human ambassador
I’ve been really looking forward to this video. Won’t be able to watch it yet but my own theory is that The Benefactor is Cerberus. Not The Illusive Man though.
Cerberus = 3 headed dog. TIM is Head 1, Benefactor is ahead 2. Head 3 is still a mystery.
Before the release of Andromeda, the developers themselves in one of the interviews said that Cerberus is not related to the Andromeda Initiative
@@SeverusHunt interesting. I never heard that before. While plans could always change as they develop the future of the series my theory doesn’t seem so possible now.
I haven’t been able to watch the video yet but hopefully it’ll give me some better clue as to who it is.
It has to be the Geth. There are a few important things that have to be true with regards to the benefactors identity.
1. Must know the threat of the Reapers before ME:1.
2. Have access to a LOT of money/resources.
3. Be removed enough from the day to day politics of Council space to be able to remain anonymous.
4. Have a vested interest in the expedition to Andromeda.
We know the Geth already supplied intel in terms of the Helios cluster. It is also suspicious that it was the Helios cluster where technology that requires organic/ai harmony to access is present.
Perhaps the person speaking isnt Geth, and an intermediary, but the benefactor in terms of who is actually providing the resources, is Geth.
The geth provided information against their will.
A Quarian entered there and stole data on Andromeda. He transferred this data to the Initiative.
By the way, these Geth were Heretics.
In the MEA Code you can find information that Benefactor, with his political influence, protected the Initiative from the Citadel Council.
Where does the Geth get their political influence?
The Legion itself said that Shepard and his team were the first organics with whom the Geth had peaceful contact in ME2.
Benefactor began contacting the Initiative before the events of ME1
I think the nexus will become a big mass relay in the future, so i don't think the benefactor needs to be in Andromeda
Arks and Nexus flew for 634 years. During this time, only the representatives of the long-lived race can remain alive.
@user-wr7mb3ic7m or cryo. We know the colonists were suspended. A party with significant interest in the voyage may choose to cryo back in the milky way
Love the video, and really appreciate all the research that went into it! I had only ever considered a couple people to be the benefactor, never imagined sooo many other options were possible.
When I originally played Andromeda, I just assumed it would probably be the Illusive Man or some rival/associate of his. Even though it wouldn't make sense for him to want to save other species, not to mention the timeline not working. I didn't put much thought into it back then as I assumed we'd get DLC and/or sequels. Anyways, I really hope they don't retcon the lore to make Liara the Benefactor (even though that seems like the direction they're teasing). I really like your idea of it being an AI though, so much potential for storylines.
Assuming we do find out more in ME5, my guess is as (it seems like) it'll take place hundreds of years post-ME3 then the Benefactor will likely either be an Asari or an AI 🤔
I solved the mystery of Benefactor, it's Blasto!!! :)
We met the benefactor in ME1, it was the AI stealing money on the Presidium, it let Shepard think that he/she killed it, but escaped.
Imagine the Benefactor is Alec's wife????? She was frozen and in a pod on the Ark. Don't know how she got the money or kept it from Alec, but just a crazy theory.
Ooh you're onto something
Hmmmmm, maybe the Benefactor is a Rouge Reaper?
It's Conrad Verner obviously
Lets not forget there are full SR-2 blueprints on the pathfinder lounge.
This is my first time watching one of your videos (I think, I'm old I forget things lol). This was well thought out and presently professionally. No wild speculation so insertions, just methodically thought out data. Well done.
My theories-
It's an AI. It foresaw the Reaper War, and insisted on S.A.M. so that the Initiative computer systems are powerful enough to handle AI, so it can sneakily install itself and escape to the Andromeda galaxy. Perhaps another Geth gestalt like Legion, or another AI altogether. They were either 'generating' money or just hacking banks and transferring whatever they needed.
The Shadow Broker. This was his secret escape the Reaper's plan, and he kept all the data in his head, so that he couldn't be found out, so Liara never found out about the plan. He had agents on the Initiative, who are following his preset instructions, not knowing he's dead.
It's not just Goyle, nor is it one person. It's a small Illuminati style cabal of ultra-wealthy autocrats from different species, the Mysterious Benefactor is just their 'public' face. I don't know if any one person could fund such a vast project, a group sharing the costs makes more sense.
It was the Kett. They were hoping a load of dinosaurs would show up and they could get some of that dino DNA for their gene splicing. They were very disappointed when soft squishy humans showed up.
The dinosaurs lol
I am sure as you said that it has been very hard to find and put together so much info and thanks for the hard work.
As for andromeda i did enjoy the game to some % and i agree that it has/had a lot of potential story wise if done right.
As for the next game i hope story wise they will find the right balance but none the less priority nr 1 for me is still wanting to see shepard back alive and the next game heaving the carry over decisions system that will include the cannon ending or if they dare take on such a big challenge as making it work with all of the 3 endingsi would go for that too but the ammount of info and scenarios + consequences its so big that i don't think bioware can make. To include all endings of the Trilogy and all endings of the Andromeda project its too big of a challenge even if andromeda does not heave too many changes in endings.
Shout out to my boy legion 😭
Vetra also could be Saren's daughter
I figure it's an old, possibly unknown AI. Leftover from a previous reaper invasion.
Like Vigil but intent on avoiding the problem rather than outlasting it.
love this video, just wish there were labeled chapters
ahh yeah I should have, for longer videos in the future I will for sure
My vote is the rouge A.I. on the citadel from ME1. It was funneling credits through the citadel with the final plan of getting a ship. If done on a much bigger scale that's what the nexus can be; each arc is a part of the A.I. and the unlimited funds come from taking it from other places so on and so forth. Could fund SAM so it could piggy back off it.
For it being destroyed we see also that EDI was a rouge A.I. in that game, was destroyed, then brought back.
As for settlers it probably, like SAM, wants to evolve through people or wants to guarantee its survival by having enough bodies.
Going to admit this is a late night theory ill sleep on but lets see where it goes.
If the Illusive man was Cora's father, maybe her mother is the benefactor.
The timelines don't add up. I seriously doubt Cora is the Illusive Man's daughter.
@@DepressionShaman
Timeline does. Anderson and Hackett are in their late 40's to early 50's . 2157 is When Cerberus is founded and by 2185 the arks leave. 28 year span is plenty of time.
That’s a great theory, I’ve always assumed that the benefactor was the Illusive man, as a hedge in case they didn’t beat the Reapers. After all, his whole deal is the advancement of humanity at any cost. I like the Cora’s mother theory too, especially since the Illusive Man probably would have only sent humans…
Mrs. Illusive Man!!!
Maybe it's kinda dumb, but I still wanted to share. I haven't seen anyone else talk about this so here goes.
In figuring this whole thing out I think the most important piece of the puzzle is the foresight of the Reapers. And with that a certain Asari Consort popped into my head and got the wheels spinning. We know she was extremally wealthy and popular, even if she herself didn't hold all the funds, she could easily have convinced a great many wealthy people to invest without disclosing the details, only saying it's for the preservation of life or something.
And then there is the whole trinket thing. WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THAT. It's never explained in any proper way and it LITERALLY gives you an access into memories of witnessing a Reaper. Besides Sha'ira herself posses at least some versions of foresight in regards to Shepard and other stuff too. The motivations would align as well, Sha'ira was altruistic in what she was doing, using her gifts to make people feel better, it's not impossible to think that she would act to preserve the lives of all species.
The biggest problem with the whole theory is the secrecy but we all know how much everyone in the galaxy cares about threats of life ending Dark Space squids, so she could've decided that it's more effective to work in secret not to hurt her reputation, or to be thought as a mad witch. But then why wouldn't she warn Shepard directly? I dunno, maybe destiny or something, maybe it's a canon event xD
Anyway, PLEASE let me know what you think, cause I kinda love this theory. Great video btw, take care ^^
Honestly this is a good theory! I plan on doing a follow up to this video eventually because a lot of people presented new theories so I'll definitely be mentioning this one!
My best theory is that the Benefactor is actually the Illusive Mans wife. And Cora is her daughter. Explains the money and the vague knowledge of the Reapers arrival. Question is, is the other Arks going off course is thanks to The Benefactor or just a odd coincidence? I think if their was an Andromeda 2 and 3, that be one of the arcs of the story. I really wanted to see everything come into closure over time. Or books
Plenty of people with the last name Harper. Im not buying that Harper is his daughter. That guy barely gets out to do so and even if she was, its irrelevant.
This was an amazing break down and it does make me wonder if they'll actually acknowledge it in the new Mass Effect. Your videos are top notch, keep 'em coming Kala 👍
Thank you very much!
Its a yahg
*Throws ideas out the window* Thank you once again for your thorough research! I guess we will have to see who the AI benefactor is in the next ME installment :).
What about: a rogue Reaper (corrupted AI), or Leviathan? They had ability to indoctrinate / control.
A the theory of an AI, no matter from when it was created (maybe from previous cycles) can do it also, could have manipulated more than one race for this purpose, reason for Geth telescope, or maybe the telescope was made to watch the Reapers when they wake up and ready to invade. And an AI could have used agents to speak for it, rather than interacting directly.
Or something still unknow to us that used agents to interact.
leviathans are inherently very selfish (fish, heh). They wouldn't help the 'lesser' races unless it benefited them somehow. I see them being quite antagonistic in the next game actually.
I personally think the benefactor is Lexy because she is old enough and Speak like the benefactor (not sound)Next question is were she get the money . Answer she is the child of the first shadow Broker. Maybe the Yagg gets the ship and his network but not his money because the first shadow broker delete in the last moment all information before the Yagg killed her. And ME2 we learn the Shadow Broker Ship is Hundreds of years old and their are only three species that life that long Asari,Krogans and Elcor and I see the first Shadow Broker as a Asari.What speaks for this theorie maybe the first shadow Broker teach Lexy how the built an information network and this is how she learn to get all information. And the money that the first shadow Broker made in all these years she use to found the Andromeda Initiave. Another thing is that the shadow Broker know more things than other people even cerberus and the council. In the Terminal entrys of the shadow Broker ship we learn that he had a theorie that the geth had a divide before all other people
I think the mysterious benefactor is someone who we never would have known personally, but someone whose organisation is someone we are all familiar with: the CEO of ExoGeni Corporation.
ExoGeni Corporation is an interstellar company specialising in "planetary exploration and colonisation".
...
Like come on, it is so obvious that if there was a secret plan to colonise new worlds with the Andromeda Initiative, ExoGeni would be very keen to invest. Imagine the worth of any resources traded back into the Milky Way. They would make a killing in Profits.
But obviously it is all secretive because given the iminant arrival of the Reapers being a closely guarded secret... several races within the Milky Way Galaxy would be keen to leave. I also think the whole idea was to keep it secret from the Galactic Council catching wind of the projects true intentions.
The benefactor is Eldfell-Ashland Energy (EAE). The biggest energy company in the mass effect universe. The company have the capital to fund the Andromeda Initiative.
The other possible candidates are The Illusive Man, Shadow Brokers (before the Yahg) or the Council. They have the money but doubtful
One theory I always thought held a possible way to explain it all was that the Benefactor was part of or working for the Asari Matriarchs or at least the ones behind the hiding of the Beacon and essentially ruled from Thesia's shadows like the head of their church or something, because the Asari are the oldest of the council races its possible they have much much deeper access to the money and rescourses of the Galaxy they basically rule.
I don't think it's anyone we've incountered. It's more likey they were planning to address in MEA2. In ME1 we knew of a Shadow Broker but not who it was until ME2. It might not even be an individual, but rather an organization. The Benefactor we hear could just be a liaison on behalf of the organization.
One note on The Geth which could possible lend to it. We have seen ME5 art of a bar similar to Purgatory featuring goth Geth and the aliens from Andromeda. We also know that the Destroy ending is the most common choice for ME3. It could (and this is very loose) possibly point to the destroy ending being made cannon, which would have destroyed the Geth in the Milky Way, but allowing those that went to Andromeda to return and rebuild.
Benefactor? Something often missed is that EDI gives a potential clue to this in ME2 when she becomes unshackled and you can ask about funding. Cerberus has some private investors from within the Alliance military industrial complex.
The benefactor seems like it could be someone who is tied to the Alliance, Cerberus, and has a maintained invested interest in AI.
These connections would also highlight the need for this individual needing their identity maintained as a secret.
The relationship between Organics and synthetics has always been an underlining theme in every mass effect game. This is a seperate point, but could highlight a question. Why? History repeats...unless learned from. Someone may have known that history, and looked into ways to change it.
Just some rando thoughts tho
Once upon a time there was another unknown AI in the galaxy and it was just hiding away, surfing the net, ordering Amazon and Uber eats, just living its own happy hermit life. But then it got noticed by Catalyst, because it takes one to know one. When contacted with an ultimatum to join us or be deleted it chose to flee.
What would an AI do if it needed to run where it can't be found by Catalyst? This whole project makes sense if you look at it from that perspective.
Who made the AI is irrelevant. It could have been made by any of the races or is leftover from defeated races and is hundreds of thousands of years old. All the while it got itself designed into the nexus so it's the hub for everything in Andromeda. The organics in the Arcs are for repair and maintenance, resource gathering and protection. They are the AI's worker ants and they don't even know.
Ok hear me out: Barla Von. As an agent of the shadow broker he would be adept and information gathering and have access to the early knowledge of the reapers. He specializes in moving large sums of money without detection so he could easily keep providing funds without raising suspicion. As to him not being in the andromeda galaxy I could see three possibilities. 1) since we only know what Volus look like by their suits he could have switched places with another volus and that’s who we meet in ME3, 2) He has an agent who he sent in his place, 3) He chose to stay in the Milky Way because that’s where all his power and money was and/or he believed that Shepard could win
considering, there's theories about their being multiverse in other TH-cam clips about me trilogy n mea...... what if the benefactor was Shepard from another galaxy, throughout the mission she did she did side trips for credits right, so she would've had whole bunch saved? plus, the Shepard from another time who contacted Alec, already had cybernetic implants, what if she had Sam mode built in
In regards to your final theory of an AI funneling money to fund the Initiative program if you remember and if you would like to make a video adding on to this one there was that one kind of hidden side quest to do that you could only obtain by scanning one of the computers in C-SEC in Mass Effect 1 where you had to track down a data trail which led you to the financial district of the Presidium Commons. The mission ends in the little hallway just past the Hanar Merchant and it turns out to be a "V.I." that was "programed" to funnel money to it's "master". That would make a lot of sense to that theory since while you did "stop" the "V.I." what's to say that it didn't just give you the illusion like what EDI attempted to do with the Alliance officials during the Normandy's "impound" at the very start of Mass Effect 3.
Maybe a partition of the Rogue AI that EDI came from? An AI could develop ways for infinite credits. Also the importance placed on SAM tech seems to fit.
In all my playthroughs I always treat Addison as suspect. Her actions in the game are overtly deplorable.
Also, Cerberus has cloning facilities, so TIM isn't necessarily a dead end. Any clone that is free of indoctrination may see the value of tapping other species while placing humans as the torch bearers. As far as funding, Cerberus is designed to work in cells, so there can be no true accounting for their actual funds and we see in ME2 that shepard is responsible for funding mission upgrades. Also, Cerberus owns the Rogue VI so see my above point.
All point for pro-Geth Benefactor applies to the rogue VI, but the emphasis on Alec and SAM specifically makes me think that it is someone with a human leaning agenda.
Crazy Grasp: The Rogue VI partition becomes SAM and Garson's murderer was committed by someone with a SAM implant, possible Addison.
sorry: I was typing this as I was listening and before 38 min mark... carry on, Great Video!
I always felt that Sovereign in particular or the Reapers in general were the benefactor since the Leviathan programed the Catalyst to maintain order in the Milky Way galaxy and most likely only the Milky Way but they had to understand that if organics knew about the Reapers they could attempt to flea which would open the possibility of their descendants returning powerful enough to defeat them. The best way to deal with them is sabotage. As I’ve said I haven’t read any of the literature so now I would modify it to an indoctrinated human.
The Benefactor would want to be one of the earliest scheduled to be woken up. One of the 600 randos brought out of cryo early due to an emergency just doesn't make sense without fore-knowledge of the event. Scratch "rando" from that list.
All what's following is imho, of course :
About the A.I. and an hypothetical illimited funding creation skill... I could'nt help but thinking about the "financial" AI we can destroy in Presidium (side quest "Citadel: Signal Tracking" Mass Effect 1). That's why it could be my favorite option.
About Cora Harper, I'm pretty sure she's not affiliated with Jack Harper. No sense, no interrest in the lore, and nothing in "MEA:Initiation" which Cora's POV (except few short chapters) let thinking anything on this way.
And agreed, TIM/Cerberus being the Benefactor don't work.
Foster Addison? Hmmm.. not matching with her personnality, her atiitude, her evolution in the game (from *ss-hole with at the beggining to quite raisonnable and even gueninely supportive at the end), among others thing... that a definitive no for me. (but on the other hand, I understand why she would look suspicious, too)
And finally about the datapad in the Kett base, true this is perturbing, what's thinking about ? The thing is, the translation of "the Benefactor" in french version is "la Bienfaitrice", female-gendered so I can assume that's the same person. But... we know that several Kett officials are female-gendered, so finally we are not less confused ;p
I don't play a Fender but they already got my money. I have an affordable Jackson J3S-7 which cost like $400. It plays great and the price is right. 🙂 My next guitar will probably be a Gio from Ibanez. Inexpensive guitars are SOOO much better then what they used to be years ago. 🙂
If I had to, I would rather buy a decked out Epiphone than any of the Gibsons. So not worth the money.
Not saying I buy into the idea that the illusive man is the mysterious benefactor, but at least on your point of the Lazarus project costing 4 billion; I was given to believe that is simply the amount he allotted toward the project, but he didn’t really mind if they went over budget- it was just his guesstimation. I don’t think it actually dented how much money he has.
There's a datapad in the Kett facility on Voeld that references a "Benefactor" that is also interacting with the Kett. Could just be a coincidence, but given how meticulous the lore of the Mass Effect games, it seems like maybe the Benefactor wanted the Kett to win for some reason and was bringing more genetically different species to the Kett for the purpose of making them stronger.
@33:40 I think it'd be more interesting if the AI was just very good at making money rather than just being a glorified hacker. You mentioned previously that some parties were developing AI for commercial purposes - so there's a precedent in-universe for gaming the stock market with an AI. They'd essentially be the Shadow Broker but skipping the middle-man of having to actually input things, as well as the unparalleled ability to multitask. The only thing I don't like about this theory is-as you point out-that the initiative is called AI - that feels a little bit too on the nose.
P.S. I think that the cost-difference between Project Lazarus and the Andromeda Initiative is just a consequence of a change of real world attitudes - i.e. what audiences would consider expensive. Being a billionaire was considered synonymous with being an illuminati super-villain when ME2 came out - whereas now being a billionaire is considered playboy philanthropist money. The Illusive Man being broke after spending *only* a billion dollars doesn't sound that impressive in 2023 - that makes him sound like Elon Musk blowing his fortune on buying Twitter. Roll around Andromeda and we need to use numbers like trillions or quintillions to actually make it sound impressive. It's just unfortunately that while decades are passing for the audience - these events are meant to exist within the same time period in-universe.
I always thougt the Benefactor would be a Reaper who rebels against the other Reapers.
CRAZY THOUGHT, what if the benefactor first gave money to the illusive man, cut him off then funded the Andromeda initiative? Also would not be surprised if it ended up being some sort of AI.
Isn’t The Catalyst the most advanced AI in existence? Which allows the possibility of synthesis? The Catalyst also has inflection in their voice, and felt like it could have possibly been tired of The Harvest, as well as being in control of the Reapers. They could have hired out a collective to follow their instructions later upon arrival. It’s not any kind of solid theory because its official appearance isn’t until the end of ME3, but it IS in the Citadel.
I just want to point out Vigil tells us in ME:1 that Sovereign may have been working for centuries in the run up to ME:1. And the information the Rachni queen gives us is that there’s a good chance Sovereign was the one that influenced the Rachni wars in the first place, showing Discord among their queens and turning them more Hostile. The Reapers also knew of the Rachni’s existence from the previous cycle where the Protheans used them as shock troops. I really don’t think the Geth are the first to make contact with the Reapers.
Wait I’m currently still watching as i make this comment, the andromeda program started before the events of me3 right? So wouldnt it be possible for him to fund these projects before he was indoctrinated, i mean it would make sense for him to have an idea of this project? Fyi i love the content, i’m soo gonna come back to this as i write my mass effect fanfiction
Sometimes I go into shock to see I’m not the only person who cares about all the unanswered questions in MEA because oh boy, does it sometimes feel like it given the massive amount of hate this game got. 😅
We don't know for sure that the person Alec spoke with was the benefactor themselves. It could have someone hired to act as the benefactor. Remember the Asari on Ilium who was acting as an agent of the Rachni queen? Same concept.
I truly hope that Cora Harper and Jack Harper have no relation to each other. To me, that would just make the universe seem smaller, not larger.
As to Director Tann's quick advancement. It's pretty clear that Tann himself is not a particularly strong willed character, and seems pretty ripe for exploitation in some way. He seems entirely preoccupied with his legacy and that of the initiative's (in that order) so while he himself almost assuredly did not plan his advancement, it's more than possible someone else did. Knowing (or at least believing to the point of murdering other people for it) that he could be exploited to make certain decisions that they would prefer. Such as exiling the Krogan. He is somebody's puppet.