History Fridge / MassEffectFridgeBrillianceGeneral

* Ashley in ''3'':
** Compared to the other returning squad members, Ashley's power set in ''3'' is by far the most radical departure from her abilities in ''1''. However, Ashley mentions in ''1'' that she is afraid that she won't be able to keep up with the other five, who are a mixture of [[GeniusBruiser Genius Bruisers]] and [[BadassBookworm Badass Bookworms]], some of whom have psychic powers, while Ashley could only shoot things. Ashley's power set in ''3'' is remarkably versatile. Marksman reflects her original job of just shooting things, Disruptor Ammo covers shields, barriers, and synthetics, Inferno Grenades cover armor and organics, and Concussive Shot gives her some control over the battlefield, while combining all four allows her to cause considerable area-of-effect damage with Tech Bursts and Fire Explosions, all things that the rest of the original squad can do with tech or biotics. Ashley deliberately trained in combat techniques that would bring her up to the same level as the other members of the first ''Normandy''.

* A few times throughout the series, alien characters get confused by the phrases and idioms used by humans. A funny running joke, but there is a degree of logic for why it wouldn't work: it's implied/confirmed that almost everyone uses translators to communicate with each other. As good as this is, certain phrases likely wouldn't make sense to someone else even when translated, because the language barrier wouldn't be able to reliably make it work for another culture. For instances: if you were to say "An eye for an eye keeps the whole world blind", another race would likely not have something that fits well into their culture, such as if said to a hanar or batarian. Anyone familiar with translating between real languages knows how much of a hurdle this can be.

* Here is some epic foreshadowing. In ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'', you get to hear a poem from Ashley. "O captain, my captain." Shepard can point out. "As I recall, the captain dies in that poem." Sure enough, in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''...

* Here is some epic foreshadowing. In ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'', you get to hear a poem from Ashley. "O captain, my captain." Shepard can point out. "Didn't the captain die?" Sure enough, in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''...

** And to a certain extent, Legion would be right. Shepard potentially possesses one of the few L5 biotic implants. Shepard possesses the cultural imprint of the Protheans. Shepard has ''died'' and been resurrected...with cybernetic implants. At this point, Shepard could logically be called something other than human. More or alternatively, he could be called a synthesis of other races: The durability of krogan (and their ability to avoid death thanks to that), the mechanical nature and collective culture of geth and Reaper, and so on and so forth, practically everything the geth could hope to be.

** And, to a certain extent, Legion would be right. Shepard potentially possesses one of the few L5 biotic implants. Shepard possesses the cultural imprint of the Protheans. Shepard has ''died'' and been resurrected...with cybernetic implants. At this point, Shepard could logically be called something other than human. More or alternatively, he could be called a synthesis of other races: The durability of krogans (and their ability to avoid death thanks to that), the mechanical nature and collective culture of geth and Reaper, and so on and so forth, practically everything the geth could hope to be.

* The reapers and their cycle of extinction provide the perfect answer for the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox Fermi Paradox]].

* In the first ''Mass Effect'', Saren's goal is to preserve the existence of organic life by proving that it can be of use to the Reapers -- that submission, to paraphrase one of his lines, exists as a preferable alternative to extinction. Naturally, everyone thinks he's crazy, and that the Reapers would wipe out all organic life anyway. It's not until ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' when you [[spoiler:discover that the Collectors were once protheans]] that you learn he was ''right'' -- the Reapers would have preserved organic life, [[spoiler:though almost certainly in a very different form than what existed]]. Not only that, but it's likely that Saren KNEW [[spoiler:the true fate of the protheans]], which is why he was trying to prove that organic life should be spared [[spoiler:once again]]. Submission really DID exist as an alternative to extinction (though [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu "just beating the hell out of the Reapers"]] was [[TakeAThirdOption obviously better than either of those choices]]).
* On the flip side to the Collectors, also remember the keepers -- more than likely, a different race modified as the protheans were (long, long, long ago). Considering the important role the keepers play in the Reapers' plans, it's likely that the keepers were involved in the very first cycle (or at least, for quite some time).

** As a point of contrast, consider also Legion. Legion ''also'' come from a highly collectivist culture, more so than Tali. Thus it's use of 'we' and 'geth' aren't signs of a lack of individuality but equivalent to Tali talking about herself as 'we' and 'Rayya/Neema/Normandy'. That is, as the platform/ship she's associated with or in Legion's case, the race. This is also why Legion uses 'odd' naming for Shepard and Tali. Creator-Tali would be a creator... but the adding of Tali would, to Legion, be the same as marking her as a complete nation (an entire geth station) unto herself. That is, to Legion, the quarians are like the Reapers. Individual (every quarian is different) even as they are also of the same race (quarian). As for Shepard-Commander? Note the reversal of words. It's not race-individual (Creator-Tali). There's no reason why Legion would use a different naming scheme for Shepard even with emotional ties. Thus, Legion considers 'Shepard' to be not just a nation unto him/herself... but an entire ''race'' unto him/herself. Commander ''is'' Shepard rather than Shepard ''is'' Commander. Legion doesn't know how to react to Shepard because, in some ways, Shepard is, conceptually to Legion, something much more profound than the Reapers and quarians. All this in turn can't be something the geth picked up from the quarians as the quarian naming convention is individual-clan-ship and by extension, race (Tali'Zorah vas Normandy of the quarians) so Creator-Tali would be the same as saying "quarian Tali'Zorah etc etc". Commander (individual) John (clan) Shepard (ship) of the humans would, if the geth were treating Shepard the same, would be "human-Commander John Shepard".
** And, to a certain extent, Legion would be right. Shepard possesses one of the few L5 biotic implants. Shepard possesses the cultural imprint of the protheans. Shepard has ''died'' and been resurrected... with cybernetic implants. At this point, Shepard could logically be called something other than human. More or alternatively, he could be called a synthesis of other races: the durability of krogans (and their ability to avoid death thanks to that). The mechanical nature and collective culture of geth and reaper. And so on and so forth. Practically everything the geth could hope to be.

* All but two of the major races in the game have the same basic design as humans. They're all bipedal, land dwelling species, with four limbs. All of them except for the volus survive on an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere and are about 6ft. tall at adulthood. Even the hanar and the elcor are not that exotic, being basically alien jellyfish and elephants. It was even worse with the asari, each one basically a blue human female with a cuttlefish on their head. However, it was confirmed in ''Mass Effect 1'' at one of the prothean sites that they experimented on early humans -- and the hanar worship the protheans as the "Enkindlers". Who's to say that the protheans weren't involved in the development of all species now in the galaxy? [[spoiler:[=ME3=] confirms that the protheans were at least aware of the races, and were heavily involved with influencing the primitive asari]]. Take a good look at the legs, feet and hands of turians. Now take a good look at the legs, feet and hands of quarians. That is all.

* You know Klendagon? You know, the planet that got glanced by the shot that killed the reaper? Well so did Bioware back in [=ME1=]. The description for that planet in Mass Effect 1 ''specifically mentions'' the large geological formations in the planet that were formed by "an ancient mass accelerator weapon."

* The hanar have to take ''anger management courses'' in order to talk with other species. First, they "speak" by blinking with different colors and intensities, while pretty much every other species communicates via sound, tone, and posture. Second, the hanar tend to be methodical, even having their true names truly mean something specific, while other species tend to have more colorful expressions, and more ways to convey the same language. Third, language was a gift the Enkindlers, aka the protheans, gave to them at the beginning of their civilization. So, for them, every other species is butchering language, which is a gift from the gods themselves.

* It seems odd that Jacob is unfaithful to a Shepard who romanced him, when any other love interest is utterly loyal even if Shep was dead for a couple years. But think about it. To every other romanced squad member, Shepard means a ''lot''. [[note]]The Virmire Survivor went through all of the events of the first game with him/her, all the triumph and trauma and the personal issues. Garrus and Tali were there too, though sharing fewer personal issues then; and Shepard pulled Garrus off the Citadel to go out and make a direct difference, then when he was cornered on Omega she sprung him from that trap, helped him to grasp a more gray universe, and opened his eyes to the formerly-unknown world of cross-species intercourse. Shepard saved Tali and let her travel on a state-of-the-art ship, travels which seriously changed the course of her Pilgrimage; he helped her to salvage the Freedom's Progress and Haestrom missions which she led and were nearly disasters, he represented her at her treason trial and got the whole thing called off, he was the first person she ever wanted to link suits with. Liara was saved by Shepard, saw the painful conclusion to her relationship with her mother, went to a lost prothean city she'd always dreamed of, and after Shep died s/he went through immense difficulty and pain getting him/her into the hands of terrorists who claimed to be able to resurrect him/her. Miranda? Shepard saw her as a person and was immensely more real and personable than dating service messages, he helped her save her sister, he became a trustworthy point in a galaxy she sees as untrustworthy, she may have even been inspired to rethink her attachment to Cerberus and ''quit'' on his account. Jack found Shepard to be trustworthy too, to ''not'' just want to use her, to help her get some resolution on her past and gradually open enough to start feeling some concern for others instead of just hate and violence, to actually care about her. Shepard is the first friend Thane has made in ten years, the one to wake him from his "battle-sleep" and to purpose, she helped him reunite with his son and was the focus of the last truly active period of his life.[[/note]] Jacob... He's the most psychologically healthy of the crew, so Shepard can't be integral to resolving his issues. His loyalty mission deals with his father, yes, but he's not massively impacted by that, it had been ten years and he'd already mourned. She doesn't get him to rethink anything big. He's impressed and he likes her, but her deciding to pursue and sleep with him doesn't have the same degree of impact as it does with the others. It was basically FriendsWithBenefits to him, so when he met Brynn and hit it off in a way that affected him personally...

** Javik's schtick about evolution and [[TheSocialDarwinist how the strong dominate and the weak perish/are dominated]] is based on what we consider outdated views, and many complain how this is not how evolution works. But the thing is, it's not how evolution works. Evolution favours the adaptable. The Prothean Empire was completely screwed over when the Reapers came because their monolithic culture could not adapt at all (not to say they would have won, but Javik does note that their monolithic culture worked against them). Javik said that the protheans conquered and assimilated other races until they were essentially one culture. While TIM probably wouldn't take it to such cultural extremes, it sounds very much like what he was planning. Perhaps the Reapers nudged him into attempting the same mistake?

* So, the [[spoiler: Human-Reaper and his three pupils/eyes]]. Kinda obscure, as so many noticed, for something based on [[spoiler: human]], but then came ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' and [[spoiler: [[http://images.wikia.com/masseffect/images/5/52/ME3_Javik_Character_Shot.png Javik]], the last living prothean, who have two eyes on each side and two pupils in each eye]]. Either way, suddenly everything came into its place: [[spoiler: strange eyes, studied collector on the Collector Cruiser]]. It wasn't a [[spoiler: '''human'''-]]reaper, it was [[spoiler: '''human-prothean hybrid''']] reaper!

* By the end of The Lair of Shadow Broker DLC Liara says that the previous Shadow Broker studied prothean works to find a way to fight the Reapers. Then [=ME3=] rolls along...

* OK. So let's talk about Udina. He's a cold, uncharismatic toad. His decision making is absolutely lousy. He clearly lacks any ability to be a good politician. So why on earth did he get such a high position? The answer comes from Anderson: "Udina has his uses. If you want to get anything done on the Citadel, he knows who to ask." ''Of course''. He's not a politician; he's a ''bureaucrat''. He's a very good bureaucrat. As an assistant to a decent politician, he'd make that politician's career -- people would praise that politician as decisive and capable. But Udina is also ambitious and doesn't know his own limitations. It's a combination that got him promoted above his level of competence... right to the point where he could help end all organic life, in fact. This is also why the various turians in office tend not to like Udina and why the turian council member quickly warms to Udina when Shepard proves Saren guilty. Turian society teaches (and of course, those in power would probably more closely identify with this social trend) that individuals should be introspective enough to understand their limitations and the limitations of others. People should not promote others or be promoted if they're not ready yet. Thus prior to all this, it's likely that the turians Udina worked with saw him (and perhaps by proxy, the humans) as basically being rude for promoting someone into a position they weren't ready for.

** And that is why everyone eventually rallies around the humans to build the Crucible and defeat the Reapers. Human genes have the highest potential for adaptability and individual humans, even their military doctrine is based on adaptability. A human admiral Hacket is the first to realize that unconventional means are the only way to defeat the Reapers, another highly adaptable human, Shepard, gathers the fleet together by browbeating, diplomacy, peacemaking, deceit, even turning an enemy towards a GreaterScopeVillain to win. The other races can't even contemplate doing all these things. It has to be noted that the one Turian who becomes Primarch had been hampered in his career by using wildly unconventional strategy, and The Miracle of Palaven ''has'' to have been one of his "unconventional" gambits.

* TIM vs Saren: Both of them are indoctrinated without them knowing it, both are encountered in person at the endgame on the Citadel, and both need a very high bar to reach in order to persuade them to step aside. However, while Saren's persuade option is attainable as long as you maxed out your Charm/Intimidate points, TIM's persuasion is a much more difficult thing to unlock, requiring consistent successful persuasion checks at multiple missions hidden beneath Investigate dialogue options and then picking the Charm option in the end. Why is his bar higher than Saren's? Because of what they were trying to accomplish: Saren was looking to appease the Reapers, wherein selling out and appeasing an enemy is a huge taboo for Turians. He therefore was already suspecting his own indoctrination due to his behavior being so off kilter from normal Turian behavior and was thus willing to be persuaded. TIM on the other hand was looking to outright annex and enslave the Reapers to repurpose them as enforcers of human supremacy. Even a non-indoctrinated speciesist xenophobe would have these tendencies and it would never even cross their mind that a zeal to accomplish this goal is a subtle form of indoctrination. That is why it takes repeated persuasions to convince him; only by examining his motivations and tearing them apart does he realize that pursuing control is outright wrecking his organization and humanity as a whole.

** Wrex not only asks Kaidan that question, but Ashley and Garrus too. And all of them are surprised by that question. This is because humans and turians have a hierarchical professional military, while Krogan only have tribal clans. Krogan believe that AsskickingEqualsAuthority is the ''only'' way one attains leadership, while Ashley, Garrus and Kaiden being soldiers, believe that other qualities go into the appointment of an officer to a command. This is classic SoldierVersusWarrior differences here.

* A few times throughout the series, alien characters get confused by the phrases and idioms used by humans. A funny running joke, but there is a degree of logic for why it wouldn't work: it's implied/confirmed that almost everyone uses translators to communicate with each other. As good as this is, certain phrases likely wouldn't make sense to someone else even when translated, because the language barrier wouldn't be able to reliably make it work for another culture. For instances: if you were to say "An eye for an eye keeps the whole world blind", another race would likely not have something that fits well into their culture, such as if said to a hanar or batarian.

* The volus shouldn't [[{{Pun}} hold their breath]] waiting for a Council seat, because their main hat is commerce -- and that makes them profoundly unsuitable for holding a leadership position, due to conflict of interest.

* TIM vs Saren: Both of them are indoctrinated without them knowing it, both are encountered in person at the endgame on the Citadel, and both need a very high bar to reach in order to persuade them to step aside. However, while Saren's persuade option is attainable as long as you maxed out your Charm/Intimidate points, TIM's persuasion is a much more difficult thing to unlock, requiring consistent successful persuasion checks at multiple missions hidden beneath Investigate dialogue options. Why is his bar higher than Saren's? Because of what they were trying to accomplish: Saren was looking to appease the Reapers, wherein selling out and appeasing an enemy is a huge taboo for Turians. He therefore was already suspecting his own indoctrination due to his behavior being so off kilter from normal Turian behavior and was thus willing to be persuaded. TIM on the other hand was looking to outright annex and enslave the Reapers to repurpose them as enforcers of human supremacy. Even a non-indoctrinated speciesist xenophobe would have these tendencies and it would never even cross their mind that a zeal to accomplish this goal is a subtle form of indoctrination. That is why it takes repeated persuasions to convince him; only by examining his motivations and therefore gaining a deeper understanding of them does he realize that pursuing control is outright wrecking his organization and humanity as a whole.

* TIM vs Saren
** Both of them are indoctrinated without them knowing it, both are encountered in person at the endgame on the Citadel, and both need a very high bar to reach in order to persuade them to step aside. However, while Saren's persuade option is attainable as long as you maxed out your Charm/Intimidate points, TIM's persuasion is a much more difficult thing to unlock, requiring consistent successful persuasion checks at multiple missions. Why is his bar higher than Saren's? It is because of what they were trying to accomplish: Saren was looking to appease the Reapers, wherein selling out and appeasing an enemy is a huge taboo for Turians. He therefore was already suspecting his own indoctrination due to his behavior being so off kilter from normal turian behavior and was thus willing to be persuaded. TIM, on the other hand, was looking to outright annex and enslave the Reapers to repurpose them as enforcers of human supremacy. Even a non-indoctrinated speciesist xenophobe would have these tendencies and it would never even cross their mind that a zeal to accomplish this goal is a subtle form of indoctrination. That is why it takes repeated persuasions to convince him. Only by measuring losses taken by Cerberus does he realize that pursuing control is outright wrecking his organization and humanity as a whole.

* The Illusive Man's chair has 3 legs. 3-legged seats are notoriously difficult to keep balanced - you end up falling over if you lean too far in any direction. Plus he's usually sitting on it with one leg on the ground and the other on his knee. Every scene in Cerberus HQ basically shows just how imbalanced TIM really is.
* That curving slash through the Mass Effect logo isn't just some cool bit of graphic design, it's the Normandy's profile.

* If a Renegade Shepard doesn't use the Med Bay to heal their scars, s/he begins to ''look like Saren''. Heck, even ''Paragon'' Shepard is slowly becoming Saren's inverse: [[spoiler: The geth? On your side thanks to Legion. The krogan? On your side thanks to Wrex. The rachni? On your side thanks to the Queen you spared on Noveria. A sapient ship - at your command instead of it commanding you, all thanks to unshackled EDI. You even have a very powerful and influential T'Soni advising you. And a different (almost) matriarch on your side. With former enemies like these, who needs friends? (Though you probably made a lot of those, too.)]]

** [[spoiler:Catalyst]] aside, remember, Sovereign's boss is ''Harbinger'', who is ''definitely'' not the most reasonable of superiors. It's not too much of a stretch to assume that at least part of Sovereign's desire to start the cycle - subtlety and secrecy be damned - is rooted in a desire to not be on the receiving end of Harbinger's wrath.

* At first it makes no sense that Shepard and co. can stand a chance ''on foot'' against the geth, who by now are surely reaching the [[TheSingularity singularity.]] It is only in Mass Effect 2 and 3 that you find out that [[spoiler: the true geth ''are'' reaching the technological singularity and Shepard is only fighting the 5% of geth that are "heretics" and have left the main group.]] Geth are stupider in smaller numbers, and the ''Normandy’s'' stealth systems mean that the geth are only expecting to fight rag-tag bands of pirates, slavers, and colonists, not some of the best trained and equipped soldiers in the galaxy. It makes perfect sense that they’re not too difficult to take down.
* OK. So let's talk about Udina. He's a cold, uncharismatic toad. His decision making is absolutely lousy. He clearly lacks any ability to be a good politician. So why on earth did he get such a high position? The answer comes from Anderson: "Udina has his uses. If you want to get anything done on the Citadel, he knows who to ask." ''Of course''. He's not a politician; he's a ''bureaucrat''. He's a very good bureaucrat. As an assistant to a decent politician, he'd make that politician's career - People would praise that politician as decisive and capable. But Udina is also ambitious and doesn't know his own limitations. It's a combination that got him promoted above his level of competence... right to the point where he could help end all organic life, in fact. This is also why the various turians in office tend not to like Udina and why the turian council member quickly warms to Udina when Shepard proves Saren guilty. Turian society teaches (and of course, those in power would probably more closely identify with this social trend) that individuals should be introspective enough to understand their limitations and the limitations of others. People should not promote others or be promoted if they're not ready yet. Thus prior to all this, it's likely that the turians Udina worked with saw him (and perhaps by proxy, the humans) as basically being rude for promoting someone into a position they weren't ready for.

* As long as you don't use the medbay upgrade to heal your scars, those could tie in as well - while a Paragon Shepard's scars heal and make them look more like a normal human, Renegade's get worse, and when someone with [[RedEyesTakeWarning eyes]] and [[GoodScarsEvilScars scars]] that glow red threatens you, you're probably going to be inclined to listen.

* At first glance, the Vanguard's Charge ability doesn't seem to fit within the various powers of mass effect fields. The power to move at insane speeds and phase through solid objects en route to the target? That doesn't make any sense based on what we've seen so far, until you look at the mass relays, including [[spoiler:the Conduit - which actually did allow Shepard's crew to ''phase through the Citadel walls'']]. Biotics are, after all, just a way for organics to generate mass effect fields, so theoretically an organic can do anything an [=ME=]-based technology can pull off. Looking more closely at it, it becomes obvious: Charge is essentially a ''short-ranged, much slower, one-way version of a mass relay jump''.

* On the flip side to the Collectors, also remember the keepers - more than likely, a different race modified as the protheans were (long, long, long ago). Considering the important role the keepers play in the Reapers' plans, it's likely that the keepers were involved in the very first cycle (or at least, for quite some time).

** Pretty much every gameplay change between the first and second games has an in-universe justification. Ammo? It's heat sinks. No Mako? Probes. Appearance and class change? Project Lazarus wasn't perfect. However, what if a Paragon player in the first game decided to be a complete asshole in the second? It's mentioned a few times that Shepard's personality may have changed due to brain damage - turning them from a nice guy to a jerk, vice versa, and everything in between. Plus dying can really change how you handle things. A Paragon Shepard who gets resurrected would probably realize that yeah, shit's gotten real, and [=s/he=] really doesn't have time to screw around. Power cool down is a game mechanic that changed in the second game but didn't receive an explanation until the third. In the first game, after you used a power it would take about a minute for that power to recharge, but you could use any other power during that time. In the second game, after you used a power you had to wait for all your powers to recharge, but it only took seconds. The change doesn't make a lot of sense until you look at another mechanic in the third game, where you can equip as much or as little weapons as you want, but the more weapons you have equipped and the heavier they are, the longer it takes for your powers to recharge. Now notice that in the first game everyone has every type of weapon equipped at all times, while in the second game they only equip the weapons they are proficient with. Mind...blown.

* All but two of the major races in the game have the same basic design as humans. They're all bipedal, land dwelling species, with four limbs. All of them except for the volus survive on an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere and are about 6ft. tall at adulthood. Even the hanar and the elcor are not that exotic, being basically alien jellyfish and elephants. It was even worse with the asari, each one basically a blue human female with a cuttlefish on their head. However, it was confirmed in ''Mass Effect 1'' at one of the prothean sites that they experimented on early humans - and the hanar worship the protheans as the "Enkindlers". Who's to say that the protheans weren't involved in the development of all species now in the galaxy? [[spoiler:[=ME3=] confirms that the protheans were at least aware of the races, and were heavily involved with influencing the primitive asari]]. Take a good look at the legs, feet and hands of turians. Now take a good look at the legs, feet and hands of quarians. That is all.

** The Renegade interrupt button, on the 360 at least, is the right trigger, or fire button. The Paragon interrupt button is the left trigger, or aim button. Renegade interrupts are usually violent and immediate, like firing a gun. Paragon interrupts are usually making someone rethink what they're doing (though not always in a violent way), like pointing - but not firing - a gun at a mugger or someone like that. On the PC, the Left Mouse Button (Renegade) is the fire button and the Right Mouse Button (Paragon) is the aim button. Renegade actions are acts of violence, the same as firing your weapons, while Paragon interrupts, using the zoom button, are when you ''take a closer look'' at a situation.

* Two separate things regarding Legion: First of all, his loyalty power lets him get all his shields back instantly. Ordinary geth have this, too - it's how they can spontaneously create shields when you fight them. Second, there's a lot of similarities between him and Tali. They both come from a collectivist society - Tali rarely uses "I", and Legion never uses it. Their power sets are almost completely identical - they both get AI Hacking and Combat Drone, and their loyalty powers let them recharge their shields. They're both the most normal, relatively speaking, of your squad. They're both tech-savvy, to the point where both of them are good choices for the tech specialist in the first part of the suicide mission. Their places on the ''Normandy'' are centered around tech - Tali is near the mass effect core, and Legion is in the AI core. Their personalities are even a little similar. Perhaps [=BioWare=] is saying that the geth and the quarians are not so different?

* Why are krogan biotics rare? Because of the genophage. People can only become biotics if they are exposed to eezo before they're born. However, only one in ten thousand (or so) krogan foetuses actually get born, and most eezo exposures don't result in anything. It may also have to do with their incredible durability which includes redundant organs. That kind of durability would likely also mean a high resistance to dramatic mutation which eezo exposure would naturally be. Thus for a krogan to have noticeable biotic ability, they would need to be exposed to enough eezo to, basically, give a krogan cancer. Which in turn explains why krogan battlemasters are so powerful even without training - they're carrying an incredibly high doze of eezo in their body.

* The quarians have thin, slender bodies with ... "exaggerated" assets - wide hips for females and broad shoulders (and pronounced crotch bulges) for males. When you finally get to Rannoch, the planetary statistics screen shows that the planet has less surface gravity than Earth, and it is also "hotter". Quarian physiology makes a lot more sense in that sort of environment. A high surface area to mass ratio means the quarians can dissipate heat faster, and planets with lower gravity hypothetically could encourage a lanky body structure.
* Mordin describes the genophage in detail: it essentially rewires glands in the bodies of krogan females that control fetal growth, causing deformities that are lethal to 999/1000 of the resulting offspring - the genetic equivalent of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teratology#Teratogenesis teratogenesis]] I.E. ''thalidomide babies.'' That seems a pretty sick thing for a matriarchal society to do to someone, until you think hard about salarian civilization; males compete for the right to sire progeny on females, and females barter breeding rights as the source of their authority - ''just like post-genophage krogan.'' Salarian females ''aren't'' {{Mama Bear}}s. Given the rarity of salarian females and how salarians consider science their most potent weapon, wouldn't a Dalatrass screwing up a rival female's ability to bear offspring be the equivalent of ''[[{{Realpolitik}} America nuking Hiroshima]]?'' The salarians ''did'' design the genophage as a terror weapon for the purposes of deterrence (not unlike actual nukes). It was the turians who used it -- they don't understand how deterrence weapons are supposed to work, because turians ''[[{{Determinator}} can't be deterred]]''. Neither species understood the psychological effects it would have on the krogan, because both salarians and turians are used to collective action (salarians in the case of their incredibly intricate breeding politics, turians in the case of... everything) and so would have banded together to overcome the obstacle. The krogan, in contrast, are highly individualistic and so the individual's inability to breed, regardless of the hypothetical survival of the species, drove them to despair.

* Speaking of salarians, there is a logical reason as to why they are so shortsighted and can't see why history would repeat itself if they elevated the Yarg the same way they did the krogan; they lack an understanding of their own history. Takes for example the first World War - most children are taught that because some guy assassinated a Duke - it caused a cascade effect in treaties throughout the world. But its not that simple. Military historians have spent decades deciphering the exact details, but few of those make its way to common knowledge and with so much to cover, teachers try to keep it extremely basic and not very interconnected. The brilliance comes when you remember that salarians live to about 40 and have a culture than spans millennia , they literally do not have the time to go into the complexities. They might have been taught that they elevated the krogan and saved the universe and then a later class would teach that the krogans were another problem, unrelated to the first. They repeat their history because they do not have a good grasp on their own history!

* Long unbound hair is extremely uncommon in this setting. It's even noticeable on the Eva platform, whose 'hair' is designed to be short. Why is that? Well, aside from humans it appears that the only species in the galaxy with long flexible filaments growing out of their heads are the quarians, who don't show it anymore and are considered disgraced by the Citadel races. Most humans are trying not to stand out too much; maybe other species find it weird and repulsive to see long hair swishing around. The only characters shown to have long hair that isn't completely bound up are Ashley in [=ME3=], Miranda, and Kai Leng - all decidedly humans-first, though Ash more morally than the others, and unlikely to change their appearances to make other species more comfortable. Another reason: Long, unbound hair would get in the way in zero-gravity, or make it more difficult to get on and secure a space-suit's helmet. It's the same reason female pilots in ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'' shaved their heads.

* Humanity is seen by the other species as aggressive bullies who force their way through things. We don't exactly argue this point because we are human and see it as being part of our nature. However, when you realize that First Contact only occurred about thirty years prior to the start of the first game, meaning many characters we meet were born before humanity encountered the turians, means that humanity is still in the process of reacting to the existence of aliens. And, because the first aliens humanity encounters led that encounter by attacking them in accordance with Citadel laws (laws humanity had no way to know existed), humanity's reaction is still in defensive mode, which is lash out, scream, shout, raise all sorts of hell until you feel reasonably secure again. Which is why humanity pushes so hard - they don't feel secure yet. It's also telling that even the asari, renowned diplomats and known for being calming and understanding of others, do not pick up on this. It's part of the overall problem of the Council, that they are complacent - the last major first contact that they had was the turians, 1500 years ago, so they are unaccustomed to interacting with new species, which is why the drive and push of humanity is so unnerving to them. Humanity wants to keep finding out more, and the Council seem content with the status quo. And it's why things seem to fall apart so easily once the status quo gets knocked off kilter in the third game.

* One can notice that all the in-universe music (so not the combat music only the player can hear) in Mass Effect has no spoken lyrics whatsoever - this is explained by the fact everyone owns a translator, and lyrics would sound really weird when translated automatically since most rhyming and poetry would be lost in the process, so artists stopped relying on lyrics altogether in any piece designed for a sufficiently broad audience. The exception would be ''Fleet and Flotilla'', which apparently does have lyrics, but which is aimed mostly at quarians and turians - and when performed by Tali in the ''Citadel'' DLC, the lines don't rhyme (or at least the last one doesn't).

* The [[PlanetOfHats most obvious traits]] of the three Citadel races in the games ([[ProudWarriorRaceGuy turians]], [[ProudScholarRaceGuy salarians]] and [[SpaceElves asari]]) correspond to the three skill sets that make up character classes ([[FighterMageThief combat, tech and biotic]]). Turians are famed for their military prowess, salarians are famed for their scientific skills, and asari are famed for their understanding of biotics.

** Garrus fits in well because because a conversation you have with him in 2 reveals that he is actually not a model turian. He displays many characteristics typical of humans. He refuses to follow stupid orders and back down from his investigation into Saren, acting not like the dutiful turian but like an upstart human. He also clashes with his superiors over their handling of Saleon, acting not with a MyCountryRightOrWrong mindset of a turian, but with a CowboyCop mentality of a human. That is why he integrates well into a human crew - he is a lot more like them.
** The reason Liara fit in so well is AllThereInTheManual. Asari maidens [[ReallyGetsAround go around]] [[HiredGun advent]][[{{Stripperiffic}} uring]] while humans study for a profession and enter the workforce as soon as they reach maturity. Liara did what a human normally does - get a college education ([=PhD=]) and then enter a profession as an archeologist instead of spendin' her wild maiden years strippin' or in merc bands. She initially is put off by humans being so rushed and high strung compared to the take it slow asari, but soon realizes the merit of that attitude - probably because she herself has that same human like dedication to her chosen field.

* Why is it that Shepard can survive a hit from Harbinger's main gun, survive being violently thrown up into space by the Citadel beam, even survive a deliberate targeting of onboard cybernetics during the Destroy ending, but succumbs to Morinth? Miranda's logs of project Lazarus reveal why - Shepard was recovered with a fully intact brain and the cybernetic implants were to reanimate the rest of the body. Therefore, those cybernetics could resuscitate Shepard from almost any damage taken by the body. However, there are no cybernetics in Shepard's brain, because TIM wanted the commander brought back with no changes in personality. So Shepard's cybernetics can do nothing at all if the brain takes damage. And how does Morinth kill? She overloads the nervous system to such an extent that it causes the brain to hemorrhage.

* The fourth game now provides us with an in-universe justification for why so many of Matriarch Benezia's commando entourage joined her in her quest to be a moderating influence on Saren. In the fourth game, Cora who [[MemeticMutation served with a Asari huntresses by the way, in case you didn't know,]] mentions an important concept of the Tiamna - a bodyguard who displays UndyingLoyalty to her charge, even under the most trying circumstances. And this concept was stressed very heavily by a commando named Sarissa, whose battle manuals are supposedly required reading for all huntresses. It was this Tiamna concept that may have forced many commandos to accompany Benezia even if they had reservations about Saren.

** Javik's schtick about evolution and [[TheSocialDarwinist how the strong dominate and the weak perish/are dominated]] is based on what we consider outdated views, and many complain how this is not how evolution works. But the thing is, it's not how evolution works. Evolution favours the adaptable. The Prothean Empire was completely screwed over when the Reapers came, because their monolithic culture could not adapt at all (not to say they would have won, but Javik does note that their monolithic culture worked against them). Javik said that the protheans conquered and assimilated other races until they were essentially one culture. While TIM probably wouldn't take it to such cultural extremes, it sounds very much like what he was planning... perhaps the Reapers nudged him into attempting the same mistake?
** This is also why the original council races would never have been able to build the Crucible and defeat the Reapers. They are all both genetically and societally immutable. They are comfortably nestled in their respective PlanetOfHats, asari genetics doesn't have much potential for variation without xenophilia and exogamy, turian genes are prevented from excessive mutation by their metallic carapace and salarians practice a form of eugenics. Their entire makeup is highly resistive to change.

** Both of them are indoctrinated without them knowing it, both are encountered in person at the end game on the Citadel and both need a very high bar to reach in order to persuade them to step aside. However while Saren's persuade option was attainable as long as you maxed out your Charm/Intimidate points, TIM's persuasion is a much more difficult thing to unlock, even requiring some multiplayer play to increase EMS upto 5000. Why is his bar higher than Saren's? It is because of what they were trying to accomplish. Saren was looking to appease the Reapers, wherein selling out and appeasing an enemy is a huge taboo for Turians. He therefore was already suspecting his own indoctrination due to his behavior being so off kilter from normal turian behavior and was thus willing to be persuaded. TIM on the other hand was looking to outright annex and enslave the Reapers, to repurpose them as enforcers of human supremacy. Even a non-indoctrinated racist xenophobe would have these tendencies and it would never even cross their mind that a zeal to accomplish this goal is a subtle form of indoctrination. That is why it takes Effective Military Strength to convince him. Only by measuring losses taken by Cerberus does he realize that pursuing control is outright wrecking his organization and humanity as a whole.

** Mass Effect 2 reveals the Normandy actually has a sister ship, the SSV Ain Jalut, which was named after the battle where the Mongol Empire experienced its first major defeat. It seems the ThemeNaming of Normandy-class vessels is "military victories that marked the beginning of the end for a conquering empire", which is appropriate for what Shepard ends up doing.