Summary
- Geth are crucial to the narrative of Mass Effect, challenging players to accept life in all forms.
- Destruction of the Geth was a mistake in the series, hindering potential for narrative and character development.
- Bringing back the Geth in Mass Effect 4 could provide innovative ways to rebuild the galaxy and explore their full potential.
The Mass Effect world is filled with fascinating aliens that stretch the bounds of imagination. One of the most interesting of these groups are the geth, an AI race created by an organic species, the quarians, who rebelled against their creators. The geth are introduced as an antagonistic group in Mass Effect, then make a surprising face-turn in Mass Effect 2 with Legion, who joins Shepard's team. By Mass Effect 3, they're understood as their own independent, intelligent form of life.
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The Geth are Arguably the Best Species in Mass Effect
The Destruction of the Geth was a Mistake
Unfortunately, the only ending in which Shepard survives, the Destruction ending, means that all synthetics are destroyed. This includes the geth, no matter if Shepard did everything possible to save them. This was an unpopular part of the ending, especially considering that the reasoning behind this given by the Star Child was that organics and synthetics could never co-exist. Meanwhile, a major theme of Mass Effect 3 is proving that the two groups can co-operate. Creating peace between the quarians and the geth is one of the main story points in Mass Effect 3, and of Tali and Legion's story throughout the trilogy.
The Geth are Narratively Essential to Mass Effect
The geth are one of the strongest narrative points of the Mass Effect Trilogy. Although the other aliens in Mass Effect are inhuman and with different cultures, it is the geth who truly push the boundaries of accepting life in all its forms. The geth force Shepard and the player to consider if life could be a machine and, even if that life thinks in a way that humans will never understand, because it is alive, it deserves to live.
Bringing Back the Geth Would Be a Win for Mass Effect
The Geth Help the Galaxy
Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 in particular push this theme through Legion and a variety of quests, including Legion's Loyalty Mission in Mass Effect 2, and the Geth-Quarian War in Mass Effect 3. The resolution of the Geth-Quarian War and its aftermath, where the geth assist the quarians in relocating Rannoch, is particularly revealing regarding the future of the geth. The geth's assistance means that the quarians' resettlement of Rannoch is sped up by entire generations, and so that the current generation of quarians could live on their homeworld without their suits.
Bring the Geth Back
Losing the geth in Mass Effect 3's Destroy ending meant losing all the narrative themes, potential geth characters, unique culture, and help they could provide in rebuilding the galaxy in Mass Effect 4. While the Destruction ending appears to be the canon version of the ending for the Mass Effect Trilogy, bringing the geth back would be a massive boon for Mass Effect 4 as the geth could help rebuild the galaxy in unpredictable and innovative ways, but also because the Mass Effect Trilogy didn't have a chance to explore their full potential.
The Logistics of Bringing the Geth Back
Bringing the geth back for Mass Effect 4 could work for all game states, even those where the geth became hostile or were destroyed. As the Reaper threat is no longer a problem, the geth would have no reason to fight organics unless it was for survival, and organics are unlikely to be in a state to launch a war against them. The geth could be rebuilt, and it's far more likely they will be remade based on existing technology rather than BioWare creating an entirely new AI species.
Mass Effect Trilogy
- Released
- November 6, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
One person is all that stands between humanity and the greatest threat it’s ever faced. Relive the legend of Commander Shepard in the highly acclaimed Mass Effect trilogy with the Mass Effect™ Legendary Edition. Includes single-player base content and over 40 DLC from Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3 games, including promo weapons, armors, and packs – remastered and optimized for 4K Ultra HD.
RELIVE THE CINEMATIC SAGA: Heart-pounding action meets gripping interactive storytelling where you decide how your unique story unfolds.
EXPERIENCE THE LEGEND OF SHEPARD: Create and customize your own character, from appearance and skills to a personalized arsenal then lead your elite recon squad across a galaxy in turmoil.
REFLECT ON YOUR CHOICES: Your choices seamlessly travel from one game to the next. Each decision you make will control the outcome of every mission, every relationship, every battle – and even the fate of the galaxy itself.
