The Ending
Ben. E. Factor Lyrics

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Ending
我趴在琴上　晕了
手弹到最後
心也累了
无力　拥有你
忘掉你比较容易活
因寒冷而抱紧
热恋中难以变清醒

雾轻盈罩住了我的灰眼睛
黑键白键　如此靠近
分不清音阶迷离
我弹到尾奏　再也忍不住痛
你我都熬不到最後
琴键冰冻穿透指尖
(music)
为夜晚而疯狂
反覆弹着致命的旋律
愚蠢　就是我
我必须要说　做梦救不了我
黑键白键　如此靠近
分不清音阶迷离
我弹到尾奏　再也忍不住痛
你我都熬不到最後
琴键冰冻穿透指尖
Ending让我哭
它结束的如此仓促
留下一阵盲目　糊涂
Ending让我哭
它结束的如此突兀
只有自己找退路
爱是谜样的节奏
开始洒脱结束伤透

扔掉钢琴是否感觉好过
我对自己说

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of the song "Ending" by Ben. E. Factor deal with themes of heartbreak, pain, and the struggles of moving on from a failed relationship. The song opens with the singer expressing his exhaustion and weariness after playing the piano for so long, using it as a metaphor for trying to hold on to a love that is slipping away. He admits that it's easier to forget about the person he loves than to continue to hold on, which is a harsh truth that he has reluctantly accepted.

The lyrics also touch upon the struggles of trying to let go of someone you still love, even when you know that the relationship is not working out. The singer reckons with the fact that his love for this person is blinding him and making it hard to move forward, as he is trapped in a cycle of playing the same toxic melodies over and over again. He realizes that he needs to find a way out of this situation and move on with his life, even if it means leaving everything he knows behind.

Furthermore, the song's powerful and emotive lyrics express a sense of helplessness and desperation, as the singer acknowledges that he and his lover are both unable to withstand the pain and suffering that comes with holding on to a dying relationship. The ending of the song is particularly poignant, as it highlights the suddenness and unexpectedness of this painful experience, leaving the singer feeling lost and confused.

Line by Line Meaning

我趴在琴上晕了
I am lying on the piano, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

手弹到最後
My fingers keep playing until the end.

心也累了
My heart is tired too.

无力拥有你
I am powerless to have you.

忘掉你比较容易活
Forgetting you is easier to live with.

因寒冷而抱紧
I hold onto myself because of the cold.

热恋中难以变清醒
It is difficult to be rational in the heat of passion.

雾轻盈罩住了我的灰眼睛
The mist covers my grey eyes lightly.

黑键白键如此靠近
The black and white keys are so close to each other.

分不清音阶迷离
I cannot distinguish the notes anymore.

我弹到尾奏再也忍不住痛
I play until the last note, unable to bear the pain anymore.

你我都熬不到最後
Neither you nor I can endure until the end.

琴键冰冻穿透指尖
The frozen piano keys pierce through my fingertips.

(music)
An instrumental break.

为夜晚而疯狂
Going crazy for the night.

反覆弹着致命的旋律
I keep playing a deadly melody over and over again.

愚蠢就是我
I am foolish.

我必须要说做梦救不了我
I must say that dreaming cannot save me.

Ending让我哭
The ending makes me cry.

它结束的如此仓促
It ended so suddenly.

留下一阵盲目糊涂
Leaving behind a sense of confusion.

只有自己找退路
I must find my own way out.

爱是谜样的节奏
Love is a mysterious rhythm.

开始洒脱结束伤透
Starting carefree, ending in pain.

扔掉钢琴是否感觉好过
Would getting rid of the piano feel better?

我对自己说
I tell myself.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

Horseman

44w↑34

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.

Raster1989

43w↑1

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.

OniFeez

41w

I don't think the Illusive Man is specifically anti-alien. I can't remember him being a speciest like say; Kai Leng was (maybe this was more established in the comics/books though, which I didn't read). He was concerned about aliens yes (specifically their influence in 'global' or galactic events, especially at the relative expense of humanity), but I don't think that's strictly speaking anti-alien, I thought his temperment was more like Kelly Chambers (He apparently dated or pursued relationships with Asari). I'd say he had more overtly hostile interactions with humanity than the aliens (I mean, other than the First Contact War in which he directly fought) given that he detonated space vessels over civilian airspace specifically to attempt to generate in vitro mass effect exposure en masse. Even if that was done for the 'best intentions' that is a lot of civilian deaths - although I'm not sure if at that point Cerberus was still a blackops organisation of the Alliance. Medi-gel, made by the human company Sirta Foundation almost certainly originated as a Cerberus project given that it was technically against Citadel law for genetic engineering.

Cerberus prizes anything that gives humanity a leg up, whether that be genetic engineering, space vessel engineering, literal resurrection of the dead or AI development. EDI, is a Cerberus project, saving the Lunar base AI from ME1. I don't think the Illusive Man has ever mentioned or even behaved genocidal intent towards alien species, he just wanted to make sure humanity had a seat at the big table. His intentions were much the same as the System's Alliance, just far more militant. I do dimly recall Miranda talking about how much Lazarus cost, but then we find out about the Geth experiment. I think it's well and truly possible that a) Illusive Man was able to hide the true fiscal accounting from Miranda, perhaps abusing her trust in doing so, and b) that he had essentially unlimited funding anyway through the various front companies/mysterious donators - and some of those donators were clearly exceptionally wealthy within the ME universe.

Also, it is possible that the Illusive Man supported the Initiative not with financial support, but with technical - Cord-Hislop Aerospace (?) I think is one of the SA's most successful shipwright companies, had a hand in the development of the Normandy (which we know that Cerberus helped to create) and likely had at least a hand in the construction and/or planning for the Arks, almost assuredly Hyperion - and is a known (at least from our perspective, not in universe) front for Cerberus.

While the Illusive Man was indoctrinated, I don't think he 'worked for the reapers in the end' either, I mean, he actively worked against the Reapers even during their own invasion, which is why the Reapers invaded his Sanctuary in the first place. Militarily speaking, I don't think you would bother to invade Sanctuary if their discovery was destined to fail, but rather if the opposite was true; that success was more than possible. Therefore, if the Reapers had such threadbare control over him even during their own invasion, I suspect he had much more independence well before their invasion, and putting colonists on an escape path from the galaxy itself does make a lot of good sense. So I think using the word 'control' is very much in the loosest possible sense. He was there to divide the focus of the council in face of the reaper invasion, probably more like a Saren. Exerting too much control is likely to be a fatal experience, or one of dubious benefit, being less effective response, more micro management or possibly of little benefit really for the effort expended given that they were to obliterate everything in the end anyway.

While I don't think the Illusive Man is the Benefactor, the simple answer of why he might need another 'alias' is that the Illusive Man is a fairly well known moniker. Remember, in order to recruit people into Cerberus in the first place (and to gain necessary funding) after it left the Alliance he published his manifesto; and signed it the Illusive Man. Ergo, if he wanted to keep his participation secret, he would not sign the checks or letters 'Illusive Man.' If he does not want a connection between Cerberus and Andromeda Initiative, why make one?

If I remember correctly, the Geth only started to actively monitor dark space after Shephard's report. And the Andromeda initiative only really got the benefactor's support after Shephard's report on the Reapers post ME1.

James Bennett

43w

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.

HolloVVpoint

42w↑1

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.

Mark

42w↑1

I had a cool theory where I thought the Benefactor was a Leviathan. Why is that you may ask?

1) Well, the Leviathans knew about the Reapers before Shepard did. Just like the Benefactor told Alec about the "salvation" (aka the Reapers).
2) We know that early on, the Initiative ran out of money but was then suddenly boosted thanks to this mysterious benefactor. The Leviathans are/were the apex race of the galaxy. They could have easily and secretly provided the Initiative with the technology, knowledge, and resources they were lacking.
3) In Mass Effect 3, we find out that the Leviathan-controlled people act like robots. When the Leviathans reached Jian, they did not control her so that she could advertise the Initiative without acting like a robot. Since they are very secretive and Jian was aware of their presence, an assassin was told to kill Jian to preserve the Leviathans anonymity.
4) The Initiative was a one race project which then expanded to include the other major races. We know that the leviathans control the thrall races so having a bunch of them in Andromeda beforehand would be a benefit for them as they likely didn't want some unknown super race in Andromeda to wipe them out early.
5) It would be sad if this so called apex race continued to hide on a random water world. They wanted to escape and return in force and the Initiative is the best way to do that without making it obvious. Which we found out in Andromeda that the Initiative was in fact, an escape plan.
6) Alec received resources from the benefactor to finish SAM, an advanced AI connecting both organic and synthetic. Wait a minute, who created the most advanced AI in the galaxy? That's right, the Leviathans did. Why did they help Alec to create a synthetic ai? Cause that's something the Catalyst wasn't and it rampaged across the galaxy for millions of years.

Of course there are holes in the theory but this is the best that I could come up with.

All comments from YouTube:

Kala Elizabeth

44w↑204

0:50 GARSON FOUNDED THE INITIATIVE IN 2176 IDK WHY I KEEP SAYING 1976 MY BAD!!!!!!!!!!

Dragonborn Express

44w↑2

WHOOPS!

Mystic FL1 aka Beth

44w↑4

In ME3 at the citadel hospital there was also a someone who hid their identity plus had the hospital name change.

William Bregnard

44w↑2

Good year...I was born

Raster1989

43w↑7

I was about to question my entire memory about my playthroughs xD

SuperVamp

43w↑4

@William Bregnard Yeah thats about four years before mine, I was like "huh?"

16 More Replies...

SpectreSaunders

44w↑128

Kala really is our universes Shadow Broker.

ShadowmanFan1

44w↑56

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.

Saqwana

43w↑2

ugh i wish they never had the kett they ruined the pacing Andromeda.

ShadowmanFan1

43w↑8

@Saqwana 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.

Doug on the Rock's

43w↑3

I think it was supposed to be like the covenant from Halo or the Council of Andromeda

Saqwana

43w↑2

@Doug on the Rock's 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.

Mark Dickinson

43w↑2

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

4 More Replies...

Lyle Grant-Plato

44w↑45

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 😫😫😫

Dorottya Papp

44w↑4

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.

Eodyn7

43w↑11

Big Dan Gaming?

Craig The Tech Guy

43w↑5

@Eodyn7 I think they should all do a Podcast together once Mass Effect 5 Goes Gold. What do you think.

ShadowmanFan1

44w↑47

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?"

Bill

44w↑25

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.

Severus Hunt

44w↑17

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

Ivan Petrov

43w↑1

@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.

Severus Hunt

43w↑2

@Ivan Petrov 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

Ivan Petrov

43w

@Severus Hunt 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.

Severus Hunt

43w↑1

@Ivan Petrov read it, there is a lot of interesting things ;)

Larbear’s Kitchen

43w↑13

By far the most in depth and best video I’ve watched on the Benefactor. Truly well done!

Depression Strategies

44w↑22

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.

manofwarb

43w

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.

Depression Strategies

43w↑3

@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.

manofwarb

43w↑1

@Depression Strategies 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.

Depression Strategies

43w↑2

@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.

3 More Replies...

Horseman

44w↑34

its_an_echo

44w↑2

If only I could get mods for my console versions.

Horseman

44w↑4

@its_an_echo That is prercisely why I never pursued a console for my gaming.

its_an_echo

44w↑1

@Horseman 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.

Jules Woodbury

43w↑1

What kind of mods are you running

Doug on the Rock's

43w

I can answer 5 because people are stupid and overlook things. A real life example is the Titanic sub which just happened

2 More Replies...

cagednephilim

44w↑14

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.

Horseman

44w↑6

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.

Steven Morgan

43w↑3

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 👍

Kala Elizabeth

43w↑1

Thank you very much!

Brendan Gerber

43w↑3

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.

AviorEC

43w↑1

It's been 6 years already and it was great to dive back into the story of Andromeda that way. 🤓
Thanks for the video! I would imagine it was a lot of work.

deviija

43w↑4

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.

Vhardamis

43w↑1

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.

Severus Hunt

42w↑2

How about the Ketts?
They were obsessed with collecting genetics from different races.
And the Kett spies, having got into the Milky Way and infiltrated the society of the races of the Citadel, accidentally learned about the Reapers.
And decided to save as many organic beings as possible for themselves.
At one of the Kett bases there was a letter addressed to Benefactor

Soulie

44w↑5

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.

Severus Hunt

44w↑3

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

Chad Baker

43w

I love the longer format content and just wanted to say great job. I hope to see more of this type of in depth analysis from you in the future. I had a hard time getting through Nexus Uprising. I felt like every millimeter of story development was padded with pages and pages of internal conversation. While it's good to understand a character's motivations, it felt like filler at times.

ChevroN7

44w↑3

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 🤔

G B

44w↑3

Legion-lead Geth off-shoot is my favorite theory. Awesome video!

Sheparian

44w↑4

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)

Severus Hunt

42w

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

Jo Ke

44w↑2

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.

Severus Hunt

44w↑2

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.

Zach Fred

43w↑1

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

Michael Ribeiro

44w↑4

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.

Severus Hunt

44w↑3

The Benefactor started sponsoring the Initiative before the events of ME1. At that time there was no connection with Ilos

Michael Ribeiro

42w

@Severus Hunt 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.

Severus Hunt

42w↑1

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

Swear Gaming

43w

This is a very cool video...really enjoyed the timelines and the text drops sprinkled in. It does seem to me like they wanted to at least strongly intimate that Liara was either the benefactor or involved, if only peripherally or even indirectly, in some way.

Kestrel216

44w↑5

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

Aizen Sama

40w↑1

I still think that The Illusive Man was the one bank rolling The Initiative behind the scenes. Cora being his daughter just makes me believe that he's still got some more cards up his sleeve. Even though he died in Mass Effect 3.

KENNY4753

43w

Finally able to watch this whole video and I really loved all the work you put into it. While my own theory is kind of busted now you brought up some possibilities that I never even considered.

Also love seeing somebody talk about Andromeda and it’s unanswered questions. I personally loved the game and want MEA2 vs ME5.

Nick Plays

43w

i just wanted to encourage you to keep going! you're doing really well and i've watched and shared your vids for the last couple of months. we need more content on this fandom for when the (hopefully) inevitable comeback of mass effect happens.

Vera Hitchcock

43w

Really enjoying your long-form content! I know it's a whole lot of work but I'm excited to see more :D

Beaverius

43w↑1

Wow, we went super deep on this one, just the way we like it! And as always, thanks for showing Andromeda some love. It still had meaningful additions to the greater story.

Matthew K

41w

Long shot theory, but what about the Benefactor being Shadow Broker’s Info Drone (a.k.a. Glyph)? Glyph, the information drone serving, as the main interface for the Shadow Broker in the Mass Effect series, could potentially be the mysterious Benefactor. Glyph's exceptional capabilities, including access to classified information and discreet manipulation, make it an ideal candidate for clandestine control and manipulation of key figures and events. Additionally, as an advanced virtual intelligence (VI), Glyph may have a vested interest in the proliferation and success of AI. Glyph also being virtual could easily replicate itself to hide aboard the Andromeda Initiative.

TV22011980

43w↑1

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.

Andrew Hoskins

43w

You know who'd easily have that information? The Shadow Broker, who was a long time passenger on the Normandy.

Jcewazhere

43w↑1

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.

Ruben Hilbers

39w

I think the Benefactor is Cerberus. Remember, the mythical dog has three heads. The Illusive Man is 1, the General from the Omega DLC (of ME3) is 2 and the Benefactor could be 3. Maybe the Benefactor was more like Kelly Chambers and - after figuring out what is happening with the Illusive Man - breaks away, taking people with her and starting their own outfit.

Kosta Loca

41w

I think the shadow broker is the most probable of all the characters that we have met in the Mass Effect storyline. Think about it, nobody deals with the broker directly, so having a female agent reach out to Alec would be explained easily.

Also, according to Liara when you revisit her in ME2 on the shadow broker's ship that he was looking for a way to survive the reapers, and the initiative is already in the works during the time that you confront the Confront the shadow broker.

The Shadow Broker is also a master at moving information and money, so it wouldn't be hard for him to raise the funds for this project, especially since we see a lot of high profile people appear in Andromeda, including a retired Turian spectre who was friends with Saren before he became indoctrinated who likely would have contributed to secure a spot for the trip.

It wouldn't even need to be considered top secret since it's basically just immigration but on a much larger scale, so not hearing about it in game would make sense, since it would just be a crowdfunding project like something you'd see on kickstarter or some other site with rewards based on contribution.

MrGaby

41w↑1

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.

Faceman

43w

Yeah the whole background story about the AI, Benefactor, the twins mom, that was the most interesting part of Andromeda's story, though I did like the concept of the world builders. Stargate Universe was also going into that world-builders direction, that's a fun direction to go in.

Happy Thoughts

44w↑1

Amazing Detecitve work here makes for an excellent video. Thanks for putting all of this together <3

Brandon Baker

43w

Out of all the possibilities honestly for me AI seems the most likely. Or at least it's the option I find potentially the most interesting.

Mark Dickinson

43w

The Virtual Aliens could of been worried about another threat not the Reapers but the Dark Energy manipulators the ones that created the Scourge because in ME2 Tali talks about a sun going supernova long before it should have because of dark energy Shepard even asks her if someone could be using dark energy as a weapon maybe because it’s been used before on the Virtual Aliens world. It’s a theory

GMALEON

43w

Great analysis! Great video in general. Probably your best one yet! Keep it up please! Really enjoying your channel so far.

_TheGhostChild_

44w↑2

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 ^^

Kala Elizabeth

42w↑1

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!

Stryder Mclean

43w↑1

I’m actually starting to believe she’s not actually died, also I believe the clue will be in the original trilogy

Kala Elizabeth

42w

Honestly yeah, the book makes it very clear that they aren't even sure it is her body they found. Could definitely be a possibility!

Tactical Manatee

41w

This is an odd idea, but what if it was the Catalyst/Reapers or Leviathan? Or maybe the Geth?

SAM would get their attention as a very interesting organic-AI unity project, and by sending the Andromeda Initiative to a new Galaxy it provides a test environment to see how this new organic-AI relationship would work without risking the Milky Way.

The Geth make a bit more sense in this case, but the Reapers also do to some extent. They are not interested in permanent genocide, but rather addressing the AI problem presented to the Catalyst by the Leviathans. And it’s likely that the Harvest Cycle is not their ideal solution, it’s just the best one they currently have.

This could also tie into the Andromeda Galaxy, or at least the Heleus Cluster, having Dark Energy anomalies in the form of the Scourge. This could be an outgrowth of the feared Dark Energy phenomena that motivated the Reapers in the early stages of the ME2 story development (even showing up in missions such as Tali’s ME2 recruitment mission on Haestrom) but was dropped by the time of ME3 in favor of the AI paradox motivation for the Reapers. The Andromeda storyline could have been re-using and adapting some of that original idea in some form.

Bro Garrus

44w↑1

Appreciate and enjoy your Mass Effect videos
keep it up 😊

KPACUBO

41w

Fantastic. Appreciate the work you put into this analysis

Digimaster 002

43w

In the main Mass Effect series (ME 2, and 3 to be precise), Cerberus makes it quite clear that they are organized into independent groups within the main Cerberus organization and that they have many front businesses. It could be possible that the money issues were just about the group that was working on the Lazarus Project. If that is the case, the pre-established Mass Effect lore would seemingly point to Cerberus being the benefactor, using Mirada as the figurehead. It could be possible that the reason why a Cerberus-backed project would allow non-human participation would be to attract actual participants, as the in-game Mass Effect lore shows that not many are fond of Cerberus. Also, if the funding shortage of Cerberus was organization-wide, what better way to hide the Andromeda Initiative funds, than by hiding them within another secret project (the Lazarus Project).

The only other option for the benefactor that I can see based on Mass Effect lore would be the Geth.

Severus Hunt

42w

Before the release of Andromeda, the developers said that Cerberus was not related to the Andromeda Initiative.

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

SkyVolt 256

43w

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 😭

Linkolnverse

43w

Kinda wonder if the Benefactor chose specific people genetically for something secret.

viradin

44w↑1

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.

Zachary Giarnieri

43w↑1

Considering Andromeda's reputation I doubt we will ever get a concrete answer.

Dark

43w

Imagine if the reapers founded the project because they wanted two galaxies to harvest.

Goonie#3353

44w

What I'm thinking about identity of Benefacor is based only on the game lore since except the animation that introduce James Vega I didn't read books or comics related to ME universe. In my opinion the Benefactor could be actually a representative of the group effort of various important powers in Milky Way that hold power and fortunes raging from 'corporate Mavens of Illium', through Shadow Broker (and his successors), up to Council itself.
Sheer size of Nexus, Arks and whole logistics that would be required to launch that mission suggest similar amount of resources required to construct Crucible in the original Trilogy and here I got interesting hypothesis - what if actual Shadow Broker (or his connections) were used to pull that out? As I remember the recruitment to Andromeda initiative wasn't so open (fe. one of Nomad dialogues between Vetra and Drack or how Addison was recruited does suggests that) and it looks more like selecting candidates with required skills or traits from whole population of available species, and keeping this process off the media during all 3 original ME games. This suggest that maybe hypothetical group of powerful aliens/peoples might suspect that something bad is brewing in the long run. Who knows if Council didn't suspect that fe. Saren could be compromised by some outer influence, after all he became indoctrinated somehow and who knows if the original mission of Saren before indoctrination was to seek some traces of what happened to the Protheans (I don't believe that Salarians and Asari wouldn't want to know why Citadel was just left floating in space with all that shiny tech waiting to be claimed). Thing is that what we know from original 3 games, is what we have discoverd or what the Council said to us, and after all Shepard was maybe a symbol but still only an operative that works (as Avitus Rix said once) 'on need to know basis'. So it's possible that Reapers were a known but not fully assessed threat, big enough to made some unofficial preparations for 'plan B' in case of failure of 'plan A' ;)
In this scenario who knows who were smuggled or bought on aboard of Arks or Nexus? Maybe even the Shadow Broker himself, the one before the famous Yagh from ME:2 'Liar of the Shadow Broker', did trick his way out of being killed by the one we met in above mentioned DLC? That Yagh could even faked his taking of a lead of an organization (could reach a deal with original Sahdow Broker to fake his death) because if everything fail he could try to hide in population of his species that is considered too primitive for harvest. In this scenario Liara could support that effort after she became new Shadow Broker and just keep it running further.

wraithspawn

43w

Wow that was awesome and thorough. I love videos like this because I can’t remember all the lore and names across all the games even though I’ve played the trilogy several times including the Legendary version. Also got all trophies (except the hang ten in Andromeda-glitched and vehicle doesn’t get enough speed). For that reason I love to hear possibilities I never would have thought about. Your hard work shows and you do have an amazing voice for story telling. Soothing and draws you in. Keep up the great work. This was my first video of yours. I switched to the telescope video then back to finish this one and it too was awesome.

Kala Elizabeth

43w

Thank you so much!!

wraithspawn

43w

@Kala Elizabeth you are very welcome.

VAustin89

43w

the council is an interesting theory, with a heavy backing from the Asari. Illium is dominated by the Asari and talking with Liara's mother some matriarch were not agreeing with how their civilization would move forward. Since the Asari were a favorite of the protheans and that massive beacon in Thessia they are way ahead of any species for doing long-term cotingency plans and some matriarchs might have banded together to get this started. The only one I can think of that can make this possible and would want anonimity would be a Reaper, mayube a far-fetched but everytime I hear Sovereign say that each of them are a nation in ME1 and Legion with a piece of a Reaper code in him that made him a true individual makes me conclude that maybe some reapers got tired of doing the harvest over and over again and splintered from Harbinger and indoctrinated some to start the Initiative, to run their own experiment on how to achieve synthesis since that is one of the choices that the Catalyst seems to like.

Quintyss

44w↑1

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 :).

Bosko Rajkovic

43w

What about Cora's mother being the benefactor. That is only if Cora is Jack's daughter. What if Jack found a woman of the same stature as him (resourcefull, ruthless, powerful) but not racist. He could have told her about the reapers and she believed him. She could have financed the project to save her daughter while Jack was concerned about controling the reapers. Plus, the description of the characher mentioned in the video fits as well (female, human, mid-50s) same as the illusive man. Idk. What do you think?

Gildra

43w

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.

Severus Hunt

43w↑1

Liara in the DLC says Yahg killed the old Shadow Broker in 2125

Marian B

44w↑1

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.

Icarus

43w

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.

KENNY4753

44w↑3

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.

Severus Hunt

44w↑1

Before the release of Andromeda, the developers themselves in one of the interviews said that Cerberus is not related to the Andromeda Initiative

KENNY4753

44w

@Severus Hunt 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.

Olivia Williams

43w↑1

I’m pretty sure it was meant to be an original character we have not meet yet. It has to be someone in the project.

K. Edwards

43w

My theory is that the journey to Andromdia only took a few months. The 600 year story was used to filter dedicated volunteers and to make sure no-one tried to return Milkyway during Reaper war.
I believe Garson was murdered because she wanted to turn around and tell the entire AI. I for a long time, just thought of this as an idea for how to join the two game timelines. But in my last playthrough I noted one of the intercom news reports says the name of a dead worker is being withheld until the next of kin in Milklyway can be contacted!!! This feels like a BIOWARE easter egg that Andromedia is not really 600 years travel away.
I think the benefactor has to be an AI that can "create" digital money. Legion / Geth? / EDI ?

Andrew Hoskins

43w

Yeah, it never really made sense that the trip would take hundreds of years when they're going FTL.

Mike Shultz

42w

@Andrew Hoskins if you do the math 600 years is very accurate

Andrew Hoskins

42w

@Mike Shultz Walk me through the math then. I'm not a math guy...

Mike Shultz

42w

@Andrew Hoskins 2.5 million light years / 12 light years per day = 600 years.

1 More Replies...

Richard Fowler

43w

Needed a new video on this. I just replayed an entire 1-3 and Andromeda playthrough 100% and I still have the same nagging questions. I miss EDI. I hope Shep comes back. I want to know who the Benefactor is and more on the Jardaan.

Patoriiii

41w

i only recently got around to playing andromeda, because i was convinced it would be terrible based off of what id heard of it. steam had it on sale for 6 bucks so i scooped it up, gave it a shot. Absolutely loved it. Fully acknowledge that its been patched as much as possible by the time I played it, and even then it still had a few bugs and weird animations, but I really hope bioware returns to Andromeda some day. Good to see people are still talking about it! Hard to live in the shadow of the OG trilogy haha.

Raster1989

43w↑1

Yadira Siqueiros

43w↑1

I’m making this my headcannon because matriarch benezia’s death was just meh, they didn’t even allow her to die with dignity.

Dorottya Papp

44w

The Virtual Aliens crossed my mind too, but I think it's someone we don't know yet.

rohdri

42w

It's actually hard to be sure exactly when indoctrination took hold of TIM, but it was almost certainly after Shepherd's revival. Most likely after the suicide mission. Which means he had plenty of time to bankroll the initiative. As for motivation, while he's definitely Pro-Human, he'll be the first to admit he doesn't hate other species. He just thinks humans should be in charge.

The Andromeda Initiative is a primarily human-led effort, and they would have had the most powerful SAM AI unit. I think he'd assume they'd end up in charge of whatever shape the Initiative took.

OniFeez

41w

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.

Dr Coomer

41w

I just want more Wrex moments
Not even a game I'd take a TV sitcom featuring Wrex

Christian Burnett

41w

I always thought it was Cerberus due to the stuff Alec Ryder and how they were willing to kill Gien Garson! And besides, Cerberus had quite the influence and funding for many projects/experiments also basically each cell needing funding.

Kala Elizabeth

41w↑2

The devs said cerberus isn't behind the benefactor in an interview when the game came out

The Alex Kirsch Project

43w

Great video. New subscriber. I however believe that the Benefactor is an Asari that used to work for the Shadow Broker.
Long life span
Having the funding
Being on the Nexus she can use Shadow Broker sources for an identity that makes her not a suspect.
Ability to manipulate information using Shadoe Broker sources.
Could have been working for the Shdaow Broker for decades and aquired great wealth.
Wanted to get enough funds to be the new Broker but saw the impending doom of the Reapers and saw an out with The Initiative.

Johan

43w

It could be a group of 1 of every species. Like an alliance. Maybe Liara is one of them and Shepard maybe could be a reason to stay behind. It really feels like Cerberus, but without the "only humans" part. Also it kinda feels like at least 1 Prothean (on secret) could have helped. I mean, they know about the reapers before Shepard. And/or an ancient AI from the Prothean time which helped or gave information to the current species.

Severus Hunt

43w↑1

Liara learned about the Reapers in ME1. The benefactor has started sponsoring the Initiative BEFORE ME1 events.
Although, as an option, Liara could join the group in ME2.

And by the way, why kill Garson???

titansmaniac5

43w

I always assumed it was either Henry Lawson or the Illusive Man. Both have the financial resources, especially the illusive man. That and Cora shares the Illusive Man’s last name (Harper). Guess the hole in that one is that they also sent the other species rather than solely humans.

Severus Hunt

43w

@titansmaniac5 Before the release of Andromeda, the developers themselves said that Cerberus was not related to the Andromeda Initiative.
Henry Lawson is a multimillionaire like Jien Garson. Why didn't she have enough money for even one Ark, while Henry Lawson had enough money for 5 Arks, 1 Nexus and much more?
It's also worth noting that Henry Lawson is selfish and wouldn't save a bunch of people.
Well, Henry Lawson supported Cerberus, that is, he would not save alien races

OniFeez

41w

Barkasz

44w↑8

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

Severus Hunt

44w↑9

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

Arthur Testa

43w

@Severus Hunt i think Legion referred to his unit, not the entire Geth consensus

Peppermint

43w

wonder why Sam would not be just able to do this and considering so many pathfinders had sam..

Severus Hunt

42w↑1

@Peppermint Because a lot of Pathfinders only appeared after the Benefactor started sponsoring the Initiative

Peppermint

42w

@Severus Hunt but sam already existed

Basil Brush

43w

Great VT 👍 thanks for putting in the hard work 😊

Daniel Shepherd

43w

One thing about the A.I. in the 1st Mass Effect there is a side quest where there is a VI/AI laundering credits on the citadel. What if the Benefactor was an A.I. with multiple programs like Legion. Although Legion was an advanced AI I believe an AI with somthing like this in mind would make more programs in order to do that. Like a shadow broker but in digital form? Just a spatially theory but that's all I could think of when you put Ai and credits together

Kala Elizabeth

42w

I totally forgot about this AI good theory!

James Bennett

43w

Kala Elizabeth

43w

The dinosaurs lol

James Abernethy

43w

Sorry, it's taken a few days to watch this. Despite getting a little fudgy with your dates this was a really good vid. Well structured and well explained. I've said this before but it's nice to get a little of your personality in your videos and not just a cold, script read. It's hard to know where to stand with this but I like the AI theory more than the others.

MARC BMAN

43w

I do think the Illusive Man was aware of the project and I could see him putting his daughter on it to give her a chance. He probably did give some money to ensure his daughter was put on the human ark, if he was aware of her. I think you are onto something that it being A.I., not Geth, but the A.I. during Javik's time, the Zha'til? Javik said they were corrupted during his time, but maybe not all of them were. Like the Geth, they became aware of the Reapers and made plans to leave the solar system. I feel like the Andromeda Initiative wouldn't be the first time people tried to leave. In attempt to change things, they started plans/collecting resources until the technology could get the other races to Andromeda, they could also be the Remnant. There is the possibility they killed Garson because she found out, but what if they found out she wasn't being straight. We assume she was killed for knowing too much, but I suggest that maybe she had ulterior motives that put others in dangers or the whole ship that the Benefactor found out.

Severus Hunt

42w↑1

They couldn't be Remnant. The MEA says that the Remnants were created by Jardaan.

Velvet Popsicle

43w

One rich person not mentioned, is Miranda's father which was referred to in Miranda's loyalty miss ion as the richest man in the galaxy. However this is IMO not a likely match because he was a big Cerberus supporter and ends up getting killed in ME3. Just wondering if he really was the richest man in the galaxy, why no one put him forward as a possibility.

GeckosAreCute

43w

Maybe EDI? But then again I'm not sure about that too for so many reasons we all know. Guess we will see if they mention it in the new game. Also very nice video! I was so confused while playing Andromeda but this channel helped! Thank you!! 😊

Severus Hunt

42w

As EDI, she realized herself in ME2.
Benefactor started sponsoring before ME1

Dominic

42w

Seeing the cerberus come back would be awesome.

Misterpks

44w↑2

Could the benefactor be the council ?

Roncelune

44w

I dont know if it fits the story but I wonder if there is a possibility that Ryder's mom was the Benefactor. I don't remember her backstory very well so it may not be possible (like were would the money come from ?) but I think there has to be more than her sickness for her to go to Andromeda. Maybe as the Benefactor she wanted to stay in the Milky Way but the sickness and search for a cure made her leave, or she just wanted to go anyway but the stay in cryo changed her plans and resulted in what we saw in the game, I don't know.
Sidenote, my personal theory is that Alec Ryder worked with Cerberus after getting fired by the Alliance, or at least he had ties with the Illusive Man, and that's why Cora (if she's IMs daughter) has this particular relation with him. Maybe SAM and EDI were even created together or one is based on the other, why not. And if Ryder's mom is in fact the Benefactor it could be a nice way to tie Cerberus in the story as well imo, again if the Ryders worked with them. And I like to think that there was also something going on with the Geth besides the telescope, maybe some of them were in contact with the Initiative, or they helped the Benefactor with the money in some way.

But I'm dangerously close to the fanfiction now so I'll stop here, I really hope Bioware will give us answers in the next game.
Great video like always 😁

Kala Elizabeth

43w

Ellen Ryder was basically accepting death according to Alec's memories and was saying that the doctor kept saying she didn't have much time. Her research was on AI development and integration, specifically biotic implant research, which did help SAM, but Alec was the main driving force behind this. I think he put her into stasis shortly before the nexus launched so I don't think she would have been able to murder Garson while in statis. But there are lots of possibilities still so anything is an option!

9thRealmBattleReports

43w

Lets not forget there are full SR-2 blueprints on the pathfinder lounge.

arrow77

44w

I didn't realize that someone named an AI, the very last thing you want to go crazy, "Medea". What did they called their navigation system? Odysseus?

Zeep ズィ一プ

44w↑1

Fantastic analysis! Very interesting :)

Severus Hunt

44w↑6

Before the release of Andromeda, the developers themselves in one of the interviews said that Cerberus is not related to the Andromeda Initiative

Kala Elizabeth

44w↑4

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.

Severus Hunt

44w↑1

@Kala Elizabeth I have a link to the site

Kala Elizabeth

44w

@Severus Huntcan you link it? 😮

Severus Hunt

44w↑1

@Kala Elizabeth I'll try to post the link in the next comment. But YouTube does not like links and often removes comments with links.

Severus Hunt

44w↑1

@Kala Elizabeth Yes, as I thought. YouTube deleted my comment with the link

6 More Replies...

Masa Mune

41w

Steven Hackett is not the Benefactor, but he most definitely is connected to the benefactor.

vine1313

43w

Personally I always thought the benefactor would be a character introduced in a follow-up Andromeda game. I do not believe it was intended to be a character we currently know.

Kala Elizabeth

43w↑1

That's what I believe too but you never know!

Dwan Pol

43w

I wasn't aware that the benefactor was in the Andromeda Galaxy. My bet had been Sha'ira. The Asari Consort makes a cryptic comment 'One does not leave the heart of the galaxy in desperate times because of some scoundrel with a video camera." It is easy to dismiss this as just being personal, but Sha'ira leaves the citadel during the time when Shepard is dead but comes back when they are found alive. She did not leave because she had faith that the reapers could be beaten, but that doesn't mean that she wouldn't hedge a bet.

I realize she is a long shot, but based on her gift to Shepard in ME1 she knew about the reapers and might have been working to save the races in the Milky Way. She has the means, motive, and opportunity to be the benefactor.

Kala Elizabeth

42w

Someone else mentioned her as well and I hadn't thought of it but I really do like the theory!

Tom Rosbotham

43w

@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.

Gamers Vault Gaming

43w

I honestly feel who ever it is is the Original Shadow Broker that is missing by the time we play the Shadow Broker DLC in 2. The Shadow Broker is also the only person that could have that type of money and connections.

Kala Elizabeth

42w

The yahg killed the shadow broker to free himself because he was owned by the original shadow broker before becoming the broker himself so he's dead.

HolloVVpoint

42w↑1

Mark

42w↑1

Severus Hunt

42w↑1

One question, why didn't the Leviathans themselves fly away in 1 billion years?

guy 32

39w

My thought would be the illusive man. Although there's doubt because he'd only want humans to go.

payableondeath7

44w

I think TIM is viable after Shepard's resurrection and subsequent quick-cloning. Either he himself sneaks aboard the Ark or sends a clone to have shepherd (lol) the cerberus presence in Andromeda. The wrench is definitely more in the Why than the How.

Dorottya Papp

44w

I thought about a clone Shepard being sent to Andromeda too.

Severus Hunt

44w

Before the release of Andromeda, the developers themselves in one of the interviews said that Cerberus is not related to the Andromeda Initiative

Sean Lyons

43w

2 possibilities the initiative was heavily funded. The Illusive Man or Liara as the Shadow Broker. The Illusive Man would no doubt fund the initiative. In ME2 he was pro human and alien. Second, he'd make sure Cerberus had a role in Andromeda which we know as we come across a cell in Andromeda. Also, I see the Sam implants as something Cerberus would indeed fund as Alec Ryder was kicked out of the Alliance, and we don't know which organization Ellen Ryder may have been a part of during the creation of the Sam's. I believe the Illusive Man would've cloned himself to ensure the survival of humanity's sword. One key note is that Garus's father had a connection to Alec Ryder as well as Liara. Then there's Clan Nakmor so Wrex would've known about the initiative too. Liara was an information broker before becoming the Shadow Broker, and the Asari are very wealthy.

Severus Hunt

42w

1. Before the release of Andromeda, the developers said that Cerberus was not related to the Andromeda Initiative;
2. The Benefactor began sponsoring the Andromeda Initiative before the events of ME1. Liara didn't know about the Reapers

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