Dorkiest dialogue in the series

We're on the same page mostly but not the Strategy vs Tactics thing. I get what they were going for, it shared what I thought but it's bipolar dialogue. He goes one second from saying we can't just think of Reapers as normal enemies to the next saying that we should fight them and work together and then later the line about staying to fight rather than seeking alternative solutions. A second earlier Anderson was talking about how Shepard "faced down a reaper and then blew the damn thing up".

You can just feel how the dialogue is going nowhere in the scene with the Defense Committee or just the earth Vancouver intro in general.

He's still inarticulate about it. "This isn't about strategy or tactics, it's about survival". Tactics or strategy involves strategy for survival, strategy for not engaging an enemy when it's immune to certain things.

It's messy dialogue and it made me cringe.

Actually, that entire dialogue (and a lot of others in ME) bother me because politicians and committees are constantly depicted as just being dumb and incompetent. No matter if it's the council, this committee, Udina when he was still ambassador or whoever.

Yes there are dumb politicians and politics in general involves a lot of slogging through useless crap but actually, most people in these high positions are highly intelligent and competent on their own. It's usually more the very complex problems that they face that make them seem slow (yes, I am breaking a lance for politicians here, i need a shower now ).

The most frustrating thing regarding ME for me is that I thought politics with the council was depicted very well in Mass Effect Revelation. The battle of wits between Ambassador Goyle and the council are just about my favorite parts of the book. Both sides act very rationally and calculating but still producing the very imperfect outcomes that we are used to see from politics in the real world as well (pretty crappy but probably still about the best that could be done from each participants perspective).

In the games, this is completely lost and thus we get scenes like the committee scene with a bunch of admirals that couldn't even handle "strategy or tactics".

See I read it more as if the entire scene and writing in general was being dumbed down for newcomers and for the sake of making the narrative sensationalist. You do chat up a boy who dies a second later just after, remember?

I also don't think it was intentional that they wrote the committee to be so useless. That entire scene just had me groaning out of my skin. I distinctly remember being excited over the demo in feburary when I was on vacation at the time on my shitty laptop and I had been so hyped and immediately I could just tell I hated this scene. Whatever defense council invites in an expert to ask them "What do we do?" The fuck kind of pentagon-like committee is that? You're telling me you have zero strategic data about how to defeat some starships. They're supposed to be leaders that put military plans in motion. They should have no time to sit around going "Ooh, we're so scared, please help us!"

If what they were trying to convey was Shepard trying to tell people that conventional strategy would be futile perhaps the scene should've instead been that of a bunch of gruff military leaders going "We need you to tell us what you know about this enemy. We've planned a frontal assault, we're sending all alliance dreadnoughts in, all our N7 ranking soldier in the field etc." and then Shepard would go "nonono, you guys are insane. This will not work" and then they all get sneak-attacked by that sovereign Reaper.

I honestly am not going to try to justify it... I think it legitimately qualifies to be put it on this list of "dorkiest" dialogue in the series.

Here's another - Kaidan from ME1... "Big place." (... and on this one, Ashley seems to agree because she follows it up with "That your professional opinion, sir?")

However, she seems rather oblivious to her own "How fast do you think those cars are going?" or "Do you think it's expensive to live here?" or "What are those?  Cherry trees?"  (I swear that they spent the first part of ME1 trying to make her out to be a very cliche "dumb chick" with all the truly "blond" lines they gave her.)

That's one of the best lines.  Also was only supposed to trigger when looking at a keeper.

***

Not just the writing, but the delivery made me feel like a low budget porn was going to break out half the time Shepard talks to Liara in ME1 (maleshep anyway).

"You're remarkably strong willed commander..."

"Sounds dangerous... and lonely."

And then in the best Kirk tradition...

"You're right, there is ... something between us."

... or better yet... just let her fall to the floor and walked away shrugging.

No argument from me. I don't personally dislike the trope on its own, but there's no denying that they made complacency and idiocy in the leadership a centerpiece of the setting (which is ridiculous when stretched to such an extreme). So I guess you could say, at this point, might as well stay the course with stupid. They're not going to be changing anyone's minds now.

And though this explanation would make it no less stupid, I do kind of wish they chalked up the Council et al hugging the idiocy ball so tightly up to indoctrination. Reveal that being on the Citadel figuratively makes you a dumb sheep/lemming when it comes to the Reapers. Doesn't explain the planetary governments not taking more action, but I would've almost paid for a scene where the Council is evacuated from the Citadel and it's like they suddenly wake up from a stupor. "Oh... oh! I get it now! theholokid'sbehinditall!"

Actually it's supposed to point out and emphasize the arrogance of some people when faced with a claim of artificial intelligence, and how they don't even entertain the notion, they just treat it with scorn. They wouldn't call a geth a toaster to its face (or I guess, headlight) to intimidate it anymore than you'd try to intimidate your DVD player. Speaking of which, ever get pissed off at an electronic and swear at it? What, were you trying to cow it into submission? Or were you simply like "do you job you piece of shit Apple product"?


And I think it's perfectly justified based on the above and my explanation.

We disagree then... because Shepard's intent is clearly not on the same level as swearing at your iphone.  You know when you swear at your iphone that it's not going to respond in any way.  Shepard, on the other hand, was clearly involved in a conversation at that moment with Sovereign.  He anthropomorphizes it by default.  In the Citadel DLC, he basically admits it was a pretty lame attempt to "trash talk" a Reaper since he's found out that trash talking them just doesn't work.  It's still a dorky line, IMO and not one in your opinion.  It's not something we have to agree on... so, let's just leave it there this time around, eh.

(shrug)... Not biting.

And yet you quote me.

Fine, whatever. Let me know when you want to have an actual argument again.

I'm positive Kaidan revisits that comment in ME3, maybe if he goes to Cronos Station to the room holding the human Reaper.  A lot of times I felt like ME3 made fun of what they must have realized were silly things in the previous games.