The Mass Effect 4 trailer showed original trilogy companion Liara T’Soni exploring a frozen landscape before finally recovering what appeared to be a part of Shepard’s N7 armor. Many fans took this to be a hint that Commander Shepard would be returning as the next game’s protagonist, canonically surviving the events of Mass Effect 3 as a high EMS Destroy Ending implied.
Other fans speculated that Liara herself could be making a comeback as the player character this time around. There are certainly several reasons that bringing back Shepard could be tricky, but Liara also comes with her own pros and cons. With Shepard and Liara being the two major candidates for Mass Effect 4's protagonist, here’s a breakdown of the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Shepard: Pros
Commander Shepard is the classic Mass Effect protagonist, and the release of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition showed just how beloved their story still is. Shepard’s return in Mass Effect 4 could be a great way for BioWare to bring the series back to its roots after Mass Effect: Andromeda. As the heroic leader of the Andromeda Initiative, Ryder struggled to step out of Shepard’s shadow. The best solution to Mass Effect’s protagonist problem might be the most obvious one.
Bringing back Commander Shepard would allow players to instantly immerse themselves in the old character again, with Mass Effect 4 truly feeling like the next chapter in the story rather than a spin-off or reboot. However, bringing Shepard back also raises some major issues.
Shepard: Cons
Shepard has survived near-death experiences before, and bringing back Shepard once again could risk making the character’s plot armor seem so strong that no threat actually feels believable. Mass Effect 2 already opened with Shepard being killed by the Collectors before their body was recovered by Liara and given to Cerberus to begin Project Lazarus. If Mass Effect 4 relies on the idea that Liara discovered Shepard’s body and revived them after the ending of Mass Effect 3, Mass Effect 4 might feel like it’s retreading old ground.
Mass Effect 4 can likely only bring back a version of Shepard who made certain decisions in the original trilogy as well. The Mass Effect 4 trailer shows a dead Reaper, and BioWare’s twitter account has posted concept art of Mass Relays being rebuilt. These details point to the Destroy Ending being the canonical ending of the original trilogy. Players who don’t think their version of Shepard would have killed EDI, the Geth, and all other synthetic life to destroy the Reapers may have no choice but to accept a different version of Shepard going forward.
There have been a few details indicating that Mass Effect 4 might take place centuries after Mass Effect 3 as well. The trailer opens with a shot of the Milky Way and Andromeda, which BioWare project director Michael Gamble described as intentional. Art showing a new ship named Mudskipper also appeared to show an Angaran squadmate, a species not contacted until the Andromeda Initiative arrived at its destination. Both details suggest Mass Effect 4 may take place after the events of Andromeda, placing it at least 600 years after Mass Effect 3.
If Shepard returns as the player protagonist at a time when only long-lived characters like Liara are still alive, it might make romancing Liara in the original trilogy far more rewarding by Mass Effect 4, undermining the other Mass Effect romance options. Bringing back Shepard also misses an opportunity to explore the Mass Effect universe from the perspective of a character who isn’t a human soldier, something BioWare considered when developing Mass Effect’s cancelled Han Solo-inspired spin-off.
Liara: Pros
Liara is already a well-established character, and most Mass Effect fans would have little problem roleplaying as her. Having just one character link the events of Mass Effect 4 to the original trilogy and having that character be the protagonist could be a useful way for BioWare to avoid canonizing too many of the events of the first three games, instead leaving it up to the player to choose through dialogue.
Although her character is fleshed out over the original trilogy, Liara’s moral ambiguity might also make her a good RPG protagonist. In Mass Effect 1 she was a naïve scientist, but by Mass Effect 3 she’s the Shadow Broker, a ruthless information dealer.
This could give players the chance to determine her character in the next game without it feeling like it contradicts past portrayals, similar to the way Geralt works in The Witcher 3. As the series’ first alien player character, it could be interesting to explore the Milky Way from a non-human perspective.
Liara: Cons
Liara’s greatest strength – her familiarity – is also one of the biggest problems with her becoming Mass Effect 4’s player character. Players would have no control over her appearance or gender, her role as the Shadow Broker risks making her character’s backstory feel too prescriptive, and overall players risk not being able to project themselves onto Liara in the same way they could with Shepard.
Making Liara the protagonist could risk being the worst of both worlds, not allowing the story of the next game to quite break free from the events of the original trilogy, but not directly continuing the original trilogy’s story with Shepard either. Liara has the potential to be a great protagonist, but that potential also comes with a lot of risks at a time when BioWare may not be willing to gamble on another critical disappointment like Anthem or Mass Effect: Andromeda.
Shepard’s return would raise a lot of questions about original trilogy canon, plot armor, and the character's relationship with Liara. Those questions might be worth answering, however, to bring back the series’ original star. This way, BioWare can continue the story of the Milky Way through the eyes of the character that players put themselves in the shoes of over the first three games.
Mass Effect 4 is in development.