Ever since BioWare first teased the new Mass Effect game, fans have been speculating on what it could be. Thus far, BioWare has hinted the narrative is about both the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies, have hinted at new ships and tech, and in the latest, put some emphasis on the Geth. The latest Mass Effect poster shows a crater that looks a lot like a Geth face, as well as a dead Geth. Many believe, based on what’s been shown, that Mass Effect 4 will canonize the Destroy Ending.
This adds a lot of questions on top of a ton of other questions, and then there’s the overall galactic threat to be considered. Introducing something new between Andromeda and the Milky Way, while still explaining the connection and time periods is a huge feat. Essentially, if the Milky Way introduces a new threat, it wipes away all the importance of Andromeda; vice versa, if it’s an Andromeda threat, why is the Milky Way just getting involved/happening at the same time?
Of course, there’s no real explanation right now. Mass Effect 4 is years away, even with these teasers. But, the problem of the threats’ origins disappear if the Milky Way IS the threat, and it’s possible Andromeda already supports this.
Lingering Mass Effect Andromeda Mysteries
By the end of Mass Effect: Andromeda’s storyline, there are more questions than answers. Specifically, there is still an air of mystery around the Jardaan, Scourge, and Remnant. To understand this, it’s also worth understanding the Andromeda timeline. The Andromeda Initiative left in 2185, the Andromeda story takes place in 2819, and much of the Remnant was believed to be created around 2400-2500. “Centuries” before the Andromeda Initiative arrived, a weapon was detonated on a Jardaan space station that unleashed the scourge, and then the Jardaan just left.
For the most part, a lot of important dates are approximations, not definitive answers. This is probably to give some storytelling leeway; for example, the Jardaan are believed to have already been a super-advanced race by 1600 BCE and that Mass Effect: Andromeda's Angara believe they were created “centuries ago,” having colonized some of Heleus while also going through their own dark ages in history. Ergo, really, a lot could have happened in Heleus from 2185-2819 with a lot of these dates still fitting. Overall, the timeline is not set in stone and is up to a lot of interpretation, as presented from Andromeda and the Angarans' point of view in-game.
The Scourge is known to be a weapon, resulting in the Jardaan leaving the Heleus cluster. Why this weapon exists, what its purpose was, and how the “Opposition” deployed it on a Jardaan space station is another question. And why the Remnant were deployed and utilized is another. However, a lot of this can be viewed through the context of the Milky Way.
Bridging Mass Effect Andromeda’s Story and ME4’s Teases
Here’s a theory: after the Reaper War, the Milky Way is obviously split up. There are no Mass Relays, but there is a ton of destruction, Geth tech, and Reaper tech left behind. It is known that the Geth used the Mass Relays to study other galaxies, possessing some superior knowledge of them compared. With their destruction, it could be that the Geth’s studies and the Reaper tech – who notably arrived from Deep Space to the Milky Way in a total of six months – lead major technological advancements.
With this, and learning about the Andromeda Initiative, it’s possible the Milky Way developed a way to get to Andromeda faster than 600 years. It may not have messed with the Andromeda ships because of their own space travel, and this supports the mysterious timeline seen thus far in Mass Effect 4. The dead Geth seems fresh in one tease, but Liara seems much older in another—which makes sense because she is one who could live so long if it is showing two different time periods.
Thus, the theory is simple: using advanced reaper tech and Geth studies about Andromeda, highlighting both of their importance, the Milky Way rebuilt quicker and was able to develop tech to travel through space quicker than the technology available pre-Reaper War. This makes sense when someone asks why the Jardaan were focused on terraforming Andromeda—the Milky Way was preparing it as a new home for themselves and for those coming.
Many believe the Jardaan existed for centuries, but that would be indicative by remnants, of which there is nothing biological. It could be that the Opposition was the actual First Contact species of Heleus, with the Reaper tech of the Milky Way and the multiple races being referred to them by the Opposition by the Jardaan. History could have mixed up the two, after all.
What enables this further is Mass Effect: Andromeda's Kett, who don’t arrive until a few decades before the Andromeda Initiative, have seemingly been through other segments of the Andromeda Galaxy before. They have not encountered, from what can be seen, Remnant or Jardaan before—because the Jardaan, or Milky Way inhabitants, left again for their home galaxy. The Archon would not be so obsessed with the tech the race had encountered it before.
Perhaps The Opposition, learning why the Milky Way was terraforming their galaxy, did not want to invite all of these races there, and thus had their own revolution of sorts. This would fit into the cyclical nature of the franchise and of history, and thus, The Opposition as seemingly allies deployed the Jardaan’s own weapon against them. Why would a singular race, as it is believed now, native to Heleus for so long have such a weapon? The Milky Way may have been prepared for something akin to a Reaper level threat, and it would be on humanity to seek deterrent-style weaponry following the Reaper invasion.
Perhaps The Opposition were Angara ancestors, who because of the Jardaan’s interference, had to reinvent so much of their culture. It would seem odd for the Milky Way to maliciously create them or create them as a way to play God or as a welcoming party to the Andromeda Initiative, but if they were evolved from The Opposition, it would add up.
The Remnant could have come from Geth and Reaper tech, explaining why the Humans of the Andromeda Initiative can interact with it but hardly understand. It requires some level of AI to use…which, again, could be explained by Reaper tech. But, most importantly, Remnant structures seem to be structured well around a human-sized alien species…or just humans and other Milky Way denizens.
It would explain Liara, it would explain the timeline, it would explain Andromeda’s original mysteries, and it would tie the two galaxies together. What exactly Mass Effect 4 would do to reveal all of this and use it appropriately remains to be seen—perhaps not all of this is unknown or perhaps the Milky Way denizens, including Liara, return. But, ultimately, this is just a theory, but it would be an interesting twist to see.
A new Mass Effect game is in development.