Am I the only one who finds the Rachni mission in ME3 incredibly annoying, especially if you spared the Rachni Queen in ME1? I'm constantly wondering whether the whole squad was sniffing one of the Spore Pods at the start of the mission, or where this aversion to logic comes from.
Right at the start, when Shepard and their team enter the underground tunnels, you come across the spore pots – clearly organic structures criss-crossed with black cables that practically scream ‘Reaper’. … Barely two steps further on, James asks, ‘On the ground, Shepard. Reaper tech?’, to which Shepard replies, ‘Maybe’. And in the next chamber, you encounter the first Ravager, accompanied by a horde of Husks and protected by a Reaper barrier generator. The companions’ comment: “Is that Rachni?”
I mean, if this thing doesn't scream Reaper, then what does?
Throughout the entire mission, whenever they’re referred to, it’s Rachni, not Reapers. Not once during the game did I hear a Cannibal being referred to as a Batarian, or a Husk as a Human. They USED TO BE Batarian and human, but now they are Reapers. But the Ravagers are still Rachni.
At the end of this battle, Shepard reports to Grunt: “Rachni confirmed, modified and dangerous.” Still not "Yeah, we have a Reaper-infestation down her." just… modified.
At the end of the chamber, James whistles at the sight of the unmistakable Reaper tech and remarks, “The Reapers have really messed this place up,” to which Shepard replies, “Agreed. Let’s find out why.”
What do you mean, ‘why’? Shouldn't that be obvious by now? Even if you do this mission as soon as it gets available, so far, we’ve already encountered reaper-fied Humans, Batarians, Turians – hell, they’ve even cobbled together a Frankenstein’s monster out of Turian and Krogan.
By this point, the characters have long been aware that the Reapers transform organic species into their foot soldiers. Nevertheless, the Reapers’ responsibility for this place continues to be treated as a mere possibility, whilst the Rachni are clearly the enemy.
At one point, Garrus wonders why the Rachni can (or would) breed on a non-toxic planet, whilst James ponders whether the Reapers might maybe have altered them.
James, I like you, I really do, but seriously? Organically reared Rachni usually don't grow double laser cannons out of their backs, so yes, they've MAYBE been altered!
When you finally find the captive queen, she is accused of not disappearing and ceasing to interfere like she promised when Shepard set her free.
Does it look as though she’s here of her own free will? You might as well accuse the Batarian of allowing themselves to be harvested and turned into Cannibals. Or all the Humans you encounter as Husks during the mission, why didn’t they go into hiding instead of allowing themselves to be turned into Husks?
Instead, the whole mission is treated as if the Rachni are the only species for whom the fact that the Reapers are using them is due to their own personal and moral failings.
