So I finally completed the story a couple of days ago.. I picked Option C, there was no question about it. To save everyone or to choose to kill either Trevor or Michael.
I had no decision to make, I wasn't going to kill any of the characters.. I mean how could I? Having played with each character over the course of the game, I have a special connection with each of them and couldn't bring myself to make Franklin take out any of them.
Somewhere in the middle of the story, I felt that the ending of the game wasn't going to be a happy one, especially with Michael's strained relationship with Trevor. The betrayal was going to be found out sooner or later. With Trevor's crazy, no-holds barred personality, I couldn't imagine how he was going to take it. Will Michael have to kill Trevor to save himself or would Trevor destroy Michael once he found out? It was a bit worrying as I didn't want to lose either character. Rockstar has had a habit of including tragic endings in past games after all. So was it going to happen again?
Thankfully, the decision laid in our hands and I decided to choose Option C, the happy ending..
So why did I choose Option C? Were the other options a more reasonable choice? I didn't think so..
The option to kill Michael
Michael's a cool guy. A good guy who has made some terrible mistakes in the past but who hasn't made mistakes in life? Trying to make good with his life right now and a crazy dysfunctional family that he loves, you can't help but pity this guy. Throughout the game, he keeps getting into 1 shit-hole after another.
I found myself rooting for this guy, whether I was hoping for him to get back with his family or escape from Trevor's madness, or for Steve Haines, the FIB asshole, to get off his back. I really wanted the ending to be a happy one for Michael.
So I could definitely not kill him. In fact, it makes no sense for Franklin to choose to kill Michael, no matter the circumstances. Throughout the game, Franklin was grateful to Michael for helping him make good of himself and "he was like a son Michael never had". So it wasn't believable nor was it a "right" decision for Franklin to choose Michael. I felt that ending wasn't an appropriate ending to the story.
The option to kill Trevor
Trevor is mad, crazy, psychotic, sick, mad etc etc. You can say a thousand things about this guy but hate-able? No I couldn't hate this guy. His antics from the very start right up to the end were hilarious (minus the part where he killed Johnny Klebitz from The Lost and Damned). This guy brought the most laughs to the game. His intro cut-scene, giving Michael stick for being milder now, teasing Franklin about his first heist, his horrible attempt to cover up actual names to Wade while explaining what happened before.. epic moments every one of them.
Hate-able? No! Trevor is probably the most love-able protagonist in the entire GTA series, not just GTA V. While Michael is wary of Trevor, I didn't believe Franklin would ever consider the idea of killing Trevor. In fact, he would want all 3 of them to just get along, evident in him always breaking up fights between Michael and Trevor. I could say that this ending was just very, very slightly more believable due to the incidents between Michael and Trevor. However, I don't believe Michael wanted to kill Trevor either unless he was really left with no choice. So I'll say this ending wasn't an ideal conclusion to the story either,
Deathwish - The right choice
For all the reasons mentioned above, I have no doubt about this being the right decision for the story. Franklin was caught in a cross-fire and it seemed like it was do or die. Although, the 3 of them were not the best friends, far from it in fact, he always wanted all of them to get along.
Very true, especially in the mission where Lamar was being led into a trap and he had to call on M&T to help him save Lamar. He knew he could rely on them for help and was grateful to them for having his back. He didn't seem like a character who would turn on his friends to save his life nor was he a type to make such a drastic decision. He has been saving Lamar's ass since the beginning. Plus, the cut-scene after choosing Option C also showed him confused and not knowing what to do... and it was Lester who actually came up with a conclusion to save Michael & Trevor.
At the end, all 3 guys working together to take out all those who were after them and having a dig at Devin Weston together before making him "sleep with the fishes" was an ideal ending to a game that heavily featured the "switching" concept among 3 playable characters. Watching the sun set while deciding they should get on with their lives as "flawed, awful, totally uncomfortable and poorly matched friends and then riding away in separate directions was the perfect conclusion to the game.
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So.. in this aspect, I feel Rockstar failed with the endings. None of the alternate endings seemed right or believable. I didn't have a hard time making a decision. Sure, maybe the alternate endings were there just for the sake of drama but there was only 1 true ending for me.
GTA IV had a more believable ending choice. You either had to work with the devil for one final, big reward or take out the devil. Both options led to negative consequences but both made sense and were right for the plot.
Though GTA V failed with providing proper alternate endings, I'm glad with the way it ended. A perfect ending to a fantastic game. ..
Feel free to discuss below.. Did you choose anything other than Option C? Why? Did the other choice make sense to you? Tell me!
