Garrus Vakarian is one of the most beloved squadmates in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. The Turian C-Sec officer-turned-vigilante is one of the first characters to join Shepard on their hunt for rogue SPECTRE Saren, and one of only two companions, along with Tali, who sticks by Shepard's side throughout the entire original trilogy. He's got wit, an awkward charm, and one of the best romances in the trilogy if players are willing to look past the scars, fangs, and mandibles.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition remastered the original trilogy, and over the last decade Garrus has solidified his place as a fan-favorite and occasional meme. Those who play through the Legendary Edition with fond memories of Garrus, however, may be surprised at just how ruthless he actually is throughout the games. In fact, at times Garrus' comments border on sociopathic, show a complete disregard for the lives of others, and may well make him one of Shepard's most morally questionable companions.
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When Shepard first meets Garrus Vakarian, he's a young C-Sec officer frustrated by the way Council regulations hold back his investigations. This seems fair enough at first. He has been investigating Saren, who, as a SPECTRE, has the authority to act with impunity, and is able to take any action necessary to achieve his ends. The Eden Prime mission that kicks off Mass Effect 1 shows just how brutal Saren is, killing a fellow SPECTRE and Turian named Nihlus. It's easy to see how a lower-level law enforcement officer could become frustrated when tasked with investigating someone who is allowed to act above the law, has the trust of the Council and utterly abuses his power.
As Mass Effect 1 goes on, however, it becomes clear that given the chance Garrus would love the chance to act with the exact same impunity as Saren, even if he doesn't believe he would use that power for evil. Garrus' mission in Mass Effect 1 involves hunting down a Salarian named Dr. Saleon.
Garrus came across Dr. Saleon while investigating the sale of organs on the Citadel's black market. When he ran a DNA test on one organ he discovered that its owner was still alive. After interrogating the victim, he traced the sale of these organs to Dr. Saleon. It turned out Saleon was growing organs in his employees, giving them a small cut of the profit, and leaving the organs inside them if they didn't grow correctly, often to the detriment of his employees' health.
Once discovered, Saleon made a break for it, taking some of his employees as hostages. Not only did Garrus demand that the Citadel shoot down the ship hostages and all, but he wanted the ship shot down over a populated area of the Citadel. Garrus was willing to kill all of the hostages and people on the ground below to kill Dr. Saleon, whose actions, while gruesome and unethical, hadn't even had fatal consequences.
It's easy to dismiss this as the start of Garrus' character arc, representing the worst of Garrus before Shepard brings out the Turian's better side. A Paragon Shepard even has several opportunities to sway Garrus' opinion throughout the mission. By the start of Mass Effect 2, however, Garrus' behavior has arguably become even less ethical.
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When Shepard reunited with Garrus at the start of Mass Effect 2 he has become a vigilante on Omega. When Shepard asks what Garrus is doing on Omega, his answer paints a grim picture of how Garrus has spent the last two years: "I got fed up with all the bureaucratic crap on the Citadel. Figured I could do more good on my own. At least it's not hard to find criminals here. All I have to do is point my gun and shoot."
Garrus has spent the time between Mass Effect 1 and 2 as the self-appointed judge, jury, and executioner of the people of Omega. He describes his targets as criminals, but his own comments make it obvious that he isn't exactly doing his due diligence. Omega is a violent place, but despite Garrus' self-perception and his nickname – "Archangel" – it's hard to justify anyone going to an impoverished space station and taking it upon himself to murder as many of the people who he deems criminals – without trial or seemingly much evidence at all – as he sees fit.
It's also clear Garrus' attitudes have spread to other parts of C-Sec back on the Citadel. When Shepard first arrives back on the Citadel to talk to Captain Anderson and, if they survived, the Citadel Council, there is an increased security presence in the Wards. The officer who deals with Shepard offers to ignore the fact that Shepard has been dead for two years and simply let them in.
The officer, Bailey, also mentions making a suspect "scream a little" which Commander Shepard can question. What follows is what may well be one of the most questionable lines in the entire original trilogy: "policing a Ward is like policing New York City. Sometimes you have to work outside the rules."
If Garrus is in the player's squad, he notes that C-Sec has changed, seemingly with approval. In Mass Effect 1 Garrus also makes euphemistic allusions to his "chat" with one of Dr. Saleon's employees, implying that like the C-Sec officer in Mass Effect 1 he isn't above intimidating or even torturing people as a means to an end, even if they're the victim.
Garrus may not be the most unethical character who can join Shepard's squad, that title probably goes to the rarely-recruited Ardat-Yakshi serial killer, Morinth. For fans who find Ashley Williams' initial xenophobia, Mordin Solus' work on the genophage, or any of the other morally questionable decisions made by Shepard's squadmates to be unforgivable, accepting that Garrus is far from perfect may be a tough pill to swallow. However, for those replaying the trilogy now that it's been remastered, Garrus often stands out as one of Shepard's most ruthless squadmates, and one whose actions the game rarely expects the player to whole-heartedly admonish.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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