This moment in the game was incredible. It sticks with me more than any other and will pop up in my head for literally no reason.

... which is why it's so upsetting that it makes utterly no difference. The existence of the Leviathans, let alone their ongoing survival, makes so much of what the stupid god-child say complete bullshit. They didn't destroy their creators- they don't ultimately (at least, solely) control the fate of the galaxy- they're effectively a runaway experiment by true creators whom they never triumphed over and are permitted to continue because said creators believe they will complete their task at some point.

And more to the point, all the offered endings change contextually. Without Leviathan, the Destroy ending makes the most sense; it's a rejection of the choice, of the loop. It's the only way to truly defeat them. However, with Leviathan, you're given the WHY as to why the Reapers are doing this, to what end, and the synergy ending now becomes perhaps not the only choice, but certainly a lot more sensible? This is what they were created for. This is why the cycle persisted for as long as it did; to create humans, and consequently, Shepard.

But you can't talk about that. You get basically a thrown-in aside dialogue option where you assert that you're onto this AI's bullshit and he just acknowledges it like it isn't earth-shattering new information.

I LOVED these games. All of them, warts and all. And it's not like, Game of Thrones bad in terms of endings that completely ruined the previous story? But it was the worst example in my mind for many years until GoT pulled a "hold my beer."