LogFAQs > #895285003

38. Tali (Mass Effect series)

"Just so you know, I'm running a fever, I've got a nasty cough, and my sinuses are filled with something I can't even describe.
And it was totally worth it."

Wrex is probably a better character but fuck it, Tali will always be my favorite. She has the same deal Wrex does, single-handedly supporting an entire race of unlikable douchbags by being just that likable and sympathetic. Seriously is there a single quarian you don't end up fed up with by the end of the series? Tali's personal quest aboard the flotilla made me wonder if the Geth shouldn't have wiped them out.

In Mass Effect 1, Tali is a huge dork that's both in over her head and trying to fill her father's shoes. She alternates between gushing about her species' history and trying to prove that she is a valuable, mature member of the team. Quarians in the galaxy are treated like crap and she knows that she has to work twice as hard to gain the same respect someone else would get from producing the same results. Over the course of Mass Effect 1, Shepard can help her validate the worth of her pilgrimage, giving her the confidence she's worked toward all game.

Then Mass Effect 2 comes around and oh boy. Tali is put in charge of leading a squad for the first time and it goes...poorly, resulting in several deaths. It's not really her fault but it doesn't stop others - and especially Tali herself - from blaming her. Then the quarians put her in a kangaroo court and try to use her as a scapegoat for some dumb political reason (did I mention how much the quarians suck?). Shepard again comes to the rescue and tells off the quarians for being jerks, making Tali realize that her true home was on the Normandy. The bit where she changes her last name to reflect that is genuinely touching. By Mass Effect 3, she's become the quarian she always wanted to be - confident, in charge, and doing right by her people. And by then, she's totally earned it.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.