the ryder family secrets storyline is fucked up on so many levels
every time a memory ends and we see Ryder's face two seconds later it feels like this meme:
because all of it is genuinely horrifying, with more and more memories that make you wonder how ryder is not entirely traumatized by the end of it. i think they are btw, just hiding it well because the game doesn't really allow them to lash out about the poor handling of ellen ryder. it's more "wish we could hug dad and then scream at him" and not "why are we going through this? seriously... how and why did he ever think it was okay?"
mea either deals with grief brilliantly, or it handles it very poorly, there's no in-between
and all of this happens as poor Ryder is in the middle of receiving a lot of key information about the Reapers, Shepard, the Milky Way, the Normandy crew with Liara's message, Jien, the Benefactor, SAM's "original purpose"...
..... i have a lot of sympathy for Ryder