Can You Romance Liara After Miranda? An Expert‘s Take

As an avid Mass Effect fan who has played through the trilogy too many times to count, one question I see pop up often is: can I romance Liara T‘Soni in Mass Effect 3 if I romanced Miranda Lawson in Mass Effect 2?

The short answer is yes, absolutely. But there are some subtleties around carrying romances across games that not everyone understands initially.

Let me break things down for you…

Not All Romances Are Equal in ME3

Mass Effect 3 handles imported romances differently depending on whether they originated in ME1 or ME2:

• ME1 Romances: These can always be continued in ME3 provided the character survived the previous games. This includes Liara, Ashley Williams, and Kaidan Alenko.
• ME2 Romances: These can only be continued in ME3 if you also romanced that squadmate in ME2 first. For example, you cannot suddenly romance Garrus in ME3 if you didn‘t start that relationship earlier.

Liara gets special preferential treatment – she‘s the only character that can be romanced across all three games thanks to her strong affection for Shepard. And since her romance can originate as early as ME1, you get the flexibility of restarting things in ME3 even if you moved on or cheated on her in ME2. Pretty sweet deal for all you Liara fans out there!

So when you import a save file where Miranda was your ME2 romance into ME3, Miranda‘s romance becomes locked out, but Liara happily opens her arms and rekindles things if you pursue her. Makes sense?

Squadmate Reactions and Consequences

That said – actively pursuing simultaneous relationships in ME3 can make things messy. Let‘s discuss how squadmates will react if you try to play the field…

Love Interest Confrontations

If you romance or sleep with Liara while also stringing along your ME2 partner like Miranda or Tali, eventually you‘ll end up in the fire:

After a debriefing, Shepard took the elevator only to find both Tali and Liara waiting to confront him about the two-timing. Shepard was forced to definitively choose one.

This can happen with any combination of the ME3 love interests. And if forced to break things off, characters like Miranda can resign from the Normandy crew and suffer grim fates if you don‘t lock in their romances again.

My advice? Pick one and stick with them to avoid confrontation scenes plus negative impacts. I always feel awful leaving these encounters knowing I caused hurt feelings!

Squadmate Attraction/Jealousy

Other squadmates may comment too – especially if Liara is your ME1 romance but you moved on to someone else in ME2:

When Shepard first boards the Normandy, Ashley asks about the status of things with Liara in a skeptical tone. It was clear Ash still had feelings for Shepard lingering from ME1.

Garrus, Tali, Kaidan, etc. will all have dialogues that expose previous or lingering attraction to Shepard if you‘ve switched up partners between games.

Cheating With No Consequences?

Can you actually cheat without consequences? In my experience…sort of.

If timing things right in ME3, you can sleep with Miranda then recommit to Liara immediately after to avoid a confrontation. Neither will directly address this unless caught in the act. But indirectly, squadmates will disapprove of this behavior if discovered.

Liara won‘t forget something like this – it will impact her affinity for Shepard and the tone of certain conversations. I couldn‘t bear to hurt her though!

Liara‘s Special Romance Explained

What makes Liara‘s cross-game romance so unique? A few key factors:

Backstory Connection

• Liara joins you early in ME1 allowing her relationship to start and develop over a much longer timeframe compared to ME2 squadmates met later on
• As an Asari who can live 1000+ years, her feelings persist strongly across the 3-4 year span of the full trilogy

Ongoing Relevance

• Being a key figure investigating the Reapers and Protheans, Liara remains an integral character whose story arcs are deeply intertwined with Shepard‘s own character progression
• Her expanded role across ME2 DLC and playing a pivotal part in ME3‘s war assets keeps her in the action regularly

Player Flexibility

• Players can choose when to initiate her romance across all three games rather than being locked in early
• Her affection for Shepard never fades or locks out, allowing players to rekindle things repeatedly even after messy breakups

For all these reasons and more, Liara just seems like Shepard‘s destiny – his canonical "one who got away" shining across centuries thanks to their profound connetion. Her romance adds special meaning that persists powerfully throughout the entire space opera.

Let‘s Recap…

Can you romance Liara after Miranda?

100% yes – Liara‘s romance allows her to transcend one-game flings thanks to her strong backstory and ongoing relevance carrying through the full trilogy.

What should you watch out for?

Confrontations from confronting squadmates if you try to maintain multiple simultaneous serious ME3 relationships – stick to one at a time!

Will previous games impact things?

Minimally – while the exact tone and dialogues vary based on your full romantic history, Liara‘s affection persists powerfully no matter what.

So there you have it straight from a veteran Shepard – go reunite with your old flame Liara regardless of who you were last seen with! Please drop any other Mass Effect romance questions below and I‘m happy to share more insider tips!