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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – MW3 Campaign ending is one of the most unpredictable ones in the whole series. Not only does it put Task Force 141 in a tight situation, but it also leaves a fighting scene with no closure. This ending really does require an explanation, even if you’ve played all the previous Modern Warfare games. So if you’re about to proceed, consider this Spoiler Warning as seriously as possible. Now, let’s figure out what happened after Makarov killed Soap and why Captain Price killed General Shepherd in MW3 in cold blood.
What Happens in the MW3 Campaign Ending?
After Captain Price tracks General Shepherd’s intel, they find out that Makarov is about to execute another terrorist attack on London. He goes after him with the whole Task Force 141 team, and in the end, they find the bomb Makarov had planted to destroy the tunnel. However, when they’re about to disarm the bomb, Makarov shows up in the scene and kills Soap after a direct conflict with him and Price.
In fact, Makarov was even trying to kill Price as well, but Ghost arrives with Gaz to save the Captain. Price and Gaz disarm the bomb after this happens, and then the game ends with two different cutscenes before and after the credits.
Why Did Makarov Plan To Kill Soap in Modern Warfare 3 Campaign Ending?
So the first scene we have after the Modern Warfare 3 Campaign ending shows that Ghost, Gaz, and Price are standing somewhere, saying their last words to their friend, John “Soap” MacTavish. They leave Soap’s ashes in the air and say that they’ll continue the fight.
This is how it all becomes a revenge story rather than MW3 being a World War 3 starter. However, one question remains: Why did Makarov kill Soap, and how did he plan to do so? The answer to this question is from the Flashpoint mission in the MW3 Campaign, where we see that four years prior to the current happenings, Price and Soap were able to capture Vladimir Makarov.
When they get him, Soap tries to kill off the big villain of the story for killing civilians, and Makarov warns them to never bury their enemies alive. Then he tells Soap that he’ll see him again one day, planting the seed of revenge. Now, if we get back to the Modern Warfare 3 Campaign ending and final mission, it all seems like Makarov is paving the way for Task Force 141 to come into the tunnels and then trap them there just so he can kill them. It was never about the bombs; Makarov wanted to shatter Price’s Task Force.
Does Captain Price Kill General Shepherd in MW3?
Yes, in the Modern Warfare 3 second-ending cutscene, Captain Price kills General Shepherd. This was one of the most unexpected scenes we have ever seen in a Call of Duty game. Shepherd is a four-star General of the U.S., and killing him is not just as simple as it looks. Captain Price isn’t the kind of man to kill like this, but there’s one important reason that he does so.
This action is, in fact, due to Shepherd attacking Task Force 141 and Alejandro’s men in MW2. Philip Graves occupies the Mexican base of Special Forces and then kills many of them. Price and the rest of the TF 141 know Shepherd to be an enemy for this action, and in MW3, they make a deal where Shepherd tells everyone the truth in court. However, Shepherd lies in that MW3 – Modern Warfare 3 ending scene.
Now, one important take here is that Shepherd was the one who prevented Price and Soap from killing Makarov. And if Price didn’t hold back Johnny’s hands, he would have killed Makarov for his actions. But Makarov teaches them not to bury their enemies alive by killing Soap, and that’s why Price does the same thing with Shepherd by killing him for not giving him a second chance to strike back.