Bae ending is the only ending that has any coherent thematic sense, Max has to deal with the consequences of her actions AND accept there are things outside of her control.
You're literally saying the opposite, though, in your advocacy for the Bae ending.
Throughout the course of the game, Max repeatedly saves Chloe from near death experiences, if not actual deaths. Even at the end, during the scene where Chloe is telling Max that she has to sacrifice her to set things straight, Max (understandably) doesn't want to let her go, but Chloe has already solemnly accepted her fate.
If the game is about actions having consequences, and Max dealing with and accepting those consequences, then the ultimate demonstration of that can only be through Chloe's permanent death. Max has been fighting against the tide for the entire week in a futile effort to save Chloe. Accepting that there are factors outside of her control is exactly what she's doing when she chooses to save Arcadia Bay instead of stubbornly holding onto her best friend's life until the bitter end, even putting that life over that of an entire town.
Bay ending only fits with part of her character arc and then everything for Chloe is discarded.
Nothing for Chloe is discarded. Quite the contrary, actually.
Over the course of the game, Chloe is shown to be angry, resentful, and sad. Rightfully so, after all she's experienced in her life, but the way she lashes out and treats people like her mom, how selfishly she acts when, for instance, Kate calls to talk to Max, is unfair. Chloe never learned how to cope with and manage her pain in a healthy way. It's not until the end of the game, however, that she finally grasps and understands that.
Max: You are all that matters to me.
Chloe: I know. You proved that over and over again... even though I don't deserve it.
I'm so selfish... not like my mom... Look what she had to give up and live through... and she did. She deserves so much more than to be killed by a storm in a fucking diner.
Even my step... father deserves her alive.
There's so many more people in Arcadia Bay who should live... way more than me...
This is acceptance. This is Chloe admitting her faults, admitting guilt over how she's chosen to deal with everything that happened since her father's passing. It's her admitting that she was selfish. It's her admitting that it was wrong for her to be so angry at her mother just for trying to move on and find happiness in a relationship with someone else. That is immense progress and growth for Chloe, and when you ultimately make your decision as Max, you can either squander that, or respect it.
Why would Max choose to be selfish, when Chloe just showed her that selfishness is not the way to go?
Bay ending wins if we're talking "coherent thematic sense". It simultaneously completes the character arcs of both Max and Chloe.
