Mixed Feelings on Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft Sequel Hook (Spoilers: Under Duh See Duh)

[Winter]

TRTLOLC: Sam is going to be in season two of the Netflix Series

Me: Yes!

TRTLOLC: And we learn this because she has been kidnapped again.

Me: DAMMIT!!!!

Yeah, mixed feelings on this. On the one hand after 10 years Sam is defiantly returning to the series which is something that I, a fan of the character and major shipper of her and Lara, has wanted ever since the comics parked her because Crystal Dynamics are a bunch of cowards who are to afraid of Lara being gay. On the other hand... Sam's been kidnapped again... It's like a monkey's paw situation, I got what I asked for but not how I wanted it. I want Sam's return to be this badass moment, of her rushing in to save Lara for a change and fighting alongside her and the two reconnect but not before Sam calls Lara out on just dropping her out of her life.

Sam is a badass and has not been captured nearly as many times as Jonah has (in the games alone he's kidnapped/nearly killed 8 times and if we add the comics that number goes up to 14 vs. it only happening to Sam 5 times between the games and the comics and she managed to save herself and Lara 3 of those times). So, the idea of the next season STARTING with Lara needing to rescue Sam makes it seem like the show doesn't understand the issue here. Most fans haven't read the comics and therefore don't know how Awesome Sam is so this is off to a bad start before it has actually gotten started.

But at the same time, Sam is back! They did what I and many other fans have been asking for over a decade and there's a chance that the next season will focus on her and Lara's relationship and show them FINALLY showing the badass Sam is and that she's every bit Lara's equal. Mind this is Netflix we're talking about so there's a good chance of this series getting canned even if it does well because Netflix hates it's animated shows.

Still, it's SOMETHING!!! Not what I wanted (and frankly I honestly think I did better in my own TR story (which I'm reworking into a game instead of a show wish me luck)) but I'll take what I can get. I want Sam back and I'm apparently going to get her back but I'm so worried about this series screwing her over cause good lord I've never seen a character I love THIS screwed over before.

(sigh) I FEEL SO CONFLICTED!!!

[CharlesPhipps]

Gail Simone wanted Sam/Lara to be gay.

But Sam got constantly repossessed by Himiko and that ruined her character.

[Winter]

Gail Simone wanted Sam/Lara to be gay.

But Sam got constantly repossessed by Himiko and that ruined her character.

She only got repossessed by Himiko once (no I'm counting the tie in novel as canon, no one does) and that story arc ended with Sam forcing Himiko out of her body by winning a battle of wills. Let me repeat that, Sam basically stared down a Demigod and it was her adversary that blinked. Sam has not been ruined yet and the fact that other writers keep doing so much with her despite Crystal Dynamics lack of balls says a lot about how awesome she is.

I will die on this hill.

[Thebestoftherest]

I think any non zero number of repossessions is too high.

[CharlesPhipps]

Eh, it becomes her whole character.

She gets sent to an asylum, struggles with MPD, and so on.

Basically, Sam doesn't get to be Lara's spunky sidekick and that's a shame.

[Winter]

Eh, it becomes her whole character.

She gets sent to an asylum, struggles with MPD, and so on.

Basically, Sam doesn't get to be Lara's spunky sidekick and that's a shame.

Dude, they're literally setting her up as such for the second season of The Legend of Lara Croft and most fans don't read the comics. What happens to Sam next will depend greatly on how she is handled in season 2 if/when (hopefully the latter) it comes out. While I have mixed feelings on Sam being captured again Jonah has been captured WAAAY more times then her (9 or 10 times between the games and show and 14 or 15 times if we count the comics vs. Sam's 5 or 6 between the games and comics).

And hey, even characters who have a reputation for getting kidnapped can still become hugely popular. Lois Lane and Robin both have a reputation of always getting captured and yet fans love them. Hell the one time DC broke up Lois & Clark so they could make Superman and Wonder Woman canon went so badly that Clark and Diana broke up after 4 years and DC started moving Clark back to Lois partly due to fan backlash.

Sam really is the Lois to Lara's Superman and the two just work together and I think it's very telling that after 11 years Sam still has such a passionate fanbase that wanted her back despite Square Enix trying to erase the character from the series. Writers had more passion about using Sam then they ever had for Jonah or any other TR character not named Lara Croft and Sam is easily the second most popular character in the TR fandom.

Not bad for someone who was suppose to die in her first game.

[CharlesPhipps]

The funniest part of the Netflix Lara Croft movie is her considering Paris the worst place on Earth. Then I remembered her adventure there and recalled, "Oh, right, she's English."

[Winter]

The funniest part of the Netflix Lara Croft movie is her considering Paris the worst place on Earth. Then I remembered her adventure there and recalled, "Oh, right, she's English."

Yeah I couldn't help but think of this scene from Yes, Minister.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6Et35vPYLg[/youtube]

Anyways I've been doing a lot of research on Tomb Raider in perpetration for a analyses on how the lore of the series has changed and will continue to change and how this is nothing new, that stories like Robin Hood or King Arthur barely resemble who they were when they started out. I was surprised just how much Lara herself has changed in 28 years, starting out as an Nominal Hero to more of an anti-hero and now more of a overall heroic character.

One thing I found interesting was Lara's love life, between all the games, comics, TV shows and movies Lara has only had 7, sorta kinda maybe love interests, those being Kurtis, Chase, Tsang, Alex Weiss, Alex West, Sheridan and of course Sam (the writers of the comics confirmed that they intended to make Lara and Sam a couple they just got overruled by Square Enix so she still counts).

I think what makes Sam the most popular of Lara's love interests is that she actually stands out is her overall personality and the fact that more writers are so interested in developing her character. Take Kurtis, of all of Lara's potential romantic interests he's had the most apparent, he appeared in the Top Cow Production Comics, the mobile game Reloaded and will apparently also be in a upcoming board game.

By comparison, Chase, Tsang, West and Sheridan have just disappeared after they were introduced and never showed up or not mentioned again. And Weiss is barely talked about, was a side focus in a story all about Lara saving his sister and seems to have been completely erased from the series given how the flashbacks and picture of the Endurance crew completely remove him (seriously this is almost like an unperson situation).

So, at first it seems Kurtis is the one coming out on top... until you learn that he only appeared in 3 issues of the comics before being forgotten about and was only included as a bounce in Reloaded and the board game is still a board game and will likely have no real impact on the series.

This is where Sam comes in as, like I've mentioned before, she's given a LOT more attention by the writers. She appeared in 23 issues of the tie-in comics and got mentioned in 3 of them and is returning for the second season of The Legend of Lara Croft and confirmed to be a major focus. Hell the first thing shown for the second season when it was announced was this image-



They made a point of putting Sam front and center alongside Lara seemingly getting ready to kick ass and take names.

As I mentioned before I feel like Sam is going to become a major part of the Tomb Raider series with her becoming Lara's partner and maybe even her lover and given how popular Sam already is I can't help but smile at that. More has been done with Sam then all of her potential love interests combined and without Square Enix no longer forcing the character out of the series (very telling that the first things this series did as soon as Square was no longer in control was address Lara's PTSD and brought Sam back) I think we might be seeing even more of Sam.

So, I'm growing to have a great sense of respect for this show, it has it's flaws but nothing to really note worthy. And again it's just great to see Sam back and that we'll FINALLY be getting a story that shifts focus away from Lara's parents and over to a relationship I actually care about.

[CharlesPhipps]

I think that may be going a bit far.

The thing about Sam is she DID disappear and is only now coming back.

I also think Chase coming back would be good.

But that's because I like bi Lara and thought Daniel Craig did a fantastic job as him.

[Winter]

I think that may be going a bit far.

The thing about Sam is she DID disappear and is only now coming back.

I also think Chase coming back would be good.

But that's because I like bi Lara and thought Daniel Craig did a fantastic job as him.

... Craig didn't play Chase he played Alex West, sure their basically the same character but personally I think that appeals to most of Lara's male love interests, they're all pretty much the same character, a brooding bad boy who is an unrelenting flirt and is just to sexy for this sinful world.

But as for Sam, I'm counting the use of characters and the number of times they appear after they first show up and Sam has pretty much every other love interest beat. She appeared in 23 issues of the tie-in comics after her first appearance, was suppose to be in Rise and the idea of her returning was talked about by the developers in that game and was supposedly going to show up in the 2018 movie before that was likewise shot down.

And again she will be appearing in season two of the current show.

Compare this to Chase, I think he only shows up for 14 issues and then after his death the series just kinda forgets about him and he'll likely never appear in any of the games, movies or shows. Kurtis only has it slightly better because he has appeared in the series outside his first appearance but to a much more limited degree then Sam.

Just for the record I only recently learned of Chase due to my research for the essay I'm working on and from what I understand he's not that well known even within the TR fandom, he has all of one fan fic in Archive of Our Own and Zero over on Fanfic.net. I even checked out Rule 34 just out of curiosity he doesn't even show up there and the whole point of that site is "If it exists there's porn of it." NEELIX has more people writing about him the Chase does. That's how little of an impact he left.

Terry Sheridan has more fans writing about him then Chase does and that's someone Lara killed and then went on with the movie with a smile on her face.

Sam may have been taken out of the games but she was utilized a lot more then any of love interest of Lara's. In Season of the Witch we see her dealing with PTSD and while she's captured there she's shown how much she's grown when she laughs at her captures and later saves Lara's life from the cult leader. Secrets and Lies, continues to show how far she's come because when she learns that Alex's sister is in danger Sam, without any hesitation, offers to go with Lara to save her and it's only because Lara insists that she stays behind keeps her from joining her. In that same story we see her how well she understands Lara by giving her a pep talk that reveals to use why she loves Lara and shares her love of the past.

In Queen of Serpents she shows us what a badass she can be by first beating up a thug while armed with only cupcakes and later stabs a bull shark in the eye to save herself and Lara. And we see her clever she is as she comes up with a plan to save Grimm's brother which was working until Himiko started to force Sam to lash out at Lara.

We also see her insecurities here as she's clearly starting to think that Lara thinks less of her because of all the times she had to save Sam, even though she's proven herself to be a badass in her own right she's worried that Lara thinks she's weak. Sam may have been possessed by Himiko but it took a full 2 years in and out of universe for that to happen and even then Sam was fighting her control and it too Trinity strengthening Himiko's unknown connection to the Divine Source for Himiko to take full control.

And even then she never had full control and Sam defeated her in a Battle of Wills.

And just from the little bits that we've gotten of her in the first season reveals she's been hunting down a Crime Syndicate on her own for at least a year and first tease for season 2 stating that Lara and Sam will need to team up to take down the villains of the season. This implies that this is a threat so great that Lara needs someone as awesome as her to take on this threat. And the image they picked showing the two ready to fight alongside each other gives the impression that this is a big moment.

Contrast this with Kurtis, every time he's made a return to the series it's been more a case of "and also featuring" instead of acting like he's anything special the series seems to keep including him more as a trivia note that's barely worth mentioning. And again most of Lara's other love interests don't even get that, getting one appearance and then just just fading into the background. In fact I would argue that Kurtis is fading from popular conciseness more and more as time goes on. When your most notable appearance is a board game that hardly anyone outside of the hardcore fans know or really care about I think it's time to admit that maybe this character isn't all that popular to begin with.

When Sam was announce to return the fandom EXPLODED. On the Tomb Raider wiki Sam was the most visited page for a full week after it was announced that she would be returning. Fans over on Twitter have been getting into arguments over her return with some trying to pull a no one cares about her when most tweets and retweets of the tweet posted where all basically screaming with joy about her coming back.

Hell the fact that Lara and Sam were suppose to kiss in the Inferno arc was talked about for weeks after it was learned a few years ago. Her not showing up in the 2018 film actually got people talking because of just how important she was to the game this film was based on.

From what I understand Sam is also hugely popular in China, with several fans there asking her to return ever since she was parked in the comics.

Again I measure the impact the character of a character by how much they appeared after their introduced and so far only 2 of Lara's love interests have been utilized after first showing up while the rest are just sort of forgotten after being introduced.

To wrap this up, Chase died after 14 issues of the comics, and he has been dead ever since then. Sam was parked in 2015 and despite Square Enix's best efforts she keeps coming back. Someone who keeps coming back despite executive producers doing their best to bury the character really says it all. It reminds me of when Stan Lee tried to get readers to dislike Mary Jane and get them to like Gwen, doing everything in his power to make MJ less popular and Gwen more popular which only resulted in fans liking MJ more and Gwen less.

If Chase was introduced now I don't think he would survive for very long while Sam has survived everything thrown at her for 11 years. Time will tell but right now I'd say Sam has the advantage here.