Talk:Samantha Nishimura/@comment-2038153-20180318205130

I think I finally figured out why Sam's parking bugs me so much. In issue 2 of Survivor's Crusade Jonah ends up leaving Lara as he can no longer deal with her obsession with taking down Trinity as it is clearly destroying her and if she won't let him help her then he refuses to watch her fall. It's a very well written scene that is, in my opinion, very fitting of the character as while Jonah clearly cares for Lara she is letting her obsession rule her better judgement. And while I hate that Jonah is leaving I do feel that if this is the end of his character in the series I am satisfied with it as it was a well written issue.

But Sam on the other hand, hasn't been given a choice in the matter, her leaving Lara is due to forces that are beyond her control. First there was Himiko possessing her at the end of the Queen of Serpents arc and later in Choice and Sacrifice Sam is being forced to be away from Lara with both her parents refusing to let Lara see her and also with Lara telling Sam's parents to take Sam away.

Sam is not being given the option to leave on her own terms and I think I know why that is. Out of all of Lara's friends Sam is the only person she really listens to, she is the only one who can change Lara's mind who can hold up the mirror to Lara and make her see herself. Sam has stuck with Lara come hell or high water, and was even willing to kill herself to make sure that Himiko could never hurt Lara or anyone else.

And I think that's the reason Sam has not been given the option to leave on her own volition, because she simply wouldn't do it. While Jonah leaving Lara does fit with what has been established in Rise of the Tomb Raider after everything Lara and Sam went through together Sam leaving Lara isn't something that would fit her character so it is something that is instead forced upon her.

The Demon in Me pointed out, correctly, that Sam is not needed for the series to be enjoyable as Tomb Raider is the story about Lara Croft and her adventures. Rise of the Tomb Raider was enjoyable on its own merits and I am looking forward to Shadow of the Tomb Raider. However, my counter argument is that what drew me to this version of Lara Croft was her humanity and her cutting herself off from her friends makes it feel like the series is trying to make her less human then she was at the start.

While Lara is, and should be, the focus of the series I want Lara to continue to be human and relatable and that is best served by giving her people she loves to fight for. And Sam is the one who adds the most to Lara and that is why I want her to return. I don't want Lara to turn into Ebenezer Scrooge and end up cold and bitter with nothing but a bunch of trinkets that fill her house with no one to share them with.

And that is why Sam's parking bugs me so much and why I want her to return. Apologies for my obsession with this but that's what happens when I come to love a character who I feel is one of the most overlooked and underrated characters ever made.