Anyone who has a Tomb Raider Anyone who has played the game knows that Lara Croft is a woman of extraordinary endurance. Whether she’s overcoming obstacles, performing physical feats, or battling deadly creatures, Lara prevails and survives. This strength of character is put to the test like never before in the reboot of the series, which was released this year. The mission pushes Lara to the absolute limit of what she can endure, not only physically but emotionally as the heroine goes to great lengths to save a friend.
If you haven’t finished the game yet, you shouldn’t read any further: spoilers follow from here.
Shortly after crossing the bridge of Yamatai’s imperial palace alive, Lara is moving through a cave when she comes across Mathias and his sect. These people are about to burn Sam on some kind of pyre in a crazy ritual. Lara, tries to save her friend, but she is quickly overwhelmed. She can only watch helplessly as Mathias lights the wood at Sam’s feet.
This is the only moment in all the games so far where Lara Croft truly gives up hope – and who could blame her? Several scenes in the game highlight Lara’s humanity and vulnerability as she tries to stay alive, but she only comes to the bottom when she fails to save Sam from the fire ritual. Disarmed and tied up, Lara is left with nothing but language. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” (I’m sorry. I’m so sorry), she gasps. Her need to ask for forgiveness is so pathetically human and seems like an acknowledgment of her failure.
There is no such thing as a selfless apology. By speaking out loud and admitting our mistakes, we want to alleviate our own guilt – which is why it’s so awe-inspiring when Lara stops asking for forgiveness and does whatever she can to help Sam. I was really touched by Lara’s attempt to distract Sam from her imminent immolation: “Just look at me…look at me, okay?” (Just look at me…look at me, okay?) My thoughts turned to my best friend. What would I do if he were Sam? I hope I could be half as brave as Lara.
The enormous wind that suddenly blows out the flames is both Sam’s salvation and her undoing, because this influence of nature convinces Mathias that She is the chosen vessel of the Sun Queen. The wind is also a bitter reminder of Lara’s failed rescue attempt. As long as Sam is still alive, Lara still has the chance to save her.
While Sam is taken to the throne room of the palace, Lara escapes her guards by falling down a rocky path. As the villains look down, the players also get a bird’s eye view of the horror that Lara just jumped into: it’s a veritable river of blood and guts. The sight of Lara emerging from the mud, covered in blood and who knows what else, is the most shocking moment in the game. Lara, in my opinion, is at her most desperate when she thinks that her failure will result in the death of her best friend. After Lara emerges from the blood in the depths of the earth, things can only go up for her, because here she has really reached the bottom.
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