Samara (Mass Effect)
A Justicar bound by an iron-willed code.
Samara is an asari squadmate in Mass Effect 2, a member of the Justicars, a revered order of mystic warriors. Her appearance was modeled on Rana McAnear, and she is voiced by Maggie Baird. As an asari, she naturally wields biotics, the ability to manipulate dark energy.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Mass Effect
- First game
- Mass Effect 2 (2010)
- Voice
- Maggie Baird
- Race
- Asari
Facts from the source article.
Creation and development
Samara's writer for Mass Effect 2 was Brian Kindregan, who developed additional lore such as the Justicar Code and the Ardat-Yakshi as part of her backstory. Inspired by a pre-existing codex entry about asari mating, Kindregan used it to explore the invasive side of the asari mating experience. He considers her children's diagnosis as Ardat-Yakshi, biological deviants who cause their partners' deaths when mating, and Morinth's defiance against the laws regulating her kind, to be the character's defining moment, as she responded by exerting an iron-willed self-control and finding purpose through her role as a problem solver.
Kindregan contrasted Samara's personality with that of another squadmate, Jack: the latter seeks to control her environment for her own safety, whereas Samara seeks to control herself as her survival mechanism. Kindregan worked closely with lead level designer Dusty Everman to develop Samara's side quest. The earliest draft involved Shepard breaking into an underground cult compound led by Morinth and fighting through hostile cultists. The setting was later moved to the Afterlife nightclub on Omega.
One of two companion loyalty missions without combat, Kindregan noted that he took Everman's suggestion to frame the mission as an experience where players must impress someone by finding a careful balance between being cool and violent. Kindregan wrote a puzzle conversation between the player and Morinth, where the goal is to secure her attention and acceptance as part of a trap set by Samara.
Reception
Evan Lahti from PC Gamer described Samara as an interesting Judge Dredd with a serial killer daughter, noting she is the sole companion character in the series who deals with moral absolutes due to her strict adherence to the Justicar Code, and one of the series' most tragic characters in the Shakespearean manner due to the potential outcome of her story arc in Mass Effect 3. Cian Maher from TheGamer praised her loyalty mission as one of the game's most distinct in design and atmosphere, and noted that the dilemma of who had the more justifiable position made for a compelling narrative core.
Stacey Henley, also from TheGamer, argued that Samara's romance may be the series' best due to its subtle nature and quality conversations, noting that the game asks for commitment with limited payoff, offering an intimate kiss from a woman who wants to meet Shepard halfway, which she considered a realistic depiction of love. Conversely, Tom Senior from PC Gamer criticized Samara as a boring space paladin, feeling that dealing with her is more like interacting with dogma than a person, and that her personality is subsumed by her Code, preventing meaningful friendship.
Grace Benfell from Vice drew an unfavorable comparison between the portrayal of Samara and the Ardat-Yakshi and the historical social hardships faced by LGBTQ individuals during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, stating that Morinth parallels those who died, with Samara's fist in place of the uncaring state.
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Elsewhere in Mass Effect
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