Summary
- Lara Croft's relationships with family and friends are explored in Netflix's Tomb Raider series.
- Some familiar faces appear in the show, such as Lara's longtime friend Jonah and her mentor Conrad Roth.
- Sam Nishimura, Lara's best friend from the games, is absent initially but is expected to return in the series.
Netflix's Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is the first return to the franchise since the release of the 2018 game, Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The series takes the opportunity to dig further into the personal side of Lara Croft and explore her relationships with family and friends.
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft continues the story of Crystal Dynamics' Survivor trilogy of Tomb Raider games, meaning many familiar faces appear in the show. Most notable is Earl Baylon's return as Lara's long-time friend Jonah, who appeared in all three games in the trilogy. Lara's mentor and Croft family friend Conrad Roth died in the Tomb Raider games, but makes some appearances in the series via flashback, particularly as Lara grapples with his loss. However, one person who is missing in Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is Sam Nishimura.
Netflix's Tomb Raider Series Follows A Popular Video Game Adaptation Trend
Netflix's Tomb Raider series adopts a similar style to many other recent video game adaptations.
Who is Sam Nishimura in Tomb Raider?
Sam is first introduced in Tomb Raider (2013) as Lara's best friend, who she met while at university. She is a filmmaker and the director of the documentary the group is filming about their search for the ancient city of Yamatai in the first game. While on the island, Sam becomes a captive of the Solarii Brotherhood, who believe she is the key to escaping the cursed island. The leader, Mathias, takes Sam to the body of Himiko, the monarch of Yamatai, and offers her as a vessel, which begins the process of Himiko's spirit transferring into Sam's. Lara is able to come to her friend's rescue and save her life, which lifts the curse on the island and allows them to return home.
This is the last time Sam is seen in the Tomb Raider games. Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider make mention of Sam but stop short of bringing her back on-screen. However, her story does continue in Dark Horse's Tomb Raider comics. In the comics, it's revealed that Sam is still bonded to Himiko's soul and that the latter has been possessing her to undertake violent acts. Sam is arrested and placed in a mental asylum, but with Himiko in control, she escapes and goes on the run. Lara eventually tracks her down and can free Sam from Himiko by using a Wei Mirror.
What Happened Between Sam and Lara?
After they were established as best friends, and with Lara often risking her life to save Sam's, it was surprising to see her disappear from the Tomb Raider story. It's somewhat implied that after the Himiko situation, Sam and Lara's relationship struggled, with Sam attempting to reach out to Lara, but the latter delaying returning her calls.
When things pick up in Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, which takes place after the comics and Survivor games, it seems that Lara and Sam's friendship is in a tenuous place. In the first episode, Lara invites her friends to help her sort through artifacts at Croft Manor, but only Jonah and Zip show up. When Lara asks about Sam's absence, Jonah reveals she is working overseas and encourages Lara to reach out to her.
How Sam Could Return In Netflix’s Tomb Raider Series
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Cast |
Hayey Atwell, Richard Armitage, Earl Baylon, Allen Maldonado |
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Release date |
October 10, 2024 |
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Number of Episodes |
8 |
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Where to watch |
Netflix |
The ending of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft provides the most solid clue that Sam is set to return. After being successful in their mission throughout the season, things wind down in the Tomb Raider finale with Lara attending Jonah and Abby's wedding. While there, she receives a call from Sam, who sounds distressed, but the call is unexpectedly cut off. Relaying this information to Jonah, Lara excuses herself from the wedding to investigate.
Lara visits Sam's apartment to check on her but finds the place has been violently broken into and Sam is nowhere to be found. Investigating further, Lara learns Sam has been looking into a crime syndicate run by a man named Vladimir, who has been stealing and smuggling ancient artifacts. While the Tomb Raider episode ends there, it appears that Lara's next mission will be to locate Sam and put an end to the syndicate.
Another season of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft hasn't been confirmed at this time, but if one does happen, the finale is confirmation that Sam will return to Tomb Raider after a long absence in the franchise. While she only appears on-screen in Netflix's animated series in a quick flashback in the first episode, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft does cast a new actor for the voice of Sam. Arden Cho (Teen Wolf) lent her voice talents to Sam in 2013's Tomb Raider, but the Netflix series brings on The Boys and Suicide Squad's Karen Fukuhara to voice the character in the series. While Fukuhara was only in a guest role in Season 1, she is a big name to join the cast of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft and that will no doubt be an enticing factor for Netflix when deciding whether to renew the series.
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is streaming now on Netflix.
Tomb Raider is one of the biggest names in action-adventure gaming. The series began in 1996 and has had three trilogies of games: the original trilogy, the legend trilogy, and the survivor trilogy, as well as a handful of other titles in-between.
The Tomb Raider series is led by protagonist Lara Croft, who is considered to be one of the most important female characters in gaming history.
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft Review
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft earns its place as a worthy animated expansion of the popular franchise.