I will admit that I ate my words. I went into the game on release prepared for the worst. I was ready to see Lara crawl off that boat and sniffle and cry and wait for someone to rescue her. But she never waited. Lara landed on a spear that went through her side like a kebab and kept going. She killed a deer despite her own disgust and kept going. She dove into a literal river of human blood to avoid being captured and kept going. When Lara climbed up that radio tower I held my breath, totally lost in the moment. She'd slip and I'd grip at the controller, but she hardly slowed down long enough to let herself take stock of the danger she was in and when she got to the top of that tower I actually let out a chuckle of relief and pride.
I picked up Tomb Raider thinking that being a victim at all made you weak, but I realized something important when Lara picked up that grenade launcher and started trash-talking her foes: being a victim isn't something that leaves you doomed to weakness. Becoming a victim is often the start of a story, and what you do with that beginning is what makes you strong. Lara started off her story tied and strung up, crying and confused and needing others with her, but it's not long before she takes total control and agency of the situation. When her crewmates find themselves in trouble, without even asking, Lara is the first to help them. Lara steps up to the challenges ahead of them and although she shows and expresses emotion at the situation — which is human — she does it without allowing lamenting, complaining or bemoaning to hinder her and puts herself in power.
I once thought that Lara Croft and I had nothing at all in common. She was an archeologist adventurer with a hot body and a butler that didn't press charges for locking him in the freezer. I was a writer living paycheck to paycheck who can't climb a rope and couldn't even get her own cat to like her.
But we've both been victims. We've both been at points where things seem hopeless and useless, but we've come out of it and not only survived but taken control. Maybe one in a more literal sense than the other, and one slightly more condensed instead of over the span of 5 years, but I digress.
Lara Croft used to give women a video game character to relate to based on little but gender. Now, she gives women a video game character to relate to based on taking control and overcoming the seemingly hopeless, based on strength and will.
It's good to have you back, Lara.
