Paragon has a number of themes that differentiate it from Renegade: mercy, kindness, sympathetic. But what it does not have in contrast to Renegade is justice or law: both sides will bend/ignore/break the law when it suits, and both can claim to be enforcing justice. The Renegade version is often fatal. The Paragon, not as often.
Where does Samara fit in on the Paragon side of things?
She has a Code, yes. A fixed, unbending, unmovable code that is more Renegade in its ruthlessness than Paragon in its mercy and non-violent justice. The code makes her Lawful. Neither Paragon or Renegade affirm or reject such.
What people point out to most, in my experience, is the assertion 'the innocent have nothing to fear from her.' Which is likely perfectly true, so long as you move 'innocent' to 'law abiding.' But how many people are innocent in the eyes of the Code? It isn't if you live a mostly good life. It isn't if you're overall a good person, a good father, or were just coerced. It isn't the sum total of who you are.
It's if you ever crossed a line at all. Look at yourselves, look at your Shepards, Paragon and Renegade, and ask if you ever broke laws or did what she would be bound to stop were she not under oath to you. Just once is all it takes for the Justicar code to be invoked.
The Justicars aren't a forgiving force for kindness. They aren't a merciful force, a forgiving force, willing to let lapses go like a Paragon (or even Renegade) often does. They are a force for absolute compliance with their laws, and without limit to the body count. Samara says it herself: many people herald the Justicars are heroes, and she'd still kill them all if the Code told her to.
A Code. A millenias-old rulebook, not authorized, vetted, or amended by any representative government, which will kill petty crime people and victimless criminals as soon as actual dangers to the public. A moralist movement of lethal force vigilantes without sanction who openly claiming inherent virtue by right of their private law. A movement with no barriers, no concept of civil rights for those accused and condemned, and for whom the closest thing to 'mercy' is 'higher priority, won't deal with you just yet'. A movement which admits to not even caring about the context of a crime it witnesses before doing its best to killing the perpetrator? Samara, who openly muses about going to Tuchanka and teaching the Krogan mercy by killing enough of them to change their views?
How on earth is this Paragon, or even opposed to Renegade? Paragons often go against what we know the Justicar Code would compell. Hiding the crime of Tali's father, covering up evidence? Brainwashing the heretic geth? Stopping the killing of such wrongdoers as Nikett or Maleon? Getting Thane's son off the hook and tolerating Bailey's corruption? Sparing Sidonis?
Why is Samara linked to Paragon, when so many of the 'right' things by her code are Renegade? Why does she rejects a Renegade Shepard's advances, with a 'I feel no such connection, I have seen too many things my Code would compell me against'?
Heck, pretty much your entire ship and team: Mordin the War Criminal, Jack in sum total, Miranda and Jacob the criminal terrorists (which goes along with most of the crew), Kasumi the thief, Zaeed as well.
These aren't things only a Renegade Shepard does. Many occur regardless. Some of them are strictly paragon.
I don't get it. Or rather, I might, but I don't want to attribute it to poor writing and analysis. Samara shouldn't be aligned with Paragon in any respect. Nor should she be aligned with Renegade. She is most definitely neither, in word and action.
Modifié par Dean_the_Young, 05 novembre 2010 - 12:40 .
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