Checkmate - The Samantha Traynor Discussion Thread

You can do that. As a suggestion, I would make a save before returning to the Normandy in case something goes wrong for whatever reason.

Just curious...do they ever give more backstory on Samantha and her ethnicity? She's English and certainly has the accent, but she's obviously not an Anglo-Saxon "milk bottle" either. (milk bottle = how Aussies jokingly refer to pale English tourists; the Aussies have something colorful to say about everyone! ) The graphics in ME1 weren't all that great in depicting race and ethnicity. The graphics in ME2 are much better: Jacob looks African American; Anderson looks better than he did in ME1. What of Traynor? Indian? Mixed race?

By contrast, Dr. Chukwas and Zaeed Mousani both look Anglo Saxon and speak with an English (or British Commonwealth) accent, but have names that are definitely not Anglo Saxon. Was that ever explained?

That was pretty good. I also read the "Where are the Citadel's restrooms" article. That cracked me up pretty good.

Fwiw I always assumed Traynor was ethnically Indian/ South Asian. There's a lot of us in England. Her name is definitely Anglo, so she may either be mixed or her family changed their last name for some reason (immigration, integration over time, etc....). Though, to answer your question, the game never explains as far as I can remember.

(Side note, and the example may apply differently here in America, but my family name is actually my dad's given name since where he was from--Tamil Nadu--the family name is written before the given name. Often for other people immigrating here too, the family name may be Anglicized.)

1. For as popular a character as she was, I'm surprised there was no more bio info released on her.  If the game were set in the present, I suppose on would assume English father/Indian or South Asian mother.  But being set 200 years in the future, one could assume both her parents reflect several generations of various groups mixing with the native English.

2. In the US, both Italian and German immigrants would Americanize their names to better assimilate.  For some illiterate immigrants on Ellis Island, their names were changed by government employees who had no idea how to spell their names.  (Fortunately, nothing like that happened to my parents who came from Italy.) 

I still wonder about Dr. Chakwas and Zaeed Massani.  Both look and sound English, but have rather un-English names.

As to how we handle names where the surname comes first, I have an old friend whose parents came from China.  They simply inverted their names, putting the surname after the given name.  "When in Rome..."

That blog has made my day.   I went all the way back to Javik's interview. Amazing - and an Irish chap, too! 

from fishbone76
www.deviantart.com/art/Bird-s-Opening-684443381

I don't know. If Garrus can get a better result adjusting the guns in ME3 that Legion wasn't able to do, I'm sure Sam can find a way to beat Legion

The hell you say!

from fishbone76
www.deviantart.com/art/Queen-s-Gambit-Accepted-28-3-462142566