Upamanyu Biswas
Netflix’s ‘Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft’ dives into the swash-buckling exploits of the titular protagonist, who is called into action after a mysterious figure steals a powerful Chinese artifact from her manor. Subsequently, Lara has to embark on a globe-spanning quest with the weight of the world resting on her shoulders. The show follows in the footsteps of the video game reboot trilogy, diving deeper into Lara’s personal traumas and the crushing guilt she carries around at all times. Meanwhile, the mysteries of the grave Chinese artifact become even more dangerous once she learns the identity of the person hunting them down.
At the end of season 1, Lara undergoes an intense period of personal reflection while also battling to stop the mercenary antagonist from inadvertently ending the world. With aid from Jonah and Zip, the adventurer finds a renewed sense of belief and confidence as she finally tracks down the rogue mercenary and tries to put an end to his antics. However, chaos still manages to escape and threatens to destroy everything and everyone. Their final showdown is only the first step of the conclusion, as she still has to ensure the stones are brought back to their rightful sanctuary! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft Season 1 Plot Recap
Years before her trip to Yamatai in 2013’s survival game ‘Tomb Raider,’ Lara Croft went on an expedition to a hidden tomb known as the House of the Jaguar in Chile. With aid from her father’s trusted friend, Roth, Lara managed to get her hands on the jade box treasure locked inside the tomb and returned home with it. In the present day, a grizzled Lara is stuck in Peru, reflecting on the death of Roth during the Yamatai expedition, for which she blames herself. However, after much coaxing from her friends Jonah, Zip, and Abby, the protagonist returns back home and decides to get rid of all her prized collections over the years, including the ones retrieved by her father and Roth. She is hell-bent on seeing it through as it is the only way she can move ahead in her life.
During the museum auction event at Croft Manor, Lara’s peace and tranquility are further disrupted when a mysterious man with a scarred face steals the jade box she retrieved with Roth years ago. Subsequently, the titular protagonist embarks on a quest to find the treasure once again, going against the wishes of her friend Jonah, who thinks she is too obsessed with her work. After learning that there is another treasure box of a similar kind in China, she attempts to circumvent her enemy by moving one step ahead and trying to get her hands on it. During her stay at a small village, Lara helps free a mythical fox spirit named Daji while also managing to get her hands on the Ruby Box. She later loses it to the scarred man, who follows her to the village. He possesses Jonah using the magic of the Peril Stone.
Although grieving the loss of her best friend, Lara forges ahead and learns the name of the man who is seeking to bring the boxes together, Charles Devereaux. He wants to bring together the rubies hidden inside the box, which are each assigned to the evils of the human spirit, namely Power, Wrath, Guilt, and Betrayal. After various trials and tribulations, Lara manages to get her hands on the remaining stones, only to lose them to Devereaux later, who goes on assembling them into a staff. Meanwhile, the more Peril Stones come under Devereaux’s possession, the more chaos spreads in the world, as untimely storms and weird weather patterns threaten to split the ecosystem. Lara races against time to put an end to Devereaux’s antics and somehow restore balance to everything.
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft Season 1: Why is Devereaux After the Peril Stones?
Season 1 primarily revolves around Lara’s efforts to stop Charles Devereaux from uniting the four Peril Stones into one. The rogue mercenary steals the first from her manor, putting him directly in her crosshairs. However, the protagonist learns that Devereaux’s reasons for possessing the stones are not just built on some selfish need for power but a case of retribution. Turns out, when he was younger, Devereaux’s father was killed by a secret society known as The Light. Subsequently, the mercenary spent years honing his skills and eventually decided to amass power through the Peril Stones to annihilate the Light organization. It is a simple matter of using the mythical powers of the stone to infect the ancient cabal from the inside and wipe them out.
Incidentally, Devereaux sees his backstory as very similar to Lara’s. Just like him, Lara lost her father to Trinity, a secret cabal, and became obsessed with revenge against Trinity for the rest of her life. However, she also tries to warn Devereaux against following a path of vengeance as she believes it resolves none of the underlying issues bubbling under the surface. Instead, she deems her friendships and loyalty to people more important to her. Tragically, her advice is ignored as Devereaux is staunch in his convictions, no matter how astray from the moral path it takes him. He becomes too blinded by his rage as his decision to bring the Peril Stones together threatens the safety and sanctity of the rest of the world and its inhabitants.
How Does Lara Defeat Devereaux? Is He Arrested?
Near the season’s conclusion, Lara and Jonah follow Devereaux to the Azores, where the Light members gather for a secret meeting. There, they run into Camilla Roth and her Interpol agents waiting to take down the Light and Devereaux in one fell swoop. However, the second task proves to be a challenging one as Devereaux manages to unite all four Peril Stones and becomes partially invincible, even taking on a monstrous form with wings. While the rest of the crew retreats, Lara and Camilla engage Devereaux and fight him using their skills. Using various tactics, they manage to slowly chip away the Peril Stones, which have fused into his body. Once Devereaux is stripped of all of them, the Interpol members apprehend him and lead him away.
Although the protagonist manages to subdue the mercenary in the end, their final showdown is not without complications, as Lara gets temporarily affected by the Wrath Stone’s power. Her aggression is diverted towards Camilla instead, while Devereaux takes the chance to recuperate. However, the protagonist proves to be a tough nut to crack as she uses her willpower to block its influence on her psyche. It shocks Devereaux that she manages to throw it off so easily. When Devereaux later asks her how she did it, she explains that the artifacts are not evil, but how one uses them makes them a destructive power. The final fight is a key indicator for Lara that she is not weak, as Devereaux pointed out earlier, and it fills her with a sense of belief.
Do Lara and Jonah Return the Peril Stones?
Having defeated the rogue mercenary, Lara and Jonah’s work is still incomplete as destructive weather patterns continue to rage around the globe. The pair collects the Peril Stones and heads for China, specifically Kunlun Mountain, where the Goddess Nu’wa created the Stones in the first place. Upon arriving in the mythical land, Lara and Jonah have to navigate a series of challenges to get to the peak of the mountain. Halfway to their destination, Lara is separated from Jonah as the latter gets involved in a fight with a massive bear. He urges her to push ahead as he can deal with the bear on his own. Although hesitant, she follows his advice and gets to the top, slotting the Peril Stones into four different altars. The spirit of the Goddess Nu’wa appears before her and makes the stones disappear, and the temple crumbles around her.
Soon after delivering the Stones, Earth’s weather returns to normal. Meanwhile, Lara reunites with Jonah, who seems fine after his altercation with the bear. On their way out of the sacred place, the pair run into a dinosaur, which forces Lara to show off her newly acquired double pistols. The fight ends with her delivering the killing blow with Jonah’s shotgun. With the dinosaur dead, the pair finally save the day and their skins. Months later, the protagonist attends Jonah and Abby’s marriage wedding, seemingly embracing ordinary citizen life with some degree of unease. Although everything seems alright, an unexpected phone call from Sam surprises Lara as she has not heard from her friend in ages.
Is Sam Missing?
Season 1 ends with a cliffhanger as Lara learns from Sam’s phone call that something has gone awry with her longtime friend and partner. She leaves Jonah’s wedding before its conclusion, suspecting some form of foul play involving Sam’s presence. After arriving at her apartment, Lara discovers that the front door is unlocked, and the whole room is turned upside down. There are clear signs of the place being ransacked, and knowing that Sam was involved in some mission at the time, Lara suspects that there is more to her story than meets the eye. Therefore, it is highly likely that her friend’s whereabouts will be the primary plot point in the following season of ‘Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft.’ And knowing Sam and Lara’s history from the video game reboot, it should be an intriguing watch.
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