Miranda is one of Mass Effect 2's most memorable characters, and many fans of the franchise were glad to see her again in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. Shepard is introduced to Miranda as the director of the Lazarus Project, the mysterious operation that brought Shepard back from the dead after the destruction of the Normandy SR-1 by the Collectors.
Miranda has one of the most interesting arcs of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. Here's a breakdown of her best moments in the original trilogy, and why they work so well.
Killing Wilson in Mass Effect 2
Although Miranda is briefly seen when Shepard wakes up during the Lazarus Project and guides the Commander over the intercom while escaping from the Cerberus base at the start of the game, her true character-establishing moment is killing Wilson. Wilson is the medical officer who helped bring Shepard back, but when the base suddenly comes under attack by its own rogue mechs, Shepard is forced to escape, fighting alongside both Wilson and Cerberus agent Jacob Taylor along the way. When the player first comes across Wilson, he's injured, and the player uses medi-gel to help get him back on his feet.
As soon as the trio finds Miranda Lawson, however, she shoots Wilson dead without saying a word. When Jacob, horrified, asks what Miranda has done, she simply responds with "my job. Wilson betrayed us all." Miranda suspects that Wilson was behind sabotaging the mechs. When Shepard and Jacob ask how she can be sure, she says "I'm never wrong."
It's a great introduction to her confidence—or at least, her projection of confidence—and the ruthlessness of both Miranda and Cerberus as a whole. Shepard only gets confirmation that Miranda was right far, far later in Mass Effect 2. During the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC, the player can find files showing that Wilson was a Shadow Broker agent. The Shadow Broker was the first to recover Shepard's corpse before Liara stole it back and gave Shepard's body to Cerberus, and the Broker likely wanted Wilson to take revenge.
Miranda's Sister, Oriana Lawson
Before beginning Miranda's loyalty mission she will explain to Shepard that she is a genetically engineered clone made using the basis of her rich, egotistical father's DNA, and designed to be "perfect." This is what makes Miranda asking Shepard for help saving her sister such an interesting turning point for her character: "Shepard, I find myself in the unpleasant position of asking for your help."
Her struggle to accept that there's anything that could be out of her control puts her potentially unsympathetic genetic "perfection" in a sympathetic light. In this Mass Effect 2 scene, she explains that she has a genetically identical sister who her father also created as she was growing up. She asks Shepard for help giving her sister a "normal life," hinting at her own belief that she'll never have one.
The scene also works a lot better in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. In the original release, lines like "I need to relocate my sister's family before it's too late," ended with cuts to ridiculously gratuitous shots of Miranda's behind that stands out as both inappropriate for the subject matter of the scene and misogynist in comparison to the treatment of the game's other companions. Mass Effect: Legendary Edition removed these shots, giving this moment the dramatic weight it deserved, allowing it to be a moment about Miranda revealing part of her inner life for the first time, not her body.
After Shepard helps save her sister, Miranda says that "she has what I want I wanted her to have—a normal life, and the freedom to choose her own path." It's one of Miranda Lawson's best quotes. Although she doesn't say it directly, it's implied Miranda believes she'll never have either. Her desire to free a genetic copy of herself from the constraints of her own life is a fascinating part of her arc.
Miranda's Mistakes
Tali, Garrus, Wrex, and Liara are among the most beloved Mass Effect characters, but this is not the case with Miranda at first, and BioWare intentionally makes her seem aloof, cold, and occasionally brutal throughout much of Mass Effect 2. This makes one of her lines stand out. After her loyalty mission is complete, Miranda gives another interesting look into her psyche: "Everyone one of your accomplishments is due to your skill. The only things I can take credit for are my mistakes." It's a great line that reveals the burden she carries and the critical way she views herself despite her ego.
Miranda And Jack's Feud in Mass Effect 2
Miranda and Jack's argument in Mass Effect 2 is one of the key times Shepard has to resolve a conflict aboard the Normandy, but it's their argument while drinking during the Citadel DLC that delivers some of the pairs' best lines in the series. Highlights include Jack calling Miranda a "spoiled rich girl cheerleader" and a "test-tube clone princess" while Miranda retorts that she "couldn't possibly think of anything worse to do to [Jack] than that haircut."
It's refreshing to see that they still don't get along even as the Reapers are destroying the galaxy. It just goes to show how well the characters were designed to complement one another in the story. Both have been victimized, both treated light scientific experiments, and both have powers and expectations they don't know if they can live up to. Despite all this, this moment in the final Citadel DLC shows that they're still different enough that it's very unlikely they'll ever become friends, even if the scene hints at some level of reconciliation.
The moment is funny, but it's also a testament to just how well their relationship is written, and how Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 manage to keep them at each others' throats making either one totally unsympathetic. Miranda's seemingly small jab that Jack considers herself a "victim," is also revealing. It shows that really, Miranda also considers herself a victim, and for good reason, but resents Jack for not pushing it down in the same way she does.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.