Samantha Fairbanks (Video Game)

"No matter what happens... Thank you. I owe you my life. Sorry it took me so long to say it."

- Samantha thanking Michonne.

Samantha Fairbanks, better known as Sam, is a main character who appears in Telltale Games' The Walking Dead: Michonne. She is introduced as the sister of Greg. Having previously stolen supplies from the colony of Monroe, Samantha plays a significant role in the primary conflict of the series, serving as the tritagonist of the game.

Character
Throughout the series, Sam has shown herself to be a determined, boldly audacious and ultimately kindhearted and selfless survivor who has been tasked with taking care of her younger brothers and holding her family together during the apocalypse.

After Michonne firsts meets Sam in the aftermaths of the ferry massacre, she is initially hostile, guarded and seemingly selfish, allowing Michonne and Pete to be implicated in she and Greg's theft and partially shifting the blame to them. She is mentioned by Norma to be a liar and a thief who has previously stolen from the colony. She is also difficult and headstrong, refusing to comply and seemingly worsening the situation. In addition, if Michonne had previously treated her badly, Sam will not be helpful when Michonne hallucinates her daughters and will instead react negatively.

However, as the series progresses, she gradually becomes more malleable and faithful after Michonne saves her life and helps her escape Monroe, which leads Sam to take a bullet for Michonne. Ultimately, she refuses to allow Michonne to perish in the fire with the hallucinations of her daughters, which ultimately costs her her life (Determinant) if Michonne lingers in the house.

She holds her family together through assuming the role of a caretaker towards her little brothers following their mother's suicide and by going on supply runs despite the risk, which her father disagrees with.

Her disposition to be argumentative is mentioned when she is said to have bullied Paige when they were younger but that they ultimately became friends. It is also notable in that she kills Zachary in retribution despite the fact that it was out of panic and not intentional that he killed Greg and the fact that she is insistent that Randall be killed despite his value as a bargaining chip, both of which seem like illogical and impulsive decisions in the circumstances.

Despite this, she has not lost her civility or her hopes to maintain elements of pre-apocalypse life, such as her family's home and maintaining the tradition of funerals. This can also lead her to occasionally seem argumentative, irrational or unreasonable as she argues to remain in the family home despite Norma approaching and to bury her father's body despite her wounded arm and the dangers of remaining outside, but is ultimately Sam's way of accepting the world as it is and incorporating ambition and aspiration into her life through the ideal of a return to normalcy or preserving the memory of her deceased family members, even if impossible.

Ultimately, Sam can be seen as a person who may seem to be brash, contentious and selfish, but has justification and reasoning behind her actions and motivations, which are almost always centred around the goal of keeping herself, her family and those she cares about safe from harm, making her a selfless and bold person in times of hardship.

Chesapeake Bay, Virginia
Samantha was born on August 1st, 1983, and lived in the house that she took Michonne and Pete to, with her family and Paige. As a kid, she used to pick on Paige but later became good friends with her she spent most her time hanging with her. She also travelled around the world with her mother to places like France, Brazil, Russia, and Australia.

Monroe
Samantha lived with her family in her father's house during the outbreak and were able to fortify the home in order to live there and be safe, among her family was Sam's childhood friend Paige.

During the outbreak, her mother decided to commit suicide due to a heart condition and her reluctance to watch her children and husband suffer and be tasked with dealing with her eventual reanimation. She instead opted to end it despite Sam's attempts to convince her mother of the importance of living out one's life. This left Sam and her family in depression and greatly affected them. Sam and her father buried her mother's body outside the house and tried to give her a funeral as best as they could, and as they prepared a funeral it began to snow.

At some point during the outbreak, Sam and her family were running low on supplies and so she decided to go out looking for supplies. She eventually came across Monroe (back when it was of a couple of boats anchored to a pier) and found a duffel bag of supplies laying around and decided to take it upon herself by stealing the supplies as she knew it would help her family, before she could leave with the bag she was caught by Monroe residents. According to Norma, Sam lied numerous times to her (likely because she was trying to cover up where she lived so they wouldn't know where to find her) but told her current situation to her and so Norma believed that Sam deserved a second chance and took pity upon Sam by letting her go as well as giving her food and medicine.

Eventually Sam's family became desperate for more supplies so Sam went to Monroe again and found another duffel bag (the same one that Norma gave her) filled with weapons, this time she was successful in taking the supplies and brought them home without anyone of Monroe catching her. During this run, Sam claims to have seen Monroe residents holding up people at The Mobjack ferry and watched helplessly as Randall (Norma's brother) executed everyone including the children.

"In Too Deep"
When Pete hears a woman's voice on the radio, he believes that the voice is Vanessa's, a member of Pete's group who was lost at sea alongside her husband, Rashid: the one Pete was trying to regain contact with. Oak, a member of his crew, expresses his doubts over whether it is Vanessa and Rashid. Despite the fact that it might not be Vanessa, Pete decides to find the woman. Michonne attempts to communicate with the woman through the ship's radio.

Sam goes go to the Mobjack ferry in order to find and use a radio so she could somehow get in contact with some survivors and possibly get some supplies, she decided to bring her brother Greg. Upon getting to the Mobjack she uses the radio which gets through to Michonne and Pete radio. Same and Greg find another Monroe duffel bag filled with enough supplies to keep her family going, when trying to leave with the bag she and her brother are trapped by the monroe residents Randall, Zachary, Gabby and Cam and attempt to hide and escape with the bag.

Sam eventually hears her brother shooting and goes out to check on him where she find Michonne and Pete who are in the area in response to the radio signal she sent out as well as trying to find supplies in order to fix their boat. Sam then tells the two to leave and duffel bag belongs to her and her brother. Michonne tries to calm them, however several zombies invade the room, now with the group fighting against them. After Michonne saves Greg, Sam picks up the duffel bag and runs towards the door. Michonne can try to catch the bag, but Gabby appears and recognizes Sam for stealing the supplies amid Michonne and Pete's confusion and calls Randall and the rest over. Michonne refuses to admit she knows the siblings. Randall's armed group takes everyone to a community of survivors near the coast.

They imprison Sam and Michonne in an isolated room on the ship while Greg and Pete are taken elsewhere. Sam says that Randall was responsible for the massacre on the ferry. Whilst looking for a way to untie their hands, the two come up with a plan to escape. If Michonne disagrees with the plan, Randall enters the room and takes Michonne to Norma. If Michonne does agree with the plan, Randall enters the room and Michonne unsuccessfully tries to fight him, but Sam is knocked out and Randall still takes Michonne to Norma.

Later on, Michonne and Sam try to talk Zachary down from Randall's provocation. Zachary points the gun at Sam and Randall orders him to take action, however Zachary shoots Greg in the chest, killing him. Soon after, Sam pins a newly reanimated Greg to the floor and Michonne kills him.

Soon after, Zachary re-enters the room to see Greg's corpse on the floor. Sam, now provoked, takes Zachary's gun and points it at him. Michonne now has the option to restrain Sam or let her shoot Zachary.

"Give No Shelter"
Samantha appears on the ground, tackled by Michonne. Or standing beside Michonne above Zachary's body. After Michonne/Zachary explain to her that they need to escape Monroe, Sam will hastily agree.

If you saved Zachary

Sam will tell Michonne that she is grateful that Michonne stopped her from shotting him, and killing him wasn't the way to avenge Greg.

If you allowed Sam to shoot Zachary

Sam will be shocked, and will tell Michonne that she regrets shooting him.

After escaping Monroe, Pete, Michonne, and Sam steal a boat and drive to the shore, where a small herd of walkers abushes them. Michonne manages to grab two and uses them to go through the herd. Sam tells Pete and Michonne that they can go to her house, and leads them through the forest towards it. However, Randall shows up with a small group and begins shooting the walkers, including Michonne's captured ones. Sam then leads Michonne and Pete into the forest.

After escaping Randall, Sam brings Pete and Michonne to a fallen radio tower, which she explains is the shortcut to her house. She says that she and Greg went up one at a time, but quickly says that there isn't time to do that, and the three of them have to go up all at once.

The three begin to scale the tower, but Randall's group manages to catch up to them, and begins shooting at Michonne. Sam reaches out to help her, but is shot above her breast by Randall, and almost loses her grip. Sam then jumps behind Michonne from the falling tower, and is visibly bleeding from her wound.

After the tower falls, Sam collapses to the ground, and Michonne takes Sam's shirt off to wrap around the wound. After doing so, Michonne helps Sam to her feet and leans Sam on her shoulder.

In the woods, Sam tells Michonne and Pete that her house was just up ahead, clearly exhausted and holding her wound. After Michonne kills a lone walker, Sam tells Michonne and Pete that she found a boat tied to a pier, which had supplies sitting out. When she tried to take them, Norma caught her, and let her go. Some time later, Sam explains that she and Greg stole from Monroe again, and thought she thought hiding the stolen items on the ferry was a good idea, which Greg was against the idea. Sam then faints from exhaustion.

Michonne and Pete bring her to her house, where Michonne brings her in and fixes her wound. After Michonne puts vodka on the wound, Sam wakes up, and screams and struggles as Michonne tries to help her. When Michonne is about to cauterize the wound, Sam stares at Michonne, but passes out when the wound is almost cauterized.

She can be heard when Michonne and Paige are talking, asking for Greg.

After Michonne, Pete, and Paige capture Randall, Sam comes in with James and is shocked to see Randall. When Randall reveals that John is dead, she asks Michonne if it's true. Afterwards, she hugs James tightly, and demands that Randall is killed. She then leaves with James and is not seen for the rest of the episode.

"What We Deserve"
Sam appears in the episode, arguing with Michonne over what they should do when Norma arrives. She assists in gagging an alive/walker Randall (Determinant) and has a brown bag tied over his head to hide his face when Norma comes. If he's a walker, he tries to bite Sam but Michonne binds his arms behind his back and ties a brown bag over his head to feign to Norma that he's alive later. (Determinant)

Sam goes outside to bury her father with or without Michonne's assistance. (Determinant) She removes her sling on her arm, telling Michonne to collect a duffel bag which contains several weapons and ammunition the group can arm themselves with. She later holds a funeral for her father with her brothers.

A few hours later, Norma appears outside the house. She talks with Michonne about a trade offer, revealing Pete (Determinant) and the rest of her friends as well. She proposes they trade, Randall for her friends. As a way of showing she is genuine, she frees Pete straight away or fires a flare to reveal the crew to Michonne. (Determinant) Sam brings Randall to the gate, ensuring he stays out of sight until Michonne tells her otherwise.

The two parties debate the trade, Michonne having Sam show a bag covered Randall to show/feign he's alive. (Determinant) As they talk, Jonas or Gabby (Determinant) express anger and a desire for retribution for what happened at Monroe. Norma tries to calm them to no avail; they kill one of the prisoners, creating a panic in the debate. Norma apologises for their actions, trying to calm the situation. However, Walkers heard the gunshot and begin to approach the group. Sam pushes Randall forward, fixing her gun on his head as she threatens to kill him, believing she can no longer trust Norma. As they talk, Michonne can optionally shoot Randall in the leg to panic Norma, the man screaming if he isn't a walker. (Determinant) The exchange can take various forms:

Randall is alive, Michonne makes the trade: Michonne removes the bag off of Randall, enraging Norma upon seeing how heavily beaten he is. He doesn't speak, but rather glares at Michonne. Regardless, Norma allows Oak and Siddiq to be freed, the pair hiding behind the gate. Randall is shoved to Norma, the women cutting him free of his bindings as more Walkers appear. Once freed, Randall charges at Michonne and tackles her. They struggle the man managing to grab her neck and begin choking her. In self defence, Michonne or Sam (Determinant) kills him. Norma is deeply angered, ordering her group to attack them.

Randall is a Walker, Michonne makes the trade: Michonne leaves the bag on Randall's head, shoving him towards Norma. Norma allows Oak and Saddiq to be returned. As she removes the bag from Randall's head, she realises he is a walker. She puts him down, quickly ordering her group to attack Michonne and the others.

Randall is a Walker/alive, Michonne does not make the trade: Due to the growing tensions, Michonne calls the trade off. Angered, Norma shoots Oak in the stomach, causing Pete to instinctively shoot Jonas dead. In the commotion, Randall tries to break free from Sam or is thrown forward (Determinant), promptly shot dead by her. Norma goes to attack but is kicked down by Oak. Saddiq makes it inside as Norma orders her group attack.

Randall is a Walker/alive, Michonne signals Paige: Michonne seizes the moment, signalling Paige to kill Norma. She takes a shot, successfully hitting Norma in the shoulder. Her companions are shocked at the attempted killing, shooting at the group and killing Oak in the process. The scene now plays out as if the player verbally refused to trade, with Randall being shot dead by Sam.

Norma and her group invade the house, Sam fleeing to the house with the others. Once inside, she questions Paige about her younger brothers. Upon learning they are upstairs, she begins to search for them as the house is set ablaze. She eventually finds them with Michonne, thankful they are alive. The group quickly flee so on a bedroom, Sam helping her brother's out as Michonne shuts the door, blocking the coming fire. However, she finds Michonne in a trance state. She approaches her, begging her to get out:

If Michonne leaves her children: Michonne and Sam will get out of the house successfully. After that, all the survived characters walk their way towards a pier, where the crew have docked The Companion properly. The characters then have conversations to each other, which reveal that crews planned to offer the Fairbanks a ride to the Oceanside colony and to drop them off there.

If Michonne stays with her children: Sam will try to get Michonne out of the house and pushes her from the window, after she pushes Michonne out, the half-burnt roof collapse beneath her, resulting her to fall into the burning house and being burnt to death.

Killed By
If Michonne decides to stay with her daughters in "What We Deserve", Sam will push Michonne out the window, causing her to be left in the house, falling and burning to death in a fire started by the outraged Monroe colonists.
 * Monroe colonists
 * Norma (Indirectly Caused)
 * Gabby (Possible Indirectly Caused, Determinant)
 * Michonne (Caused)
 * Herself (Indirectly Caused)

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Samantha has killed:
 * Greg (Zombified, Caused)
 * Zachary (Determinant)
 * Cam (Indirectly Caused)
 * Berto (Indirectly Caused, Determinant)
 * Randall (Alive or Zombified, Determinant)
 * Possible a few members of Monroe
 * Herself (Indirectly caused)
 * Numerous counts of zombies.

Non-Canon Deaths
If Michonne fails to complete certain tasks, it is possible for Samantha to be killed. These deaths are considered non-canon, and result in a game over. Michonne will then re-spawn and be allowed to try again. Below is a pictorial list of when Samantha can be killed.

Michonne Mini-Series
"In Too Deep"

Relationships
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Greg
"Please hang on."

- Sam's final words to Greg before he's dies. Samantha is very close to her brother and goes on supply runs with him. She will protect him at all costs. When he dies, she is both devastated and enraged, and kills/attempts to kill Zachary (Determinant).

Michonne
"And thank you... for everything. I don't known if we would've made it out of there without you. You found my brothers. You took care of Norma.. We own you a lot."

- Sam to Michonne about her help (Determinant)

Mistrusting of Michonne, Samantha and Michonne initially had a rocky relationship. They were, in ways, forced to cooperate with each other when they were kidnapped and held captive in Monroe.

Michonne helped Samantha escape Monroe, and Samantha was very grateful. She lead Michonne back to her house for safety. When she was shot, Michonne desperately tried to save Samantha. When she reached her house, she took charge of the situation, and despite Samantha's agony, saved her life.

Though initially having a poor relationship, Michonne and Samantha have a trusting relationship of each other and are friends.

Zachary
"You're not leaving this room, you son of a bitch."

- Sam to Zachary about Greg's death.

As a member of the Monroe community, Samantha was hostile towards Zachary. When Zachary shoots Greg, Samantha is enraged and, depending on the player's choices, either kills or attempts to kill Zachary. When Samantha calms down, she shows regret for her actions. Samantha will thank Michonne for stopping her killing Zachary after seeing him embrace with Jonas. If she killed Zachary Samantha is sad and apologizes to Jonas.

Randall
"If he killed my dad (...) Then why isn't this son of bitch dead?"

- Sam to Michonne about Randall's life.

Samantha hates Randall very much. She sees him as a hostile and horrible man. Her hate for him is fuelled when he indirectly causes the death of her brother and kills her father.

Norma
"Norma (...) I (...) I never should have pushed her."

- Sam to Michonne and Pete about regretting crossing Norma.

When Samantha and Greg were first caught stealing from Monroe, Norma released them, saying she pitied her. This shows Norma either has some understanding about her, or she meant it sarcastically, and in slight. When Samantha and Greg are caught again, Norma is not so kind. She tells Michonne that Samantha is a born liar, and has an obvious distaste to Samantha. During the negotiation at the Fairbanks residence's gate, Samantha can determinantly shoot Norma, wounding her shoulder while everyone else is occupied at clearing the walkers in the area. This shows that, despite Norma's diplomacy and forgiveness, the young woman still had a grudge against her. This aspect is further reinforced by the fact that Samantha later thanks Michonne for taking care of Norma, and doesn't seem disturbed by her method of death—arm amputated and then devored, either alive or lifeless.

Paige
"Paige, if anything goes wrong, I need you to take care of James and Alex"

- Sam to Paige about her brothers

When Samantha was shot, Paige was shocked and tried everything she could to help her after she help Samantha she later try to get her relax and watch her as she rest's.. Sam has great trust in Paige, asking her to look after her brothers if anything happens to her. Sam and Paige argue about what to do before Norma arrives. If Sam dies Paige is upset. From their interactions, they are shown to be have a sisterly relationship.

John
"Dad was a lawyer(...) so l never won any arguments with him."

- Sam to Michonne about her father.

John is Samantha's father, he shows great worry about her gun shot wound. Samantha is angry about learning about her father's death at the heands of Randall wanting him dead for what he did. Sam will later bury her father next to her mother and will have a funeral for him.

Alex
"Just go upstairs with your brother, okay? I need you to hide until I come get you."

- Sam to Alex about hiding from Norma.

Alex is Samantha's little brother. He even shows great worry about his sister's gun shot wound. Sam wanted Alex to be there for there father's funeral. When Norma arrives she tells him to go hide with James.When the house is on a fire Sam searches for him and his joyful that he's okay. If Sam dies Alex is upset.

James
"Stay together. No matter want."

- Sam to James about staying with Alex

James is Samantha's little brother. He shows great worry about his sister's gun shot wound, he goes to get first-aid and help Michonne to keep with Samantha wound. After learning about their father's death they embrace. When Norma arrives she tells him to go hide with Alex. When the house is on a fire Sam searches for him and is joyful that he's okay. If Sam dies James is upset.

Pete
"Thanks"

- Sam to Pete about his help (Determinant)

Along with Michonne, Samantha didn't trust him at first. Samantha later helps Michonne in rescuing Pete from Norma. When Pete tries to leave to talk to Monroe, Samantha will tell him not to saying they hurt him. Pete is seeing holding down Samantha when Michonne treats her wound. Pete offers to take Sam and her family to Oceanside in which Sam is thankful for. If Sam dies Pete is upset and feels bad for her family with everything that happens to them

Jonas
"I'm sorry."

- Sam to Jonas about killing Zachary (Determinant)

Samantha is shown to be sad when Jonas hugs Zachary or cries over Zachary's dead body. If Zachary is killed, she will apologize to Jonas feeling horrible for killing his boyfriend. If Zachary is alive, Samantha will show sadness feeling horrible but glad she didn't kill Zachary.

Sophia
"When she (...) did it (...) I'd never seen Sam so angry."

- Paige to Michonne about Sam's anger over her mothers death.

Sophia was Samantha's mother, Samantha was angry about her mother killing herself. Sam laters burys her father next to Sophia. Sophia was a reason why Sam different want to leave.}}

Michonne Mini-Series

 * "In Too Deep"
 * "Give No Shelter"
 * "What We Deserve"

Trivia

 * Samantha and Greg are the first Native-American characters to appear in the entire Walking Dead game universe.
 * Judging from their geographic location and the Wendigo folklore mentioned by Alex, the Fairbanks can be determined as Algonquian people.
 * Samantha is the only Fairbanks family member to have a determinant status.
 * Sam is one of the thirteen characters with a confirmed age. The others are Sarah, Anna Correa, Luke, Clementine, Lee, Duck, Alvin, Alvin Jr., Greg, Paige, James and Alex. Of them, Samantha is the only one with a confirmed birth date, August 1, 1983.
 * Samantha and Oak are the only determinant characters with a dead or alive status in the Michonne series.
 * If Samantha survives, she later becomes a member of the Oceanside.