Miranda Lawson

"I settle for nothing but the best"

- Miranda Lawson

Miranda Lawson is one of the many characters in the video game Mass Effect 2 and its sequel, Mass Effect 3. She is a genetically engineered human specimen created by the wealthy business tyrant Henry Lawson, until she ran away from him and began working for Cerberus.

She is voiced by Yvonne Strahovski.

Background
Miranda was "created" by her arrogant father Henry Lawson, who in Miranda's own words did not want a daughter but rather a dynasty. Abused and pressured by her father constantly, Miranda was left with deep self-loathing and feelings of inadequacy, worsened by the knowledge that her father had murdered her older siblings who had failed to meet his expectations.

When Henry Lawson made another creation named Oriana, Miranda refused to allow him to torture her as he had her, and so she ran away from home with Oriana in tow. Needing protection for both herself and her sister, Miranda was drawn into Cerberus, and under the Illusive Man's influence came to believe that Cerberus was a benevolent if not also somewhat ethically sketchy organization, completely unaware of the atrocities Cerberus commits regularly. Under the false impression that they are helping humanity, Miranda rapidly ascended the ranks and soon became one of the Illusive Man's top agents.

Mass Effect 2
After the Normandy SR1 unit is destroyed, and Commander Shepard is taken out of action, Cerberaus begins construction on his body to bring him/her back. This was the Lazarus Project, which Miranda was head of. She becomes a member of the second party, and a possible romance option for a male Shepard.

For her loyalty mission Shepard must help her save her sister Oriana from Eclipse mercenaries seeking to return to her to her father. After it is concluded Shepard can convince Miranda to better connect with her sister, which she decides to do.

Mass Effect 3
In Mass Effect 3 (if she survives the suicide mission in Mass Effect 2) Miranda is not a crewmate or central character, but makes an appearance. Shepard comes in contact several times, and later she's the focus of a mission. Her father Henry Lawson works with Cerberaus (she's quit her position from Cerberaus by now) and is torturing humans and turning them into husks. Appalled by her father's actions, Miranda goes out of her way to warn and save as many people as she can, risking her life in the process when she comes under attack from Kai Leng.

Commander Shepard may or may not save her at this point, and if she survives, she'll help the fight to take back Earth, and can be contacted before the final assault. If she is in a romance with Shepard she expresses doubt that Shepard will come back alive, but he assures her that he will. Miranda begs Shepard to finish the fight and then find her.

Personality
"Miranda: I may not have believed it before, but I don't have what you do. That fire that makes someone willing to follow you into hell itself. My father got me the best genes money could buy. Guess that wasn't enough. Shepard: You always bring up your genetic tailoring. It really bothers you. Miranda: This is what I am, Shepard. I can't hide it. The intelligence, the looks, even the biotics. He paid for all of that. Every one of your accomplishments is due to your skill. The only things I can take credit for are my mistakes."

- Miranda to Shepard, lamenting over the nature of her existence

When first introduced, Miranda is shown to be very cold and uncaring, as shown by her ruthless execution of Wilson for his betrayal and believing everyone except Shepard to be expendable. She is also shown to be quite arrogant; when Jacob Taylor questions her actions, she claims that she is never wrong and that he should have learned that by then. However, this is shown not be a complete boast as the Illusive Man also states that she isn't usually wrong. She is shown to be very cautious about Shepard at first, worrying that he/she may become a liability to Cerberus's cause.

However, during her loyalty mission, her true personality is revealed; that of a deeply self-loathing individual whose years of abuse by her father as well as the nature of her existence have left her feeling that she does not deserve credit for any of her accomplishments. Her frosty personality is simply a façade to hide her insecurities. She is also deeply fond and protective of her genetically identical little sister Oriana, and has gone to great lengths to keep her safe, even going so far as to avoid revealing to her that she exists. Notably, if Shepard persuades her to get closer to her sister, she is so emotionally affected that she is shown to be crying.

Though not terribly overt, Miranda occasionally displays signs of a dry wit, particularly if flirting with Shepard during a romance. She enjoys the time she spends with the Commander regardless of whether or not a romance is occurring, provided Shepard remains polite and understanding when speaking to her.

Despite being a member of Cerberus for most of Mass Effect 2, Miranda is atypical of the average Cerberus member, being pro-human as opposed to outright xenophobic and in fact laments how so many join Cerberus for no other reason than xenophobia. She also respects the Salarian Mordin Solus and admires the accomplishments of the Asari. She also displays very clear moral standards multiple times, not the least of which is her objection to the Illusive Man's plan of keeping the Collector Base intact (a base that had liquefied millions of humans alive). Should Shepard destroy the Collector Base, Miranda applauds the commander's decision, and also outright resigns from Cerberus in response to the Illusive Man's ordering her to stop Shepard.

During the Lazarus Project, Miranda wished to put a control chip in Shepard's brain to ensure that he/she wouldn't betray Cerberus, before being stopped by the Illusive Man. Afterwards, she feels deep remorse as she believes that wanting something to control made her like her father, something she risked her life to prevent Oriana from becoming. She still feels regretful even when the Reapers arrive in 2186, when she finally tells Shepard how she feels. When assured by Paragon-Shepard that she can't keep beating herself up over the past, she replies 'I usually don't, but this was important', showing truly how sorry she is.