Liara

Liara T’Soni is borderline the Mass Effect series’ mascot at this point, being the only throughline of every game in the series, including the upcoming fifth one. Part of this is because she is the only character other than James who is guaranteed to survive the events of the trilogy as long as you get a good ending in Mass Effect 3. Because of this, the asari researcher turned galaxy’s most powerful information broker can be a divisive figure for some fans who might consider her to be a “writer’s pet” who’s been given preferential treatment over the years. That’s all valid, but also, Liara’s constant presence in the Mass Effect universe makes her one of the most well-rounded heroes on the Normandy.

She starts off as an awkward introvert who has her world rocked twice over in the course of the first game. By the time you meet her again in Mass Effect 2, she’s notably hardened and angry at the world, and there’s almost no trace of the naive girl you once knew. Unpacking the various traumas she’s endured to become this person takes its own DLC, and Lair of the Shadow Broker puts her transformation into perspective while bringing the woman we knew back to the surface.

In Mass Effect 3, she is Shepard’s rock while being hit with as many life-altering blows and revelations as ever. But she remains vigilant, strong-willed, and unyielding, even after facing hardship that would break a weaker person. Liara wanted to discover worlds that had been lost to history and ended up being at the center of history herself. By the time we see her in the next game, she’ll likely be hundreds of years older and wiser. I’m eager to hear the stories she’ll have to tell.