Amanda Young is a fictional character and an antagonist of the Saw franchise. She first appeared in Saw (2004) as a victim to one of serial killer Jigsaw's traps, in which she was portrayed by Shawnee Smith. The character's role was expanded in the following films, in which she served as an apprentice to Jigsaw, aiming to succeed him as the new Jigsaw. Created by James Wan and Leigh Whannell, Amanda has appeared in five of ten films in the series. The character has subsequently been represented in various other media, including video games and comic books.
The character has primarily been an antagonist in the films, in which she typically crafted inescapable traps for Jigsaw's victims. Amanda has been heavily covered through both analysis and critical evaluation throughout the years. For her role as the character, Shawnee Smith has garnered a large positive reception, and led to her being acknowledged as a "scream queen" by both the fanbase and critics alike.
Fictional character biography
Saw
Amanda's first appearance was as a minor character in the 2004 film Saw. She was the only known survivor of the Jigsaw Killer (John Kramer), a man who abducts people he sees as unappreciative of their lives and forces them into death traps. Her trap is depicted in a flashback while it is described to police and Dr. Lawrence Gordon: she wakes up with a device attached to her head set to wrench her jaws apart; the device is described as a "reverse bear trap". The key is in the stomach of her "dead cellmate", who has actually been heavily sedated; she nevertheless kills him and frees herself moments before the device springs open.
Detective David Tapp comments that Amanda was targeted by Jigsaw for that game because she was a drug addict. At the end of the scene, she remarks that Jigsaw helped her.
Saw II
It is revealed in Saw II that Amanda started using heroin in jail. She was sentenced to prison after being framed by Detective Eric Matthews for a crime she did not commit. She appears in most of the film as one of the subjects John traps in the nerve gas house along with several other people who Eric had framed, as well as the detective's son, Daniel. As the last surviving woman in the nerve gas house, it seems that her character is filling the role of a final girl of the film, yet this is a red herring. In a twist ending, it is revealed that Amanda is working with John, seeing him as a father figure and agreeing to become his apprentice. Amanda claims that the test she experienced in the first film ultimately saved her life, and this is what caused her to join him. She survives the nerve gas house, saved from the violent victim Xavier by Daniel, and upon the arrival of Eric Matthews she abducts him as her first "test subject" and rescues John from his custody. Amanda expresses vengeful tendencies toward Eric as she tells him that the "tables have turned" and that she will make him experience what it is like to be imprisoned, as she traps him in a bathroom to rot. At the end of the film, Amanda claims that she intends to carry on John's work after he dies.
The Scott Tibbs Documentary
Amanda has a brief appearance in the short film The Scott Tibbs Documentary which is available on the Special Edition DVD of Saw II. In the short film, she is being harassed by a news reporter who wants information on her experience when she was captured by Jigsaw. In response, Amanda punches the reporter in the face and storms off.
Saw III
Saw III specifies that Amanda had been working with John since the first film, that she kidnapped one of the film's protagonists, Adam Stanheight, and that she had killed him out of guilt shortly after said film. Flashbacks in Saw III also clarify that Eric had escaped from his trap, and engaged in a vicious fight with Amanda for the whereabouts of his son. Amanda succeeded in defeating him, and left Eric for dead.