Ever since the announcement of SAW X, fans have eagerly awaited the return of the original Jigsaw killer, John Kramer—not just as a cameo or as a flashback, but as a living character who is actively participating in and being changed by the movie he is in. But there’s another character that longtime fans have been waiting to see since her return was announced: Amanda Young.
**Spoilers for SAW X ahead**
Who is Amanda Young?
Played by Shawnee Smith, Amanda Young was one of Jigsaw’s first publicly known survivors. John Kramer targeted her for several reasons, the main one being her drug addiction. After she survived, John Kramer came after her again—not to punish her, but to mentor her.
Eventually, Amanda became one of Jigsaw’s first known apprentices, helping him orchestrate most of the traps shown in SAW I-III. She also participated in some games meant to lead people toward the way out and ensured the games went as planned.
Unfortunately, she was ultimately killed as part of the test of SAW III, a death which most Amanda lovers agree came too soon. Thankfully, however, SAW X took it upon itself to revisit some of the missteps of the later SAW films, and it has brought Amanda back to the big screen.
Amanda as a victim
Amanda Young is a ruthless killer—but if she likes you, she might help you survive Jigsaw’s games. It is that softer side of her that gets explored in SAW X.
As a former drug addict, Amanda knows the lengths addicts will go to get their fix. As such, she is sympathetic to Gabriela (Renata Vaca) in SAW X, who participated in scamming John Kramer to get money for drugs. Amanda even stands up to her mentor over the issue, insisting that the fake anesthesiologist goes before Gabriela to give her more time to mentally prepare.
When Gabriela survives her test, Amanda appears willing to help her get medical attention for her wounds, even if that means risking being identified by the police. However, when Doctor Pederson (Synnøve Macody Lund) gains the upper hand over Jigsaw and Amanda, she kills Gabriela, much to Amanda’s dismay. Arguably, this reflects the death of Amanda’s optimism, showing how she will ultimately go on to become a ruthless killer with no empathy for her victims.
Amanda as a killer
At the same time, SAW X emphasizes Amanda’s brand of ruthlessness, with her taking a certain amount of delight in the pain she inflicts on the test subjects. She also insists that some people are not worthy of redemption, clashing with Jigsaw multiple times over this point, insisting that the doctor in charge of the scam doesn’t deserve a chance at redemption. This was one of the points of conflict that led to the dissolution of her and Jigsaw’s relationship, with Amanda making inescapable traps and Jigsaw allowing her to be killed after she shot a test subject who succeeded.
Amanda as an apprentice
Amanda is the main apprentice of SAW X and gets the chance to shine. She gets to do almost all of the heavy lifting involved in the games, from kidnappings to clean-up, something we only witnessed in SAW III due to her status as the twist villain in SAW II. It didn’t help that by the time SAW III came around, Amanda’s state of mind was fractured by fear and grief, leaving her a broken character who we barely got to explore before she died.
The fact that SAW X is set before the second and third films also works to its benefit. John and Amanda are a little more stable, both mentally and physically, meaning we have the chance to see the depth of their care for each other. Don’t get me wrong—Jigsaw is a manipulative abuser, and Amanda is a murderer. But the scenes where Amanda says she is not ready to do this on her own sound like any adult child coming to terms with a parent dying. She is terrified, vulnerable, and desperately wants her father figure to pursue any hope of a cure, even as he says he has come to terms with his approaching death and believes that she will survive without him.
Of course, Jigsaw’s protectiveness also means that when he is forced to suffer in one of his own traps, Amanda turns her hatred on the people who caused him to suffer. All this contributes to her more cynical view of no one being worthy of redemption, which became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What makes all of this even better is that SAW X‘s mid-credits teaser proved that Costas Mandylor, who portrays Mark Hoffman, is willing to return to the franchise after a thirteen-year absence, meaning if we do get another SAW film that takes place pre-SAW II, then we might be able to see more of Jigsaw’s main apprentices facing off.
(featured image: Lionsgate Films)
