Character Study: Samantha Carter

Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter

A Character Study

*Character Basics*		canon or fanon
Name	Samantha Carter
Fandom	Stargate SG-1
Born	December 29, 1968	canon
Originally From	Earth	canon
Employer	United States Air Force	canon
Rank	Lt. Colonel	canon
Education	Ph.D. in Astrophysics	canon
Love Interest	Jack O'Neill	canon UST
Family	Jacob Carter, father (deceased) mother (deceased) Mark Carter, brother	canon
First Appearance	Stargate SG-1 Season 1, Ep 1 Children of the Gods
Portrayed By	Amanda Tapping

If not for Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter, Earth would pretty much be a big ball of molten slag by now. As a member of the elite Air Force unit SG-1, flagship of the Stargate Program, she has saved the planet from alien threats on a disturbingly frequent basis.

Carter is the world's foremost expert on wormhole physics, as well as an experienced combat pilot. During the course of the series she has risen through the ranks from Captain, to Major, to Lt. Colonel. As impressive as her accomplishments have been, what makes Carter an interesting character is that her professional strengths have also led to her personal weaknesses.

For the most part, Carter overcame any prejudices against women serving in the armed forces long before the series began. Her CO shrugs off her gender in their first meeting, and states directly that his concerns regarding her combat skills pertain to her PhD instead. She alleviates this concern and gains his respect on their first mission together, and there ends any doubt as to her abilities.

Carter successfully plays her role as one of the boys, and yet does not sacrifice her femininity in doing so. She nearly got it perfect, except fate threw one little curve ball her way. She developed romantic feelings for her commanding officer. For eight long years she struggled against acting on those feelings, despite the fact that the two grew very close, and she was well aware that her feelings were reciprocated.

Now that the command structure has changed, the regulations do not stand in their way, and speculation remains high that Carter has finally achieved a satisfactory personal life. Clues supporting this are found sprinkled throughout canon in the ninth and tenth seasons.