Eric Matthews

**Eric Matthews** is the protagonist of *Saw II* and a supporting character in *Saw III* and *Saw IV.* He is a corrupt police Detective who has framed multiple people for crimes they didn't commit and so John Kramer targeted him.

## History

### Background

Detective Eric Matthews is a corrupt police officer who is often recognized by his colleagues for his brutality, and the extreme measures he uses to complete his assignments, however Eric's hot-temper is often a problem. He previously had an affair with his partner, Allison Kerry, which resulted in a divorce and caused his relationship with his son Daniel to crumble. Eventually, he left his job to do desk work instead of being on patrol.

### Saw II

Matthews picked up Daniel from a police station following his arrest for shoplifting. On the way back, they begin to argue, and Daniel stormed off alone. Eric, worrying about his relationship with his son, later called Daniel and left a message on his cell phone. Seconds later, his phone rang and Eric answered quickly, believing it to be his son, but was disheartened to hear it was his sergeant wanting him down at another crime scene.

When he arrived at the scene, he was asked to identify his informant, Michael Marks, corpse who was found in the Venus Flytrap. Kerry then pointed out a message painted on the ceiling "LOOK CLOSER DETECTIVE MATTHEWS". Jigsaw was calling Eric out, but Eric was reluctant to take the bait, and Kerry berated him for giving up on being a cop. All of this prevented him from sleeping at night, but while believing the day's events are over, he remembered the device that was on Michael's head bore a Wilson Steel logo.

The SWAT Team along with Matthews, Kerry and Sergeant Daniel Rigg reached the abandoned warehouse and swiftly move to take the terminally-ill Jigsaw into custody. However, Jigsaw directed Matthews to a room filled with monitors, revealing eight victims trapped in the Nerve Gas House, one of the victims being Daniel. Jigsaw informed Eric that the rules of the game are he must simply sit down and have a conversation with Jigsaw for the next two hours. If Eric complied, he would find his son in a safe and secure state. Matthews reluctantly agreed in order to buy time for the tech team to arrive and find the house's location.

Later, Matthews discovered that the seven other victims were arrested by him, when he planted evidence in order to gain their convictions.

## Quotes

* "Your mother gets to keep custody, I get to take you into custody."
* "Well then go!"
* "I don't want to talk to him."
* "The clock is ticking, John."
* "It's a little hard to follow the manual when you've got my son, John."
* "Putting a gun to someone's head and forcing them to pull the trigger is still murder."
* "First, you said you wanted to talk. Then you said you wanted to play a game. You're talking, but it means nothing!"
* "You motherfucker! Where is he!?"
* "I'll fucking kill you! You fucking bitch! You fucking bitch! I'll fucking kill you! No! No!"
* "You're not Jigsaw!"
* "Fuck you."
* "I don't want to play anymore."
* "Don't open the door!"
* "Release me!"
* "I wanna...I wanna stop playing. Why don't you fucking kill me?"
* "Who!? Who's coming through the door?"