The other
major family relationship from Defiance
that I really need to talk about. While not as twistedly-fascinating as the Tarrs and all their drama, Nolan and Irisa are both our first window into the
world of the terraformed Earth and the heart of the show. And yes, there’s
still some twisted fascination in there, but a lot of love too (some
Nolan-Irisa-related spoilers.)
Nolan is
old enough to remember Arkfall, when the Votans first arrived on Earth, and
he’s old enough to have fought in the Pale Wars and become a legit legend, one
of the “defiant few” of St. Louis who laid down arms and kickstarted the
current uneasy peace in which humans and Votans are living. As such, while he’s
well-versed in the collision of cultures that forms the terraformed Earth and
speaks enough to at least get by in a few Votan languages, he’s also not a
stranger to distrust of/anger against Votans. Which makes his adopted Votan
daughter something of a surprise.
Irisa, a
young Irathient woman Nolan rescued as a child from a religious cult that
designated her the prophesied “Devouring Mother” (show mythology, not getting
into all that here.) Their meeting is rooted in trauma on her part and violence
on his, as he kills the cultists holding her captive (including her parents,
who offered her up as a sacrificial lamb.) When the dust settles, Nolan takes
Irisa and raises her as his own, teaching her the brutal principles of survival
in a dangerous world. By the time we meet them at the start of the show,
they’re a resourceful pair of scavengers who aren’t afraid to mix it up with anyone
looking to mess with them. After growing up constantly on the move, coming to
Defiance is the first home Irisa has had in a long time.
Nolan views
Irisa as both a beloved daughter and a valued ally. He absolutely trusts her to
have his back in a fight and knows that she and her knives can take care of
themselves, but at the same time, he’s deeply protective of her, ready to go
berserk if anyone hurts her (physically or emotionally.) And while Irisa has no
illusions about who her father is – they have few boundaries between them, and
she’s the first to roll her eyes at some of Nolan’s sexual conquests – she’ll
still do pretty much anything for him. They have “one rule,” and even though
both say on multiple occasions that it’s a stupid rule, they doggedly stick to
it: they live or die together. That means no matter how dangerous or hopeless
the situation is, neither will leave the other when the world’s falling down
around them.
Which
isn’t to say that conflicts can’t come between them. Both are strong-willed and
stubborn, so they’ll argue over tactics often enough, and they’ll get in one
another’s business when they think the other is making a bad decision. More
significantly, being in Defiance and in close proximity to a community of
Irathient spirit riders, Irisa comes back in regular contact with her own
people for the first time in years, and this becomes a sticking point between
her and Nolan. Irisa comes to realize how Nolan’s love for her doesn’t negate
his wariness towards Irathients and other Votans, seeing how he regards her
more like a human and discounts the legitimate differences between their races
and cultures. For example, she suffers from flashes of memories that Nolan has
labeled PTSD, when she’s actually having visions of the past. For Nolan’s part,
he blames the spirit riders for driving a wedge between him and Irisa without
recognizing that it’s his attitude
that’s making her pull away. It’s a good, strong conflict that’s interesting to
watch unfold, and I really like what the show does with it.
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