Favorite Characters: Irisa (Defiance)

Genre stories are no stranger to badass women who are handy in a fight, both of the human (Zoë Washburne, Melinda May) and non-human varieties (Aeryn Sun, Wonder Woman.) Yes, we’ve definitely seen the blueprints for Irisa’s character before. But as I’ve said, it’s not so much about the archetypes themselves as it is what you do within them, and I really like how Defiance explores Irisa (a few Irisa-related spoilers.)

A young Irathient woman who was born on the terraformed Earth, Irisa has the unfortunate distinction of being singled out for great purpose. And this isn’t even the kind of “great power, great responsibility”/“Chosen One” stuff that burdens the lives of heroes ranging from Harry Potter to Buffy. This is the “her parents sold her to a cult as a child” kind of great purpose. When she was a kid, Irisa was hailed by a group of zealots as the prophesied Devouring Mother, an instrument of colossal destruction.

Fortunately for Irisa, the cult was interrupted mid-ceremony by Nolan, who killed the perpetrators and took Irisa in to raise her as his own. Her childhood is spent in relative anonymity, but it’s still marked by violence, with Nolan teaching Irisa the importance of doing what has to be done in order to survive in a harsh world. By the time we meet Irisa in the pilot, she’s a hard young woman who wields knives like they’re extensions of her hands. She’s a skilled scavenger, and she’s used to having no roots or connections other than Nolan.

Moving to Defiance challenges a lot of the notions Irisa was raised on. Her priorities start to stretch beyond her and Nolan’s survival. The two of them both get caught up in the concerns of the town, and even if Irisa is initially more eager to move on than Nolan is, she too quickly finds herself starting to care about Defiance, more than she’s using to caring about anything outside the two-person bubble of her and Nolan. She begins a tentative flirtation with Tommy, and probably more significantly for Irisa, develops friendships with the Irathient spirit riders who live outside town.

Even though we’re introduced to an Irisa who is incredibly capable and undoubtedly lethal, Defiance demonstrates the ways that she’s still growing up and coming into herself. Though she’s definitely strong-willed and will bicker with Nolan about field tactics, Irisa is generally used to falling in line behind him, half daughter and half deputy. As they settle in in Defiance, however, Irisa starts to reckon with who she is and what she wants. Whether that’s exploring her culture amid her own people, guardedly pursuing a shy romance, or confronting the apparent great purpose that still lays dormant inside of her, Irisa begins to make more of her own decisions. It’s a neat journey for the character to take, marked by a great deal of inner conflict and a lot of pain, but it’s fascinating to watch.