Irisa

Irisa
Species	Irathient
Gender	Female
Relationships	Joshua Nolan, surrogate father
Seen	Season 1 "Pilot" "Down...Dead Men Go" "The Devil in the Dark" "A Well Respected Man" "The Serpent's Egg" "Brothers in Arms" "Goodbye Blue Sky" "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" "If I Ever Leave This World Alive" "The Bride Wore Black" "Past Is Prologue" "Everything Is Broken"
Actor	Stephanie Leonidas Katie Douglas (young)
TV	X
Game	X

Irisa Nyira is a member of an alien species known as “Irathients”, and is essentially the deputy to lead character Joshua Nolan. Smart, independent and feisty, Irisa still struggles with the weight of her unusual upbringing. A drifter since birth, she only stays in Defiance due to the loyalty she feels for Nolan.

Nolan has encouraged Irisa to leave behind her traumatic past. He rescued her at a young age, and the two have been inseparable ever since. Nolan has said that Irisa is a war orphan that he found abandoned in what was once Denver, but it has been hinted at that she and Nolan have something of a dark history that will be explored more deeply as the series develops.

In episode "Pilot", Irisa tells Tommy that Nolan murdered her parents. Irisa has scars on her wrists that indicate a painful and unhappy past. In episode "Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go" she mentions furthermore that she hates chains.

Irisa has been appointed Deputy, due to Nolan being promoted to Lawkeeper.

She is played by actress Stephanie Leonidas.

Visions (TV)

Irisa often has visions in her sleep of the past, present, and future. Whether these visions are directly connected to someone's past, present, or future, or just randomly pulled from her mind is a mystery.

At the beginning of "Pilot", she has a vision of Josh Nolan's world (the day that the Votans arrived at earth). In "The Devil in the Dark", Irisa continues to have visions. Nolan has always dismissed these as post-traumatic stress disorder, but they prove to be key in foiling a Hellbug attack on Defiance. According to Sukar, following a clairvoyant Irathient ritual to this end, Irisa is touched by the gods and has "the sight." Irisa is angry at Nolan for making her believe for all of these years that there was something wrong with her, and Nolan is jealous of Irisa's needing to turn to Sukar for guidance in the use of her new gifts.

Trivia

• Irisa is playfully referred to as "Little Wolf"' by Sukar.

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