One of the breakout characters of Solo: A Star Wars Story is Enfys Nest. This character became a fan favorite, launching actress Erin Kellyman into international stardom. Whether you haven’t seen Solo or want a refresher, here is a breakdown of who Enfys Nest is.
Writer Jon Kasdan shared on his Twitter account that inspiration for Enfys Nest came from Arya Stark from Game of Thrones. Most of Enfys’ story is found in the film Solo: A Star Wars Story and the ancillary material released like the novelization and Beckett #1, a one-shot comic. Enfys was also a playable character in the Star Wars games Galaxy of Heroes and Force Arena.
Who Is Enfys Nest in Star Wars?
To understand who Enfys is as a person is to know where she came from. She was born into a nomadic group called the Cloud-Riders, known for riding swoop bikes. While labeled pirates and marauders, the Cloud-Riders were a band of rebels pushing back against Imperial rule. They were among the earliest rebel groups because of their fight against the Five Crime Syndicates.
The Five Crime Syndicates thrived under the Empire. One example of these powerful crime groups was the Hutt Clan, who paid taxes and made treaties with the Empire to keep the Imperials out of the Hutt corner of space. Happy to receive large amounts of money from the crime group, the Empire left the Hutts alone. These relationships led to crime across the galaxy; Crimson Dawn was one group that rose in power.
The history of Crimson Dawn predated the Empire. In the Galactic Republic’s final years, the group was formed by former Sith Lord Darth Maul. The earliest look at the group is featured in season seven of The Clone Wars. They joined the Shadow Collective, a group also secretly owned by Maul, during the Clone Wars to take over Mandalore. The Shadow Collective lost this campaign during the events of Order 66 and scattered into hiding. Rebuilding his forces, Maul’s Crimson Dawn group rose in power again thanks to the chaos of a rapidly changing galaxy. It would become known for its atrocities and join the Five Crime Syndicates under the Empire.
Crimson Dawn was the main enemy of the Cloud-Riders. The Cloud-Riders saw these crime syndicates as an extension of the Empire as both evils helped the other one flourish. Stories of the crime group’s cruelty rippled across the galaxy, and these were stories that served as an inspiration to fight back. The leadership of the Cloud-Riders passed to Enfys Nest’s mother, who told her daughter of these horrors to prepare her child to one day lead.
Enfys shared this same story with Han Solo, Qi’ra, Chewbacca, and Tobias Beckett in the novelization of Solo: A Star Wars Story. The planet of Savareen, where the climax of Solo takes place, was known for its refinery and location near the Kessel Run. Enfys described a band of mercenaries coming to the peaceful planet; these mercenaries were the forerunners of Crimson Dawn. Enfys explained, “[Savareen] had a resource that these men coveted, so they took it.
They kept coming back, taking more, till finally, the people resisted. When the ravagers returned and demanded their tribute, the people shouted back with one voice. No more. So they cut out the tongue of every man, woman, and child.” It was these kinds of tales that Enfys’ mother imparted upon her child to inspire her to fight against evil.
How Enfys Nest Joined the Rebellion
When Enfys was 16 years old, her mother passed away. She took up her mother’s mask, armor, and title to lead the group. The Cloud-Riders obtained the moniker of “pirates” from the syndicates they attacked, which was true. They would swoop in on their bikes and steal goods from others, thus making them pirates. This gained Enfys a reputation quickly. Enfys hid her face and spoke through a vocoder that spurned mysteries and legends about her as a figure.
She rarely revealed her face but did make exceptions. Enfys met a young Jyn Erso from Rogue One in the Solo novelization. Enfys took off her mask to tell the girl that people would underestimate Jyn because of her age. That moment would be the perfect time for Jyn to fight when people least expected it.
Over her time leading the Cloud-Riders, Enfys built a rivalry with the thief and smuggler Tobias Becket, who often worked for Crimson Dawn. They clashed multiple times over goods either one or both tried to swipe. Enfys wanted to keep these items out of the hands of the Empire and crime syndicates, while Beckett wished to sell the items for selfish means. This rivalry led to a fateful meeting between Enfys and Han Solo, as seen in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Han and his new pal Chewbacca joined Tobias’ crew after meeting on Mimbam. Enfsy and her cloud riders clashed with Han twice, trying to steal a shipment of coaxium, a type of hyperspace fuel. The first was the heist on the planet Vandor and the second was on Savareen, where Enfys told Solo and his allies her mother’s tale. Unlike Beckett, who only wanted the coaxium for himself and turned on Solo, Qi’ra, and Chewbacca, Enfys wished to give the fuel to other rebel cells to help the cause.
Han sided with the freedom fighters to stop Beckett and his Crimson Dawn boss, Dryden Vos. Enfys gifted one vial of coaxium to Solo and Chewbacca for their help and welcomed them to join her rebellion. Han refused to fight the Empire then, but as Star Wars fans know, that sentiment would change for the Original Trilogy.
Mentions of Enfys Nest have popped up since the movie, like in the comic Sana Starros. Actress Erin Kellyman continues to work with Lucasfilm, too, starring in the role of Jade Claymore in the sequel television series for Willow. Between the love from fans and the studio alike, it seems only a matter of time before Enfys Nest returns to a galaxy far, far away.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
