Star Wars: Bringing a New Hope to the Rebellion – The Jyn Erso Breakdown
Between being raised by freedom fighters and stealing the Death Star plans, Jyn Erso may just be one of the galaxy’s most interesting people.
Only making a big-screen appearance in Rogue One, we don’t get to spend much time with Jyn Erso. But from her early life to her last mission, she’s one of the most interesting characters out there. While most of the galaxy’s stories involve at last one person with a connection to the Force, she’s a character that absolutely doesn’t need it to have a lasting impact.
Jyn Erso: Early Life
Born on the icy Outer Rim planet of Vallt, Jyn’s parents were Lyra, a member of the Church of the Force, and Galen, a scientist and pacifist. Her parents refusal to help the Separatists use kyber crystals for the war effort resulted in her father spending time in a Separatist prison. Eventually Lieutenant Commander Orson Krennic had them extracted and brought to Coruscant. As the Clone Wars wound to a close, Galen attempted to find work that didn’t assist in a war, and when Krennic offered him a position at Helical HyperCon on planet Lokori working on renewable energy, Galen accepted and once again moved the family.
Separatists attacked Helical HyperCon, forcing the Ersos to flee, again. Soon after the Clone Wars finally ended and Palpatine rose to power as Emperor. With a tentative peace, Krennic once again offered Jyn’s father a job in kyber crystal powered renewable energy. In reality this was the earliest version of the Death Star project with kyber crystals powering a super weapon. This eventually realization caused the family to flee Coruscant and the Empire. Aided by freedom fighter Saw Gerrera, they went to Lah’mu to hide.
Life on the Farm
For the next few years, the family lived a quiet homesteading life. When Krennic and the Empire caught up with them, four years later, it was clear that things would not progress peacefully. Her parent told Jyn to hide in their underground bunker. There, she waited until she was found by Saw Gerrera, who was called by her parents in a final effort to protect their daughter.
Jyn Erso’s Time with Saw
Saw Gerrera raised Jyn Erso like his own daughter into her teen years. She became a soldier and insurgent, working with Saw as part of his militia. By the time she was sixteen, she knew how to use a blaster, code replicators, truncheons, was skilled in hand to hand combat, and knew how to use the underestimations of her enemies against them.
Jyn eventually began taking on her own missions for Saw, but found that she had a hard time killing people. Instead, she had a talent for espionage and forgery. Her final mission with Saw Gerrera took Jyn to an old Clone Wars munitions factory on Tamsye Prime. But when things went sideways, Saw left her behind. When she realized he wouldn’t be returning, Jyn was left bitter and angry over the loss of yet another parent figure.
Life on Her Own
The years after Jyn primarily spent on her own. There were a few friends and a romance with fellow freedom fighter, Hadder Ponta, but these always seemed to end in tragedy and death. Instead, she focused on her own survival on the streets, becoming a smuggler and criminal.
By the time she was twenty one, Jyn’s rap sheet included forgery of Imperial documents, shipjacking, theft, public nuisance, and assault against Imperial personnel. But she never targeted civilians. Unfortunately, she was eventually apprehended and arrested. Jyn was sent to an Imperial labor camp on the planet Wobani with a twenty-year sentence.
Jyn Erso Joins the Rebellion
After just six months in Imperial custody, Jyn was rescued by K-2S0 and Cassian Andor. She was personally asked to join the Rebel efforts. This, of course, is the part of Jyn Erso’s story that everyone knows.
Courtesy of Lucas Films
She joined a special operations team later named Rogue One. They were then tasked with stealing the plans for the Death Star from an Imperial base on Scarif. Through this mission, she was able to see Galen and Saw once more. So she made her peace with both of her father figures. She also learned the truth of what her father had been working on and why. Unfortunately, the base on Scarif faced total destruction. But not before she made sure the plans had been successfully received by rebel forces. Jyn Erso and the remaining members of Rogue One were killed as a result.
What is your favorite of Jyn Erso’s quotes or scenes? Is this a character you wish had more screen time? Who is your favorite not-force-sensitive character? Let us know in the comments!
May The Force Be With you, Adventurers!
