Character Relationship Map: Nimona

Characters

• Nimona (played by Chloë Grace Moretz) — protagonist

  A shapeshifting teenage outcast who becomes Ballister's sidekick to clear his name. Her past reveals she was the Great Black Monster befriended by Gloreth before being betrayed. After being abandoned...

• Ballister Boldheart (played by Riz Ahmed) — protagonist

  The kingdom's first commoner knight, framed for murdering Queen Valerin. After losing his arm, he teams up with Nimona to expose the real culprit. He temporarily abandons Nimona upon learning her secr...

• Ambrosius Goldenloin (played by Eugene Lee Yang) — supporting

  Ballister's boyfriend and a fellow knight who initially disarms Ballister during the framing. He later confronts the Director, discovers her guilt, and helps expose her confession. He protests the wea...

• The Director (played by Frances Conroy) — supporting

  Leader of the Institute for Elite Knights who secretly frames Ballister and murders Queen Valerin to maintain strict traditionalism. She manipulates the knights, lies about Nimona's identity to incite...

• Queen Valerin (played by Lorraine Toussaint) — supporting

  The monarch attempting to modernize the kingdom by allowing commoners to become knights. She is secretly murdered by a laser from Ballister's sword swapped by the Director, an event that triggers the...

• Gloreth / Sir Kahren Reehyan / Additional Voices (voice) (played by Karen Ryan) — minor

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Gloreth / Sir Kahren Reehyan / Additional Voices (voice) → Queen Valerin (Temporal Historical Predecessor)

  Gloreth established the Institute and enclosed the kingdom with a wall one thousand years before the events involving Queen Valerin.

• Queen Valerin → Ballister Boldheart (Professional Patron)

  Queen Valerin is trying to change tradition so that anyone can be a hero, enabling Ballister to become the first commoner knight.

• Ballister Boldheart → Ambrosius Goldenloin (Romantic Boyfriend)

  The plot explicitly identifies Ambrosius as Ballister's boyfriend and fellow knight.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Ambrosius Goldenloin → Nimona (Conflict Distrustful Witness)

  Ambrosius reveals Nimona's past to Ballister and insists that she deliberately deceived him.

• Nimona → Gloreth / Sir Kahren Reehyan / Additional Voices (voice) (Social Childhood Friend)

  A thousand years earlier, Nimona met Gloreth as a child, transformed into a human, and became her friend.

• The Director → Nimona (Conflict Persecutor)

  The Director discovers Nimona's identity as the Great Black Monster and uses it to spread paranoia throughout the kingdom.

• Ambrosius Goldenloin → The Director (Conflict Confronter)

  Ambrosius later confronts the Director, who admits that she framed Ballister and murdered Valerin.

• The Director → Queen Valerin (Conflict Murderer)

  The Director swaps Ballister's sword and uses its laser to kill Queen Valerin.

• The Director → Ballister Boldheart (Conflict Framer)

  The Director secretly swaps Ballister's sword, frames him for murdering Queen Valerin, and later admits the crime.

• Nimona → Ballister Boldheart (Narrative Sidekick)

  Nimona sees Ballister as a fellow outcast and declares herself to be his sidekick while he tries to clear his name.

Story Analysis

A framed knight and a persecuted shapeshifter challenge a fearful institution and redefine who can be called a hero or a monster.

Plot Progression

1. A Knight Framed
2. The Sidekick's Scheme
3. Truth Turns to Fear
4. The Betrayal Remembered
5. Phoenix Beyond the Wall