Dr. Meredith Blitzmeyer is a scientist who occasionally dabbles in magic.
Appearance[]
Meredith is a tall woman, with warm brown skin, and long gray hair that she wears tied back in a ponytail.[1] She always wears large goggles, and typically wears a white labcoat-like shirt, a dark, thin belt, dark pants, black gloves, and tall boots.
Near the end of the story, she wears a long green shirt, a brown cloak, and a light brown knapsack.[2]
Personality[]
Meredith is enthusiastic, optimistic, and a little scatter-brained. She's very excited about science. She appears to like Earl Grey and Oolong tea.[3] She's also very supportive, and comforts Lord Ballister Blackheart when he is worried about Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and Nimona killing each other, and even agrees to let Ballister use her only prototype Anomalous Energy Enhancer.[4]
Life[]
Meredith claims that she "made the journey over the mountains to the lands beyond, where the great sorcerers still practice their craft. [She] observed their methods and noted that they seemed to draw their power from an invisible, apparently infinite source. [She] theorized that there must be a vast field of energy that surrounds us all, but it is only made detectable under very specific circumstances. [She] dedicated [herself] to re-creating those circumstances scientifically".[5] This results in her Anomalous Energy Enhancer, which she demonstrates at the Science Expo.[1]
Ballister, disguised as Gregor, with Nimona in tow, disguised as a cat, visits Meredith's booth, and listens to her talk about her work and the Anomalous Energy Enhancer. The device seemingly reacts to Nimona, and first darkens, and then goes berserk, before returning to normal.[6] Ballister theorizes that the device "interfered with [Nimona's] access" to the energy she uses to shapeshift.[7]
When Ballister later contacts Meredith to talk about shapeshifters, Meredith claims to have seen selkies, werewolves, and other such creatures in her travels.[8] She discusses the legend of Gloreth with Ballister.
Ballister seeks out Meredith's help again at her apartment when Ballister prepares to help Ambrosius fight Nimona.[3] Meredith supports Ballister when he becomes upset, and agrees to lend him her prototype.[4]
Ballister lists Meredith as his emergency contact when he is in the hospital, and she comes to visit him.[2] Some time later, they build Blitzmeyer Blackheart Labs together.[9]
Skills[]
She is a skilled scientist, well-traveled, ready to jump into action as needed, and good at offering support.
Relationships[]
Lord Ballister Blackheart[]
Meredith and Ballister bond over their love of science at the Science Expo. Ballister reaches out to her twice for help, and a third time when he is at the hospital, since she is one of his only friends. Meredith is routinely supportive, and even forgives him for destroying her life's work. They seemingly end up partnering in a new business together.[9]
Quotations[]
- To Ballister: "Oh! Gregor, was it? You've cut your beard!"[10]
- To Ballister: "Ah, I don't watch the news! A waste of time."[10]
- To Ballister: "Are we still being hypothetical?"[11]
- To Ballister: "Okay, but you BETTER not break it."[4]
- To Ballister: "Never mind. I'll build another one."[2]
- To Ballister: "You saved a lot of people."[2]
- To Ballister: "It's not your responsibility to save everyone, you know."[12]
Trivia[]
- Although Meredith introduces herself as "Dr. Meredith Blitzmeyer",[1] she does not list herself as "Dr" on her business card.[10] She is simply listed as "Meredith Blitzmeyer, Magical Scientist, [contact number], *Not A Witch".
- Meredith 's small apartment is crowded with items from her travels, including a map, a strange animal(?) skeleton, and some kind of ritualistic mask.[3]
- According to Louis Jones (movie concept artist), Meredith was a prominent character in the movie adaptation's development for some time, but ultimately written out.[13] Her design was later used for Queen Valerin. According to the Nimona movie artbook, concerning production development, "For a long time, the character of Meredith Blitzmeyer was in the film. She served many different functions in many different iterations. At one point, she had a magical van that was bigger on the inside. In another, she was covered from head to toe in magical tattoos. And in another, she was the head of a vast underground society, called the Silver Society, comprised of all the magical creatures forced into hiding by the institute. Ultimately, the story went in a different direction, but her design and model were so beloved that she wasn’t lost but repurposed into The Queen."[14] According to José Manuel Fernández Oli (another movie concept artist), in previous story drafts, Meredith was Ballister's friend, and he reached out to her for help, seemingly at least once as a getaway driver.[15]
- See Nimona Movie Development Work
Image Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Stevenson, ND. Nimona. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2015. Chapter 8, p. 107.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Stevenson, ND. Nimona. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2015. Chapter 11, p. 251.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Stevenson, ND. Nimona. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2015. Chapter 11, p. 212.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Stevenson, ND. Nimona. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2015. Chapter 11, p. 215.
- ↑ Stevenson, ND. Nimona. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2015. Chapter 8, p. 108.
- ↑ Stevenson, ND. Nimona. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2015. Chapter 8, p. 109.
- ↑ Stevenson, ND. Nimona. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2015. Chapter 8, p. 120.
- ↑ Stevenson, ND. Nimona. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2015. Chapter 8, p. 174.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Stevenson, ND. Nimona. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2015. Epilogue, p. 255.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Stevenson, ND. Nimona. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2015. Chapter 10, p. 173.
- ↑ Stevenson, ND. Nimona. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2015. Chapter 8, p. 176.
- ↑ Stevenson, ND. Nimona. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2015. Chapter 11, p. 252.
- ↑ Jones, Louis [welcome_to_louieville]. "A little more early #nimona development work. . . I was incredibly fortunate to be brought on to Nimona at the very beginning (back in late 2016). I was already a big fan of @gingerhazing ’s comic, and I got to spend 3+ years helping to shepherd and develop this character, under then director @posborne, alongside an outstanding team of artists at Blue Sky — I have a lot of love for this character, and despite the film’s complicated journey, I’m very happy to see her out in the world… . . Straying from the 2D tests (and exploring a different character). I believe this was the first performance test for Blitzmeyer — For years the scientist from the comic was a prominent character in the film, before eventually being written out much later (though she may still look familiar as her design/model was used for the Queen) — this was just a blocking pass, at the time wanting to explore an almost “Kramer-like” frantic energy, being so comfortable in her lab that she can effortlessly multitask and “dance” around as needed. This was a fun task. Shame she didn’t end up in the film (though the simplification was probably needed) there were some reeeaally cool things being explored around this character. . . More tests to come." Instagram, 5 July 2023, https://www.instagram.com/p/CuUimNNO7za/.
- ↑ Nimona movie artbook. Netflix. 12 October 2023. https://artofnimona.com/.
- ↑ Oli, José Manuel Fernández. “Nimona (2023) Blue Sky Studios-Annapurna Pictures-Netflix.” Facebook, 3 July 2023, https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=josemanuel.fernandezoli&set=a.10160682761345470.