|
| “ | As I served you in the old wars, I serve you now. | „ |
| ~ Allegiant General Pryde to his master. |
Allegiant General Enric Pryde, codenamed Steadfast, is the secondary antagonist of the 2019 film Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker, the final installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. He was a veteran naval captain of the Old Empire who holds the rank of Allegiant General within the armed forces of the First Order, and would later serve the resurrected Emperor Palpatine in his conquest to reassert galactic rule, becoming the commanding officer of the Sith Eternal's fleet, the Final Order.
He was portrayed by Richard E. Grant, who also played Withnail in Withnail & I, Barkis Bittern in Corpse Bride, The Great Intelligence in Doctor Who, Darwin Mayflower in Hudson Hawk, Vic Van Wrinkle in Horrid Henry: The Movie, The Man With a Beard But No Hair in A Series of Unfortunate Events and Dr. Zander Rice in Logan.
Biography[]
Enric Pryde is a high-ranking military leader of the First Order, holding the rank of Allegiant General within the organization's armed forces. As the First Order rises to power after the Battle of Crait under Kylo Ren's leadership following the death of Supreme Leader Snoke, Pryde works alongside General Hux, with whom he's developed a rivalry with since the aforementioned battle, to create countless legions of First Order Stormtroopers to take over the galaxy.
One year later, Pryde was informed of the return of Palpatine, who was thought to have been seemingly killed by Darth Vader during the Battle of Endor. Kylo eventually learns that Palpatine actually revived himself following his defeat at Endor and is now taking refuge in the planet Exegol, where he has created a Sith cult called the Sith Eternal and a massive fleet of Xyston-class Star Destroyers, the Final Order, that can destroy planets at will.
It later turns out that Palpatine was behind the creation of the First Order as he created Snoke as a figurehead to convert Kylo to the dark side, and that Pryde himself knew about the true origins of the First Order because he used to serve Palpatine when he was young during the Galactic Civil War. Upon learning that General Hux has betrayed the First Order by supplying information to the Resistance due to being disillusioned by the First Order under Kylo's leadership, Pryde callously executes an unsuspecting Hux by shooting him with a nearby stormtrooper's blaster.
After Kylo Ren turned back to the light side and became Ben Solo again, Palpatine usurps full control of the First Order from him, as Pryde swore his loyalty to the Sith Lord. Pryde was ordered by Palpatine to lead the Sith fleet into destroying planets at will, to which Pryde takes extreme delight. Palpatine also senses that Rey (his granddaughter) is coming to Exegol to confront him while giving out the location to the Resistance, so he orders Pryde to await the Resistance fleet so that he can have the Sith Eternal forces to wipe them all out.
Pryde is seen ordering his troops to fire against the Resistance forces; though the Sith forces had the upper hand at first, the tables have turned when the Resistance bring a massive fleet (led by the Rebel Alliance veteran Lando Calrissian). Ben Solo arrives at Exegol and aids Rey by taking down the Knights of Ren and inspiring her to fight the Sovereign Protectors. Rey would later use the powers of all the Jedi of the past to finally destroy Palpatine and his cultists, allowing the Resistance to destroy the remaining Sith forces. Pryde is last seen at the bridge of his ship watching in horror as the Sith fleet is destroyed, just as he and his troops behind him are all killed in an explosion which violently ejects Pryde off the viewport to his death.
Personality[]
Pryde is a stoic, cold-blooded, power hungry, and cruel Intergalactic Empire general. However in addition to his well maintained focus and calm tone, Pryde is also shown to be quick thinking and intelligent. He was quick to identify General Hux's betrayal as the spy against the First Order and even deduce the fact from Hux’s own words. Pryde is also self-seeking and petty, as he punished the latter due to both their rivalry, as well as knowing Hux lied to him, by executing him on the spot without hesitation. He was also fanatically loyal to Emperor Palpatine, having served him back during the days of the old Galactic Empire, and followed his commands without question.
Trivia[]
- To get the role of General Pryde, Richard E. Grant had to act scenes from "a 40s British war film" in his audition before he was notified months later that he had gotten the role. On the other hand, Grant based out his performance as Pryde on the legendary Peter Cushing's portrayal as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.
- When Richard E. Grant's casting on The Rise of Skywalker was first announced, many fans immediately assumed that he would be playing Grand Admiral Thrawn, given that Grant's facial features closely match to those of Thrawn's. However, before Pryde's name was revealed, Grant dismissed the notion that he was playing Thrawn in an interview.
- Pryde never interacted with Rey alongside General Hux and Captain Phasma.
- Following his master's death, as well as Chesille Sabrond's death offscreen, Pryde became the last villain in the film to die.
- He has a fur coat made from a couple of Ewoks.
