As far as husband and wife duos go, Jerrin and Robbie of the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab clearly stand out from others in the Zelda series. The two possess an impressive combination of technological innovation and extensive knowledge about all things Ancient. And despite the half-century age difference between them (as well as some intermittent marital discord), the two have kept the Tech Lab thriving and even raised a son, who is just as passionate as his father when it comes to rare armor.
Jerrin is a Sheikah scholar and Purah’s former student. She is an old friend of Impa’s and was sent to assist with Robbie’s research in her steed. As it turns out, Jerrin became a phenomenal assistant with a sharp sense of humor to boot. Jerrin has an impressive curriculum vitae, though she remains humble, referring to herself as an “amateur scholar of ancient history”. She has a special interest in Ancient Shrines and previously held a research position at the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab. Soon after arriving at Robbie’s lab, Jerrin learned how to transport the coveted Blue Flame from Tumlea Heights and assisted in fine-tuning the blueprints for Robbie’s greatest invention: the Ancient Oven.
It appears that the success of Robbie’s creation came at great cost to his marriage. In his memoirs, Robbie recounts Jerrin’s profoundly jealous feelings towards the Ancient Oven, which was initially dubbed “Cherry” after Robbie’s supposed first love (although we never hear the full story behind this). Cherry was designed to be human-like in her speech, and the flirtatious interactions between Robbie and the robot quickly begin to unnerve his wife. Jerrin’s emotions reach a breaking point as she confronts her husband in tears; as a result, Robbie agrees to revert Cherry’s voice programming to a more mechanical tone and promises to only refer to the machine as the Ancient Oven from this point onwards.
Alas, poor sweet Jerrin has her feelings hurt by the ancient machine she helped to create. The Cherry debacle certainly proves that working with a spouse can create a lot of tension in a relationship. It’s clear that Jerrin is a devoted soul who sees the beauty within, and the relationship between her and Robbie is less than typical. It is possible that underneath her chipper exterior, Jerrin might be harboring some insecurity, as evidenced by her jealous feelings. We can only guess as to what her childhood and upbringing were like, as little is mentioned about Jerrin’s origins before coming to work for Purah. However, we do know that she is a Sheikah who was born in Kakariko Village and that she travelled alone to reach Hateno and later, Akkala. This suggests that Jerrin is both independent and capable, but I wonder if she ever had anyone to rely on before she married Robbie.
Jerrin suffers from a mild case of empty nest syndrome and will confide to Link about her concerns regarding her adult son, Granté. She and Robbie had hoped their son might follow in their footsteps to become a researcher, but Purah refused to take him as an assistant. So, at his father’s suggestion, Granté became a traveler in search of rare armor, much to his mother’s disdain. Jerrin will admit that Granté is still “a work in progress” and she is holding out hope that someday he will return to the lab to carry on her research once he has finished his travels.
Jerrin is one of my favorite characters from Breath of the Wild; I just loved her sense of humor and infectious energy. I was so taken with her, in fact, that I named my character after her in Animal Crossing: New Horizons! I was very happy to encounter Jerrin again more recently in Tears of the Kingdom, although it pains me to see her being reduced to a mere housekeeper at Lookout Landing, completely taken out of her research element. Nevertheless, I will always see her as a key figure in the fight against Calamity Ganon. Jerrin does not seek to take any credit; she just wants to do her part to make Hyrule a better place for all, no matter what she is doing — and I think that’s pretty awesome.
