Farscape

Chiana is a street-smart, savvy, and mercurial type of character who is willing to scam or steal for an adventure and risk her life for the people she loves. Chiana is a Nebari, a blue-skinned race whose society is heavily regimented by the government (known as The Establishment). The Establishment venerates control and order, pitting Chiana's independent ways in a society all about conformity against the Nebari's ideal about "the greater good" and making her a target for government reprogramming (called "cleansing"). In her premiere episode, "Durka Returns", she successfully escapes from their custody while on the living ship Moya, and ends up a passenger on Moya with the rest of the crew.

Chiana is known for her adventurous spirit and open nature. Many episodes have demonstrated that she is a more than competent fighter, and amazingly agile and acrobatic. Because of the thick lenses that Edgley wears, she makes her movements as Chiana very different than the rest of the cast, cocking her head at times, and she tends to crouch on objects, rather than sit or stand.

One of Chiana's other characteristic traits is her strong sense of individuality. Of all the Farscape's characters, Chiana has the most clearly defined political philosophy: anarchy and libertarianism. She respects no institutional authority (her constant insistence that she doesn't follow rules) and the one thing she values more than anything or anyone else is her freedom. This desire for extreme freedom from restrictions unfortunately gives her the appearance of being very promiscuous, often attempting to seduce male and female passengers on Moya and elsewhere, including D'Argo, D'Argo's son, John Crichton (both present and past versions), and others.

In Season 2, the writers created a backstory for Chiana, along with a family member. She has one named relative, her brother Nerri, three years her senior. Along with Nerri, she escaped Nebari Prime at a young age, and then the two traveled around for some years. Nerri decided to join the resistance fighting against the Nebari leaders, and split up with Chiana so she would not be endangered by his activities. In the third season of the show, Chiana harbors hopes of meeting up with her brother and joining the resistance to reunite with him.

In Season 3, the writers created a scenario where Chiana developed a new ability. After her encounter with an Energy Rider, Chiana began to experience precognitive visions that left her with blindness and splitting headaches. These visions later evolved into being able to see the present and future in slow motion, and each time she used this ability, the blindness afterwards lasted longer, until she ended up completely blind at the end of season 4. Shortly before the start of Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, she received new eyes from a Diagnosan that allowed her to see energy sources and to see through walls. Many fans of the show criticized the uneven way that Chiana and her powers were portrayed, since every subsequent season depicted the change of this power. Many fans criticized it because the writers kept changing Chiana's powers to suit their particular scenario; first, she was clairvoyant, then she could slow down time, which caused her to become blind; she was blinded permanently; then she could see heat signatures.

Chiana is smart and focused. Initially, in "Durka Returns", she was a thief so slippery that she evaded Moya's internal sensors. She was resourceful in "Nerve", distracting the Peacekeepers from John, disguising herself as a tech, manipulating Galina and delivering Talyn.