Character Overview

“You’re worse than a traitor Nina. You don’t even have a cause. You don’t believe in anything. You would sell anyone and anything out to the highest bidder.”

Nina Myers (Sarah Clarke) could have forged a successful career working for her government and her country within the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU), and for a while she did seemingly follow this path. However she eventually succumbed to the temptation of quick money and seduced by the power of secretive dealings with powerful partners. While the motives for all Nina’s actions are not entirely clear, she does seem to enjoy leading a double life and becomes a victim of her own self-inflated importance.

Working her way up into a position of influence as second-in-command of the Los Angeles CTU, Nina reported to Jack Bauer and established herself as a close personal confidant. For someone held in such high esteem and deeply trusted by even the normally impossible-to-deceive Jack Bauer, it comes as a shocking surprise when Nina’s true traitorous character is revealed.

Educational Background

“I trusted you, Nina.”

Nina has an impressive educational resume, however given her questionable loyalties and talent for deception, perhaps not all is as it seems. However if we decide to trust official records, Nina completed a Bachelor of Arts at Harvard University with a double major in Middle Eastern Studies and History. Following completion of her undergraduate degree Nina then went on to receive a Master of Arts in Criminal Investigative Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of International Relations, Tufts University. Nina displayed her multilingual abilities, and aside from English she has been heard to speak Serbian, German and Arabic.

Characterisation

“I’ll only get the pardon, why wouldn’t I do everything I can?”

Regardless of her motivations or whether we agree with the decisions which Nina makes, she can never be faulted for her unwavering commitment to complete an assigned task. Perhaps for this reason, Nina is somewhat of a tragic chameleon, you can never be too sure of who she is going to be, who she is working for or what she is trying to achieve at any given time. While her moral compass may be set significantly askew, her work ethic is strong enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best of them.

Born in Boston in 1975, Nina (also known as Yelena and Sarah Berkeley) embodies the consummate cool, calm thirty-something professional. Balanced against her formidable intellect and ruthless tenacity, Nina is also a physically striking woman with dark hair and angular features, exuding an arrogant air and comfortable elegance. Nina mostly dresses in non-descript, practical clothing and takes a no-fuss approach to grooming, further highlighting her ability to solely focus on the task at hand rather than be distracted by such fickle things.

Character Development

“You’re going to have to kill him. No mistakes. If he finds out I’ve lied to him, my cover will be blown.”

Given the focus of 24 on work related activity, we primarily come to know Nina through her work for, and connection with CTU. Her duplicitous nature is gradually uncovered, but she always manages to keep us guessing; just when you think you have her all figured out she moves off in a completely different direction. There is no denying that regardless of how much we wish Nina would be revealed to all as a traitor and that people (especially Jack) would stop trusting her so much, there is something utterly compelling and captivating about a person who acts completely outside a values system that most of society abides by.

Apart from the fact that she seems to genuinely enjoy her work, whatever that may entail, Nina also seems to be heavily motivated by money - whoever pays her the highest price will get her service regardless of their affiliations, beliefs or ultimate goals. While many people would be happy with the progress she made in her legitimate professional career, Nina wanted so much more. Inevitably this hunger led to her CTU career being cut short and introduced a great deal more drama, danger and excitement into her life and the lives of those around her. In the time we’ve known her, Nina has been exposed as a mole, a traitor, and a killer, crimes that led to her eventual capture and arrest. Despite these obstacles Nina never loses sight of once again gaining her freedom and getting back to what she loves best. True to form and much to Jack’s disgust, Nina does gain presidential pardon and immunity from her crimes in exchange for information.

While she then could have chosen to disappear into obscurity and follow a different career path, Nina just can’t help herself and once more she almost unbelievably reappears while Jack is working undercover in Mexico. Not one to be re-captured easily or quietly, Jack does manage to take Nina into custody where she makes a dramatic, chaotic and ultimately fatal return to CTU.

Relationships

“Don’t talk to me, Nina. I’m here because I have to be, not because I’m your friend.”

While Nina seems to be at her best when acting alone, sometimes her needs align with the needs of another, and she finds herself in a relationship. Following a short separation from his wife, Jack becomes involved with Nina in a relationship that is largely kept under wraps from the rest of the world. The relationship did become serious to some degree, at least on a physical level with the two enjoying a weekend trip to Santa Barbara. When Jack re-solidifies his relationship with his wife Teri, his liaison with Nina is abruptly broken off. Nina later becomes involved with another of her CTU colleagues, Tony Almeida. With Nina’s ultimate exposure as a traitor this relationship is not given the chance to develop into anything long-term.

Current status

“You don’t have any more useful information, do you, Nina?”

As interesting and exciting as it was to follow the various betrayals, lies and manipulations committed by Nina Myers there was most certainly a high level of satisfaction in seeing justice come her way. It was especially fitting that Jack Bauer was the one to deliver this justice. Just as every good romantic comedy should eventually lead to a relationship, every good villain needs an ending and a good one at that. Fighting to the end, Nina never surrendered herself easily to capture and always sought her freedom, even when this quest for freedom would cost her life.

Believability

With the revelation of her traitorous betrayal and the murder of Jack’s wife Teri, Nina Myers very quickly took the mantle of 24’s number one villain. Sarah Clarke portrays Nina with perfect reserve and beautifully concealed deceptiveness, ensuring that Nina’s character never stoops to become a clichéd one-dimensional villain. Quite clearly this girl has some seriously complex layers that we never truly get to the bottom of. Nina is able to maintain her professional expertise and technical knowledge in the office of CTU, while also demonstrating her proficiency at working in murkier professional waters.

Stereotype rating

Low. Nina is that mysterious type of character that we never really understand and perhaps never really want to. She is controlling, deceptive and wickedly manipulative. It was however particularly interesting to watch her character play against the unerringly loyal and upstanding persona that is Jack Bauer, never could there be a more entertaining clash of opposites. Nina shows that not only can she think, work hard and charm men, she is also a dab hand at fighting, escaping and killing.

Heart or Hate

Heart to hate.

Agree or disagree? Let me know your thoughts.

Tracey is the author of Quiet Paws

It can be argued that the ultimate act that a hero can perform is that of sacrifice. Sacrificing oneself for the greater good or for something of higher value. It was inevitable then that during the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer that at some stage Buffy would be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice. It was the season five finale that Buffy gives her life to safe her ‘adopted’ sister and close the rift opening between a hell dimension that threatens to engulf the Earth.

She sacrifices herself for family and friends and she is satisfied in doing so, her mind is made up as she calmly, almost gracefully swan dives into the opening dimensional tear and proves that Dawn is as much her sister as if she had not been mystically created and thrust upon them (if you haven’t seen the series this will make very little sense, all I can say then is go out and watch it!!!).

This was possibly going to be the final season for the series and thus very well could have been the literal end for Buffy. But a move to a new network saw the return of Buffy from death.

So what does this say about her sacrifice?

Does the fact that she returns from death, as admittedly she has done before lessen the impact or the significance of her sacrifice?

It possibly would have had it not been for the very carefully handled story around her return from the afterlife. There is of course the ‘why don’t we save everyone’ clause that speaks of Buffy’s death at the hands of mystical power but this is an important loophole that needs to be mentioned so the fans don’t just roll their eyes and demand characters be returned from the dead.

Buffy doesn’t come back right.

She is resurrected in her casket and has to claw her way out and then dig through the grave the same way her prey, the vampires have to. Buffy is distant and out of touch with the world around her and most importantly her friends.

It is her friends in thinking that they were doing the right thing who have forced the greatest sacrifice onto our hero. They have torn her out of her final peaceful resting place, they have dragged her out of heaven.

Greek mythology is full of heroes fighting their way out of Hades to return to the land of the living but I can’t think of an example of a hero being plucked from heaven. Perhaps the resurrection of Jesus? Though I think the argument might be that he wasn’t forced, then again maybe he was.

Jump forward to the end of season seven and we now know how important it was for Buffy to return and by this time she has resolved to remain living in this world. It is interesting that leaping to her death to save Dawn and close the dimensional rift may have been the easier of the two sacrifices. The act of going on regardless despite the unfairness of circumstance. This is mirrored in the lives of other heroes such as Ripley from the Alien series and Sarah Connor from the Terminator franchise. Heroines who haven’t chosen to be so, but at the same time have had to make a choice to persevere rather than give up.

There are real life heroines who face this idea of a forced sacrifice each and every day. Women who may be challenged by circumstance but go on despite it and don’t even realise that they themselves are heroes.

Was Buffy’s sacrifice diminished by the return of her character?

Maybe but the sacrifice that she had forced onto her in order to come back certainly makes up for it!

Lee is a a huge popular culture freak, loves comic books, science fiction, soundtracks and writes for Quit Your Day Job.