Nina Myers

Nina Myers is a fictional character on the television series, 24, played by Sarah Clarke. Nina was second-in-command of the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) during the first season of the show. She was later revealed to be a traitor.

TV Guide named her No. 9 in their 2013 list of The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time.^[1] UGO named her No. 4 out of 11 of The Best Villains on Television and No. 46 of the Top 50 Evil Women in their Entertainment History.^[2] Complex Pop Culture placed her 23rd of The 25 Greatest TV Villains of All Time.^[3] Zimbio listed her as No. 8 of "The 25 Best TV Villains of All-Time."^[4]

Characterization

Nina Myers was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1968, although in Day 3, a fake ID shows her birthday as May 5, 1975; however, this is alleged.^[5] She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Middle Eastern Studies and History from Harvard University, a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from Tufts University, and a Master of Arts in Criminal Investigative Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She served as a policy analyst for the United Nations Security Council before joining CTU.^[5]

She is revealed as a CTU double agent at the end of season 1, and survives as a recurring antagonist during seasons 2 and 3.

It is not until Days 2 & 3 that we discover that Nina has sold intelligence prior to Day 1 and it is not known if Nina was converted from an agent into a double agent, or if she joined the government undercover.

Appearances

24: Season 1

Prior to the start of Day 1, Nina had an affair with Jack during his separation from his wife Teri Bauer, which ended with Jack and Teri's reconciliation. At the start of Day 1, Nina is romantically involved with colleague Tony Almeida.

Nina initially acts as Jack Bauer's staunchest ally as he sets out to foil an assassination plot against Senator David Palmer, even when he acts outside of official channels. When it is realized that a mole is operating within CTU, Nina comes under scrutiny by Jack himself when her access card seems to have a lot of top-secret information. However, she is soon cleared. Once CTU analyst Jamey Farrell is revealed as a mole, Tony and Nina interrogate her. Jamey is found dead a few minutes later, presumably by suicide.

Teri and Kim Bauer, Jack's daughter, are kidnapped by terrorist Ira Gaines in his attempt to blackmail Jack into assassinating Palmer. Nina, unaware of the situation, expresses concern over Jack's suspicious behavior, prompting Gaines to order Jack to kill her. Jack forcibly takes her to a desolate field per Gaines' instructions, but slips a flak jacket over her before shooting her, secretly informing Nina of his kidnapped family. Nina returns to CTU and re-establishes contact with Jack.

Kim and Teri are recovered after Gaines is killed. Nina moves both to a safehouse and debriefs Teri, who correctly guesses about Nina and Jack's affair. Nina uncomfortably leaves several guards at the safe house before returning to CTU. A short time later, the house is attacked. Kim and Teri escape but are separated, with Teri experiencing shock-induced temporary dissociative amnesia. Nina continues to assist in CTU activities but is unable to contact Jack to inform him that Kim and Teri are missing.

At this point, it is revealed to viewers that Nina is another CTU mole. She contacts Andre Drazen, the son of Victor Drazen, to reveal that another attempt on Palmer's life has failed. The Drazens, who have recaptured Kim, order Nina to falsely tell Jack that she has been killed, hoping that the news will provoke Jack into being lured into a trap. However, this plan dramatically backfires when Jack, in a murderous rage, single-handedly kills both Drazens in retaliation.

When Jack learns that Kim isn't dead, he realizes Nina's treachery. He confirms this by having CTU director George Mason view surveillance footage showing Nina killing Farrell and staging the death as a suicide. Unmasked, Nina begins to arrange her escape from CTU, discussing her plans with an outside contact. When Nina is interrupted by a CTU technician, Nina kills her. Teri happens upon the scene, causing Nina to gag, bind, and eventually kill her.

Jack manages to apprehend Nina before she can make her getaway, after her car crashes. At gunpoint, Jack drags Nina out of the car and hurtfully and angrily tells her that he trusted her. Nina says she was just doing her job, which angers Jack as he yells about the danger she put his family in as well as being responsible for Walsh's, Ellis's, and Jamey's deaths. Nina taunts Jack by asking how many people died because of him doing his job and Jack gets ready to shoot her, but Mason and Tony arrive. Mason tells Jack that Kim just arrived at CTU and he should be with his family. Tony tells Jack not to do it and Jack backs off as Mason escorts him back into CTU as Tony watches Nina being arrested. Jack is reunited with Kim, but shortly afterward discovers Teri's body. He cradles her corpse, weeping "I'm so sorry. So, so sorry...".

24: Season 2

CTU is hit with a bomb and Nina is revealed as the person who sold the blueprints/schematics of the CTU building to the crew who carried out the bombing. This means she was a double agent before Day 1 begins, as she is in custody between Days 1 & 2. Jack is told of her involvement by the leader of the bombing crew and brings her in, and she demands a presidential pardon, but once she receives it, has additional stipulations. Jack is unwilling to deal with her, and scares her into revealing Mahmoud Fahin's location. He captures Fahin after she locates him, but she somehow alerts him to the presence of the CTU agents, forcing them to raid Fahin's location. Myers escapes but Jack recaptures her.

Nina interrogates Fahin on Jack's behalf and, after learning Ali's location, kills Fahin, thereby ensuring that Jack and CTU will be dependent on her for the information. As she demands further terms for her deal, the plane is hit by surface-to-air missiles. The plane crashes, leaving Jack and Nina to be pursued by the Coral Snake Unit. Jack keeps Nina in restraints but leaves her with ammunition and spotter duties while Jack fires upon the advancing soldiers using Nina's observations. Unknown to Jack, Nina keeps one magazine for herself and, after fooling him into tossing aside his empty rifle, picks it up, reloads it, and holds him hostage. CTU agents arrive and Nina demands to speak to President Palmer concerning a presidential pardon for her past crimes and one for the future murder of Jack Bauer. Palmer agrees, but a CTU sniper wounds Myers and she is recaptured. Palmer lives up to his end of the agreement, though he does place her in custody in Los Angeles, the target of the nuclear bomb, to share in the fate of everybody else. As Nina is being taken away, Jack whispers something in her ear that is not audible to the audience.

24: Season 3

Bauer encounters Myers again in Mexico while both are attempting to buy a deadly biological weapon. While she attempts to back out when it is revealed that Jack is involved, the seller Michael Amador forces her to stay by reminding her that her buyer will kill her if she doesn't deliver. She wins the auction, but is followed and nearly captured by Jack in hopes of implementing a deal. She knocks Jack unconscious, and when he awakens, she questions his motives, and while he tries to tell her that he is working separately from CTU, she doesn't believe him. She implores him to "convince [her]", resulting in a kiss. She realizes he is lying, however, and pulls away, only to be captured by him and forced to comply with his wishes. She retrieves the virus from Amador, only to have it revealed as a bomb designed to kill her.

Nina is soon captured after briefly taking Chase Edmunds hostage. She is taken on a flight back to Los Angeles, to be interrogated at CTU headquarters. On the plane, she manipulates Bauer into unleashing a computer virus into CTU's system under the pretense of giving him a phone number. In return for killing the virus, she demands to be taken back to Mexico and set free. Bauer refuses, even defying Tony's orders that he land by threatening the pilots with a gun. Chloe O'Brian is able to stop the virus in time.

At CTU, Myers is interrogated by Tony Almeida. She reveals no information, trying to tempt him by bringing up their past relationship. He eventually gives in and tries to extract information from her. As she is being tortured, Nina pushes back, and causes the interrogator's needle to pierce her carotid artery. She is rushed to the clinic at CTU, where doctors are able to get a makeshift bandage in place. Bauer is uncomfortable with the idea of her being left unguarded, but barely has time to express his hesitation before an alarm goes off, signaling her escape. Nina has prevented herself from being tranquilized and after the bandage is in place kills several doctors and security personnel before escaping.

Kim ends up confronting Nina at gunpoint and demands she surrenders. Nina tells Kim to put the gun down and leave, claiming that she doesn't want to hurt her and that she knows Kim will not shoot her. Kim doesn't back down and Nina starts to raise her gun. Just as she is about to shoot Kim, Jack saves her by shooting Nina in the shoulder. As Nina offers to make another deal whilst reaching for her gun, Jack sees what she's doing and decides to just shoot her dead, poetically in the same room where she killed Teri four years earlier.

References

External links

• "Nina's the Mole", Fox's official explanation for Nina's role in Season One