Nina: The Double Agent

[Tara Ariano]

She's going to hook up with this sockless goon, isn't she.

[Aqli]

"I serviced the subject orally before allowing him to penetrate me," 

I definitely got a kick out of Erotica by Nina Sergeevna! If she survives the Cold War, she should write professionally (under an appropriate pseudonym, of course).  

Edited April 5, 2014 by Aqli

[Boundary]

The way Nina is manipulating Stan is amazing, I think she might become Arkady's biggest weapon soon. 

[layniemac]

Nina has managed to surprise me several times. For a character who I didn't think was going to make it out of the first season, I am really glad she did!

[Aqli]

She's the most interesting character int he show right now and arguably a slightly better story than Philizabeth. I think it might be because we saw her transformation from ordinary person to superspy whereas, our ostensible protagonists acquired all their superhero powers in their back-story.  I can connect with Nina while still being impressed with her development. This one doesn't need a wig. 

[tricksterson]

I have trouble getting a handle on how she feels about Stan, whether he's just a job to her or if she actually cares about him, although admittedly not to the degree he does about her.  Any opinions?

[atua]

I have trouble getting a handle on how she feels about Stan, whether he's just a job to her or if she actually cares about him, although admittedly not to the degree he does about her.  Any opinions?

I see Nina as someone who's playing everyone at the moment; ultimately she'll do what's best for her. As for Stan specifically, she's definitely just playing him IMO, especially after what happened with Vlad. She was seriously upset that not only did Stan kill him, he then lied about it to her face. Edited April 20, 2014 by atua

[SoWindsor]

She's the star of the show for me. Credit to the actress.

[Inquisitionist]

Nina is a hustler, who sent an innocent man to his likely death, for a crime she committed.

 

From the episode thread for The Echo.  kikaha, could you clarify who you are referring to above? 

[sistermagpie]

Nina is a hustler, who sent an innocent man to his likely death, for a crime she committed.

 

From the episode thread for The Echo.  kikaha, could you clarify who you are referring to above?

 

 

 

I assume they meant Vasily. Stan set him up as the mole to protect that it was really Nina.

 

I don't think Nina had much of a problem betraying her country.  IIRC she was willing to chuck it all, and live with Stan in the US.  This changed only after she came to believe Stan killed her friend, not out of any deep-rooted shame for her treason.

 

 

For me it seemed like that incident clarified things for her as well. It was also after taking her oath that she switched sides, and admitting what she'd done to Arkady could possibly have led to her being executed right then. So I felt like it wasn't just that she had a deep-rooted shame about her treason, but that she'd been going along doing what she felt she needed to do to survive, but when she thought about the one action she took to try to get control of things and make a choice about what side to be on was to side with the Russians. Whether that was out of shame or anger or a feeling about where she belonged or a combination of any of them, that felt like what was going on with Nina. One time Stan has been completely dishonest with her is on the matter of Vlad's murder--he did that on his own and always denied it to her.

 

So for me it seems like the biggest choice that Nina made about her life in terms of it being a conscious choice about who she was and the path she was going to follow, was deciding to throw her lot in with the Russians come what may. And right after that, when she brought the info about the plan to snatch Philip and Elizabeth, she seemed actually engaged in what she was doing. In a lot of her other decisions she seemed like she was thinking more short term or just reacting to things. If it comes down to a choice between her own survival and betraying her country she'll betray her country and feel fine about it, imo, but in the situation she found herself in in season 1 she thought it was better to take control by throwing herself on the mercy of the Russians than to continue to work for the Americans in the hope that they'd eventually put her in witness protection, and I think her actually being Russian (and having wanted to join the KGB) played a part in that. 

 

I do totally agree about her relationship with Stan--he thinks he's in a real relationship she maybe sometimes does actually like him, but she's always looking out for her own survival. She doesn't trust him to be able to protect her, she's not (imo) in love with him, she's always manipulating him in their scenes together and never entirely truthful--sometimes she's entirely deceitful. Their situations are also different. Stan likes how vulnerable she is because it inspires him to want to save her. She hates being vulnerable and is constantly looking for ways to be less so--some of which involve making Stan vulnerable instead.

 

 

Note that Stan's wife also was deeply unhappy in their marriage, even before she suspected his unfaithfulness.  She quickly cheated on him and then left him.

 

 

True, but I would also say that she was unhappy because Stan had checked out. She tried the first season to reach him, but he couldn't connect to her. He felt more at home in his professional life and almost immediately imo started projecting things onto Nina that he wanted to see while shutting Sandra out. I don't blame Stan for this, really. I think he was changed by his time undercover and has no idea how to come back to himself. But in his marriage it was Sandra who was the more truthful and upfront about everything while he wasn't able to be. The unfaithfulness for her seemed almost like a side-issue--whatever he was doing spending all that time away from home, it wasn't because he had to be.

[Inquisitionist]

I assume they meant Vasily. Stan set him up as the mole to protect that it was really Nina.

 

That's what I assumed as well, but that wasn't really on Nina.  Stan worked that out without informing her, as I recall.

[kikaha]

From the episode thread for The Echo.  kikaha, could you clarify who you are referring to above? 

 

Don't know the name of the episode.  My memory is that Stan took part in framing Nina's old boss.  But Nina herself planted the camera in her boss's office.  Others in the embassy found it, and considered it final proof of his guilt.  Nina watched silently as he was sent back to Moscow, to a near-certain death. 

 

sistermagpie: some good points about Nina.  I don't think they contradict the main point I brought up before, which is that Nina was at least Stan's equal in deceit, and in some ways his better. 

[sistermagpie]

sistermagpie: some good points about Nina.  I don't think they contradict the main point I brought up before, which is that Nina was at least Stan's equal in deceit, and in some ways his better.

 

 

I would agree. If there were a contest Nina would leave Stan in the dust. Most of the characters on the show would, I think!

[DrSpaceman]

Just finished season one. I personally was not surprised Nina became basically a triple agent, but I actually thought it had already happened before she confessed to her boss.

She has been working stan since very early on, definetly since before she it became part of her official job.

[JustaPerson]

Just caught up with season two. Poor Nina! But Oleg and Nina: I ship it. It helps that she and Stan together had anti-chemistry, if that was possible. That said, do you guys think Nina was just playing him, or does she really have feelings for him?

Edited March 6, 2015 by JustaPerson

[Loandbehold]

 

That said, do you guys think Nina was just playing him, or does she really have feelings for him?

I think Nina always puts Nina first. I believe that she does have feelings for Oleg, but, if it came down to her or him, she'd choose herself every time. 

[Umbelina]

I don't fault Nina really.  It was her life, or some dippy, lovestruck stranger's life.

 

She got a meal out of it.  Will she get more?  Releasing her is kind of problematic for me, why would they ever trust her?  Aside from that, and even though she's a near perfect spy, no morals, a beauty, gifted in languages, and savvy?  I do think she'd already be dead. 

 

For her to be involved in the show, they'd have to send her back to the USA.  That brings up so many questions I don't even know where to start. 

 

Now would the KGB possibly post her elsewhere?  Maybe, but then she wouldn't be on the show anyway, so why would the showrunners do that?

[RedheadZombie]

I find Nina interesting and I think the actor is good, but I'm most bored with her scenes.  I think she's quite cold and always puts herself first, but she did show suppressed emotion when the Belgian girl was taken away screaming.  It bothered her, but not enough to keep her from doing it again.  I think she's excellent as a honey pot to men, and now she's shown that she's capable of manipulating a straight woman, too.

 

I just can't root for her in the same way I kind of root for Philip and Elizabeth.  She's just so wishy washy.  She's a spy for Russia, then she flips to spy for us, then she flips again.  She gave the old boss a BJ to better her position.  She initiates a sexual relationship with Stan to keep him in line.  She becomes sexually involved with Oleg because he was suspicious of her.  I know that Elizabeth and Philip do the same thing, but we now know the intensive training that they experienced to make them this way.  Nina was an office worker.  This manipulation comes to her naturally, rather than through training.  I felt sorry for her with that old boss, but now I see it's reflexive to her.  She wasn't submitting to him as much as enthralling him.

[Umbelina]

I think Nina really DID want to defect and get the hell out of Russia.

 

She was caught, so became a double agent or be killed.

 

I think Oleg was a shock to her, and that she actually felt many things for him, since both of them are pretty much over Russia, and yet, have that history, that "home" feel that increased their connection. 

 

At the end of the day though, her life was in danger, serious danger, and she would have used anyone to stay alive, and I can't blame her for that.  In many ways, Nina may be a perfect spy.  Will the KGB risk that?  In real life, I seriously doubt it.  Then again, it will depend on what they need, if they have something in the works that is extremely important to them, and Nina would be perfect for?  Maybe.

[sistermagpie]

But if she really did want to defect, would she have told Arkady she was the double agent? That's what tied her completely to Russia. Stan was still honestly trying to get her out, even if she didn't trust he could do it as easily as he said.

 

I think originally she would have been fine in either place and wasn't even thinking about the possibility of having to defect. She was just using her position to make some money and send things home to her family. Then she got caught and started winging it, making each decision as it came to her.

[Umbelina]

How honest was Stan though?  He knew fairly soon that his bosses had no intention of getting Nina out, and didn't give a damn if she died.  Nina suspected that from the beginning. 

[sistermagpie]

I think she suspected it too--I think Stan was honest in that he wanted her out after a while, but no, he couldn't really get her out right away. But I mean, if she really wanted to defect she'd have to stick with the Americans since that was her only open route at that point, right?

 

Basically I think she did want to defect, or thought that was her best option, but when she confessed to Arkady she was surprising herself by being motivated by loyalty. Or something like it.

[Boundary]

Basically I think she did want to defect, or thought that was her best option, but when she confessed to Arkady she was surprising herself by being motivated by loyalty. Or something like it.

 

Exactly. I think initially she wanted to defect, and would have done anything Stan asked in order to stay in his good graces. Then she saw that Stan was no better when he killed her friend. And I actually think that the oath she took with Arkady genuinely affected her. But then the Russians basically betrayed her too, by linking her freedom to Stan's co-operation. That's why she told that Belgian girl that she thinks Stan and Oleg loved their countries more than her. After all this, who can blame her if she only looks after herself?

[BW Manilowe]

I didn't get it until today (it was just finally Re-Tweeted by a Twitter I follow), but Annet Mahendru posted to her Twitter 4 days ago (probably meaning Wednesday, or maybe Thursday) that she just got the 1st script for S4. So I guess they'll be starting production sooner rather than later, if the scripts are beginning to go out to the cast.

Edited September 27, 2015 by BW Manilowe

[crgirl412]

RIP, Nina!!! 

[crgirl412]

The Americans star Annet Mahendru joins Tyrant for recurring role.

 

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/04/11/annet-mahendru-tyrant-recurring-role

[scrb]

Most memorable lines Nina uttered:

"What is jitters?" (in a cute Russian accent).

"I sucked his cock" (without any hint of an accent.

[Roseanna]

On ‎30‎.‎7‎.‎2014 at 8:41 PM, kikaha said:

Don't know the name of the episode.  My memory is that Stan took part in framing Nina's old boss.  But Nina herself planted the camera in her boss's office.  Others in the embassy found it, and considered it final proof of his guilt.  Nina watched silently as he was sent back to Moscow, to a near-certain death. 

It was Nina's life or her boss's life.

And he was no innocent man although he was no traitor - he was the chief of Rezidentura. For his job he was astonishly naive by forming a sexual relationship with a young and beutiful Nina. Evidently he never even suspected that he was framed.  

[Roseanna]

On ‎30‎.‎7‎.‎2014 at 5:14 PM, sistermagpie said:

True, but I would also say that she was unhappy because Stan had checked out. She tried the first season to reach him, but he couldn't connect to her. He felt more at home in his professional life and almost immediately imo started projecting things onto Nina that he wanted to see while shutting Sandra out. I don't blame Stan for this, really. I think he was changed by his time undercover and has no idea how to come back to himself. But in his marriage it was Sandra who was the more truthful and upfront about everything while he wasn't able to be. The unfaithfulness for her seemed almost like a side-issue--whatever he was doing spending all that time away from home, it wasn't because he had to be.

I wouldn't even say that Sandra "cheated" her husband - she told him, although not at first but beforehand, that she was going to spend time with another man in order try if they had a chance Then Stan had been cheated her with Nina for months. 

Before Sandra had done everything she could, but Stan had shown no interest to build their marriage anew. Maybe a wife formely would have settled for having a house and livelihood without any emotional nor sexual relationship with her husband, but this was 80ies and Sandra wanted more. 

[sistermagpie]

3 hours ago, Roseanna said:

Before Sandra had done everything she could, but Stan had shown no interest to build their marriage anew. Maybe a wife formely would have settled for having a house and livelihood without any emotional nor sexual relationship with her husband, but this was 80ies and Sandra wanted more. 

Ultimately I think Sandra's one of the most solid, honest, healthy characters on the show. I thought one of Stan's oddest moments was when he's letting Philip off the hook for being seen with her in public by saying that while he knew that Philip wouldn't sleep with Sandra (even though he actually did think that and accused him of it), maybe Sandra would have tried to sleep with Philip. It's so completely OOC for Sandra. The best I could think was that Stan was projecting--he wished Sandra was so interested in Stan that she'd sleep with his best friend to hurt him. But as you say, even when Sandra did find another man she was upfront with Stan about it. And she only did it after Stan had proved over and over that he wasn't really in the marriage anymore. She'd already spent years waiting for him to come home.  She wasn't afraid to let the marriage go. She wasn't going to cling to it out of fear.

[Roseanna]

On ‎8‎.‎3‎.‎2015 at 5:58 PM, Boundary said:

Exactly. I think initially she wanted to defect, and would have done anything Stan asked in order to stay in his good graces. Then she saw that Stan was no better when he killed her friend. And I actually think that the oath she took with Arkady genuinely affected her. But then the Russians basically betrayed her too, by linking her freedom to Stan's co-operation. That's why she told that Belgian girl that she thinks Stan and Oleg loved their countries more than her. After all this, who can blame her if she only looks after herself?

I don't think the Russians exactly "betrayed" Nina: she was told that she must atone her betrayal in order to avoid the punishment. What she was not told was only that she had to succeed to get Stan to become a Russian agent, or else. By telling her this and thus counselling her to flee in time, Oleg actually showed that he loved her more than his nominal duty (I woudn't call that betrayal). In any case, Nina was wrong about Oleg who did all he could to help Nina by blackmailing Stan.  As for Stan, however bad he had treated Nina before, who can blame him that he in the end didn't want to be traitor because of her but chose his country?

I think that when Nina was in the US, she can't really be blamed by looking after herself. But in prison she should be blamed for just that IMO. By informing for a fellow prisoner she fell lover she had ever been - that was also her own opinion as shown that she wanted redeem herself with Anton, even if she endanger herself. 

Nina is the most Russian protagonist in the show, or shall be Dostoyeskian. She could be most selfish and most selfless. Before all, one could never know for sure what she really thought and felt and her former deeds didn't predict how she would react.

[Roseanna]

On ‎7‎.‎3‎.‎2015 at 11:49 PM, Umbelina said:

I think Nina really DID want to defect and get the hell out of Russia.

 

On ‎8‎.‎3‎.‎2015 at 12:11 AM, sistermagpie said:

But if she really did want to defect, would she have told Arkady she was the double agent? That's what tied her completely to Russia. Stan was still honestly trying to get her out, even if she didn't trust he could do it as easily as he said.

I think originally she would have been fine in either place and wasn't even thinking about the possibility of having to defect. She was just using her position to make some money and send things home to her family. Then she got caught and started winging it, making each decision as it came to her.

 

On ‎8‎.‎3‎.‎2015 at 5:58 PM, Boundary said:

I think initially she wanted to defect, and would have done anything Stan asked in order to stay in his good graces. Then she saw that Stan was no better when he killed her friend. And I actually think that the oath she took with Arkady genuinely affected her. But then the Russians basically betrayed her too, by linking her freedom to Stan's co-operation. That's why she told that Belgian girl that she thinks Stan and Oleg loved their countries more than her. After all this, who can blame her if she only looks after herself?

I think that when she started to work for Stan, it wasn't so much defecting she wanted than to save herself and to get the leave from Stan's boss to defect was the only way. She knew that sooner or later she would be caught and condemned. She always seemed so composed, unlike Martha, but I believe that she said the truth when she said that she had nothing, save fear.

On the other hand, although Stan initially forced her to work for the FBI, she was quite active. She said a couple times "I don't know anything", but didn't continue that tactics. Did she enjoy manipulating her boss (although not sex with him) or did she think that if she was going to shoot, it was equal if was better for some big reason - which of course could make Stan's boss more willing to get her a leave to defect.  

After she had confessed to Arkady and accepted to work for him, she had in the end of S1 her best possibility to defect but she chose to be loyal to Russia and/or Arkady and betray Stan.    

[Roseanna]

Elizabeth said that Zhukhov loved her. We can never know the truth: did Zhukhov only do his job and mapulate Elizabeth by making a personal, fatherly caring bond with her or did he really care for her wellbeing? I think it was both: he believed, unlike Claudia, that love for Philip wouldn't weaken Elizabeth. And he didn't want her to have a lonely old age, like himself after offering all for the service, if she succeeded to return to Russia.  

Of course one can wonder what kind of man sends a young girl he loves to murder and honey-trap? That could be acceptable only during the war. And no doubt Zhukhov, like Claudia, think that they are waging war. Both were for ever scarred by the WW2 where the fighting was savage and no offer was considered too much.

Addition: the wrong thread, sorry.

Edited July 19, 2018 by Roseanna
addition: sorry

[Roseanna]

In the end of S2, Nina has to make Stan turn, in order to get her previous treason forgiven by the Soviets. Has she still a chance to defect?

Not officially, but Stan buys her a car. That means that Stan is ready to offer his career for her for although he bought the car with cash and made no papers, he would no doubt have been kept responsible that his "source" would just vanish.

Of course, without official protection Nina's chance to survive wouldn't have been good. Was it the reason why she didn't use Oleg's money? Or that she knew she was watched by Rezidentura? Or the belief that Stan would betray his country? Or patriotism and will to atone her treason? Or some or all of these?

Nina is so good a character because one can never tell how she would behave. It's rarely even evident how she really feels. One of the excpetions is when she wipes her mouth after having sex with Vasily although that was hardly needed for us to understand how disgusting it had been for her. 

Some have thought that Arkady told Oleg about Nina's treason and that the alternative of success for Nina was the trial so that Oleg would warn Nina that she had to do her best. But why wouldn't Arkady do it himself? And couldn't he anticapate that Oleg who had a relationship with Nina would help her to defect? Which he did by giving her money.

When Nina says in S3 that two men, i.e. Stan and Oleg, put his country before her, that applies to Stan. But Oleg didn't make such a choice - unless Nina meant that he should have defected for and with her.    

As for Stan, maybe his motive not to become a traitor for Nina wasn't solely patriotism but also practical: to realize that Arkady's offer to let him get Nina free would be only a dream. What would they have done? Driven together to the sunset? Surely the FBI would have put 1+1 together and got them sooner or later? 

[sistermagpie]

6 hours ago, Roseanna said:

When Nina says in S3 that two men, i.e. Stan and Oleg, put his country before her, that applies to Stan. But Oleg didn't make such a choice - unless Nina meant that he should have defected for and with her.    

 

This was always the thing I wondered about too. Though did she say this to her cellmate she was trying to influence? I wonder if she simply changed Oleg's story a bit because it was better for manipulation--unless I'm remembering that more. Because I would say that not only did Oleg not put his country before her, she changed his whole way of thinking about patriotism. He started out thinking that what she'd done deserved punishment and came to see her as deserving mercy and risking his own freedom to behave in line with his new values.

Stan is the person who appears in her dream at the end and not Oleg so it seems like she did see him differently than Oleg in some way. He also takes some risks but never on the level as Oleg does. 

[Erin9]

I always thought Oleg was incredibly understanding of Nina committing treason. Almost too understanding  iirc.  Sure, she turned  back for various reasons, but it’s not like she spilled minor secrets. And she did it strictly to save herself from prison for a crime she did commit. She was an easy mark. I understand his desire to help her or save her, but he was VERY understanding. 

What surprised me was Nina didn’t run. From the beginning she said she never thought Stan would seriously commit treason. He did provide surveillance reports, but that’s literally nothing compared to Echo. Oleg warned her twice to run. Once when he explicitly told her that if she didn’t think Stan would turn, she should run. Then- he gave her a wad of cash. She never tried to run. That always struck me as odd. She knew this would probably fail. 

[Roseanna]

10 hours ago, Erin9 said:

I always thought Oleg was incredibly understanding of Nina committing treason. Almost too understanding  iirc.  Sure, she turned  back for various reasons, but it’s not like she spilled minor secrets. And she did it strictly to save herself from prison for a crime she did commit. She was an easy mark. I understand his desire to help her or save her, but he was VERY understanding. 

I completely agree with Oleg, although he didn't know the details. Nina was blackmailed to treason by Stan and nine from ten would have done the same in her situation, condidering the severity of the Soviet laws. She only gave minor operational details, nothing to threaten the security of the Soviet Union. As for her "crime", Nina did it to help her ex-husband (a scene where she met him in S3). 

BTV, almost all tourists who visited the Soviet Union, broke the law by changing currency illegally and selling pantyhoses, jeans etc. I think that it's quite hypocritical to condemn ordinary Soviet people for wanting to get at least some of goods people in the West normally had when those in power (like Oleg's family) could buy anything they wanted in special shops.  

Edited July 20, 2018 by Roseanna
adding a word

[Erin9]

IA- what Nina actually did that got her into this mess was pretty minor and with the good intention of helping her ex. It was pretty foolish though, especially since she’d have known the FBI was watching her. Not to mention her own bosses. 

I always wondered what Nina did at her job. Other than get info for Stan (NOT her job!lol) or from Stan, we never really knew where her time went. Arkady later put her on Directorate S, but that’s all I can think of. 

[sistermagpie]

3 hours ago, Erin9 said:

I always wondered what Nina did at her job. Other than get info for Stan (NOT her job!lol) or from Stan, we never really knew where her time went. Arkady later put her on Directorate S, but that’s all I can think of. 

I would guess that a lot of it was analysis or things like that. We see Nina and Vlad sitting at desks writing early on, for instance, but the only stuff we really know about are going to be missions that we can understand because they're brought into the plot. 

[Roseanna]

20 hours ago, Erin9 said:

What surprised me was Nina didn’t run. From the beginning she said she never thought Stan would seriously commit treason. He did provide surveillance reports, but that’s literally nothing compared to Echo. Oleg warned her twice to run. Once when he explicitly told her that if she didn’t think Stan would turn, she should run. Then- he gave her a wad of cash. She never tried to run. That always struck me as odd. She knew this would probably fail. 

Maybe the reason was loyalty toward her country she had regained. Maybe she didn't want to live in fearing constantly of revenge from KGB, if she had no official protection. Maybe she simply had no knowledge about practical matters: f.ex. she had no such papers that were for P&E.   

Or maybe she simply decided to take the chance in the Soviet Union: as we saw in S3, Nina had that - if only she had done all she was demanded to do.    

[Umbelina]

21 hours ago, Erin9 said:

I always thought Oleg was incredibly understanding of Nina committing treason. Almost too understanding  iirc.  Sure, she turned  back for various reasons, but it’s not like she spilled minor secrets. And she did it strictly to save herself from prison for a crime she did commit. She was an easy mark. I understand his desire to help her or save her, but he was VERY understanding. 

What surprised me was Nina didn’t run. From the beginning she said she never thought Stan would seriously commit treason. He did provide surveillance reports, but that’s literally nothing compared to Echo. Oleg warned her twice to run. Once when he explicitly told her that if she didn’t think Stan would turn, she should run. Then- he gave her a wad of cash. She never tried to run. That always struck me as odd. She knew this would probably fail. 

I think that was set up well.  Oleg was privileged in the USSR, but he did know that others were not, and he certainly was aware that Nina didn't come from a background like his.  I think it's easy to assume he knew that smuggling items home would help her family.

I'm trying to remember the timing on her not running.  By the time she knew she really should, I think it was too late.  She needed the FBI assistance to successfully hide from the KGB, and Gaad resisted that.  In addition of course, Vlad's murder rekindled her loyalty to her country, and made her disgusted with the FBI.

12 hours ago, Roseanna said:

I completely agree with Oleg, although he didn't know the details. Nina was blackmailed to treason by Stan and nine from ten would have done the same in her situation, condidering the severity of the Soviet laws. She only gave minor operational details, nothing to threaten the security of the Soviet Union. As for her "crime", Nina did it to help her ex-husband (a scene where she met him in S3). 

BTV, almost all tourists who visited the Soviet Union, broke the law by changing currency illegally and selling pantyhoses, jeans etc. I think that it's quite hypocritical to condemn ordinary Soviet people for wanting to get at least some of goods people in the West normally had when those in power (like Oleg's family) could buy anything they wanted in special shops.  

 

Yes, and we later saw, with Tatiana, that Oleg was very aware that most in the Soviet Union had only a fraction of what he had growing up.  He and Arkady also had some words about that.

Yes, I'm sure Nina felt quite guilty as well.  Treason will do that to those with a conscience. 

6 hours ago, Erin9 said:

IA- what Nina actually did that got her into this mess was pretty minor and with the good intention of helping her ex. It was pretty foolish though, especially since she’d have known the FBI was watching her. Not to mention her own bosses. 

I always wondered what Nina did at her job. Other than get info for Stan (NOT her job!lol) or from Stan, we never really knew where her time went. Arkady later put her on Directorate S, but that’s all I can think of. 

Nothing was minor as a KGB agent.  She was trying to help her family back in the USSR.  I'm sure she took precautions, but getting caught would always be possible.

27 minutes ago, Roseanna said:

Maybe the reason was loyalty toward her country she had regained. Maybe she didn't want to live in fearing constantly of revenge from KGB, if she had no official protection. Maybe she simply had no knowledge about practical matters: f.ex. she had no such papers that were for P&E.   

Or maybe she simply decided to take the chance in the Soviet Union: as we saw in S3, Nina had that - if only she had done all she was demanded to do.    

Everything Nina did made sense to me, up until the end of her story. 

She was an amazing character, but the writers needed some important deaths.  Her ending, to me, was contrived, though emotionally impactful on screen.  Do I believe Nina would have involved her ex?  No.  Do I believe Nina would have essentially killed herself?  No.  Do I believe Nina would have assisted in Evi's execution?  Yes.  Do I believe Nina would have tried to help Anton?  Yes.

Just not the way she did.  She was weeks away from being released.  Once released, she would have a MUCH better chance at letting Anton's son know his father was alive.  She was smart, she had to be or she would have never been assigned to the USA, not from her background.  She was aware, and her eyes were wide open about the KGB and the FBI.  She didn't have to kill herself AND fail Anton and his son AND risk her ex husband's life with that incredibly stupid plan.

There is no way.  None.  She may have sacrificed her life for a plan that would work, but I will never believe she would kill herself for a plan that she KNEW had to fail, not when success was mere weeks away.

Nice visual, but really, the writers just wanted to show the way executions happened in KGB prisons.  Fast, quick, in that hallway, already prepared with mop and bucket.  It was true that the KGB said they felt it was less cruel to not make a prisoner suffer while anticipating their death, but also ridiculous in a way, since the KGB used extreme and sickening torture regularly.

In addition, the end of her story, like Oleg's, bored many because they weren't interacting with the rest of the cast.  I wasn't bored, but I understand why many were.  Too many cast changes much too fast along with Nina's.

All in all, she was one of my favorite characters on screen.  The Russia casting was outstanding.

Edited July 20, 2018 by Umbelina

[Umbelina]