As the hours pass, the plot of the third season just keeps getting more dense, with two characters being added to the drama: one a welcome return, the other a new entry.
The new entry is Alan Milliken (Albert Hall), who has been David Palmer's biggest campaign supporter for years. Now he has something else on the agenda: if Wayne isn't fired, he will pull the right strings to make sure some of the President's most important political plans aren't pulled off. Palmer isn't the only one being cornered: Tony finds himself confronted by Kim and Michelle when they suspect his recent injury might prevent him from working efficiently.
Meantime, in Mexico, Jack and the Salazars prepare to meet with Michael Amador (Greg Ellis), the man who's supposed to sell them the virus, only to find out there's another prospective buyer: Nina Myers (Sarah Clarke), blatantly violating the conditions of her deal with the President one season ago.
Of all the villains in the show's history, Nina stands out for being a classic femme fatale in a contemporary thriller context: she dated Jack and Tony, betrayed everyone and even killed Jack's wife. Her return means more psychological conflicts for Jack, as he has to fight his urge to murder her, as well as adding a kind of perverse intrigue to the narrative. Clarke knows this and works to her full strengths, maintaining the unsettling charm she had in the previous two seasons. Alongside Hall and Ellis, she proves the bad guys on this show have more subtlety than most of their big-screen counterparts.
The new entry is Alan Milliken (Albert Hall), who has been David Palmer's biggest campaign supporter for years. Now he has something else on the agenda: if Wayne isn't fired, he will pull the right strings to make sure some of the President's most important political plans aren't pulled off. Palmer isn't the only one being cornered: Tony finds himself confronted by Kim and Michelle when they suspect his recent injury might prevent him from working efficiently.
Meantime, in Mexico, Jack and the Salazars prepare to meet with Michael Amador (Greg Ellis), the man who's supposed to sell them the virus, only to find out there's another prospective buyer: Nina Myers (Sarah Clarke), blatantly violating the conditions of her deal with the President one season ago.
Of all the villains in the show's history, Nina stands out for being a classic femme fatale in a contemporary thriller context: she dated Jack and Tony, betrayed everyone and even killed Jack's wife. Her return means more psychological conflicts for Jack, as he has to fight his urge to murder her, as well as adding a kind of perverse intrigue to the narrative. Clarke knows this and works to her full strengths, maintaining the unsettling charm she had in the previous two seasons. Alongside Hall and Ellis, she proves the bad guys on this show have more subtlety than most of their big-screen counterparts.