Queen Nia is a major antagonist in the post-apocalyptic TV series The 100, serving as the secondary antagonist in the first half of the third season. She is the tyrannical ruler of Azgeda who desires to overthrow Lexa, leader of the Twelve Clans and take ultimate power for herself through her proxy, the Nightblood Ontari.
She is portrayed by Brenda Strong who also played Lillian Luthor on Supergirl.
Biography[]
Past[]
When Ash was a young girl, she and her best friend Echo were practicing archery and insulting their queen when Nia came upon them. Nia challenges Echo to kill a Sangedakru spy who would expose her own spying mission into the clan, but Echo misses. Nia kills the man herself and then forces the two girls to fight to the death. After Ash kills Echo in self-defense, Nia forces Ash to assume Echo's identity and position as an assassin and spy.
When Echo was eight years old, Nia sent an army to take land from Echo's family, only to have some of her men murder Echo's parents. Nia had the men responsible executed for this crime, but it is unknown if this was the real Echo's family or Ash's.
After Commander Lexa started uniting the 12 Clans, Nia tried to provoke a war by kidnapping Lexa's lover Costia, torturing her for information, cutting her head off and sending it to Lexa. Lexa refused to start a war, instead coming to believe that love is a weakness. As punishment, Lexa forced Nia to banish her own son Prince Roan in order to join the Coalition. Nia continued to plot against Lexa, aided by Ontari, a Nightblood born into Azgeda whom Nia groomed to take over after Lexa was killed. Once Ontari took power, Nia would have control over the 12 Clans by proxy, making her effectively the ruler of the human race on Earth.
After the arrival of the Sky People, Nia sends her armies to go to war with the survivors of Farm Station who landed in her territory.
Conspiring to Destroy Mount Weather[]
Following the defeat of Mount Weather and the arrival of the Sky People, Nia seizes her chance to overthrow Lexa and begins conspiring with Carl Emerson, the last of the Mountain Men. With the help of Echo, Nia lures the Sky People into a trap in Polis while sending an assassin to destroy Mount Weather using the self-destruct codes provided by Emerson. Although Raven Reyes manages to kill Nia's assassin, she and Jacapo Sinclair fail to stop the self-destruct. The destruction of Mount Weather kills 49 Sky People, pleasing Nia. However, she learns that Roan has been captured in Polis and sets out to rescue him.
Attempting to Overthrow Lexa[]
Nia is arrested and brought before the Commander to face judgment for her attack on Mount Weather. Faced with execution, Nia calls for a vote of no confidence in Lexa backed up by the twelve ambassadors which would normally depose Lexa from power. However, the vote is required to be unanimous and Lexa has recently made Skaikru, as the Sky People come to be known by the Grounders, the Thirteenth Clan. With Clarke Griffin backing up Lexa, Nia's blatant power play is foiled and Lexa has Nia issue the challenge, a fight to the death to determine whether Nia or Lexa will rule. However, Nia chooses to have Roan fight in her stead, telling her son that his banishment will be lifted if he wins and he will become a legend.
Clarke later approaches Nia to offer an alliance with her, but Ontari realizes that Clarke is actually trying to assassinate the queen with poison in the guise of a blood oath. Declaring that they are now enemies, Nia spills some of Ontari's Nightblood onto Clarke as a message to Lexa.
Death[]
During the challenge, Nia eagerly watches as Lexa and Roan battle, only to have Roan be defeated. Enraged, Nia shouts insults at her son, ordering him to get up and that if he dies, he won't die a prince but a coward. Declaring that "blood must have blood," Lexa suddenly throws her spear into Nia's chest instead of killing Roan, sending the queen flying back into her throne much to the shock of the watching crowd. Nia dies of her injuries moments later and Lexa declares that "the queen is dead. Long live the king!" making Roan the new leader of Azgeda while avenging the murder of her lover Costia at the same time.
Legacy[]
Following Lexa's accidental murder by her Flamekeeper Titus, Ontari brutally murders the other Nightbloods in their sleep in order to secure her own power, declaring that she deserves it after being snatched from her parents by Nia and suffering her cruelty. However, Ontari's attempt to become Commander is foiled by Clarke's escape with the Flame.
While on Sanctum, Echo reveals her true past as Ash to Ryker Desai and Nia's role in her transformation, something that Echo had never told anyone about before. While killing Ryker, Echo repeats Nia's words to her, "hesitation is death.".
After becoming stranded on Earth, a despondent Echo reveals to Niylah that her real name is Ash, expressing remorse for never telling the now-deceased Bellamy Blake about it. In turn, Niylah reveals that she is actually named for Nia, her father having been from Trikru but her mother having been from Azgeda.
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 Villains
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