Birkoff is the resident genius and computer geek in Section and one of the two friends
Nikita has in Section. His name is also a name of a mathematical theorem, which fits
well with his character. He can hack and find out anything and anybody. His role is
usually to gather intel, develop mission profiles, write programs, tactically guide
missions, and sometimes help with missions from the van. He likes gummy bears and he and
Walter are best friends.
Birkoff is a Section child, he was born and raised in Section. Even his apartment is inside
Section. His mother, Lisa, was pregnant when recruited and she gave brith to twins. As an
experiment, one of the twins - Jason - was let out of Section. The choice was made with
Walter's help, by flipping a coin.
Birkoff's love life is not very active, although it improves through the series. He's in
love with Nikita and makes a pass at her early on, which she gently turns down. Later, he
dates Gail, another operative, for a while, but she leaves him for another operative.
There's some romance between him and a terrorist girl, Mia, but nothing explicit. Later, he
and Walter date the same woman for a while, Valerie, a Section profiler. Valerie chooses
Birkoff but he turns her down because she shows dismail towards Walter.
Birkoff dies in Season 4. He kills himself because it's the only way he can stop an
artificial intelligence character that he has created to replace him while he's in downtime.
The AI tries to deliver Birkoff from Section by destroying it and failing to convince it to
stop, Birkoff electrocutes himself, thus saving everyone else.
The actor returned in the role of his twin brother Jason,
who worked for Section One, then went onto to work for Mr. Jones at
the Center.
Significant episodes:
117 Noise: Birkoff is exposed during a mission and gets too scared to function. We see his
apartment and the scene where he makes a move on Nikita.
208 Darkness Visible: Romance with Gail.
317 Third Party Ripoff: Romance with Valerie
319 Any Means Necessary: Birkoff is sent in a field mission to infiltrate a terrorist
organization by himself and his loyalty to Section is put to test.
407 Sympathy for the Devil: we learn the story about Birkoff's family.
415 Abort, Fail, Retry, Terminate: Birkoff dies.
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