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Nikita: Survival Instincts

"I will never move on from you."

I hate when writers do this: they give you a lousy standalone plot that's beyond tedious, but still manage to throw in a couple of scenes that are wonderful enough to make the episode somewhat worthwhile. Honestly, it's cheating, and I refuse to offer this episode more praise than it deserves.

The episode's biggest problem is Ray: an annoying, run-of-the-mill psychopath whose love-life definitely did not deserve to be the episode's primary focus. It seriously felt like he and his ex got more screen-time than Team Nikita and that's just not okay. I'm starting to accept the sad reality that Amanda won't be in every episode, but at least find other engaging antagonists. Let's hope this is the last standalone plot we'll get this year because I don't want a season of fluctuating quality.

Moving on to the good stuff, I was glad to see Sean return after a pretty lame stretch of disappearances. I like Dillon Casey and I think he fits well in the show's world. His scenes dragged a bit (and he didn't prove particularly effective in the field) but I absolutely adored his final conversation with Alex and her whole "I'm not most people speech" followed by their Division sex romp. I'm looking forward to seeing these two as an item again and watching Sean further interact with the team (especially Owen).

Speaking of our favorite cleaner, I liked that Michael was being tough on Owen because he'd chosen him as Nikki's new partner. Obviously Michael will be back in the field eventually but I do love Nikita and Owen out and about together causing mayhem. The latter's lack of "diction" and finesse add a welcome dose of humor to the proceedings.

Bits & Bullets

- Owen's handshake cracked me up. Actually, Owen in the field in general cracks me up.

- The episode's highlight was the fantastic albeit short fight between Nikki and Michael which was superbly interact with a similar fight from their old Division days. Nikita always amazes me with its respect for continuity and I hope it never loses that.

- How the hell can Michael get his hand back? What is Birkhoff up to?

- I usually write three times as many points in this section. That says a lot about this episode, so step it up, show!

Nikki Notables

Birkhoff: (About Owen) I realize why Percy gave him a job that requires no human interaction.

Birkhoff: Owen vs bear would be pretty sweet.

Sean: From what I heard I thought you'd be bigger.
Owen: Really? I didn't know what you'd look like, because well nobody ever talks about you.
Nikita: Alright let's move on.

- While it has some good moments, this was an undeniably disappointing hour from Nikita and one of the weakest episodes the show's ever done.

2 out of 5 forest bunkers.

Previously posted on Nad's Reviews.

8 comments:

  1. Agree with you completely! This episode was just dull interspersed with a couple of good moments. It was filler and not very good filler at that.

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  2. Thank God Chris. I was afraid maybe I was in a bad mood and taking it out on the show. Glad to hear it was indeed dull ;)

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  3. I don't know... it was fun watching Owen's awkwardness undercover and I was happy Sean's back! And those final scenes... cloned hand perhaps? ;o)

    What was the rest of the episode about again??? :p

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  4. If Michael gets his hand back than the storyline of him loosing his hand in the first place gets the award for the most stupid and redundant story ever.

    Owen and Sean were great and I want to see more of them.

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  5. Haven't seen the episode yet (it's currently sitting on my DVR) but I wonder if we will ever get that teased Alex/Owen romance that was rumored to happen last year?

    Are they really going to give Michael his hand back? That would just be silly, unless there was a really good story reason for it.

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  6. This is another of those character development eps; yes, peeps, a filler. :)
    Where there are more emo and less action.

    I think by next ep Alex will be on field after that "theraphy". Hahaha.

    The thing about the new hand is intriguing.
    I'm sure there is a catch that's why Birkoff didn't tell them about it outright.
    A cloning, maybe?

    Nice review, Nadim.
    Let's hope that next ep will be more actiony. :P

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  7. Agree that it was a mediocre episode, but I did like the scene where Ray's ex (I don't even remember her name at this point) used her credit card on the sly to get them back on the radar. That, and how she helped take Ray down in the end. I always like it when the "damsel in distress" in a TV show or movie proactivly aids in their rescue rather than cringing in the corner and screaming the whole way through.

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  8. The main plot was indeed uninteresting and dragged down the episode.

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