Home Featured TV Shows All TV Shows Movie Reviews Book Reviews Articles Frequently Asked Questions About Us

Nikita: Set-Up

Ryan: "I'm telling you he's off."
Nikita: "That's just nerd being nerd."

You might not find it much of a surprise that I'm having issues conjuring up the enthusiasm to write about this series any more. The first two episodes of the season weren't the worst, but they didn't exactly blow me away. I could say the same thing about this episode. It hit some of the right beats emotionally, but it didn't affect me at all.

The story focused on all my favorite characters, Alex, Birkhoff, and Owen/Sam. We got some interesting back story about Birkhoff, and some pretty dramatic interrogation scenes with Alex. So why didn't I care? Maybe because I didn't feel the threat. With so few episodes left, I should be worried about my favorites biting the dust. Birkhoff could've easily been killed by the imposter, and things could've gone pretty badly for Alex too (although the fact that it was the CIA that captured her made it unlikely). But I didn't feel like they were in real danger even once.

I guess my main issue with this episode was that it felt kind of superfluous. Which is totally sucky given how much story is left. Filler episodes should be like a Dodo bird, extinct. Yet we had basically some minor details about the Shop's plan given to us as sideways exposition. Talk about underwhelming. The thing that really bothers me, though, is that if this was last season I'd be totally on board with this episode. Is my animus coming from the fact that there is so little left and they are wasting time in set-up mode?

There were some fun moments though. I really liked the conversation between Nikita and Birkhoff. The stuff with Nikita realizing that running was a bad thing was a nice acknowledgement that her going off alone was a mistake. Then there was the back and forth between Alex and Sam, which I wish we had gotten sooner. They could've done an entire season of them coming together, but instead I doubt it'll come together satisfactorily. Still, the moment they did have together was probably my favorite in the episode, since there was a lot of unspoken stuff going on there.

There was almost no real coverage of the fallout from Michael's declaration that he was done with their relationship, except for Nikita mentioning it in almost an off hand way to Birkhoff. Ryan and Sonia were once again used mostly for their skills, and weren't utilized as people with personalities and needs of their own. I know there isn't really time to pay off everything and everyone in a fairly nice sized cast. Okay, I'll say it, I wish we didn't just have six episodes. To wrap up properly, I keep feeling there should've been at least ten. Oh well.

Bits:

Judd Nelson was fine as Birkhoff's dad, and I thought the way they connected through code was inventive and fun.

Amanda didn't bother me at all in this episode, which is probably due to the fact that the Shop's head honcho basically called her out about her impulsiveness and lack of forethought and wit.

Was the money funneled into Pakistan through Alex's shares in Zetrov faked by the Shop? Or was that the money she's been using to fund team Nikita?

The CIA interrogator Ellen Crawford was a finance person. Does that makes sense at all?

Again, what's going on with Sam's money? Did he really spend 300+ million dollars? If so, why doesn't he just ask Alex for help? I guess he has trust issues.

I can't fathom why the Nikita PTB would put what is essentially a filler/set-up episode into this season. I think I'm gonna just start holding off judgement until the end of the run. Because at this point I think the bigger picture can't really be seen.

Samantha M. Quinn spends most of her time in front of a computer typing away at one thing or another; when she has free time, she enjoys pretty much anything science fiction or fantasy-related.

2 comments:

  1. I think I'm gonna just start holding off judgement until the end of the run. Because at this point I think the bigger picture can't really be seen.

    I do hope you're right, J.D. Honestly, this episode was so meh that, if we weren't so close to the end, this would probably be where I jumped ship. However, at this point, I will hang in and hope for the best.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fun Easter Egg for uber fans:

    During the opening newcasts from around the world, the French anchor refered to Nikki as "La Femme Nikita."

    ReplyDelete

We love comments! We moderate because of spam and trolls, but don't let that stop you! It’s never too late to comment on an old show, but please don’t spoil future episodes for newbies.