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Nikita: The Next Seduction

"You fought Nikita; it wasn't a fair fight."

While I appreciate Gogol's involvement in this episode, the hour just felt messy to me. It seemed to lack focus and there wasn't really much thrills to make up for that.

First off, I found the revelations that Nikita was basically Division's whore extremely unsettling and disturbing. Yes, it's an effective development that paints Division as the ultimate Big Bad (and they had tried to do a similar thing with Alex earlier in the season) but it still made me very uncomfortable.

In addition, I really didn't like how they handled Michael in this episode. I know they wanted it to seem big-brotherly when he crashed Alex's date but instead it came off as creepily romantic and ill-fitting of Nikita as a show. Add to that the speech he gave which painted Alex as a prostitute in front of Nathan and it was just really ugly (particularly with him knowing her history as a sex slave). It was just a huge misstep in my opinion that made Michael extremely unlikable.

I did, however, enjoy Nikki's opening up to Ryan at the end and asking how she could ever repent for her sins. Also, his kissing her was especially touching. I guess they both kiss each other when the other needs it even though it's obvious they don't have anything more than a platonic relationship.

Bits & Bullets:

- Nikki and Alex playfully teasing each other about "connecting" was pretty amusing and so unlike the show.

- Nathan saying Michael "sounds like Batman" was hilariously on-point.

- Best fight scene in a while: Nikki wrestling with the huge Gogol operative and using every single item in the room to try and bring him down including a Faberge egg wrapped in a towel. Incredible.

- Pretty awesome how Nikki made it look like she had been ambushed, bruises and all.

- Loved Ryan escaping with the bag.

- Alex and Nathan kissing and falling into an embrace was a nice contrast to lonely Nikita walking on the pier.

Nikki Notables:

Percy: First Owen, now Ryan. She always was the ultimate honey-trap.

Nikita: (To Percy) Don't worry. When I bury you, I won't call to brag first.

Ari: We can help you. The enemy of my enemy is...
Nikita: Just another man standing in my way.

Nikita: You can't just live the lie, Alex. It's not enough. You have to live, too.

- While there's nothing terribly wrong with this hour, I expect more from Nikita this point in the season.

3 out of 5 Faberge eggs.

Previously posted at Nad's Reviews.

6 comments:

  1. Ryan is a great addition to the show. He has a great chemistry with Nikki and I realy like how they grow to each other.

    Nathan - like Jaden and Thom - was a point I didn´t like in season 1. Pretty pointless story arc and like you said it was strange how the writers brought Michael into this story.

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  2. I really really really dislike Ryan and I think that´s because he´s probably way too much of a boy-scout for me.
    I´m in the minority, I know...
    (He sort of reminds me of Vaughn and I also happen to dislike him; on the other hand, I absolutely loved Jack)

    I think the whole Nathan&Alex thing happened way too fast. Knowing Alex used to be on a sex ring I thought the writers were going to wait before introducing a love interest.

    I love reading your reviews, especially because I can see the perspective of someone who is not a die-hard LFN fan (like me!). I keep comparing and comparing- I can´t help myself, I´ve tried. Although I do believe this is a great show ;)

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  3. Thank you Rebecca. That's nice to hear :)

    And by the way I hated the character of Ryan the first time I watched the show's two seasons. He bored me to tears. But somehow during my rewatch, I'm appreciating him more. Go figure.

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  4. The Nathan arc is something that seems underdevelopped and something I don´t like in season one very much.
    But speaking of this episode, I have to agree that it´s uneven and Michael behaves like a jerk to Alex. Because I really liked his flashback telling Nikita she would never be Josephine again and now telling Percy that he made that promise to her.

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  5. The whole dinner with Michael, Nathan and Alex creeped me out. The overtones were all wrong. A rare misstep for these writers.

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  6. Y'know, I always find it fascinating how people take things so personally the minute sex gets involved. (Not that sex should be impersonal, of course; the reaction just tends toward the extreme.) The honeytrap is probably one of the most important tools of spycraft, much more so than the pistols and the exploding pens and the glasses with breakaway frames that conceal stilettos. When you need to get close to a target for whatever reason, seduction is almost always the most effective way to do it. I rather doubt Nikita was Division's whore any more than any other agent; she just happens to be the show's focus. I actually would've been annoyed with her for tearing up in the hall had she not been attempting a real relationship at the time. I think it'd say something really terrible about a person if they found passionless murder easier than passionless sex.

    Diatribe aside, I do think this was uneven as hell. I'm just now getting intro Nikita, though, and I'll take your collective word that it gets better. For now, time for bed.

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