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Nikita: Masks

"How do you like my new lair?"

Division's a mess and I wouldn't have it any other way.

This hour had a real season finale vibe to it with everything escalating and pretty much going to hell. The fact that we've got quite a few episodes left means we're bound to have an epic run of episodes.

First off, how awesome is Evil Owen? Devon Sawa hasn't had much to do this year so to have him own the screen in such a demented yet hilariously sarcastic way was fantastic. Sawa seriously gave his strongest performance yet on the show and I do hope they stick with this Owen for a while. He makes an outstanding baddie and I loved the revelation that he wasn't such a good guy in his past either (running the drug ring within the army and all).

Amanda was quite the supervillain this week. Not only did she induce the return of Sam Matthews, she finally revealed the true scope of her plans which began with the abduction of Alex a few weeks back. Although it was a bit too villain-y in spelling out her plans to Nikita like a run-of-the-mill Bond villain, it still felt very in-character to gloat her brilliance over her enemies. So, I'll let this little tidbit slide because her plot to tap into Alex's savior complex was pretty darn amazing. Plus, we got even more insight into Amanda's psyche as we discovered she genuinely believes she's "fixing" people. Now can we please get some more details on her past?

The mutiny in Division while a tad too sudden for my taste, is a fascinating development. Who here ever believed Alex could control her brewing rebel army? While Rachel has gotten irritating within the span of one week, this turn of events should prove mighty entertaining particularly now that Michael is captive and Sean, Owen and Alex are trapped inside.

And of course as always, Nikita pulled off an incredible ending with Division being overrun and Owen's final call to Amanda who tells him he's on his own before proudly proclaiming to Nikita: "And so it begins". Goosebumps I tell you. Let's hope the season doesn't peak next week because this year has the potential to truly blow our socks off.

Bits & Bullets

- Epic moment with Owen shooting Scotty and knocking out Nikita.

- Who hasn't missed Amanda's creepy nostril-invasive chair?

- At least Sean was alert enough to notice Alex's abnormal behavior lately.

- Maggie Q did a great job of showing sadness when she discovered Owen was a delusion. This woman is severely underrated.

- Who else got shades of Percy when Michael was interrogating Rachel? He just felt really evil.

- I love how Nikita used Alex to destroy Division from the inside in season one, and Amanda is doing the same to greater effect this year. "Parallels anyone?"

- Owen and Michael's all-out brawl was BADASS. Thankfully Michael's hand is still a liability. There ain't no magical healing on this show.

Nikki Notables

Operator: How may I assist you?
Owen: You can shut up, I'm talking to the bitch who's tapping this phone.

Operative: He's clean.
Owen: (To Amanda) And you're stupid.

Owen: I had a thought.
Birkhoff: That's a new one.

Nikita: (to Amanda) Did someone fix you? Or was the problem that you were too broken for anyone to even bother?

- An incredible hour of Nikita in a marvelous season.

4.5 out of 5 Amanda nose-chairs.

Previously posted on Nad's Reviews.

14 comments:

  1. This episode made me realize once more that Alex is the character I am less invested in. Her moments always make me want to skip forward. I wish they would give her a storyline where she is not the puppet of somebody else or where she does not change her behavior or opinions every couple of minutes. Sometimes I have the impression the actress does not like her storyline either and that shows.

    The Owen part was fabulous and exciting. Devon Sawa is a great actor and has great chemistry with Nikita and Michael. I am looking forward to his story.

    I don`t like the mutiny storyline but since the Amanda storyline was so slow for quite some time, it´s good to have finally some more action. Hopefully the Shop comes back soon, that could be more interesting.

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  2. I think a lot of people overestimate alex. I remember at the beginning of the season 2 and people didn't like how she was being manipulated by a lot of different things and characters . People where even complaining when she lost that fight to nikitas old partner kelly on the train. I just think you have to put it in perspective.
    As kick ass as alex is, she is still just a newbie. Despite her training she has only two years experience and she still manages to mix it with people who are both mentally and physically stronger than her. She was going against percy and amanada +n a regular basis and despite being tricked on occasion also won her fair share of mini battles.
    She is a flawed character WHICH is why we root for her.
    As for amanda, she is the inquisitor and a master of psyops..she is responsoble for producing all the recruits behaviours. Therefore alone with alex for 3days, while she is unaware. I'm surprised alex isn't more messed up.
    . episode 18,19,20 are meant to be epic in 'all the way' proportions. Amanda has messed with a lot of minds..Not just alex and owen.

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  3. I think a lot of people overestimate alex. I remember at the beginning of the season 2 and people didn't like how she was being manipulated by a lot of different things and characters . People where even complaining when she lost that fight to nikitas old partner kelly on the train. I just think you have to put it in perspective.
    As kick ass as alex is, she is still just a newbie. Despite her training she has only two years experience and she still manages to mix it with people who are both mentally and physically stronger than her. She was going against percy and amanada +n a regular basis and despite being tricked on occasion also won her fair share of mini battles.
    She is a flawed character WHICH is why we root for her.
    As for amanda, she is the inquisitor and a master of psyops..she is responsoble for producing all the recruits behaviours. Therefore alone with alex for 3days, while she is unaware. I'm surprised alex isn't more messed up.
    . episode 18,19,20 are meant to be epic in 'all the way' proportions. Amanda has messed with a lot of minds..Not just alex and owen.

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  4. And Michael's new hand is badly hurt already....

    I might be in the minority here but I don't like this season at all....

    This could have been much more interesting to watch and it would've had much heavier impact if Nikita/Alex falling out was not caused by Amanda and her creepy chair. Because now Alex is just a victim. I personnaly would like her to go against Division on her own and there are legitimate reasons for it, since division is more and more looks like what it used to be.

    I like Melinda Clarke very much but she's useless as Amanda. She's not threatening at all and her endgame is majorly psychotic. Didn't like Percy at all but as a villain I liked him more.

    Overall I miss a lot the first seasons atmosphere - Nikita and Alex against everyone, Michael is fighting them yet helping at the same time, that beautiful loft in season one and then lots of Birkoff's safe houses.....

    oh, well

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  5. I almost cried at the end of this episode when I realised I had to wait almost a week for the next one! arrrrgh!!! Things are heating up in such an exciting way! But damn I'm pissed about Owen not being Owen! I don't like Sam. :o(

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  6. Hahah Chris I guess you and I are the only two LOVING this season.

    Still, it's fascinating to read all of your views guys. Keep em coming and I do hope we'll all love the rest of the year!

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  7. I'm actually enjoying this season. I'm not too fond of Amanda, I think they've drawn out her story for too long. I hate what they're doing with Alex, and I've been totally spoiled for this Owen episode and I'm not even sure I want to watch one of my favorite characters get totally rewritten. I like the show, I really do, but I'm not happy with some of the directions these last few episodes have taken it.

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  8. Nadim,

    You are not the only one loving this season. I thought the first season was slightly uneven due to the first 12 episodes of season 1 which is usual for a new show. (Side note: Olga - I miss the loft too.) Season 2 was good but had it's weak episodes here and there however season 3 has been extremely good. I think there has been more stronger episodes then last year.

    I understand why some people are not enjoying this season and I think it all boils down to an individual's tolerance for Amanda. I know I like Amanda and it seems Nadim does too but I think this is where there is a divide (or a mutiny hehe) on whether you like this season or not. It comes down to whether you like Amanda or not. In addition to this Amanda's motives still remain murky at best. So I can understand why some people are not enjoying this season as much as the others. I for one love it.

    I cannot wait to see how this season ends. I wish the ratings were better but from what I have read it looks like a season 4 is likely. :-)

    I watch this show and think I can't believe this airs on the CW. It just does not fit in with the rest of the shows which I think definitely hinders it. Btw. I do watch a lot of the CW shows.

    Kaz

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  9. Hey Kaz! That's great to hear :D

    I agree, I didn't really LOVE season one until "All The Way" and ever since then, I've been pretty much obsessed with the show and have always felt that it just went from strength to strength.

    Your point about Amanda is quite accurate. People who aren't enjoying this season don't seem to be a fan of the character. Since I pretty much adore Melinda Clarke and her performance, I'm adoring the show at the moment!

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  10. I must admit to siding with Olga on this one. Alex as victim is getting old; it would have been much more interesting to have her make some of these decisions on her own.

    Sam is an interesting character. I am looking forward to seeing where they take him, although my guess is that he is not long for this world.

    Kaz makes an excellent point about Amanda being the deciding factor on how one feels about this season. As I fall into the "enough already" camp, I am not enjoying the season as much as I have some of the others.

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  11. Agreed with the consensus that amanda is the tipping point for whether you like this season or not. Ill add myself to the list that loves this season.

    People are acting like she's been Heavily involved all season. She has been in and out and now the storylines that where started in consequences, 'owens memory' 'alexs struggles' 'nikita vs amanda' are coming together.

    I like amanda because she isn't the usual 'big bad' let's all get our big guns and go defeat her enemy..she lacks threat in terms of what she can do physically although she has beat down alex and nikita before.

    She is the ultimate cerebral villain. She always manages to talk her way out of situations and always has a plan if not an endgame. The fact that she pretty much developed all the agents mentally she is there most dangerous enemy in that context.

    As I mentioned before alex is not a victim. She simply is up against people just as damaged as she is but with far more experience. We forget alex has only been trainin for 3years. Amanda is a pro compared to nikita let alone alex.

    Evil owen is pretty cool. I didn't like this whole sam idea at first but the twist that he's actually a bad guy was quite amusing.




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  12. Agreed with the consensus that amanda is the tipping point for whether you like this season or not. Ill add myself to the list that loves this season.

    People are acting like she's been Heavily involved all season. She has been in and out and now the storylines that where started in consequences, 'owens memory' 'alexs struggles' 'nikita vs amanda' are coming together.

    I like amanda because she isn't the usual 'big bad' let's all get our big guns and go defeat her enemy..she lacks threat in terms of what she can do physically although she has beat down alex and nikita before.

    She is the ultimate cerebral villain. She always manages to talk her way out of situations and always has a plan if not an endgame. The fact that she pretty much developed all the agents mentally she is there most dangerous enemy in that context.

    As I mentioned before alex is not a victim. She simply is up against people just as damaged as she is but with far more experience. We forget alex has only been trainin for 3years. Amanda is a pro compared to nikita let alone alex.

    Evil owen is pretty cool. I didn't like this whole sam idea at first but the twist that he's actually a bad guy was quite amusing.

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  13. So true Anonymous. Loved reading your thoughts!

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  14. This episode is freaking awesome! Super intense and throughout the whole episode, I just felt uneasy and just nervous wondering what would happen.

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