This is going to be the shortest Nikita post EVER!!! While the first half was meh, the second half required me to devolve to all caps. Ready? OK. Here goes.
Caps-lock on.
FINALLY, they found that backdoor (the technical and the physical). FINALLY, Michael suspects Alex. FINALLY, Thom calls her out. And, Madeline? DAMN, she really knows how to torture someone. DAMN, Nikita’s bestial chained ceiling escape rivals any werewolf transformation. DAMN, Nikita took down an ENTIRE room of recruits by HERSELF?! How does Percy NOT want to brainwash her to get her back? And, OHMYGOSH, she fights with BARBELLS?! WHAT? They killed THOM!???!! WHAT?!?! Alex set Thom up?!!! WOW!
Caps-lock off.
I expected a run of the mill season hiatus, but Nikita’s writers pulled out all the stops. Whenever the writers DON’T treat their audience like idiots, I give them a high five. So, here’s to you Craig Silverstein. Everything I questioned in the past found answers (except Jaden’s continued existence). I know I start fights with Castle whenever I review Hawaii 5-0, but in terms of writing, Nikita kicks 5-0’s ass. Plus, I love the casting director. Robin Givens looked hot, and I love ’80s-’90s TV cameos. While I agreed with offing Thom last week, this week — after the Thom-Alex confrontation — I saw so many more avenues for their relationship (outside of paralleling Nikita and Michael). Since the writers have explained almost everything, they have to have a reason for Jaden. Is she maybe secretly working for Nikita?
On a side note, while Shane West’s Michael brought the hotness, did anyone else find his kill training creepy? i.e. “Now he’s dead and he’s quiet . . . hush . . . hush.”
Clacked by An Nicholson 
on Dec 09, 2010 @ 23:24 EST5EDT
OMGOSH indeed. This is by far my favorite new show of the season and one of my must sees of all the shows I watch. It had a rough few episodes, but it has turned into a cornacopia of action, intrigue, thrills, suspense, on and on.
This is the show that the other recent spy shows have tried and failed to be.
Hey Carla, I totally agree with you. You definitely can’t judge a show by its pilot. Sometimes it’s an accurate representation, but other times they just exceed your expectations. Nikita has blown my mind so far concerning writing, character development, and cast cohesion -
OHMYGOSH, indeed! They set up the Thom-Alex relationship to make this episode a gut punch perfectly. This show (usually) packs so much into each episode, I sometimes wonder what new thing they’re going to do next. So far it has yet to disappoint.
I am still waiting for the show to get canceled or renewed before I watch a single episode. The ratings are just too low.
Huh, for some reason I was under the impression the overall viewership numbers were quite reasonable for the CW and the show’s main issue was that it didn’t pull enough women to match the CW’s target demographic. I guess it’s problems are more serious. On that note, does anyone know if there’s a place I can watch it online that’ll be measured by the network? I watch all my favorite bubble shows on Hulu, (which sadly doesn’t have stuff from the CW) just so I feel like my voice as a viewer is being heard.
Sebastian, I have to agree with Tarlinian on this count. Nikita does well in the numbers, perhaps not NBC/CBS good, but good for that network. Two weeks ago it rated higher than its Monday night shows (Gossip Girl/90210) and in September it received more viewers than all of the CW’s shows. I sense you might like ‘Nikita.’
Of course I watch it because I liked the other iterations and ‘In Plain Sight,’ but I see it as its own construct. (I might suggest skipping the first 3 shows. They provide background, but, because they aren’t as good as the other episodes they’d make non-die hard fans walk away).
The Problem lies in the female demo and the first three episodes. To behonest I want to be certain that there is a meaningful ending to the show before I start watching. “Lost” kind of burned me here and I like the movie too much to get into it all without knowing that this leads somewhere. I don’t want this to be another Jamie Sommers show
Is there a direct connection to In Plain Sight, or are you just making a thematic comparison?
Loved LFN in its day, and this show is so good that I wish they had kept the Section One name.
*POST AUTHOR*
Hey Ryan – The IPS connection is merely genre-based (strong women with guns). I’m actually fine with the name change (what with differing production companies and all). Also, I like that abstract names such as section/division/unit could apply to anything -
Abstract is fine, it’s just that using Division specifically makes me flash back to Push, which I quite enjoyed and rewatch on Blu-ray on occasion. I wouldn’t have that problem with Section or The Unit.
Strong women are a dime a dozen in the genre these days, but the duo of Nikita and Alex stand out to me due to their intelligence, ruthlessness, and commitment. The scene where Nikita pulls her manacles from the ceiling to use as improvised flails gave me chills (in a good way).
As to the ease of her escape, I think Division was quite right to judge her incapable of doing so without outside aid that was able both to purloin explosives from secured storage and to know the precise location in which to plant them to crack the ceiling in the interrogation room, all while remaining undiscovered.
I see where you’re going with that, S. While the CW does better amongst women 18-34 than any other network for Gossip Girl, 90210, and Hellcats, those shows are basically about pretty teenagers and their love lives (which is very different from Nikita). Admittedly, I’m shocked Nikita hasn’t attracted more women.
Although the first three episodes didn’t impress me, the recent episodes have revealed the writers have spent a careful amount of time plotting everything out. So, while I can’t force you to watch, I hope you do (if anything for the inventive fight choreography :)
Hands down, this was one of the most exciting episodes ever made for any tv series. Vintage entertainment on a major scale. Having said that there were a couple of serious unbelievable moments that strained credibility for me. The episode was fantastic (and it is fiction in the highest level), but as an amateur nitpicker I must dare speculate.
Division is billed to be this badass (super-badass) organization that is tops at killing and outsmarting most of the known world. Now, here in their home park, they have this little 100-pound girl chained from the ceiling with 250-pound goons posted around her AND locked several layers down the evil lair….and she escapes!!! Even more comical, when Nurse Ratchett is about to supposedly torture her, I cringed at the thought of our hero undergoing God knows what!!! At this point they show her home videos of her making out with her lover!!! Whoa, if that won’t make her talk nothin will! Ha Ha. It almost resembled Wile E. Coyote and the roadrunner.
So unbelievable. I loved it.
*POST AUTHOR*
Wow, Tim-1. Normally, you’re the most idealistic out of all of us. I’d like to point out that Nikita’s a highly trained, possibly 105-120lb woman :) I loved the chained ceiling scene because it exhibited Nikita’s survival skill alongside her sheer exertion strength.
I found Amanda’s torture amazing (I know I called her LFN Madeline above) because she knows exactly how to torture her victims. And, FINALLY, someone reminds Nikita she wasn’t a snow-white virgin when Division found her.
The torture scene, Thom’s anger at a woman who denied his advances, Michael’s wanting to commit suicide over his wife’s death, and both Owen/Nikita’s desire to destroy an organization while knowing the possible repercussions, shows the extent of emotional damage within Division recruits.
Ah, but remember, I mentioned that the episode was superb. And it is true that I love great escapism (pardon the pun) as well as the next person. Firstly, the points you make on the mental scars suffered by the protaganists are undeniably valid. You definitely do your homework on the shows you review. My somewhat tongue-in-cheek protest was however, based on the logic assuming Division would not trick around with an adversary as skilled as Nikita.
Percy is just too ruthless to do that (remember how he murdered that electronic expert fellow?).
As brilliant as Nikita is, would she not be surprised at any of the dirty little tricks Division stooped to? You are correct in asserting that psychological torture can be most effective (paraphrase), but I was surprised Division would think they could break her with that angle this late in the game. As for the miraculous escape (with help from Alex) don’t mind my brickbats, I LOVED James Bond movies too! This show just keeps getting better!
ps: Kona would have never got caught like that. Ha Ha.
*POST AUTHOR*
You did compliment the episode, Tim-1, but based on your H5-0 and Nikita posts, I haven’t seen your past criticisms outweigh your congratulations to the writers. So, I’m happy to see this day in internet history.
Regarding torture, Nikita asked about the electric shock/whips, indicating her knowledge that torture wouldn’t break her, which Amanda knew, hence the movies. While Nikita’s shock surprised me, both old school Nikitas were naive, despite their hardships. So, Amanda’s torture did two things: 1) it helped us see old school Nikita in the seemingly hardened, older version and 2) it helped re-dedicate her to the mission. For awhile I felt both Alex and Nikita should pack it in. But, Thom’s death and Amanda’s home movies, reminded both women and the viewing audience about their crusade’s meaning. While Alex gave Percy a double-sided monologue, likewise, Nikita’s emotional rawness visually authenticated her crusade’s dedication.
In reality Percy would’ve shot her on arrival, but this is TV. Plus, he seems obsessed in using her as an example. I doubt Michael would’ve shot or allowed anyone to shoot her (in his presence), despite his anger (and knowledge that she’d probably die at Percy’s hands).
Here’s another reason I believed in the gym scene. At the season’s beginning we see Owen and Michael taking her down (and, she only escaped them through self-injury). But, as the season progressed, Nikita’s savage fighting and survival capabilities increased by killing the rival spy with a vacuum cleaner and knocking down Owen in her bathing suit.
P.P.S. You’re right, they wouldn’t’ve caught Kono, they would’ve killed her before the season started :) Either way it’s great to see Tim-1 criticize parts of an episode, even if in the usual gentlemanly manner -
The bonus about great shows like H5-0 and Nikita….is that the discussion of them can be as entertaining as watching them. Thank you for your thoughts and viewpoints. I am looking forward to future episodes and your accompanying reviews.