Watching this week’s Nikita, I had one thought: “Didn’t I see this episode already — last week?!?”
In last week’s “Knightfall,” our titular heroine investigated a previous Division operation only to find that a cruel fate had befallen one of the players, and felt badly about it, while Alex continued on her quest for revenge against the people who killed her father.
In this week’s “Partners,” Nikita found out that during a previous Division operation, a cruel fate had befallen her partner Kelly (former Bones love interest, Katheryn Winnick, acting on autopilot), and felt badly about it, while Alex continued on her quest for revenge against the people who killed her father.
Is there an echo in here?
“Partners” is not necessarily a bad episode. There’s a handful of fun setpieces, from a brawl on a moving train to a forest shootout and someone being stuffed in the trunk of a car. Michael gets an action-hero entrance in the fourth act that proves Shane West has that role in his arsenal. And Alex and Nikita finally get to have a face-to-face that doesn’t involve snippiness or one of them trying to harm the other. As Alex lets Nikita and Michael escape, there’s an honest confusion on her face that I’m sure will come back to haunt her. There are good things about this one.
It’s just not all that great, either. Namely, because it contains pieces and parts we’ve already seen in the first three episodes of season two. Our heroes uncover something about a past Division operation. It involves someone from at least Nikita’s past. There’s at least one flashback. Nikita feels badly about something. Michael has to reassure her. Alex is still trying to avenge her father’s death. Another former colleague of Nikita’s is working for Gogol — first Owen in “Falling Ash” and now Kelly. And Percy is still stuck in his big plastic prison, which is a huge waste of Xander Berkeley. It’s a whole lot of deja vu.
Now, there’s bound to be some familiar notes, because the whole theme of season two is Nikita’s using the black box to right the wrongs of her past — so of course there’s going to be a lot of talk about it. And Nikita has a lot to answer for, so she’s got some weight on her shoulders. That I understand.
But I don’t want the show to become a Mad Lib every week. There’s a big difference between making something an element of the show, and overusing it to the point of exhausting its welcome.
Could we do without flashbacks for once? Or maybe have an episode where there isn’t a character that one of our main characters has some emotional attachment to? Or have Nikita realize that not everything is her fault? Or let Xander Berkeley do something other than take after Sir Ian McKellen at the end of the first X-Men movie?
Nikita still has an underappreciated cast, particularly West and Berkeley, and it may have some of the best action sequences on television. If nothing else, it’s a great diversion. It’s better than many shows that have braved the Friday night graveyard. As much as I loved this show last season, I don’t want to give up on it. I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt. But I’m worried.
Especially since next week’s previews (spoiler alert!) show that we’ll learn about another previous Division operation and the potentially cruel fate that’s befallen a woman Michael once worked with, and he feels badly about it. (And Nikita is predictably jealous.)
Nikita broke the mold last season. It’d be a shame if it made one now.
Clacked by Brittany Frederick 
on Oct 15, 2011 @ 09:37 EST5EDT
I heartily agree!