Oh, Nikita. I don’t know what to do with you anymore. I haven’t for awhile, really. You go up (“Clawback”) and down (“London Calling”) and up (“Fair Trade”) and then we get here…to an episode that both underwhelms and intrigues me.
Maybe I got my hopes up. This time last season, you were really, really good, what with poor Thom getting killed and everything. You made me get all anxious waiting for you to come back from hiatus. This season, I can’t say I’m that excited. I’m sitting and wondering how you’re going to sort yourself out.
You started off with a lot of balls in the air. There was Alex on her way to kill Semak. Nikita teaming with Owen to find another Guardian and his black box. The Guardians all preparing for some secret shindig. It was a lot to be throwing in there all at once, but that’s what happens in a finale, midseason or otherwise – you sort of go for broke. And there were some awesome moments – I cheered when Shane West made his all-too-brief appearance, looking awesome in that leather trenchcoat, heavily armed and saving the day. Plus, like I’ve said before, you really can’t go wrong with Devon Sawa.
Unfortunately, you did a lot of stuff we’ve already seen before, too. There was more of Nikita brooding over…well, everything. I know she’s not sunshine and rainbows, but I think we’ve covered her angst pretty well. Alex had a few more flashbacks, because you like those this season.
And when it came down to it, you chopped the episode off just before it could have gotten really good. Seeing Thom get killed at the end of “All The Way” was jaw-dropping. You were building up to some potential jaw-dropping moments – Michael and Owen and a roomful of Guardians, maybe, or Nikita catching up to Alex, or Alex getting a real shot at Semak – but none of those things happened. I would’ve loved just five more minutes.
That’s why I can’t quite warm up to “Guardians”…it wasn’t bad, but I just felt like something was missing.
But you did put a smile on my face at the end.
You gave me the awesome Sarah Clarke, whom I have admired since 24 and whom I have begged to see on this show since season one (if only so she could play opposite her equally cool husband Xander Berkeley).
She’s Alex’s allegedly deceased mom, which is a really interesting idea. Everyone knows on a spy show there’s at least one person who doesn’t stay dead. And this one could help us flesh out a lot about Alex’s character. We’ve heard so much about her dad and seen him in flashbacks a ton of times, but we’ve never known much about her mom until now. It’ll be neat to see that side of Alex’s parentage and what influence her mom might have had on her.
Mom also makes me a bit nervous, though. She’s in the same house where Alex’s nemesis is holed up. And she doesn’t appear too distressed, or as if she’s being held there against her will. So what is she doing under the same roof with the guy who killed her husband? Is there something else going on with her? Is she secretly a mole…?!
…Okay, that last part was memories of Nina Myers. But still, I wonder.
And when you come back on January 6, I’ll be hoping the break did you good. I miss the awesome Nikita that was my favorite new show of last fall. And I think, if you answer some of these questions to their full potential, you could get back there pretty soon.
Clacked by Brittany Frederick 
on Dec 03, 2011 @ 00:44 EST5EDT
