What I’m Watching: Nikita

Nikita: Season 1, Episode 21 “Betrayals” (C-)

As we’re hurtling towards the end of the season with only one episode left after this one, there’s certainly no shortage of major game-changing plot developments. The trouble with it is that this episode turns everything on its head, not necessarily negating anything we knew previously but presupposing enough dramatic pieces of knowledge that no one on the show was privy to before that, including Percy knowing Michael was working against him, Alex having a kill chip inside her head, and Nikita having been the one who killed Alex’s father. It’s a good showcase for actor Xander Berkeley, who hasn’t had all that much to do this episode, to chew scenery. Why Michael decided to pull a gun on Percy rather than spirit Alex to safety out of there is beyond me, though I have to admit that it was a cool trick on Percy’s part to have the gun shock him. Percy’s whole plan doesn’t make too much sense to me, but it really doesn’t matter if Alex has in fact killed Nikita – which of course couldn’t happen because the show is named after her. Nikita being revealed as the murderer of Alex’s father is almost too convenient, and we already experienced this with Owen and Daniel. On top of that, I’m not impressed with the composure of, as far as we know, the two most senior Division agents aside from Percy, Amanda and Michael, both of whom behave like children when it comes to Operation Sparrow. This week’s season finale could be the series’ last episode, though I’m hopeful we have a few surprises in store that might warrant a second, more solid year.