Series Review: Nikita

Tech-heavy spy drama at its most intense

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by Matthew Ferri
*Vague spoilers

A rogue agent makes it her mission to take down a secret criminal organisation she used to work for called Division. Suffice it to say that this isn't the most original plot; nor is the master-of-all-trades rogue agent herself very realistically portrayed; and don't get me started on the technology or the copious amounts of fake deaths. Fortunately, they're all part of the same thrilling backdrop for a cast of multi-faceted characters, who together display a spectrum of unwavering ambition. Indeed, every good guy and bad guy has a goal, an aim, something to live for. And while they aren't all equally convincing, they transcend the history of Division itself: a metaphor for distinction and identity. If nothing else, Nikita has depth.

Division consists of two separate parties embodied in its bleak colour scheme: black and white - those giving orders, and those carrying them out. Not knowing any better, Nikita was once one of those being ordered around. Then, one day, her eyes opened and she realised she had to get out. You guessed it: she faked her death, sacrificing her identity; and over the next three years she trained her partner in crime, Alex, who, from the start of Season One, is granting her intel as a mole in the heart of Division. You see, there's a third party whom she and Nikita represent. For a while, they're the only ones; and to everyone else, their identities - their motives and ambitions - don't exist. They're grey: a colour not explicitly present in Division, yet a mixture of black and white, which our heroes have taken onboard, fuelling their vengeful drive to take down Division and its corrupt leader, Percival "Percy" Rose.

Vengeance - the one motivation that is its own weakness. Like all Division-trained operatives, Nikita and Alex were criminals in prison or on death row. As such, they each have a dark past filled with sacrifice, compromise and regret, shaping their decisions, feelings and fears in the present. Nikita's most substantial remorse comes as a major twist towards the end of Season One, breaking Alex's trust in Nikita and directing it instead to Amanda, Percy's partner in world domination. Grey: such an unhappy mix of light and dark that cannot be undone.

But there are enemies among enemies as well. It soon becomes clear that Percy, the invincible mastermind and Amanda, the conniving black widow stricken with insatiable loneliness, are each playing their own little game; and together they heartlessly destroy whatever fragments of trust they ever shared. Even Birkhoff, the comic relief tech guy, gets his portion of drama; but he's mainly there for comedy and smarts; and I must say, he has some pretty good lines. "Look, Nikki, you're allowed to miss him. But he's coming back. You guys are... you're meant to be. You're like Bonnie and Clyde, except without the last scene."

Nikita: Season One Trailer (2010)

While the plot itself isn't exactly innovative, its execution is often unpredictable, and its progression incredibly fluid. When Nikita and Alex aren't enough to stop Division, Michael - Percy's right-hand man and Nikita's foreseeable boyfriend - joins the good side. Amanda takes over and Percy is imprisoned; Nikita gradually adds to her team, forming a generic but very likeable force. As Birkhoff puts it, "Nikita incorporated, baby. Live and work in the same space. Just like the Enterprise." Amanda gets thrown out but confides in another powerful villain; and Percy, whose endgame involves making the US president his puppet, finally gets outplayed. Plot and character development go hand in hand. We see more vulnerability from Nikita as Percy's shadow of doom appears unstoppable. But it's through her humanness that she realises her need for friends; and through them her mission becomes possible once again.

The finale, one in which the creators had to both satisfy viewers with a resolution and keep the plot open in case the series was renewed again, was aptly done. Nikita infiltrates Division one final time, reluctantly willing to be taken down along with it. Yet, in a reversal of roles, Percy and Division become outnumbered, and Percy himself, if only for a second, gets outsmarted by Nikita. A second is all it takes; and a very distressed Percy looking pitifully up into Nikita's face saying, "No..." is the last we see of him. He meets a timely yet unpredictable end, after which Nikita and co. take Division by the reins; and with the passing line, "There are still monsters out there," we get a shot of Amanda standing over a terminal, which reads, 'Game change.' In one of the closing scenes, Alex says, "Here we go?" to which Nikita replies, "Here we go again." Thus, the snippet of Amanda could easily be interpreted as a symbol for the endless spawn of enemies who seek to undo justice, against whom Nikita must perpetually wage war. But the series has indeed been renewed for another season; so it's instead a clear indication that we'll be seeing more of the infamous black widow next year. Overall, a brilliant episode, both satisfying viewers and leaving them with several unanswered questions.

No show is perfect, though. Nikita occasionally suffers from writer's block: running out of ways for the good guys to win, so recycling earlier solutions, making the series feel just a tad ripe. However, these instances are few and far between. In all other cases the entertainment is top notch, sacrificing fundamental originality and overt realism (neither of which the show aims to achieve anyway) for a cast of highly developed characters and a steady plot inside an action-packed thrill ride. I have no doubt that season three will deliver in the same light. The concept of Division is ironic. It's designed to give people a second chance, to whitewash their black slates. Yet each and every character is a testament to the reality that no one is black nor white. Nikita and Alex don't forget their pasts; they learn to accept them, and each other.

4 Stars out of 5