Nikita 1x06 Review
Oct. 28th, 2010 07:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaResistance
A very enjoyable episode.
• Division’s ‘training exercise’ was actually a pretty solid idea for getting a deeper understanding of how recruits will react in these sort of situations. I wonder if all of the recruits on the bus went through their own version of it as well. If not it seems very much a waste since now they won’t be able to pull the same thing on other recruits with the same effect.
• I liked that it was a test for Michael just as much as it was for Alex but it was obvious that he knew about it. There was no chance that he was really betraying Alex and because I didn’t believe it the whole thing lacked a lot of tension especially with regards to the Alex/Michael relationship and whether she should trust him. This version of Michael is just so open and... soft. Once again I really found myself missing LFN Michael’s moral ambiguity and the way I wasn‘t sure of him.
• I love Nikita and Alex's relationship. The scene at the gas station was excellent.
• Right now shipping-wise I’m not really anywhere – Michael/Nikita is probably the most interesting for me but that is heavily because I have their Le Femme Nikita counterparts as a base. Michael/Alex could be very interesting but it’s not working for me entirely. I was expecting to really ship Nikita/Alex but so far I haven’t been even though I love their relationship. Michael/Nikita/Alex which sounds awesome and exactly what I’d want is also falling a little flat. There’s some potential with Amanda, mainly with Alex or Nikita, or Alex/Jaden but I’m not there yet. I don’t really care about Thom or Birkoff or Percy. Owen/Nikita has a lot of angsty potential. Overall though it’s all very eh.
• It’s clear that Michael sees Nikita in Alex, Nikita who he loved and stills loves, and that’s certainly a good start and a reason for her to have gotten his attention. But six episodes in feels too soon for us to be getting “I’m not going to lose you too.” That sort of declaration I could see later in the season after a lot more build up of his growing attachment to her. Like with the idea that he’d kill/harm her I just can’t buy him already being so attached to her.
• I love that Nikita’s first, and only, question upon learning that Owen had killed her fiancé was to wonder if Michael knew about the kill order. She was very intense when she asked and it was clear how important it was to her. It’s these sort of things that work really well in establishing their relationship.
• Nikita not having been the one to kill Alex’s family actually leaves me disappointed because there was just so much potential with it. I suppose it could still go that way just by saying that Alex didn’t tell her everything. It would explain how Nikita managed to get Alex out of there when there were other agents there with her. The fact that Nikita was the indirect reason that Alex was sold to sex traffickers is interesting though. I hope that we actually get to see some fall out to that being dealt with at some point. Nikita didn’t mean it but it still happened and I just can’t imagine Alex never having had any anger over it.
• Alex looked really great in her Amanda getup. There’s one shot of her against the light walls, while he’s guessing her age, that she just looks particularly amazing (and very Amanda-like.) Oh, and another when’s she sitting down talking about his family.
• “I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I would have beaten the guy’s head in.” – Thom. Were we supposed to find that romantic or go aw or something? Because it made me dislike him more than anything else. It just felt very condescending to me. He’s her friend not her protector. She’s training right there alongside him to be an agent. It bugged me.
• It occurs to me that having what appears to be the only way into division being right through the recruits practice area might not be the best idea. Whoever designed Division did a really sucky job of it.
• Alex’s little outburst to Michael and Percy felt... off to me. She came off very much as a teenager yelling at her parents but these are people who hold her life in their hands, especially Percy.
• Percy shushing Amanda and Birkoff because he’s ‘trying to watch’ amused me.
• Considering how attached Alex and Thom revealed they are to each other during this exercise I’d be surprised if there weren’t repercussions. For an agency who dislikes bonds among their agents as much as this one does this should be an issue and something that would be dealt with.
• I was expecting Owen to have killed himself so I’m glad that instead he just took off on his own. The reveal that he’d been a Reaper and had killed Daniel was a surprise but I like it. It adds such excellent tension to the Nikita/Owen relationship, or it would if he’d have stuck around, and it’s exactly what I wanted from Nikita/Alex’s relationship (and my wish that Nikita had killed Alex’s parents). Owen surviving the episode means that we could see him again and I hope so.
• Owen is apparently played by Devon Sawa which shocks me. Wow, he has changed with age. Not a bad change – Owen is pretty hot – but just such a big one. I used to find young Mr. Sawa hot as well.
A very enjoyable episode.
• Division’s ‘training exercise’ was actually a pretty solid idea for getting a deeper understanding of how recruits will react in these sort of situations. I wonder if all of the recruits on the bus went through their own version of it as well. If not it seems very much a waste since now they won’t be able to pull the same thing on other recruits with the same effect.
• I liked that it was a test for Michael just as much as it was for Alex but it was obvious that he knew about it. There was no chance that he was really betraying Alex and because I didn’t believe it the whole thing lacked a lot of tension especially with regards to the Alex/Michael relationship and whether she should trust him. This version of Michael is just so open and... soft. Once again I really found myself missing LFN Michael’s moral ambiguity and the way I wasn‘t sure of him.
• I love Nikita and Alex's relationship. The scene at the gas station was excellent.
• Right now shipping-wise I’m not really anywhere – Michael/Nikita is probably the most interesting for me but that is heavily because I have their Le Femme Nikita counterparts as a base. Michael/Alex could be very interesting but it’s not working for me entirely. I was expecting to really ship Nikita/Alex but so far I haven’t been even though I love their relationship. Michael/Nikita/Alex which sounds awesome and exactly what I’d want is also falling a little flat. There’s some potential with Amanda, mainly with Alex or Nikita, or Alex/Jaden but I’m not there yet. I don’t really care about Thom or Birkoff or Percy. Owen/Nikita has a lot of angsty potential. Overall though it’s all very eh.
• It’s clear that Michael sees Nikita in Alex, Nikita who he loved and stills loves, and that’s certainly a good start and a reason for her to have gotten his attention. But six episodes in feels too soon for us to be getting “I’m not going to lose you too.” That sort of declaration I could see later in the season after a lot more build up of his growing attachment to her. Like with the idea that he’d kill/harm her I just can’t buy him already being so attached to her.
• I love that Nikita’s first, and only, question upon learning that Owen had killed her fiancé was to wonder if Michael knew about the kill order. She was very intense when she asked and it was clear how important it was to her. It’s these sort of things that work really well in establishing their relationship.
• Nikita not having been the one to kill Alex’s family actually leaves me disappointed because there was just so much potential with it. I suppose it could still go that way just by saying that Alex didn’t tell her everything. It would explain how Nikita managed to get Alex out of there when there were other agents there with her. The fact that Nikita was the indirect reason that Alex was sold to sex traffickers is interesting though. I hope that we actually get to see some fall out to that being dealt with at some point. Nikita didn’t mean it but it still happened and I just can’t imagine Alex never having had any anger over it.
• Alex looked really great in her Amanda getup. There’s one shot of her against the light walls, while he’s guessing her age, that she just looks particularly amazing (and very Amanda-like.) Oh, and another when’s she sitting down talking about his family.
• “I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I would have beaten the guy’s head in.” – Thom. Were we supposed to find that romantic or go aw or something? Because it made me dislike him more than anything else. It just felt very condescending to me. He’s her friend not her protector. She’s training right there alongside him to be an agent. It bugged me.
• It occurs to me that having what appears to be the only way into division being right through the recruits practice area might not be the best idea. Whoever designed Division did a really sucky job of it.
• Alex’s little outburst to Michael and Percy felt... off to me. She came off very much as a teenager yelling at her parents but these are people who hold her life in their hands, especially Percy.
• Percy shushing Amanda and Birkoff because he’s ‘trying to watch’ amused me.
• Considering how attached Alex and Thom revealed they are to each other during this exercise I’d be surprised if there weren’t repercussions. For an agency who dislikes bonds among their agents as much as this one does this should be an issue and something that would be dealt with.
• I was expecting Owen to have killed himself so I’m glad that instead he just took off on his own. The reveal that he’d been a Reaper and had killed Daniel was a surprise but I like it. It adds such excellent tension to the Nikita/Owen relationship, or it would if he’d have stuck around, and it’s exactly what I wanted from Nikita/Alex’s relationship (and my wish that Nikita had killed Alex’s parents). Owen surviving the episode means that we could see him again and I hope so.
• Owen is apparently played by Devon Sawa which shocks me. Wow, he has changed with age. Not a bad change – Owen is pretty hot – but just such a big one. I used to find young Mr. Sawa hot as well.
