Although I signed up to review Nikita for the Fall, after watching the pilot, where I penned positive reviews for Maggie Q but mixed reviews for everyone else, I dreaded watching Shane West do another impression of Shane West in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (can anyone tell I have issues with that film?). Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised. Everything improved. Everything.
Specifically?
The Show Overall
Everything just seemed smoother. The pilot already had a pretty big budget, but this episode seemed even larger with great nighttime shots. I loved watching Nikita’s cunning, particularly in outsmarting the gun runner (and Michael). How did she disarm his gun so quickly? Never mind. Later on, we see Division kids disabling guns blindfolded. I don’t understand why the head continues to underestimate Nikita considering she evaded two of their capture attempts and already thwarted one of their undercover ops. I can’t tell if Maggie Q improved with the fight scenes, but they feature quicker cuts.
Acting
Everyone did a better job with their character. I totally bought Aaron Stanford’s Birkhoff, Shane West’s Michael, and Lyndsy Fonseca’s Alex. I actually cared about Alex and believed her drug user back story. In fact, based on this ep, I could’ve enjoyed the show if it just focused on her. In the pilot, Alex felt like a weaker version of Nikita’s past. This time, she complemented the narrative and Nikita. Plus, Shane West totally brought his A- game. I could see why he cared for the kids and I could finally see his connection with Nikita. This time I actually laughed with Birkhoff’s godlike complex. Maggie Q settled even more into the role and Melinda Clarke’s shifting between new recruit warmth and interrogation cold was awesome.
The Writing
The show upped the ante with two rape scenes; the particularly brutal one occurring towards the beginning reminded me of the BSG assault scene with Boomer. Between that and the expanded budget, I kept thinking, “Holy crap, this is on the CW?” As the episode neared its close, I realized I hadn’t caught any wholly clichéd dialogue and I finally understood the stakes. Yeah, the Division head is evil. He sends his trainees out like party favors. He makes deals with war criminals. He’s OK with killing off his entire teen division if it helps make budget cuts. Jaden’s virulent hatred still seems unnecessary, but she’s the only character that still doesn’t work.
Other Things I Liked
Random Questions
What did other people think? Do you feel the show improved compared with its pilot?
Clacked by An Nicholson 
on Sep 17, 2010 @ 07:15 EST5EDT
*POST AUTHOR*
Quick Correction – For some odd reason, I always call ‘Point of No Return,’ ‘No Way Out,’ but this time I didn’t catch it, including Alex speaking into ‘a mike’ to record her voice. But, outside of that, what did people think about the show? Was I the only one who noticed the changes?
The pilot confused me. I thought Alex was Nikita at a younger age. The second show clarified that and was fun to watch!
Until the final 10 minutes of the pilot, I also viewed Alex as a younger version of Nikita. Despite the pilot’s temporal confusion, episode 2 did a much better job with the flashbacks -
So far I really don’t like the show. I kind of wanted to but the pilot just felt cold to me, I didn’t care about any of it, and last night’s episode couldn’t even hold my attention.
I don’t like Maggie Q, the main reason for the coldness. Sometimes when shows are all action and no character, I get bored (think ‘Die Hard’), even though the action is supposed to be exciting. That said, they tried the character stuff last night and it just didn’t suck me in.
Maybe I was pining away that this crappy little show forced Supernatural into the Friday death slot….
I feel the same way about Maggie Q. In the movie Nikita was primal, a wild animal and that’s part of why the character was so compelling to me. Even after she was trained as a spy/assassin she was prone to breaking out in fits of anger or singing. She was also vulnerable, this supercool superspy they trot out and call Nikita isn’t really nikita.
*POST AUTHOR*
Hmm. I think I have to disagree with you both. I don’t see this Nikita as cold, so much as mature. The ’90s Nikitas (all 3) showed warmth because they were post-adolescent and despite their past, held a bit of innocence and hope.
However, this Nikita is hollowed out as a result of leaving Division only to find herself hounded and her lover murdered. Realizing her fate, she’s dedicated herself to a tripartite vengeance for her lover, for the kids, and against the crooked head. I don’t believe they can show a happy Nikita, as I doubt a happy woman would return for Division.
Plus, this show’s Nikita combines lessons learned from the other versions. The French film always shot Nikita in seemingly distant blues and shadows (which we see replicated with the blacks and reds in the promos and the show’s shadows). Additionally, the USA Michael told his Nikita to keep her apartment bare (and pet free) to stay focused on the job (which you see through the CW Nikita’s empty loft). In all 3 versions, Nikita had talent, but the heads always one-upped her because her emotions got in the way or she trusted too much. The reason this Nikita stays ahead of Division because, for the first time, she doesn’t trust.
While there are flashes of the old Nikita in the CW version (and we’ll probably see more hints as the show progresses), I suspect that for a person so early in her mission, she can’t let her guard down (unless she wants history to repeat itself) -
Did you just rip on Die Hard? As a man, I have to step in and say that John McClane, Hans Gruber, Sgt. Al Powell, Ellis the cokehead, and Argyle the limo driver are all classic characters
How on Earth could you hate Die Hard?! John McClane is one of the best action movie characters ever.
Sorry, you and Stan misunderstood my Die Hard reference. I actually like the first movie (the sequels not so much) but I wouldn’t want to watch that type of action every week in a series, as I’d be bored. It makes a great 2-hour stand-alone movie when you’ve got nothing else to do!
Why did you have to bring up Point of No Return at all? I was living my life perfectly fine, forgetting that that movie exists and BOOM! You remind me of it.
I don’t even really like to remember the first TV series all that much and I have not made my mind up about this one yet. Just give me the original movie and I’m good.
*POST AUTHOR*
Sorry, Michael! Don’t worry, you can enjoy all the Nikitas. There are more than enough to go around :)
Timothy Olyphant would be much better than Shane West in the roll