Nikita “Pandora” S1 E22 Review + Recap

A lot of shockers in this season finale, but what I found most interesting was the character development for Alex (Lyndsy Fonseca), and the changing nature of her relationship to Nikita (Maggie Q).

Now that the explosive finale has been shown,  it’s clear that Alex’s story arc over the season was a coming of age story. Alex has always been the stand-in for CW’s teenage audience to vicariously live through. Like most teens, she went to school, made friends and enemies there, underwent drastic changes, and finally, left the safety of her parental figures.

If I had to compare the finale to any other piece of media, it wouldn’t be a prior iteration of Nikita. The character of Alex is entirely new to the franchise. No, I see Alex’s development over the past few episodes, and especially in this episode, as similar to the eponymous character in Hanna.

As a coming of age story, the close of the episode was tragic, but left room for redemption and future maturity.

Nikita “Betrayals” S1 E21 Review + Recap

Two words for “Betrayal”: Game. Changer.

This show needs to get picked up stat. Though the series had a slow start, Nikita has ramped up the action, while also improving on writing. Plotting is still sometimes inconsistent, but if you’re asking for popcorn thrills, the show definitely delivers.

Last week’s episode left Alex (Lyndsy Fonseca) in jeopardy, exposed a Nikita’s mole. This episode advances many series arcs while also completely overturning many prior revelations. It’s a doozy.

Nikita “Glass Houses” S1 E20 Review + Recap

Let me start by saying again that I am an unabashed fan of Nikita. It’s not deep or intellectual. It’s not going to pop up on any Emmy shortlists. But it’s a fun show, with an exciting pace and one of the few action shows currently on network television with female leads (including an Asian-American female, no less).

Was this the best show I saw last week? No, but it might be the best episode of Nikita yet. Taken with view of the entire series’ run, this week’s episode was stellar.

First of all, “Glass Houses” marks the first time the writers managed to limit exposition to the voice-over and just one sentence of dialogue. This was a key weakness in some of the earlier episodes, and my Nikita-loving heart rejoiced when they pulled this off.

The Nikita storyline was full of emotion and character development. The Alex storyline was lighter on emotion, but included some unexpected plot twists. Massive spoilers ahead.

Nikita “Girl’s Best Friend” S1 E19 Review

Let’s be honest here. Nikita is not an amazing show. However, viewing the show against typical CW fare, I dare say it’s not half bad–enjoyable, even, and it has been improving by leaps and strides in its first season.

If you haven’t watched the show, and you’re interested in it, please do yourself a favor and skip the first 5-7 episodes. Really. Especially the disastrously bad season opener. The show has been picking up pace since right before the mid-season break, and it’s settling into a nice groove as we move into the home stretch.

It’s easy for a new viewer to get into the show, as every episode’s opening bit includes an overview of all key plot points.  I’m glad the show realized it didn’t need the lengthy exposition of the first few episodes. Yes, we know the Nikita franchise is long and storied, but really we don’t need any background.

All we need to know is there is a secret organization that is questionably bad. The main player is a rogue former agent named Nikita. She now has two associates secretly working in the organization. Done.

Anyway, to get back to the episode: