Episode Report Card Tippi Blevins: A- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT What Happens in Uzbekistan
By Tippi Blevins | Season 1 | Episode 9 | Aired on 11.11.2010
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Michael finds out that the terrorist who killed his family is meeting with a money launderer in Uzbekistan. He asks Percy for permission to take a team. Percy's all, "Ooh, too sensitive! I can't have Division involved! But why don't you take a couple of 'personal days' off?" Wink, wink. When Michael arrives in Uzbekistan, he finds Nikita waiting for him. Naturally, he assumes she's there to stop him, but she's actually there to help him. She knows what this means to him, and, thanks to a series of flashbacks to 2001, so do we. Kasim, this informant he trusted in Yemen, gave him a case full of explosives instead of terrorist intel. Michael survived, but his wife and young daughter were killed. That's when Percy steps in and offers Michael a job with Division, and a chance at revenge someday.
Back to the present: Nikita eventually convinces Michael she really wants to help him, and, since he needs the backup, he agrees to a temporary truce and secret team-up. For a brief while, it's like a fun, sexy, buddy flick. Unfortunately, Percy gets wind of the arrangement, and suddenly he's no longer squeamish about sending a team to Uzbekistan. Division agents interfere with Nikita and Michael's plans. Kasim's men kidnap Michael and torture him. Nikita rescues him, but Kasim gets away. When Michael pursues him in what will surely be a suicide mission, Nikita is forced to betray him in order to save him. She calls the Uzbek police, alerts them to Michael's plans, and he's taken in before he can exact his revenge. Division gets him back to the U.S., but Michael is furious at Nikita. Or at least that's what he tells Percy. He may actually be mad at Percy for sending in agents. It's all very interesting and exciting.
In the subplot, Alex is caught snooping around the medical files while helping Nikita. The doctor wants sex in exchange for his silence, so Alex knocks him right the hell out. She enlists Jaden's help (through blackmail) in testifying against the pervy doc so that Amanda and Percy discount his accusations of snoopery.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!We start things off with an aerial view of Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Our location thus established, we join Michael inside an airport, where an official-looking man asks him if he's there for business or pleasure. He's there for pleasure, he says, looking pretty shifty. The man checks his passport, which identifies Michael as "Daniel Pope" born sometime in the 1970s. The accompanying photo is so dramatic it's almost come all the way around to funny. Michael goes next to his spacious, well-appointed hotel room. His special otter senses (it's in the whiskers) alert him to danger, so he whips out a gun and spins to face... Nikita. "Hello, Michael," she says from the doorway. He keeps his gun aimed at her. "You picked the wrong mission to mess with," he tells her. "Relax," she says. "I'm not here to stop you.
We flash back to 24 hours earlier. Nikita gets info from a contact. "The person you're interested in is coming out of hiding for a meeting," her contact says, identifying the target as one Kasim Tariq. At the same time, Percy is giving Michael similar information in his Division office. An Uzbek money launderer is meeting with Kasim, who is Al-Qaeda's "main bagman." Michael is visibly shaken and struggles to compose himself. Percy says, "Uzbekistan is a touchy subject for the State Department." He talks about the red tape involved in putting together an op. Michael protests. Percy cuts him off by recommending Michael take an "administrative leave" that happens to last exactly as long as Kasim will be in Uzbekistan. "Thank you," Michael whispers.
In her fabulous loft, Nikita is messaging Alex. She needs Alex to look up the individual frequency of Michael's tracker. She tells Alex to get back into medical and look it up on the doctor's computer. Does Division not network their computers? Dumb! Meanwhile, Michael is packing his favorite guns for his "administrative leave" and making his most serious baby otter face. This leads us to a flashback-within-a-flashback. The time is 2001, the place is Yemen. A whiskerless Michael meets with Kasim at an abandoned shipyard. Kasim gives Michael a satchel full of receipts and ledgers. "Somewhere in those numbers are the people who killed your soldiers," Kasim says. Michael worries what will happen to Kasim once his people find out he handed over information to a US Naval Intelligence officer. He tells Kasim to go to the base for protection. They kid and talk like friends. Kasim leaves on his motorcycle as a young woman pulls up in a car. Michael gets into the passenger seat, all smiles. A little girl pops up from the back seat and throws her arms around his neck. "Daddy!" It's all hugs and kisses and then we join Michael back in the present (minus 24 hours).
Medical. The doctor examines Alex's wrist then leaves the room to go find her some nonnarcotic painkillers. She gets Michael's tracker info from the doc's computer and closes the files just as he comes back in with her pills. When she leaves, the doc notices his computer's been accessed. Alex goes to the computer lab and messages Nikita with the tracker codes. The room is full of people and a guard patrols without noticing anything. Division, you're just so awful sometimes!
We return to the hotel where Michael still has his gun trained on Nikita. "I'm here to help you kill Kasim," she says. Michael looks confused, so he takes the opening title sequence to think things over. Having thought things over, he tells Nikita to put her weapons on the ground. He knows her so well that he knows where she's hidden them. They banter about hurting each other and saving each other's lives. Nikita stresses again that she wants to help Michael. "I know what Kasim took from you," she says. Michael doesn't think he needs help, but Nikita points out he has no information and no backup. "At the very least, I think that might be a two-man op," she says. He gives her a charming smile and asks, "Am I at least one of the men?" Hee! They smile at each other and he finally lowers his gun. But he's still hesitant to work with her. They're supposed to be enemies and all that jazz. There are intense looks and wistful pauses. He admits he doesn't trust her. This seems to genuinely hurt her. She thinks for a while, then tells him what she wants: "After we kill Kasim, I want you to take a look at your loyalties." She knows he sees what Division has become. Michael tries to make excuses for Percy, but Nikita's not having it. She tells him he could be free. He scoffs at the thought of joining Nikita, but the intense looks and sly little smiles they're giving each other say otherwise.
Medical. The doc calls Alex in to ask her about the computer. Instead of closing the file, she had only minimized them. Alex looks scared, but the doc says he's not turning her in. "A lot of things go on here under the radar," he says. He reaches up to stroke her hair. She moves to leave, but he starts pawing at her. She shoves him, hard. He picks up the phone to call security. Alex, panicking, grabs a nearby syringe and sticks him with it. He goes down and she runs.
Uzbekistan. Nikita and Michael make plans. Michael doesn't have much to go on, but he has a picture of the money launderer at a football (soccer to us in the U.S.) game. Luckily, Akhmedov is staying in the same hotel. Michael suggests killing his guard and then interrogating Akhmedov. He calls it a "shoot 'n scoot," which sounds pretty adorable for a murder/torture plot. Nikita mulls this over then suggests a way to get the info without Akhmedov ever knowing it. "Okay, so what weapons were you thinking of?" Michael asks, a bit incredulous. Nikita assures him they're perfect.
They are, in fact, her feminine wiles. She walks into the hotel bar wearing heels and a sleek minidress. She's on her cellphone, speaking loudly, in Russian, about football. Akhmedov, sitting nearby, perks up like a dog presented with a T-bone and follows her to the bar. They switch to English and flirt for a bit. She drops her purse. They both reach for it and then she excuses herself to the ladies room. She walks past Michael, slyly handing him the hotel key card she just lifted off Akhmedov. While Michael checks out the hotel room, Nikita copies the SIM card from Akhmedov's phone. Michael copies the drive from Akhmedov's computer. Nikita returns to the bar and downs some vodka with Akhmedov. She sneakily drops his phone on the floor, making him think he dropped it himself. Feeling optimistic, Akhmedov waves his guard over, and tells him to fetch his Viagra. Michael hears over his earpiece that the guard is on his way back up to the room. Once he gives the all-clear, Nikita gets away from Akhmedov by promising to go find her pretty lady friend for a threesome. I almost feel sorry for him at this point, because the schmo totally buys it.
Division. Percy has just gotten surveillance photos of Nikita in Uzbekistan. "What is he thinking?" he asks. "Does he realize the world of pain he's about to bring down on himself?" Amanda thinks he's just being resourceful. Percy sends a team to take out Nikita, even though Amanda points out it will compromise Michael's op.
Alex is having trouble concentrating in surveillance class. She can't put together a camera. Jaden, having vented all her bitchiness off-screen, suggests working together. Alex is feeling less friendly, however. Amanda calls her over and mentions finding Dr. Pervy unconscious in medical. She asks Alex if she knows anything about that. Alex lies that she doesn't. "He'll be awake in a few hours," Amanda says coolly. "We'll know everything then." What is the horrible, shapeless blue tarp they have her wearing this episode? It looks like a pool cover.