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Woo! Where to start? This episode was packed. For the majority of the episode, we have both Nikita and Michael telling Alex she has to "live the lie." They're both concerned about her getting closer to neighbor Nathan. Michael even goes so far as to intrude on their dinner date and imply that Alex is a prostitute and he's her pimp. This ties into an old mission where Michael basically had to pimp Nikita out to a sleaze named Voss, even as he hated to do it. In the present day, Ryan Fletcher comes across some "chatter" in his new role as a lowly "cold war substation" analyst that points him to Voss as dealing in dirty bombs. When his CIA bosses refuse to let him go after Voss, he asks Nikita to step in. Even though she hates the idea because it means revisiting a painful chapter of her past, she agrees. It turns out that Voss isn't such a sleaze anymore and is trying to defect from Gogol, for whom he designed the bomb and from whom he is now stealing it in order to gain amnesty from the U.S.
He manages to convince Nikita that his turn to goodness is legit, mainly because Gogol shows up and tries to kill them both. They escape and have awesome fights with the bad guys and meaningful conversations about whether or not people like them deserve second chances. Unfortunately, Percy's the one who planted that "chatter" for Ryan to find. Division kills Voss and takes the bomb, making it look like Gogol is responsible. Little Ryan proves to be more heroic than expected, wielding his sword of bureaucracy to stall things while Division and Gogol ops take each other out. He even gets the bomb to safety and gets a fancy promotion, too.
In the end, Nikita is sad, thinking about the lies she's lived instead of a real life. Ryan reassures her that she does, indeed, deserve a chance. She also deserves a kiss, which he gives her. She then tells Alex to go ahead and have her life, which involves her pretty much immediately pouncing on Nathan. It can't end well, but it's fun while it lasts. Stay tuned for the full weecap!
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Want more? The full recap starts right below!Nikita's intro is much the same as last week's, except this time she reminds us about Gogol, which is the Russian version of Division. After that, we start things off in Berlin. It's the middle of the night and the streets are white with snow. A man in a long wool coat walks into an alleyway as ominous music plays. People, don't go into alleys when there's ominous music around! It means you're about to die! He gets a call on his cell. A man says, "Agent [Redshirt], this is Jurgen. I'm late but we should meet at the location we discussed." He sees a shadowy figure emerge from the darkness and smiles. "Jurgen! Do you have the weapon?" Dude, you just got a call from Jurgen saying he'd be late. Sure enough, the shadow man shoots the agent several times in the chest and leaves him for dead. Though we don't see the killer's face, we do see a hint of his gunmetal gray hair.
CIA Headquarters, Virginia. Ryan Fletcher is hard at work in the basement with all the other low-ranking drones. He seems pretty bored until some flagged keywords pop up on his computer. Something's going down with a stealth weapon on the Eastern Seaboard and Jurgen is the courier. He calls his boss, believing this has something to do with Agent Redshirt's murder, but he can't get so much as a nibble. So, after some thought, he packs up his files and heads to what seems like a random mail drop on the street. He draws a heart on its side in white chalk. Either he's done this before or this was the second take of the scene, because you can see the partially erased remains of another heart.
Loft of Fabulousness. Nikita gives Alex a burner cell phone for Valentine's Day. Alex has my high school perm for the rest of this episode. Nikita also reminds her to rotate the hiding places for the phones and pretend it's a wrong number anytime Nikita calls. Alex is sad. She thought it would be easier on the outside. "You can't let your guard down," Nikita says. "You have to live the lie." "Till the lie becomes your life," Alex says, echoing some past lesson. Nikita gets notice on her computer that the traffic cam she hacked into has spotted the heart insignia she's been watching out for. The camera shows Fletcher looking nervous. Alex thinks he's cute and teasingly asks if he and Nikita are "connecting." Nikita changes the subject to Alex's neighbor Nathan. Any connecting going on there? They joke a little about it, then get serious about how dangerous it is to have relationships with outsiders. Alex gives Nikita a little gold box. "Happy Valentine's Day." Ooh, it looks like expensive chocolate. Be my friend! Also: aw.
Nikita meets Ryan in some public but quiet place outdoors. It looks sort of... monument-y. He gives her the deets about Agent Redshirt's death and how he can't get anyone in the CIA interested. He turned to Nikita for help. "The irony is this has nothing to do with Division, but it may have to do with a terrorist attack on U.S. soil." He's been monitoring "cold war substations" at his new drone job and came across chatter about a new weapon. When he mentions Jurgen's name, Nikita looks disturbed. Jurgen is an alias for a German arms dealer named Emil Voss. She had to sleep with him for two weeks as part of a Division op. Ryan is concerned about the danger to the U.S., but sensitive to Nikita's pain. He can't ask her to get involved, nor does he have to, because Nikita is already formulating a plan.
Division. Michael wants to put a survey team on Ryan, but Percy denies his request, saying basically that Ryan's no longer a problem at his new job. Michael reminds him that Ryan and Nikita are working together. Percy sighs. "First Owen, now Ryan... she always was the ultimate honey trap." That sounds kind of... ew. Michael presses his case, but Percy points out in his own subtle way that Michael's been kind of incompetent at catching Nikita. Michael scowls.
Alex's Apartment. As usual, Nathan just happens to be in the hall when Alex returns home. He sees the bags in her arms. "What'd ya get?" he asks. Nosy. She invites him in to see her new MP3 player and he offers to giver her plenty of tunes, seeing as how he's a DJ. He seems kind of square to be a DJ. Maybe he spins at retirement parties. Alex takes a deep breath and invites him over to dinner that night. As Alex goes to put away her haul, the phone rings. She says it's the guy delivering her new stereo, so Nathan answers. It's Michael, who sounds none too pleased. Nathan gives Alex the phone, whispering, "Sounds like Batman." Michael rolls his eyes hilariously. Hee! He was just calling to let her know the new team he asked her to join has been scrubbed. Man, he's really ramped up his scowl. His frown is so hard you could use it as a crowbar.
He flashes back to four years ago. He's getting Nikita ready for a new mission. Amanda recommended her, thinking she was getting too "comfortable" with her cover. Nikita realizes this means that Amanda has told him about Daniel. "Are you seeing him?" Michael asks, sounding hurt and concerned. "I didn't know what else to do," she says helplessly. She asks why he's sending her on this particular mission, but it wasn't his choice. He reminds her how dangerous it is to have relationships with outsiders. It's a warning more than a threat, but she looks pained either way. So does he, for that matter.
In the present day, Nikita is uploading a virus to mess with the Chalet Margeaux's key card system. While the virus does its thing, she has a flashback that picks up where Michael's left off. How convenient for us! She's sporting a short wig and post-coital glow and rolling around in bed with an attractive fellow I presume to be Voss. They congratulate each other on whatever scam it is they've pulled and Nikita excuses herself to go do some kind of business-related thing in the room. While Voss busies himself with room service, she grabs her shoe, breaks off the heel (again!) and reveals a flash drive. I love these shoes. She downloads something from Voss's laptop. From the bedroom, he says he wants to take her to his favorite place, the Chalet Margeaux in Quebec. He goes there whenever he has business in the States. At this point, Michael busts into their hotel room, pretending to be from Interpol. He arrests Nikita, calling her "Josephine Besson." As soon as he drags her from the room, he lets the facade drop. He's genuinely concerned for her. He puts his jacket around her shoulders. She's disgusted, furious, hurt. "You will never have to be Josephine again," he promises her.
Quebec, present day. Nikita arrives at the Chalet, wearing Josephine's hair. She pretends to be surprised when she runs into Voss inside. She also pretends she's just gotten out of prison. They greet each other warmly. While they're hugging, Nikita sees Gogol's boss Ari through the window. Nikita says something flirty and Voss takes her up to his room. After an almost imperceptible hesitation on Nikita's part, they kiss. She says she never stopped thinking about him. "Are you here on business?" she asks. He pulls a gun on her: "Pleasure." Dude, you are in for a world of hurt.
Frustratingly, the scene picks up with Alex and Nathan. Noo! Back to Quebec, s'il vous plait! He shows up for their dinner date with all the fixings to make a pizza. Just when they start flirting, Michael shows up at the door and invites himself inside to dump some ice down these kids' pants.
OK, now we're back to "Josephine." Voss wonders why all his suppliers started getting arrested after Interpol took Josephine. I said earlier he was attractive, but his hair is kind of horrible. Also, his shirt is bright purple. It's all kind of killing his look. Anyway, Nikita, keeping up the ruse, admits she came here to find him. She knows about the weapon and the attack he's planning. "I also know you're working with Gogol." She tells him she saw them downstairs. Voss freaks out. Right on cue, a big blond thug busts into the room, gun blazing. Nikita pounces on him and a brutal fight ensues. Voss sneaks up behind the thug but the thug bats him around like a pesky fly. Nikita wraps a small glass globe in a napkin and proceeds to beat the living shit out of the thug. My favorite bits are whenever Nikita is creative like that, using whatever she finds on hand. He falls to the ground, unconscious. Nikita grabs a gun and aims it at Voss, who's lying on the floor like a wuss. "You certainly don't fight like a banker," he says. "You definitely do," she snarks. Hee. He tries to assure her he's not working with Gogol and he's not planning an attack. Gogol is there to stop him from defecting. He has their weapon and he's turning himself in to U.S. authorities. He tells her he tried to do it in Berlin but his contact was murdered. The pieces start falling into place for Nikita. The weapon, he says, is a dirty bomb. Gogol hired him to auction it off. He asks for Nikita's help. She looks like she still wants to shoot him, but tears off her wig and asks to see the bomb.
Alex's. Everyone sits down to eat - including Michael. The conversation turns to Alex and Michael's work. Michael calls it "relationship marketing." He manages to makes it sound like Alex is a prostitute and he's her pimp. Alex listens to the whole thing, growing smaller and smaller inside, because every thing he says is kind of true. Michael gets a call and excuses himself. "It's not what you think," Alex says to Nathan. He doesn't seem judgmental, but the night is pretty much over.
Quebec. Nikita and Voss retrieve the bomb from where he's hidden it in the woods. It looks like a regular suitcase, except inside there are ominous-looking canisters and wiring. It's lined with something to fool the airport X-ray machines. Nikita calls Ryan. He helps her plan a route to a border checkpoint. Time is of the essence: "Gogol is here," she tells him. "The Russian contractors?" he asks. "The Russian Division," she corrects him. Ryan, concerned, tells Nikita to be careful. The scene cuts to Ari and his Gogol goons descending on Voss's hotel room. The blond thug wakes up and tells Ari what happened. "You fought Nikita," Ari says. "It wasn't a fair fight." Heh. Ari thinks out loud, figuring out what Nikita's move might be. He assigns his men to the border checkpoints and tells them to bring Nikita to him.
US/Canadian Border Checkpoint. Nikita and Voss pull up in the parking lot in a borrowed truck. They talk about why Voss had a change of heart. It sounds like the life just wore him down and seeing the bomb was the last straw. He went rogue, much like Nikita. He wonders if it's too late to start over. Nikita hopes not. She even tells him her name. There's a mutual respect there. Ruining the moment, both Gogol and the CIA arrive on the scene at the same time. Voss takes the case and goes with the CIA while Nikita holds off Gogol. Later, Ryan calls her and says Voss is safely with the CIA agents. Everything seems destined for a happy ending until Ryan gets pictures from Berlin showing Agent Redshirt's killer. He sends copies to Nikita's phone. She recognizes the gray-haired Roan and realizes the whole thing has been a Division plot.
She hops on a nearby motorcycle and rockets down the road after Voss. It's not long before she comes across the CIA van, its windows shattered and the agents inside dead. Voss in in the back, bleeding badly. He uses his last breath to whisper, "I showed you a good time after all." That's kind of a downer. The dead driver's phone rings. Nikita answers: "Ryan, they're all dead! We got played." "You certainly did," Percy says. He takes the opportunity to gloat (it's different from bragging, according to Percy) and puts Nikita on speaker for Michael to hear. Percy reveals that Division planted the substation chatter for Ryan to find, knowing he'd enlist Nikita's help. "I could never have done it without you, Josephine." Furthermore, he's made it look like Gogol took out the CIA agents. He tries to detonate a bomb on the CIA van, but Nikita finds it first and defuses it. Eat it, Percy.
Michael pretends not to be sore that Percy's been watching over Ryan without him. Percy puts Michael in charge of getting the bomb back. Michael thinks it'll be tricky: "I promised her that she would never have to be Josephine again, and you took her back there." Percy rolls his eyes.
Nikita calls Alex and sends her to Division to find out where the bomb is headed. Nikita then cuts up her clothes a bit and slices her palm open. When she shows back up at the chalet, she looks like she's been in a fight. Ari is there and buys the ruse. She lets him know in a roundabout way that Division has framed Gogol and she's on her way to get the bomb back. Meanwhile, Alex shows up at Division's ops room to bitch at Michael for his little stunt. He reminds her that her cover is to protect others as well as herself: "Live the lie until the lie becomes your life." Alex overhears one of the drones say something about Herndon Airport and goes into the hallway outside to text Nikita.
Ryan and Nikita are each soon on their way to the airport. It's up to Ryan to stall Division until she can get there. He hassles the pilot about not filling out the right flight plans. The pilot pulls out a gun. Before Ryan can pee himself, the Gogol goons arrive on the scene and engage the Division operatives in a gun battle. Ryan scurries to safety and runs into Nikita. He credits his "black belt in bureaucracy." Hermes Conrad would be proud. While Division and Gogol fight it out, Nikita slips in and snags the suitcase with the bomb inside. Moments later, she's running toward her motorcycle. Ari drives up and stops her. He takes the case from her. Like Percy, he has the hubris to underestimate Nikita. He's miles away before he opens the case and finds... shirts and underwear. The real bomb is being chauffeured to safety by Ryan.
Denouement. Percy glumly informs Michael that Ryan is being promoted. Ryan meets up with Nikita at the same place they met earlier. "I told you I'd make you a hero," she says with a smile. Her good mood fades, though, as she reminds Ryan not to trust anyone. She looks thoughtful for a while. Ryan prompts her to talk. After a while, she asks, "Do you think we can ever erase who we were?" She's burdened by all the things she's done. She wonders if she can come back from that. "Do we even deserve to?" He shuts her up with a kiss, then answers: "Yes." Then he walks away. The guy knows when to let a moment stand. Nikita has a quick flashback to the end of her first "Josephine" mission, of when she pulled away from Michael and he let her go.
Nikita calls Alex and says she was wrong to tell Alex not to get close to anyone. Relationships with outsiders are dangers but... "You can't just live the lie, Alex," Nikita says. Nathan with his preternatural timing chooses that moment to visit Alex. She tries to explain about her shitty boss and her job without saying too much. He's worried she's in trouble and offers to help. His gallantry earns him a kiss. He and Alex fall back onto the couch, kissing and embracing and kissing some more. Enjoy it while it lasts, kids.
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