Episode Report Card Tippi Blevins: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
By Tippi Blevins | Season 1 | Episode 15 | Aired on 02.17.2011
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Alex is assigned to steal a prototype cellphone from the lonely nerd who invented it, which she does on their Division-arranged date at a nightclub. While there, she runs into Irina, a girl who came to America on the same cargo ship as Alex. Alex got away from Vlad, their pimp, but Irina wasn't so lucky. Alex reaches out to Irina against Nikita's warnings. Irina immediately turns Alex over to Vlad, who's been looking for her ever since Nikita rescued her two years earlier. He's done some research and found out that Alex is Alexandra Udinov, daughter of the assassinated Nikolai Udinov. Vlad wants to sell her to her father's enemies. He keeps her in a cage that would be too small for a dog, and when she refuses to confess her true identity, he injects her with a speedball, taking her right back to her junkie days.
Meanwhile, both Michael and Nikita are each looking for her. They can't find her because Alex's chip doesn't transmit from Vlad's underground lair. Their individual searches bring them to the same Russian bathhouse where they fight each other and then the Russian mobsters they've barged in on. They agree to work together, with Nikita claiming she's only interested in the prototype cellphone. Just as Nikita and Michael are storming Vlad's lair, Alex convinces Irina to set her free. Alex's first act as a free woman is to shoot Vlad several times. This comes after flashbacks in which we see that Nikolai has most likely killed people and predicted that his daughter will do so one day, as well, because it's "in her blood."
At the end, Michael brings a strung-out Alex back to Division and leaves her in Amanda's tender, loving care. Alex was probably better off in Vlad's cage. Stay tuned for the full weecap!
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Want more? The full recap starts right below!Woohoo! No voice-over this week. Instead, we get a "previously on Nikita" that is much less awkward. The episode opens in a nightclub. There are lots of young people dancing and shrieking and wearing their best "look at me!" clothes. Alex makes her way through the crowd, starts to introduce herself to a gatekeeper who assumes she's a model or actress. A dweeby little guy pops up behind Alex and announces, "She's with me." We flash back to Alex being prepped for the mission. Birkhoff is making sure that Alex's profile comes up as a perfect match on the dweeb's favorite dating website. He's a tech billionaire who's invented a new gadget, codenamed Oculus. Michael tells Alex to gain the dweeb's confidence. Back at the nightclub, the dweeb suggests they order some champagne. Alex remembers telling Amanda that "a nightclub has a lot of temptations for a junkie." In the present, she changes the subject by dragging her date onto the dance floor. She takes the opportunity to lift the Oculus prototype from his pocket, then excuses herself to the restroom when he tries to kiss her.
In the immaculate and well-decorated restroom, she runs into a strung-out young woman who looks like the hooker version of Wednesday Addams. Alex helps her when she stumbles, offers her a cool washcloth. "I'm Irina," Wednesday introduces herself. Irina suddenly recognizes Alex, although she calls her "Sasha." Alex recognizes her, too, but pretends not to. She hurries back to the dance floor, where she bumps into Nikita. At first, Alex is like, "Hey, watch it!" Then she realizes it's Nikita and that this was part of their plan so that Nikita could get the Oculus off her.
Later, at the Loft of Fabulousness, Nikita is assuring Alex that they'll give the Oculus back to Zimmer. Alex stares out the window. Nikita asks her what happened at the club. Alex haltingly explains about recognizing Irina as one of "Vlad's girls." "We came over on the same container ship together." Nikita is freaked because if Zetrov finds out that Alex is still alive, they'll send someone to kill her. Alex lies that Irina was too high to recognize her. She's thoughtful for a while, then thanks Nikita. "If it wasn't for you, I'd still be like her." Apropos of nothing, Nikita is wearing some leather hotpants that would look ridiculous on anyone else.
Later, Nikita is recording a message on the Oculus, warning the dweeb that rivals tried to steal it. Suddenly, Alex's last words resonate for Nikita. She checks the computer for Alex's tracker location and sees she's returning to the nightclub.