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2.18 Off Profile Birkoff: "Nothing gets to her. Nothing and nobody." The first time I saw this episode, I was completely in the dark about what Michael was doing. (I kept saying out loud, "What is he doing? What is he doing?") On second viewing, I noticed the early hints that Andrea was a sociopath. Early in the episode, she said that shooting real people was just like a simulation. She was almost machine-like on her very first mission. And most telling of all was, she actually liked Section. ("Most people hate Section, or pretend to, but I like it.") Scary. It had to be extremely painful for Nikita to watch Michael seduce another woman right in front of her. Nikita had no idea what was going on, and it must have appeared very real to her. And yet, Nikita never lashed out at either Michael or Andrea. She even warned Michael about the danger he was in, and saved his life. Nikita good. And Michael bad. Michael's cruelty toward Andrea was just jaw-dropping. And it was also exceptionally cruel of Michael not to tell Nikita what he was doing. Nikita makes excuses for him because she loves him, but there's something seriously wrong with a man who can do something like this, even under orders. (It's a tribute to Roy Dupuis as an actor that we can watch him do things like this and still be utterly fascinated with Michael.) Perhaps he was instructed not to tell Nikita. And perhaps Madeline hoped that seeing him with another woman would dampen Nikita's feelings for Michael. Madeline's little speech to Nikita about it being better for Michael to have a relationship with Andrea had an unspoken message -- that sex is okay between operatives, but love is not. In this week's B plot, Walter again showed his fatalistic streak as well as significant balls, risking death and/or torture by refusing to lie for Operations. Giving Walter a hologram of Belinda was evil -- it was like Belinda was a thing, not a person. It pleased me that Nikita convinced Walter to live, and that she didn't hesitate to lie for him. Lying. It's like the Section code. Finally, Operations gave Nikita yet another pat on the back. But he was wrong; she was still not one of them. I haven't seen the entire series yet, but I don't think Nikita will ever truly be "one of them," and capable of doing what Michael does. Bits and pieces: -- Andrea was played by Roy Dupuis' long-time real-life honey, Celine Bonnier. They looked like a couple, too; I thought there was some serious chemistry in the dance scene. Or maybe it was just the way he was looking at her. Roy Dupuis could probably generate heat looking at a tossed salad. -- Catch Nikita's face when she hears Michael asking Andrea out to dinner for the first time; it's like she literally doesn't believe her ears. Peta Wilson was terrific here. -- This time, George actually showed up in Section... behind the scenes, and we still didn't see him. -- One of the "twins" was at the party. -- Nikita and Birkoff both wore blue in Section. I noticed that Andrea wore black, black, black. -- In this week's hair report, spiky magenta do? Now, that was a bold personal statement. Quotes: Operations: "Besides, nobody asked him to marry someone with a weak performance record." Birkoff: "Most of these scientists are pretty lame. I'm an exception." Andrea: "One minute, everything was wonderful. The next, he was cold." Was that an understatement or what? As I've said before, it's always a good time when Michael seduces someone. This episode was a lot of fun to watch. Three stars? How about three and a half? Billie |
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