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3.2 Someone Else's Shadow Elena: "I don't know what I'd do without Michael. He's such a good man." It was so odd seeing Michael as a loving husband and father, and he played the part so well. Elena sees a completely different Michael than we do. Who is the real Michael? What was he feeling while all this was happening? He told Nikita that when the mission was over, he would never see Elena and Adam again. Was he sad about the possibility? Resigned? Angry? Does he love Elena? And how does he really feel about Nikita at this point, in a romantic sense? How does it make him feel, seeing his lover with his wife and child? I bet Nikita was identifying with Simone, as Michael's -- I'm groping for the appropriate term -- Section amour? Michael said that he and Simone never talked about Elena, which raises some interesting questions about the Michael/Simone marriage. How is that even possible? Hey, honey, guess what? Section is making me commit bigamy with a total stranger. See you at work in a few days? Nikita's pain as she watched Michael with his family was almost tangible, even though she was successful in keeping it hidden. She was Scarlett O'Hara, watching Ashley take Melanie off to bed, lying in front of the fire reliving scenes from "Escape" and "Hard Landing." Nikita deserves a lot of credit, because even with the pain she had to be feeling, she showed genuine affection for Elena and Adam. She was there for Michael, helping him, instead of making it worse, instead of lashing out. I bet that Michael has never had a friend as loyal as Nikita. Nikita may not realize it, but her relationship with Michael is the real one, and Elena's is temporary, as well as artificial. Elena came out well here, too. Samia Shoaib, who played Elena, was tremendously appealing; we couldn't hate her. She seemed like such a sweet woman, so in love with her rat of an undercover husband. Interestingly enough, the Salla Vacek part of plot showed that Section's methodology, while despicable, was correct; Elena could have never faked such outrage, genuine anger, disappointment, and so on. I also liked that Elena picked up on Michael's attachment to Nikita, as everyone else seems to do, but wasn't threatened by it. Bits and pieces: -- It appeared that Adam was the excuse Michael used to nudge Elena to find her father. So maybe Michael actually was ordered to get Elena pregnant. That's just disgusting. -- Operations had another acrimonious argument with George. At least now we can picture him on the other end of the line. -- Madeline was aware that Michael didn't plan to report Nikita's lapse in the previous episode. She let him know it, too. I doubt that Michael even cares at this point. -- Loved the scene where Nikita took out Vacek's friend by pushing him out the window, and following him down. And then calmly taking Michael's hand, getting off the air bag, and walking off. -- Nikita told Michael, "I understand this is something that you've been ordered to do. I don't know how you're able to live with it." Well, Elena is sweet as well as beautiful. It was probably easier than if he'd been ordered to marry, say, Joan Rivers. -- Michael and Elena met in Bordeaux. The envelope that Elena received had the word "France" at the bottom. (Elena Samuelle, 1205 rue de Richelieu?, Beauville? France 45007?) It stands to reason that Section is probably in France, too. -- Vacek's friend Mischa thought Michael was probably a powerful man. Good call. -- Why did Vacek give his grandson a phallic looking music box? It seemed like an odd gift for such a small boy. -- The bribe that Vacek's man gave the postal clerk (in Lisbon?) was in U.S. dollars. -- The Elena/Nikita henna scene was lovely. Was Elena's mother Indian? -- The Devos were back! I missed them. -- In the house scenes, Michael wore a wedding ring and a cross around his neck. -- Elena was wearing a sweatshirt with BKNY on it. Bank of New York? -- Williams had some good lines while he was in the chair. His evaluation of Madeline: "I'm sure I could find your name on a list of psychopaths if I looked hard enough." His evaluation of Section: "My best guess is you're some covert agency that no one has ever heard of. Run amuck, no doubt." And finally, as Madeline left, "I'll be here. Some tea would be nice." -- Someone has recently pointed out to me that the word "piggyback" shows up a lot in this series. (Thanks, Julie.) In this episode, it was Birkoff. "Maybe we can piggyback the server." -- Operations: "Any amount of collateral is acceptable if we hit the target." Then the scene changed to Adam playing in the front yard. The message was clear. Another terrific episode. I love this arc. Three out of four stars, Billie |
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