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4.13 Kiss the Past Goodbye Corliss: "You gotta stay detached, Michael. It's the only way to do this job." Finally, a return to Michael's family. It was about time. Michael must have suspected right away that Corliss wasn't just a boyfriend, because I can't imagine Michael begrudging Elena another relationship. And he was right to be concerned, since Operations was ready to use Elena and Adam as bait with no more concern for them than a piece of cheese in a mousetrap. Corliss was shuddery. He felt nothing for his assignments, while still enjoying the sexual duties of his job. ("If only you could have given me another ten minutes.") It was icky, thinking of a man like that sleeping with Elena. The scene where Michael had to advise Corliss on how to seduce Elena ("close the deal with mom") was almost too much. Michael actually looked away when Corliss talked about getting "inside" her. This was especially interesting when you consider that at one time, Michael did exactly the same thing to Elena that Corliss was doing. Things change, don't they? Or does it just seem different because it was Michael? In fact, despite his trademark stoicism, Michael wrestled with a lot of emotion in this episode. He was outright rude to Walter, and snapped at Birkoff. He came close to blowing up at Operations. He threatened to kill Corliss, and eventually carried out his threat. The only person he didn't dump on was Nikita, who, as usual, was there for him. Although he didn't confide in her or turn to her for help. As usual. The scene where Michael, in Section black, was walking through his old house like a ghost, protecting Elena and Adam from "beyond the grave," was a good one. (Especially the part where Michael was at Adam's bedside, close to tears.) Elena compared her perception of Corliss to Michael: gentle and understanding, a perfect father figure. Funny. But it also made me wonder again about the real Michael, concealed beneath that expressionless exterior. There are so many sides to Michael. It's not easy to fake "gentle and understanding" believably. Well, maybe for a few weeks or months. Not for seven years. The one thing this episode didn't have was a confrontation. I wanted Elena and Adam to see Michael, to talk to him somehow. (I don't count Adam's realization that Daddy was in his room.) And now they're gone. "They'll be out of your reach, out of your life. For good." And I also think they made a significant writing error. At the start of the episode, Birkoff couldn't identify Corliss for Michael. Practically five minutes later, Michael ran into Corliss during a mission. (Yes, I know, deep undercover, but still.) Right after that, Corliss was all over Section, talking with Walter, Operations and Madeline as if he'd known them forever. I think the story would have worked better if Michael had simply recognized Corliss as a Section operative right off the bat. Bits and pieces: -- In the teaser, Michael was stalking Adam. Of course he was. How could he not? -- As he was walking through the house, Michael's footsteps sounded way too loud to me. Where was stealthy secret agent guy? I also found it odd that many of the lights were on. I'm sure they did that to make the sequence work better visually, but it was jarring. They could have covered it by having Elena say at some point that Adam was afraid of the dark, maybe. -- Corliss said, "Pulling back from a seven year blood cover can't be easy, especially when a child is involved." Was Michael with Elena for seven years? Or does that include the past year or so since he "died"? -- Is Michael still legally married to Elena? Probably. Just as Nikita is probably still legally married to Helmut. -- Nikita wore an incredible black leather outfit in Section. And in the end, she was back in blue. -- Michael: "If something happens to Elena and Adam on your watch, I'll kill you." He did, too. Very good, but somehow, not what I wanted. Three stars? Three and a half? Billie |
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