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4.5 Man in the Middle Helmut: "You're both much too gorgeous for words." The chess game continued. But this time, Section won. It certainly didn't take long for Operations and Madeline to see through Nikita's robot girl pose. And Mommy and Daddy were both very angry at Michael. (Operations: "You are expendable." Michael: "I know.") Michael rebelling against Section appears to be a continuing theme this season. And oh, how I love it. And again, with the shoe on the other foot. Now, it's Nikita who had to marry for the sake of a mission, and Michael who had to deal with the fact that she was with someone else. Helmut (Maxwell Caulfield) was delightful and I found him very likeable, even though the thought of Nikita having sex with a drug addict was revolting. (At first, with all the touching and flirting and the talk about iron stakes up the rear, I thought Helmut was going for Michael, not Nikita.) Cold, unemotional Michael showed jealousy several times, and did his utmost to sabotage the mission. He broke up Helmut's little midnight tete-a-tete with Nikita when it probably would have served the mission better to leave them alone. The scene where Michael bazooka'd Helmut's replica of the Eiffel Tower, outright phallic symbolism, was so cute. (Helmut even said, "Since it appears to come down to whose is bigger...") And Michael actually showed (subdued) emotion when the truck failed to blow up and he knew Nikita would have to marry Helmut. If he'd been a normal guy, he probably would have banged on the steering wheel. Early on, when Michael asked Nikita to move in with him, she was distant; she said she'd have to think about it. She's never played hard to get with Michael before. She acted subdued with Walter and Birkoff during the cupcake scene, too. It was like the feelings were there, but she was holding them down. Again, this reminded me of "Hard Landing", but in reverse. Michael came back to Section for Nikita, and instead of returning his affection, she was blowing him off. Michael just defied Section and moved heaven and earth to get Nikita back, and now she's married and gone and he's lost her again. Couldn't we have seen them together for at least a couple of episodes before splitting them apart again? Bits and pieces: -- It was sad to see Nikita leaving her apartment. When Michael was talking about the two of them moving in together, I thought: no, the writers will never let us have that. Can I call it, or what? -- What about AIDS? Did they cover it with the thing about Nikita's "fastidious habits"? Was Nikita making Helmut use condoms? -- "Anna and Freddie" reminded me of "Peter and Sage" in the first season episode "Love." -- Nikita and Michael looked gorgeous undercover. Nikita's extreme leather skirt was something, and Michael looked exceptionally hot half naked with just the necklace and the overcoat. Loved his leather pants, too. Any time they get out of Section clothes, it always makes an impression on me. -- The scene in the church where Michael and Nikita talked about Elena and Helmut and keeping their hearts separate from the mission was so romantic. -- Our old pal Davenport foiled Michael's attempt to foil Nikita's wedding. I used to like Davenport. He was so cool in "Third Party Ripoff," the episode where Michael was demoted. Not any more. -- Loved the disposal truck. Shades of "Knight Rider." Quotes: Nikita: "You always take me to such nice places, Michael." Helmut (about Michael): "I should have been born with his face." Walter (with the cupcakes): "They're for you, Cupcake." Nikita: "I'm getting married, not cancelled." Michael: "She's changing." Helmut: "My God, I hope not." Partygoer: "Helmut thinks my dress is tacky, too obvious. What do you think?" Michael: "It is." Michael: "It's about Anna." Helmut: "I can imagine almost everything is." Despite the infuriating ending, this episode was a total hoot. Four out of four stars, Billie |
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