by Merrill Barr:
Nikita Recap: “Arising”
Original Air Date (The CW): Friday March 23, 2012
Season 2 Episode 17
If last week’s “Doublecross” was meant to wrap-up many of the A story line’s subplots, this week’s “Arising” served to wap-up many of the B story line’s subplots. Alex’s mother, Ari vs Sergei, Cassandra & Max, it all came to a head in this episode and if things continue heading down this path then hopefully it means the show’s ramping up to a game changing season finale.
But I’m getting ahead of myself…
One of Nikita‘s best attributes is its ability to shift the dynamic of a plot at the drop of a dime. In this case, when Ari killed Sergei in cold blood after his frame job on Cassandra falls through, it shifted the entire motivation of the character. Now, instead of getting away clean, Ari will have to constantly be looking over his shoulder in case one ambitious Gogol agents decides to put some extra pieces together. And as we’ve seen in the past, a concerned Ari is the most dangerous Ari.
The best part of the Ari twist though, is how it bled into the story of Alex and her mother. Katya has been an elusive creature this season. First showing up in a haze of anti-depressants and now under the “protection” of Division, whenever Katya appears, trouble is not far behind. But its the conclusion of her story in this episode that raises the most questions. I have a hard time believing that she’ll be able to rest easy on a beach somewhere. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Amanda gain leverage over Alex in the finale by using Katya as bait, but that’s just a theory at this point.
As for Cassandra, she’s one character I think would be best served by not coming back until the very end. I understand the want by the writers to give her story line with Michael one more go this season, but the final nail has been driven into the coffin with Michael’s goodbye. If the day comes that Michael is able to stop fighting in the war on Division and live a “normal” life, I say then and only then should we be re-introduced to Cassandra and Max. But not before.
Perhaps the best part of this episode is its display of restraint. After last week, “Arising” could’ve easily shown the status of Percy, Birkhoff, Amanda (who while we saw in this episode, very little is known at the moment) or Ryan. Instead we were treated to the arcs of many high profile side characters, all of which were in need of some closure.
My hope now is that all the necessary B story lines are resolved and we can get back on track for the inevitable show-down between Team Nikita, Team Amanda and Team Percy.
DarkMedia contributor Merrill Barr can also be found on his podcast, The Idiot Boxers and on Twitter @sonic43.
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