Nikita Recap: “Homecoming”

by Merrill Barr:

Nikita Recap: “Homecoming”
Original Air Date (The CW): Friday May 18, 2012
Season 2 Episode 23

When Nikita first aired in September 2010 I made a lot of comparisons between it and J.J. Abrams’ ALIAS. Sydney:Nikita, SD-6:Division were the comparisons that really linked the shows most. Both were about female covert agents that learn the organization they’ve been working for is actually not what it says it is. And now those comparisons hold true more than ever before.

About mid-way through season 2 of ALIAS, the unthinkable happened. SD-6 was destroyed. Thanks to a multi-national raid spear headed by the CIA, Syndey & Vaughn manage to dismantle the entire enterprise Sloane had built and in turn, made Sydney a legitimate covert agent.

Okay, no more beating around the bush, Percy is dead! Let me say that again:

PERCY… IS… DEAD!!!!

I love Xander Berkley in Nikita. He is by far one of the show’s top three elements and will forever be remembered as one of television most brilliantly crafted villains. But as my friend and fellow Nikita fan Rob Hunter has stated many times, Percy’s gotta to go.

There are only so many times you can play the “up, he got away” card before the audience gets fed up with being jerked around by the cliche of  “oh, he’s the big baddie, he can’t die.” We played the Percy locked away card, we played the Percy got away card, we played the Percy regained power card, there was simply no where else to go. But I will say this, there was no better way to go.

Not that I’m trying to, but there is another ALIAS comparison to be made for Percy’s death by fall through glass (think back to the ALIAS series finale… There you go). Percy got the send off he rightfully deserved. Not a bullet to the head, but a burial in the corrupt home he built and by the hand of one of his own creations. It was indeed masterful, and at the level of quality one expects from this show.

Of course the death of Percy also brought about the death of Nikita‘s second best villain, Roan. If for no other reason than the fact that there can’t be a Roan without a Percy (and vice versa). The two represent the brains and brawn of Division. And like Percy, Roan got a great send-off at the hands of his opposite, Nikita’s right hand, Alex.

But the finale does more than bring an end to the “Percy years.” It also served to set up a whole new set of arcs. See, Craig Silverstein was not content with simply having an ending that gave closure “just in case.” Oh no, he made sure that if The CW pulled the plug, they’d feel really bad about it. Here are some of the questions we now have the summer to ponder:

• Who was the guy on the phone and what is the group that Percy wanted in on?
• What is Amanda going to do now that she has access to the final Black Box?
• How will Ryan keep Division in check as its new head?
• Was Nikita implying to Alex when she said “here we go again” that the mission to dismantle Division is still in play despite its new found “legitimacy.”

As far as where the series stands on a character stand-point. I’m really happy that all our main heroes have been paired off respectively. Nikita & Michael, Alex & Sean, Birkhoff & Sonya (best of the bunch by a mile) . Up till now, the series has very much been the Mikita show. So, it’ll be nice to finally work some more dynamics into the fold. And for the record, if there is no Mikita, Salex, Bonya triple date next season, I am calling bullshit.

Final thoughts? I’m super excited for next season and it was great to watch this finale knowing it wasn’t the end, but merely the beginning of a whole new game. I look forward to the “Ryan years” starting next fall. Well fucking done, Nikita. Well fucking done!

See y’all next season.

P.S. Be sure to check out my newly launched Nikita podcast “Operation:Nikita.” All info can be found here.

DarkMedia contributor Merrill Barr can also be found on his podcast, The Idiot Boxers and on Twitter @sonic43.