Walter: "You can't just walk up to someone and kill them. Even in here."
Poor Birkoff. Working with murderers has its drawbacks.
The child suicide bombers and cloning plot felt a lot like "1984" crossed with "Brave New World." And the cages in Chernov's compound strongly resembled Section. Deliberate, I'm sure, because the message was that Chernov's operation and what Section does to its operatives is at heart the same.
Nikita's compassion for innocents and love of children actually helped her save the day. I was totally creeped out by the threat of medical experimentation, that Chernov could have sterilized Nikita, and even worse -- that Section wouldn't have stopped him. No wonder Nikita destroyed the materials in the lab. When Chernov said to Nikita, "You're ovulating," I actually shuddered. Of course, was sterilization really a threat if Nikita can never have children anyway?
Are there really a slew of young Michael and Nikita clones on level eight being raised to be perfect future Section operatives? (I thought at least one of the kids looked like Birkoff, too.) Where can they go with a plot line like this? In another twenty or thirty years, will there be another Michael and Nikita, imprisoned in Section and in love with each other?
I liked the B plot about Felix the abeyance operative trying to kill Birkoff more than the A plot. Birkoff's utter paranoia that Madeline was somehow testing him with Felix was totally justified. I don't think she was, but it was impossible to tell for sure. Birkoff looked especially young to me here, heightening the comparison to, say, Milan. Birkoff has more free will than Chernov's children, but it doesn't amount to much.
Michael was pretty much his taciturn self again. Loved this particular exchange, mostly for Michael's matter-of-factness and deadpan expression:
Michael: "What's the problem?"
Birkoff: "He threatened to kill me. What do you think I should do?"
Michael: "Don't let him."
Bits and pieces:
-- "Imitation of Death" is a take-off of a classic old book and movie called, "Imitation of Life." The plots are dissimilar, though, since "Imitation of Life" was about racism.
-- This is not the first time I've seen similarities to "1984." The world of Section is very Orwellian, in fact.
-- This episode might have worked better for me without the constant, annoying background score of children singing nursery rhymes off-key.
-- There was actually a comic moment, when Birkoff turned the corner, leveled his gun on Operations, and yelled, "Die, bastard!"
-- Chernov: "Nikita. A good Russian name, though usually given to a man." Which brings up something I've noticed but haven't written about. Why do Michael and Nikita almost always use their own names while undercover?
Complex and interesting, but distasteful. Two out of four stars,
Billie
1 comments:
What could have been an interesting exploration of training children as soldiers sadly devolves into a ludicrous science fiction premise. In addition, though Nikita acts both courageously and compassionately, the episode is so poorly plotted that it is completely unexciting and oddly unengaging. I think there was an attempt to create an atmosphere of creepy and ominous horror, but I can’t be sure, because all I felt was irritated and bored. In fact, there is more suspense in the “B” story with Felix threatening Birkoff’s life than in the “A” story. My recommendation: keep your finger on the fast-forward button.
Favourite Scenes:
The cathedral scene where Michael and Nikita meet Chernov: the location is lovely, and Wilson does a great job as Nikita first wipes the floor with Chernov’s guard, then acts believably betrayed as an undercover Michael “sells” her to Chernov.
Birkoff approaching Michael for help: clearly, and humourously, Michael believes people should learn to fight their own battles (perhaps he really did think he was doing Lisa a favour in “Double Date”). Except whenever Nikita is in trouble, of course.
Logic Flaws:
While it is believable that children could be abducted and brainwashed into becoming suicide bombers (though 6 years old is still too young to be useful), it is utterly ridiculous that Chernov would consider producing and raising genetically-engineered babies for this purpose, as it would be neither time- nor cost-effective: functional humans cannot be grown like plants!
Continuity Issues:
The “light-show scan” that Chernov uses on Nikita is way too “Star Trek” for the near future world of LFN, and so is the Section cloning bit. I believe this last plot device was meant to be a shocking “twist” ending, but instead proves to be an eye-rolling clunker that completely shatters the viewer’s suspension of disbelief.
As for using real names on missions: first names won’t lead anyone to uncovering the real identity of a Section operative (remember, they are officially dead) though I’m sure last names are changed. There are definite advantages to using real names, as operatives are less likely to make mistakes (also, it is less confusing for the first-time viewer ;-). As far as I recall, the tendency is to assign different first names only when impersonating someone else (as in “Simone” and “Love”).
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