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| 312 - Threshold of Pain |
| Writer/Director |
Michael Sloan / Terry Ingram |
| Michael's POV Onscreen:
12 minutes |
Whilst on a mission, Nikita and
two lovebird agents, Angela and Mark, are captured. Michael disobeys orders by refusing to
leave Nikita behind, although he is too late to save Angela from being brutally killed and
Mark from revealing Section secrets. When Mark denies that he is guilty, Nikita is the one
suspected of betraying Section and she is sent to the White Room. Michael changes a
mission profile to ensure that the bad guy is brought back alive, as he is the only person
who can save Nikita. Michael interrogates him, finally tricking him into clearing Nikita. |
| Michael Moments |
Taking the time to reassure
Walter that it wasn’t his fault the original mission went sour
Interviewing the baddie – Crachek – and finding out that Crachek actually likes
being tortured!
The panther-like pacing around Crachek, some great overhead shots here
The Samurai like nod of the head, acknowledging Nikita’s ‘thank you’ for
saving her life |
| Words of Wisdom |
"Standard protocol is
suspended. Find them."
"Just tell me what you
want him to say."
"I’m
inserting a mission parameter."
"Do you wanna live?" |
Performance Rating
 |
Roy gets the chance to play off
one of the original "New Romantics" (Adam Ant as Crachek) as good guy / really
nasty guy, and seems to have enjoyed it. There is a welcome consistency with the themes of
the previous episode, in that Michael continues to be sympathetic (of the Mark/Angela love
affair and even with Walter), and unswervingly loyal to Nikita to the point where he is
prepared to break Section rules yet again. As in Season 1 when she messed up due to
inexperience, he would have saved her even if he hadn’t believed her innocence.
However, while tricking Nikita’s mother had been easy, trapping Crachek was more of
an intellectual challenge, traditional torture methods having the opposite of the desired
effect. The high possibility of failure, and the dire consequences of him not being able
to clear Nikita’s name are well expressed in Roy’s body language. The situation
has been so grave that a thank-you kiss is inappropriate, but his solemn acceptance of her
gratitude speaks volumes. One Roy nod equals three verses of Bryan Adams’
"Everything I Do (I Do It For You)". |
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