| 402 - There Are No Missions |
| Writer/Director |
Michael Loceff / René Bonniere |
| Michael's POV Onscreen:
18 minutes |
Now on the run from Section,
Michael has to devise a means of getting back in undetected. He makes contact with Nikita
in a boutique, and uses her in an elaborate diversion so that he can enter Section with a
returning mission, disguised as a vehicle exhaust (!). Once inside he intercepts Nikita
and tricks her again into confirming that she is under orders to kill him, orders which
she intends to obey. He gains access to the cryolab and liberates the first subject of the
Gelman process, Section founder Adrian, from whom he can learn how to reverse the process
under the protection of her former lover George at Oversight. |
| Michael Moments |
Checking out the black gear in
the clothes shop - a tiny bit of self-mockery
Infiltrating Section and taking Nikita’s access card |
| Words of Wisdom |
N - "And I love you." M -
"Do you, ….. or do you want to kill me?"
"If the process is
successful they’ll use it on all of us - Nikita’s just the beginning."
"Adrian is alive and
aware." |
Performance Rating
 |
Although this is another long
piece, there is very little opportunity for variation in the performance. Michael now has
a series of difficult tasks to perform which he does methodically and apparently with
little emotion. Even in his encounters with Nikita she is being so cold that it’s not
possible to react compassionately with her. So Roy takes us forward in the story in
Michael’s trademark stoical fashion, which must be so difficult to sustain, but which
we’ve grown to find deceptively natural. With Peta out-blanking him throughout the
arc as a classic starey-eyed ‘robot’, it’s worth reflecting that Roy never,
even in his blankest moments, went anywhere near this caricature. |
| Footnote :
When watching a grim episode with characteristically long faces, it’s nice to know
that the actors can lighten up occasionally. The following outtake, included in the Season
4 wrap tape, is therefore particularly enjoyable: Adrian (as
scripted) - "And can you tell me now who these people are? Who is Operations and
Madeline …. and Nikita?"
Michael (adlib by Roy) – " I have 64 episodes we can
watch." |
