|
| 508 - A Time For Every Purpose |
| Writer/Director |
Michael Loceff / Brad Turner |
| Michael's POV Onscreen:
27 minutes |
Michael, who has been badly
injured escaping from the Collective with his son, intercepts Nikita in a marketplace,
persuading her to bring him back into Section so that he can lead them to the
Collective’s headquarters. It is, of course, a trick (Nikita can’t believe that
he’s still lying to her), because he needs Mr Jones in order to bargain for
the still captive Adam. In a series of double-crosses too complicated to describe, Michael
and Nikita kill Graff so that Haled, as new leader of the Collective, will surrender Adam,
but Haled too is killed before the boy is released. Michael is arrested and finds himself
once again clamped in the White Room chair. He accepts Mr Jones’ plan to trade
himself for Adam, and agrees to commit suicide once he is handed over. The exchange is to
take place on a bridge, but at the last moment Mr Jones reveals that he has tricked them
all and intends to give himself up on condition that Nikita agrees to become head of
Section and eventually head of Centre. Adam runs across the bridge to Michael, and the
Collective, unaccountably, shoot Mr Jones. Later, Michael and Adam are seen in the railway
station, where they take their leave of Nikita. Michael and Nikita tell each other simply
and directly that they love each other for the first, and last, time. |
| Michael Moments |
Emerging from the pavilion to
face a huge Section team
Agreeing to Jones’ suicide option in the White Room
Considering Jones’ sacrifice on the bridge
Sitting with Adam in the railway station |
| Words of Wisdom |
"Adam’s my son. I won’t
let him die."
"You have my word."
"There’ll be a
time when Adam won’t need me any more." |
Performance Rating
 |
Perhaps it’s because
Michael himself has to do a bit of ‘acting’ in this episode, but Roy’s
performance is raised dramatically. First Michael has to convince Nikita and all the rest
back at Section that he is badly injured and impatient to debrief to Mr Jones in person.
He does this so effectively that Nikita’s jaw hits the floor when she realises
she’s been duped again! Later he reacts to Haled’s betrayal as though he had not
bargained for it, to ensure that Haled then falls into the trap he’s set for that
contingency. He has to appear confused, and for a couple of seconds a particular
expression crosses his face. I racked my brains for quite a while until I remembered where
I’d seen it before – in Not Was, the one and only time that Michael was
genuinely totally bewildered. This sets the tone for the
rest of Roy’s scenes. His speech patterns are more emotive and his reactions are
positive. The storyline offers him a range of emotions to play, and he handles them all
with a sureness that was missing in Let No Man Put Asunder. The performance has the
feel of one of the better Season 3 episodes, and at this stage in the game, that’s
quite a compliment. |
|
