Nikita season 3 finale review: Goodbye, Division

Just a short review…

I’ve just finished watching Nikita‘s third season finale. Whoa. About a month ago, I wrote a piece on what I thought of this third season — and what I thought was that the third season had lulled at points, but continued to push forward in a way that only Nikita can. It did that again during this finale, unafraid to blaze through storyline for maximum impact.

The episode opens up with a dead POTUS lying on her Oval Office desk, a trick television audiences know all too well. It’s a clue. A sign that the fact that the President is dead is not the biggest twist here. No, Nikita audience, it’s not. Turns out that the President decided to off herself once Nikita tried to warn her. (And later, it turns out that Amanda had kidnapped the actual president.) And that’s where things get particularly dicey. One of the bigger concerns I’ve personally had with Nikita throughout its run is the all-too-fancy technology: limbs that can be reattached, masks that can impeccably make you look like another person, and so on. In some ways, I kind of hoped that the President was in with The Shop this entire time, or that perhaps Amanda got inside her head as well. But in the end, it’s not a deal-breaker for this episode.

Because after all is said and done, Nikita pulls the trigger on closing down Division — for good — just like she’s been yearning for since season one, episode one. The producers have been saying that they knew they were most likely coming back for a shortened final season; they could have made the choice to prolong Division’s inevitable downfall until then. But they didn’t. That’s what makes this series so great. They trudged forward and decided that there is actually more story here to tell. It’s not just about Division.

It’s about the titular character. As the season comes to a close, we have Nikita coming a bit full circle: she’s out on her own, trying to make sure that her newfound family is safe (seeing as she’s the most wanted woman in the world at the moment).

All in all, a breathtaking finale every step of the way, with fantastic performances to boot. And in some ways, the Nikita writers could have bookended the series during this episode, but they didn’t. Regardless, I’m very glad that they can at least return next season and provide closure on their own terms. Six episodes isn’t ideal, but it’s better than no fourth season.

R.I.P. Division. (Well maybe not peace, but.)