I have always had a soft spot for the Nikita story. Basically there are a number of ways this story has been told. From the movie Nikita, to La Femme Nikita in the 90′s and now the current Nikita story.
In the movie anf the previous series the focus was solely upon Nikita. Nikita is a lost soul from the streets that Division have identified as a candidate for spy work, chiefly as there is noone to remember them if they are killed. Basically the recruits are trained and brainwashed in the Division way, no deviation is allowed,
During her training Nikita is identified as a very capable recruit and is given the premier jobs. Along the way Nikita reconnects with her own story and develops a conscience. She becomes vengeful once her lover is murdered by Division, at this time she escapes from the system and goes rogue.
This is where the current telling picks up. The current series known simply as Nikita follows her attempts at striking back againat Division, in particular it’s evil mastermind Percy. In this telling, Nikita has performed some of her own recruiting and has joined forces witha girl named Alex, whose parents were executed by Division in a mission that Nikita was involved in.
Nikita has trained Alex in a number of Division techniques and her own. Nikita has then positioned Alex in a way that Division take Alex as a recruit. Alex is thus perfectly positioned as an inside informant for Nikita. This is where so e of my concerns with the series begin.
The main method of communication between Alex and Nikita is via the internet over a chat session. This seems totally contrary to the measures that Division take to ensure the recruits do not have a grounding in the putside world. I mean, if they can get onto Google they may aswell live amongst us. This in turn means the brainwashing could not possibly work.
Granted the only person we see successfully communicating in this manner is Alex to Nikita with apparent encryption, it should be impossible without detection of an outgoing packet.
Further, we have seen Alex use a public telephone o contact Nikita. Supposedly Alex has a tracking device embedded, however Division did not check records or attempt a phone trace. Again contrary to the premise that they are evil and technically diligent. This is also an action that would have happened in La Femme Nikita, which was more polished than the current telling.
These are the main things that sadly detract from this telling of the current Nikita story, and in my eyes keep it inferior to La Femme Nikita. Continuity and believability is part of the Nikita mythos, and this show tinkers with their outer limits. I wish they would close the gaps as it would greatly enhance an already enjoyable action packed show.
