Getting Out of Reverse (4x01)

  hold me!
Nikita: See, I've stopped being so predictable.

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Picture courtesy Quinn's LFN Site

Bravo! What a season premiere! This episode was on the cutting edge, full of twists and turns, each one a delight. The cast was superb, the writing wonderful, the direction beyond compare. Everyone involved in the production of this episode deserves kudos for a job well done. To all those having practiced their craft so well, I applaud you.You make me want more and more.

"Getting Out Of Reverse" continues the saga that began in last season's finale. Operations, the leader of Section One, the most covert anti-terrorist organization on the planet, and Madeline, his second in command and Section's chief strategist, brainwashed Nikita in an attempt to end any personal and professional liaison between Nikita and her mentor, Michael - a liaison they suspected might lead to insurrection. Now Michael's determination to foil Section's adjustment of Nikita's psyche and to prevent the creation of an army of emotionless operatives places him in jeopardy when Operations discovers his plan to locate Gelman, the creator of the so-called Gelman process. He wants Michael cancelled.

In GOOR, it becomes obvious Nikita has been adjusted. Her compassion has been erased, her emotions have been bypassed, and by her own admission, she no longer loves Michael; she has turned into a ruthless, soulless killing machine.Her superiors are pleased, but Michael cannot let go of his lover, of what they had together. He will not let the Section take Nikita's soul and control her mind. True to his promise in last season's finale, he simply won't let them do this. He believes mind control is a tool that, in the regimented world of Section One, will be used to produce the best operatives, top-notch assassins, automatons every one. The operative's mind and soul erased along with the identity Section has claimed long ago, those who no longer really exist will fight for the Section's cause without fear, without emotion, without conscience.Ah, perfection!

GOOR begins with Michael and Nikita practicing their martial arts. This sparring match sets the tone for the entire episode and immediately shows the surprising role reversal that has taken place. Michael, the man who used to reign in his emotions, openly shows concern for Nikita's well being, losing his focus and allowing Nikita to gain the upper hand. Nikita meanwhile, void of her trademark emotions, constantly pushes Michael's skills to the limit and feigns discomfort, then suddenly launches a surprise attack and defeats him. The match puts Michael on edge. He senses that Nikita is different, that something is missing, that she has been altered in some way.

And Michael is not the only person who experiences these changes in Nikita. Her neighbor and fellow Section employee, Mick Schtoppel, experiences them up close when he slips into Nikita's apartment under Section orders and finds himself facing the barrel of her gun. He is stunned by the cold, killer-like behavior she exhibits - something the old Nikita would never have done.

Nikita's adjustment is put to a test when Section One's operatives are sent on a mission to determine if a captured operative has disclosed Section intel and become a security risk. Even though the operative assures her that Section has not been compromised, Nikita simply sets the explosive charges, blowing up a foreign embassy and killing sixteen innocent people.

This unconscionable act of blowing up the embassy in Tajikistan is more than Michael can bear. He must confront her and find out what the Section has done to her to make her kill in cold blood and endanger innocents without a care. This is not the Nikita he knows and loves; she is a stranger.

When confronted, Nikita insists that she had no choice, that she was being watched and tried to minimize the damage from the blast. Her explanation does not fool Michael. He feels her words are hollow, said without meaning or feeling.But still, he needs scientific proof of what he already knows in his heart. He enlists the help of Birkoff, Section's resident computer genius. At first hesitant, afraid of the possible consequences if he were discovered, Birkoff agrees to help when he learns that it is for Nikita, someone who is dear to him, a friend who has helped him survive inside Section. As Nikita studies a data file, that is actually part of a program to maintain her ‘gelmanization', Birkoff analyzes a disc Michael recorded erlier, containing Nikita's eye movements.

While Michael is grieving for the old Nikita and making plans to save her, Operations is reveling in Nikita's clarity during the Tajikistan mission, elated that she seems entirely subservient and devoid of emotion

Birkoff's analysis has confirmed Michael's suspicions that Nikita has been subjected to neural engineering and leads them to believe that the conversion needs chemical maintenance through someone close to her. Michael immediately suspects that Mick is involved, and confronts him in Nikita's apartment.

The confrontation is great; the interaction between Michael and Mick is priceless.Michael decks poor Mick the second he sees him, and Mick again finds himself looking down the barrel of a gun. Initially he tries to scam his way out of the situation, but Michael's calm "Bye, Mick" while holding the gun to Mick's throat, makes him speak the truth. He admits his complicity, gives Michael the chemicals he has been splashing on the floor in Nikita's apartment, and confirms that he believes those chemicals are the reason Nikita has changed.

Michael's worst fears have been realized.

Nikita, the shining light in Michael's life, has lost her glow, the flame of her soul weakened by the adjustment. There is no life in her eyes, no truth, no feeling, and when they look upon Michael they freeze him with their frosty glare. Nikita's soul is lost, trapped in the netherworld of electrochemical adjustment; she is ‘gelamanized'.

Michael must find Gelman, the creator of the neural engineering process who has fled from Section and gone rogue. Gelman has already evaded four retrieval missions, using stolen technology to monitor the Section's communication channels. Yet, Michael believes he can contact him, since Gelman owes him a favor. Walter, Section's technical and munitions expert, aids Michael, who arranges to rendezvous with Gelman while he is on a mission.

To slip away during the mission, Michael pursues one of the targets, stopping him with a stupendous leap from a ramp railing. He disables the target, shoves him in a closet for safekeeping and goes to meet Gelman. But Nikita, who sees him slip away, has noticed Michael's machinations.

At the rendezvous, Michael informs Gelman that his process has been tested outside the lab. He wants to know if it can be reversed. Gelman confirms that it can, but that the reversal procedure is stored in a computer in the lab inside Section, where the original test subject is located. Michael demands to know who the original subject was, but Gelman doesn't want to divulge the information, insisting that Michael is a dead man once he tells him. But Michael presses Gelman for the information. Nikita's life is at stake; he will not forfeit her for his own safety. Gelman gives in and whispers a name to Michael, adding that this is the reason he left the Section. Immediately afterwards, Gelman is assassinated. Not surprised or fearing for his own safety after Gelman is shot, Michael nonchalantly places him on a bench and walks away.

When the team returns to Section, Nikita informs Operations that Michael has deceived him and that he is trying to obtain information about what was done to her. Now that Nikita can corroborate their story, Operations and Madeline have reason to inform George, the head of Oversight, an organization that controls Section One, that Michael has gone too far, and Operations calls George to get clearance to cancel this Level 5 operative. Having been given the green light from Oversight, Operations sends a team headed by Davenport, another Level 5 operative, to kill Michael right in his office. Much to Operation's chagrin, Michael is one step ahead of him. In anticipation of Section's move, Michael is not really there, and the operatives end up canceling a hologram projection of him.

During the tag Michael, from afar, observes Nikita walking down the street. He looks sad, as if his heart were breaking, yet you know that he is already thinking about his next move, about how he can evade the Section, how he can make Nikita whole again and restore their love. Michael knows that he is Nikita's only lifeline, that he alone can rescue her, bring her back by reversing the process that has stripped her of her emotions. He knows that if he does not succeed, all is lost, not just for Nikita, but for all the operatives in Section One.


In Nikita circles Joan A. Alpert is known as Justice and Justicelfn.