Nikita - Episode 4.06 - Canceled (Series Finale) - Review + Polls

Bye bye, Nikita!

This Friday, the CW's spy thriller finished its run with one final mission. Nikita and Alex set out to hunt down the seven remaining members of MDK/The Group/The Shop after Jones gave them their names. After killing three of them (and Jones, for that matter), the other four members decide to have a meeting. Nikita and Alex invade the property, take the four of them hostage and demand to know who the remaining doubles are. All this is being watched by Amanda, who benefits greatly from Nikita taking MDK down, because that would mean she can take control.

But the rest of the team is also on to her. After tracking Nikita's location with the help of the aforementioned villainess, the property of Mr. Adrian is surrounded by the military. While the military is ready to open fire on the house, Michael and Sam try to talk Nikita out of doing this, saying it will destroy her soul. But she's unwilling to listen, and, after a fight with Alex, shoots all three remaining MDK members (one was already killed when the members refused to give the name of the doubles).

Nikita, Alex and Birkhoff (who helped Nikita to almost leak the doubles' identities) are captured and imprisoned. While she is held in the most secure room, Nikita is surprised by a visit from her long-time adversary Amanda. Amanda thanks Nikita for doing her dirty work yet again and reveals she erased the list containing the doubles' identities. She also says no one will ever hear from Nikita again, being in the deep hole that she is.

But then the tables are turned! Nikita and Alex faked the deaths of all eight "Shoperatives" in order to get to Amanda. They also know that the military leading man was in fact one of the doubles (this was whispered into Nikita's ear in Ryan's final moments), and they still have the list of the remaining doubles. While Michael and Sam free the real people, Amanda is captured in Nikita's cell. Helen is back in the basement, this time for good!

In the end, the team can finally be who they really are. The doubles are quietly taken down, Alex is honored for being the human rights activist while Sam (or really, more like Owen) is her bodyguard, Birkhoff reveals Shadownet to the world before getting to Sonya, Ryan is honored with a star at the CIA's memorial wall, and happily married Michael and Nikita reside on a beach in Ecuador. They seem to have given up their lives as an assassin, although there might always be another mission around the corner.

I really loved this series finale and I think it nicely resolved all the active storylines of the show. I expected the military officer to be a double (although the senator was also under my suspicion), but I never saw the big twist coming. I really like that Nikita doesn't end up being the assassin that she is, but in fact was ahead of Amanda all along. Amanda and Nikita's conversation was a very deep one that explored the heart of their relationship. I am really surprised they kept Amanda alive, but I do understand and even embrace the decision. Her capture is way more painful for her than her death would be.

Of course I am really sad to see this great series go, but I am glad it got a proper send-off (albeit a short one). The writers and actors put a lot of effort in these final six episodes and I think that each and every one of them is outstanding. Scroll down for some polls on this season and the series as a whole.

But first, if you haven't gotten enough of Nikita, there might be some good news for you. Although I can't extend the series' run, some of the cast and crew are already moving forward. Craig Silverstein, who developed Nikita in the first place, has its new AMC series Turn coming up, a period drama that will focus on a group of spies in the American Revolutionary War. Writer Albert Kim has a yet untitled conspricay drama in development at the CW that revolves around a woman imprisoned for a double murder she didn't commit. Two other Nikita writers, Travis Fickett and Terry Matalas, created a pilot for Syfy called 12 Monkeys. Noah Bean (Ryan) and Aaron Stanford (Birkhoff) are also cast in that pilot, which follows the journey of time travelers. Additionally, Bean will recur in Fox' upcoming drama Gang Related, a series that follows members of the LAPD's elite Gang Task Force. Shane West (Michael) has been been tapped to star in WGN America's Salem, which explores what really fueled Massachusetts' infamous witch trials. Xander Berkeley (Percy) has been cast in the pilot as well. Berkeley and Lyndsy Fonseca (Alex) are also shooting a film together, called Moments of Clarity, while Fonseca recurs on CBS' How I Met Your Mother too.

What did you think of Nikita's series finale? Did you see that twist coming or were you totally surprised? Were you surprised that Amanda didn't die? Don't forget to cast your votes in the poll below!