Nikita‘s third season finale was one for the books. “Til Death Do Us Part” pushed the team to their limit. After last week’s cliffhanger we knew things would go from bad to worse—and they did. When Amanda’s in control that’s the only option.

The Players:

• Director: Eagle Egilsson
• Writer: Albert Kim
• Cast: Maggie Q, Shane West, Lyndsy Fonseca, Aaron Stanford, Melinda Clarke, Noah Bean, Lyndie Greenwood, Michelle Nolden

Episode Title: “Til Death Do Us Part:”

Nikita plans to go through with the assassination of President Spencer. Amanda continues to pull the strings, with Michael’s life on the line. Meanwhile, Birkhoff notices Nikita’s strange behavior. The group discovers Amanda’s involvement and try to save both Michael and Nikita.

The Good:

• Pace: There was so much happening in this episode. Between Nikita’s assassination attempt, Michael’s pseudo-death and the Dirty Thirty, we couldn’t catch our breath. Thankfully, the writers understand the concept of pacing. Just when we thought one thing was resolved another issue popped up. It was great!
• Michael aka Lazarus: After Dr. Kang was killed, the team took drastic measures to save Michael. The only way the nanotoxins would die, is if its host was dead. Therefore, they put Michael on ice (literally). They killed him for 20 minutes then brought him back to life. He had an emotional reunion with Nikita and Amanda realized she lost her bargaining chip.
• The Dirty Thirty: Amanda’s a sore loser so she called in reinforcements. The Dirty Thirty came out of the woodwork to wipe out Division. Alex, Ryan and Birkhoff tried to fend them off, while Sonya was busy resuscitating Michael. The three of them put up a good fight, but the assassins were too much. Cue Nikita.
• Nikita Saves the Day: At first, things were looking bleak. Birkhoff and Alex were getting pummeled, while Ryan was getting stabbed. Nikita burst through the door guns blazing surrounded by a ray of light. She kicked ass and took names. It reminded us of Season 1, when she took on a gym full of Division recruits.
• The Set-up: Nikita was supposed to kill President Spencer, but didn’t follow through. Michael let her believe that he’d found the cure for the nanotoxin. Nikita tried to warn the President that people in her office want her dead. At that moment, the Commander-in-Chief took the gun and killed herself. The Secret Service rushed in and grabbed Nikita who was marked as a murderer.
• The Twist: President Spencer’s alive! She’s being held captive in a cage by The Shop. The woman who pulled that trigger was an impostor. Her faked death was always a part of their plan. Even though she’s alive, no one else knows it. It’s obvious her rescue will be the objective for next season. They need to get her out of there.
• Division’s Demise: Are we the only ones who got emotional when Division was destroyed? There were so many memories. So many faces walked through those halls: Percy, Sean, Jaden, Thom and even Owen. Speaking of Owen, where the heck was he this week?
• The End: Rather than let her family suffer in the shadows Nikita hit the road. She snuck out of the safe house, and left her engagement ring. Michael called her cell, but she didn’t pick up. She threw it out the window and just cried. It was such a sad sight.

Overall:

“Til Death Do Us Part” was an amazing episode. It’s been a long time since we’ve been impressed with this show. The way the group fought for each other’s survival was admirable. At one point or another everyone was ready to sacrifice themselves. We’re gonna miss their family dynamic.

Rating: 10/10

Nikita will return for a shortened fourth and final season next year on The CW.

What did you think of the episode?

In Elementary’s two-part finale, nothing was as it seemed. Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) was reunited with the love of his life, while under the watchful eye of Moriarty. When Irene Adler (guest star Natalie Dormer) rises from the grave, it knocks Sherlock off his feet. But her return was nothing compared to Moriarty’s next reveal. What did you think of the character’s secret identity?

[Spoilers below. Stay away if you haven't watched the finale]

Elementary took creative license with not one, but two staple characters. Both Irene and Moriarty appear in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock stories. But the series writers did something daring by combining the two—literally. Irene Adler is Moriarty! We’re still reeling from the reveal. Sherlock learned (thanks to missing birthmarks) that “The Woman” isn’t who he thought she was.

We have to admit, from the very beginning, Irene’s introduction felt off. We assumed she would be Moriarty’s partner but not that ma—woman herself. Making him her could be either terrific or terrible. How would you categorize it?

Tell us how you voted and why in the comments!

Aaron Eckhart is a man of many talents. He’s appeared in everything from Erin Brockovich to Olympus Has Fallen. His latest film, Erased, has him channeling his inner Jason Bourne. As Ben Logan, he and his daughter are forced to go on the run when his employer and everything connected to it, is wiped out. There’s no paper trail, no emails, no proof that any of it existed. ScreenCrave recently spoke to Eckhart about the conspiracy-filled Erased, as well as his upcoming horror flick, I, Frankenstein.

Everything Ben thought he knew was a lie. How did you feel about the rug being pulled out from under him like that?

Aaron Eckhart: I kind of thought about what if I went to the bank and they said, “We don’t have any records of you having an account here.” Or I went to my agency and [they] said, “You’re not our client here.” It’s so easy to do. Everything’s electronic these days. I’m sure people—their records have been wiped out and [they're] trying to tell a large corporation that they’re wrong. It’s impossible because they have too much weight. You’re just one person. Not only that, you’re one person in a strange town with a stranger who happens to be your daughter. I thought that was the compelling part about the movie. First of all, was the father-daughter relationship. This whole idea of a man who has worked away from home most of his life. And not seeing his daughter grow up and then having to live with her and trying to act normal because you’re fresh and blood. On the other hand, having no experience with a 15-year-old girl, having to live in close quarters together, then having to go out on the run and try to survive together while we get to know each other… I was more interested in the father-daughter aspects of the movie although I  liked the action.

Do you have a clear idea of what Ben’s background is? Is that intentionally vague?

Aaron Eckhart: Yeah, I think they were being vague. I think it was more general classification. I think what they’re trying to sell with that is the fact that he’s a capable fighter. The past is on his back with the scars and certainly making the bombs and all that and eluding the bad guys. I think the world has an image that pops into people’s heads when they think about the CIA. They don’t think about the pencil pushers. They think about the guys out there doing the dirty stuff.

What did you think of the dynamic between Ben and his daughter?

Aaron Eckhart: In the beginning, she was like everybody else and didn’t believe what was going on. It’s really after the car accident, when we have the fight, and have to run across the road that she starts becoming in tune with what’s going on and helping me. She has this nice character arc. At the end of the movie she’s much more savvy about things. We were very cognizant of that while we were making it.

Did you channel your inner Jason Bourne?

Aaron Eckhart: A bit. We made this movie for significantly less… It’s a movie about car chases and running and fist fights and some guns, which was sort of what the ’70s was all about. Today, when you look at an action movie, you’re looking at — I just saw an ad for Fast & Furious 6 where a car comes out of a fuselage of airplane. I’m sitting here going, “Whoa. How much did that cost?!” I sort of like this idea of just relying on story and acting and directing and creating tension with the fundamentals.

Yeah, that goes back to good old fashioned intrigue. 

Aaron Eckhart: If you look at Three Days to the Condor, which is one of the greatest little spy movies ever, there’s very little action in this movie. In the beginning, there’s a squad that comes in and kills everybody and then Redford’s on the run but Redford’s not fighting. It’s all about tension and creating tension and the threat of violence. The threat of violence will hold an audience in their seat today and till the end of time. It always has and that’s what I want to do with these movies. Rely on film structure, on story structure, on acting and performance. That’s where I would like to live.

The movie takes you down a rabbit hole. There are layers to this conspiracy. Was that a big draw for you?

Aaron Eckhart: Yeah. I liked that idea. I grew up in England. I went to high school in England during the Cold War in the early-80s that was right when the Kremlin and Washington and London and East Berlin all that sort of stuff, so I have this fascination with spies and the lies that they tell and the reasons they tell them. And you know spiriting people away in the middle of the night… I’ve always had a fascination about that. I love movies about that and I’ve always wanted to make one and to make it in Europe is doubly sweet.

Erased is very fast-paced. The sets were rarely used twice. How long did it take to shoot and were you actually in Belgium?

Aaron Eckhart: The shoot was a few months. We shot the first half in Montreal, Canada. I think that was mostly interiors. I think that was all because of money considerations. The people who financed the film really dictated where we shot. Then we shot in Belgium for the second half. That was mainly the exteriors with the great train stations and in the streets, driving around and that sort of thing. It was definitely fun for me in terms of getting around and seeing new places. I’ve never been an actor who likes to stay in a soundstage. I’d like to be—everyday go to a new place. It just makes filmmaking so much more fun.

How was it working with the director Phillipp Stolzl? He’s German, so were there any communication issues?

Aaron Eckhart: Well, I’ll tell ya he was perfectly fluent in English. He’s a great stage director in Germany. He’d just finished an opera so he has great theater experience and he brought his crew. His D.P. (director of photography) from his movies was there, so the film, interestingly enough was made my Canadians, Germans, Belgians, Americans, English… We all got along real well and the communication was perfect. You don’t need to speak the same language in the film world because you’re dealing with the technical things and there’s its own language. Everybody spoke very well. It was amazing because I think a European has a very different version of what an action movie is. I was raised on Rambo and Indiana Jones and Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis and Die Hards and that. I think they have a little different sensibility. I think that came through in the movie.

Can you clarify the setting of I, Frankenstein? Seems more supernatural horror than traditional. 

Aaron Eckhart: It goes from the past to the present. It’s in a fantastic world. It’s a modern day world but it’s not a world that has a name. It’s the story of good and evil. It’s a story of a monster who was called an abortion by his father and kicked out of the house. He’s a man looking for his soul, looking for love and looking for his purpose in life. It involves gargoyles and demons so you have a whole different society in this movie on top of Frankenstein. He has all the scars. All the scars on his face and on his body. He’s patched together from I think 12 different corpses. It has the essential elements of Mary Shelley’s book but it’s been completely re-imagined.

Does your version of the monster speak? 

Aaron Eckhart: Oh yeah. Yeah. And fairly well [laughs]. Even in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, he’s very intelligent. He’s very sensitive. He picks up things and he teaches himself things. When he’s outside in the barn at this farm and this family walks in and he observes this family for weeks. He actually falls in love with one of the girls. He’s in tune with what’s going on. One of the curses of Frankenstein is he’s here to roam the Earth for eternity so we figured that he picked up a few things along the way.

OK, that makes sense because at some point he would adapt and evolve.

Aaron Eckhart: Yeah, that’s the idea. I tried to do that the best I could in terms of the old Frankenstein and the new. So we’ll see. We’ll talk half a year from now and see what you think.

Erased opens in theaters May 17, while I, Frankenstein will be released January 24, 2014.

In this week’s Nikita, the “Invisible Hand” rears its ugly head. As the title suggests, a limb is at the center of the episode’s biggest dilemma. Plus, Amanda resurfaces and makes an unethical (shocker) demand.

The Players:

• Director: Dwight Little
• Writer: Carlos Coto
• Cast: Maggie Q, Shane West, Lyndsy Fonseca, Aaron Stanford, Melinda Clarke, Lyndie Greenwood

Episode Title “Invisible Hand”:

Nikita learns that Amanda and The Shop are targeting a human trafficking advocate. They plan to assassinate her using a toxin, which reacts like a kill-chip. Meanwhile, Nikita’s pulled into Amanda’s web when it’s revealed that Michael’s artificial hand isn’t all it seems.

The Good:

• Sonya: Is it just us, or was Sonya in almost every scene this week? She got some serious airtime. Perhaps it’s because Division has been whittled down to a choice few. Either way, we liked it. We also learned a little about her background. She’s a former East African resident by way of Oxford. We want an episode dedicated to her backstory. She seems like such a sweet girl. How the heck did she end up at Division? We hope they explore her more in Season 4.
• Kill-chip Upgrade: The Shop has developed a new nano-technology that makes blood vessels explode. It’s essentially an upgrade to the kill-chip. We have to admit it’s pretty sophisticated but the end result is beyond disturbing.
• Michael’s Hand: We knew his new limb came with a price. When they magically attached Michael’s hand we were upset. We felt it negated the drama of him having to go without. But now, his life is on the line because it’s laced with the toxin. Now it’s infiltrated his entire bloodstream and he’s a ticking time bomb.

The Bad:

• Relationships in the Workplace: This is why Nikita and Michael should have never gotten together. Due to Nikita’s love for him, Amanda’s got (figuratively) her balls in a vice. Either Nikita assassinates the President of the United States or Michael goes boom. Not to sound heartless, but in the grand scheme of things Michael’s death wouldn’t be the end of the world. It would just mean the end of Nikita’s. She should know better than to trust Amanda to give her the antidote. We don’t like where this is going.

Overall:

This week’s episode is polarizing. Nikita’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. Her ultimate decision regarding Amanda’s mission will destroy a lot of lives, including her own.

Rating: 9/10

Nikita airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on The CW.

What did you think of this week’s episode?

Tonight, Person of Interest wraps an eventful second season. The previous episode ended on a major cliffhanger. John and Root battle to control The Machine, Shaw and Finch are on edge, while Grace is… wait, what’s Grace up to? ScreenCrave recently spoke to her portrayer Carrie Preston who teased her return in the epic finale. She also gave a sneak peek of what we can expect from Arlene on the latest season of True Blood.

So Grace will appear in the season finale?

Carrie Preston: [Yes] We shot the scenes that you’ll see — we shot them out of context. They had to get the scenes in the can before I went back to work on True Blood. In a funny way, it was like we were doing the first act of a play that we’d never read the second act of. The script wasn’t ready. It was shot as a stand alone experience and I’ll be really interested to see how it cuts together and where it fits in to the bigger picture… I haven’t heard if they will be bringing me back next season and if so, in what capacity or how that would play out. So we’ll just have to see.

Will Root harm Grace? Did you shoot any scenes with Amy Acker?

Carrie Preston: Grace is definitely Finch’s Achilles heel… But no, I did not shoot any scenes with Root.

According to Finch, whoever answers the phone has the power. But both John and Root got the call. Is it fair to say the finale’s filled with chaos?

Carrie Preston: Yes, definitely. It’s gonna have that. I’m curious to see what The Machine wants from each of those characters… They cut to a shot of Mr. Finch moving some wires around, so I think that he’s definitely up to something. But I don’t know because I didn’t read the scripts and also didn’t want to. I want to be surprised along with the rest of the viewers as to how the story unfolds. I do know that they will be jumping back in time as they usually do per episode so they will be doing that as well. It’s going to be moving around quite a bit.

Will we figure out what really happened to Finch’s ex-partner Nathan? 

Carrie Preston: I’m not sure exactly how they’re going to reveal that… It was such a good revelation to see that Mr. Finch was not originally the one who wanted the backdoor. I thought that was a very interesting moment. We just assumed all along that Finch was the one that built that but it was actually Nathan. I thought that was a really clever revelation.

We loved the proposal scene between Finch and Grace. Did you shoot all of your scenes at once, or did you have to come back?

Carrie Preston: The scenes that I did with him where we had our first date and we did our trip to the Guggenheim we shot that separately a while back. Then the scenes that you’ll be seeing this week, we had to shoot those in November or December before True Blood started shooting again. It was, in a weird way, like shooting stand alone episodes that were just starring Finch and Grace. It was quite fun. I was very grateful that they were able to make that happen before I went back to work on my main gig, which is True Blood.

Speaking of True Blood, does Season 6 pick up right where Season 5 left off? 

Carrie Preston: There’s no time lapse. It definitely picks up right where we left off. There’s only been one season where time has lapsed and that was between three and four. It was when Sookie was in Fairyland. She felt like she was there for 20 minutes yet it was a year that went by.

Arlene spent most of last season being terrified of her demon baby. What’s in store for her this time around?

Carrie Preston: Last season… Terry had to kill his comrade Patrick. So we’re going to see the ramifications of that act and how it effects Arlene and Terry.

So we’ll get some good relationship stuff from them?

Carrie Preston: Yes.

Person of Interest’s season finale airs tonight at 9 p.m. on CBS. True Blood returns to HBO June 16.

In “High-Value Target,” Nikita and company have to work under the gun–literally. Madame President has had enough of Division’s antics and is ready to shut it down. Meanwhile, Sam is still trying to make a buck off the black box.

The Players:

• Director: Dan Sackheim
• Writer: Michael Brandon Guercio
• Cast: Maggie Q, Shane West, Lyndsy Fonseca, Aaron Stanford, Devon Sawa, Melinda Clarke, Noah Bean, Isaiah Mustafa

Episode Title “High-Value Target”:

The president sends the Navy SEALs to clear out Division. They arrive in the middle of an op, where Nikita, Michael and Alex are trying to buy the black box. They convince the president to let them continue with their plan. Sam sets up an auction with various countries to sell the box. He’s also holding Amanda prisoner with an intent to kill.

The Good:

• Black Box is Dunzo: The black box is no more. It’s about time because we were sick of hearing about it. After Sam realizes Amanda betrayed him, he finds her, kills her men and destroys the box. When did he grow a conscience? Who knows. Maybe that conversation with Alex had a profound effect.
• Ryan’s No Low-level Analyst: The leader of the SEALs made the mistake of calling Ryan a low-level analyst. He had no idea what Ryan’s been through over the past year. Luckily, Ryan clarified that for him. He’s been “dead” tortured, shot, and has executed kill-orders on leaders from all over the world. So yeah, his file is in desperate need of an update.
• Hello Sam: We loved how Nikita continued to call Sam Owen. She’s still connected to that persona and believes Owen is somewhere in Sam’s brain. When he shot the black box it gave her even more hope that her friend wasn’t gone for good.

The So-So:

• Cyrus: Don’t get us wrong, we love Isaiah Mustafa, but didn’t his return seem off? It felt strange and completely out of left field. Was he literally going to roll up, drop off some info and leave? That’s so random. They chalked up his personal visit to Division’s phones being down. For a hot minute, we thought he was in on the SEAL invasion.
• Amanda’s Escape: Sam’s not the sharpest tool in the shed. Did he really think Amanda would stay locked up waiting for him to kill her. She found a way to get her message out to the Germans aka The Shop, and it worked. That woman’s backup plans have backup plans.

Overall:

“High-Value Target” had some good moments. They weren’t great but they were good. The episode was saved by Sam’s semi-turnaround and Ryan’s power play.

Rating: 7.5/10

Nikita airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on The CW.

What did you think of this week’s episode?

NBC’s Grimm has been firing on all cylinders. As the second season winds down, the writers are pulling out all the stops. Monday morning, star David Giuntoli spoke with reporters about what to expect from the season’s final episodes. Anything can happen including a Nick and Juliette reunion, a new Big Bad and even zombies!

On the Season 3 pick-up and the move to Tuesdays:

David Giuntoli: I think it’s all very exciting. I think that NBC is showing a lot of faith in Grimm by moving us to Tuesday nights… We’re very excited to expose Grimm to an entirely new audience and scare and befuddle a whole new segment of the population.

On Nick’s relationships with Juliette and Captain Renard:

David Giuntoli: Our writers are not afraid to go anywhere, so nothing really surprises me, especially speaking to the relationship between the captain (Sasha Roiz) and Nick. I wanted to make sure that even though we were working together I’m not too easy with him. I wouldn’t call it a friendship. I wouldn’t call us pals. We wouldn’t go out and eat together. I think we more or less have a common enemy… So we’re working tentatively together. He did after all try to kill my aunt, so. As far as Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) goes, I think we’re going to be seeing us kind of patching things up. Turning things around a bit. I’m sure that in Grimm fashion they’ll find some way to make that as difficult as humanly possible.

Will Nick wait on Juliette forever?

David Giuntoli: I hope we have a talk about things in a very real way before we get back together. I think Nick’s a guy who knows what he’s done to her and would probably do anything to get her back so I think he’d probably wait for a long time.

What we can expect from the season finale:

David Giuntoli: You could definitely see a Nick and Juliette reunion… We [also] deal with the undead in a way that it’s never been approached before in a very typical Grimm fashion. So “zombies” will be coming to Portland and I will say the cliffhanger of this season is — I don’t know how the writers are going to get themselves out of this corner that they’ve painted themselves into. One of the cast may not live through the finale.

On some upcoming paranormal activity: 

David Giuntoli: In this coming episode [Tuesday], I know we’re going to be seeing something very paranormal. I want to say almost X-Filesy that is not a standard Grimm’s fairytale. It’s almost like we’re dealing with what people on Earth think are aliens but then we tell you what they really are. The real explanation for them.

A new Big Bad?

David Giuntoli: A level 10 Wesen — as I like to call it — comes to Portland who is pulling the strings, controlling a lot of other types of Wesen. We can call them the undead, and he has an army of people under his control that wreak havoc, and this is a longer story arc.

About those Royals:

David Giuntoli: The Royals get closer and closer to me. They come to Portland and they want the key. I learn much, much more about why it is they want the key. The captain and I start working together. [Let's see] zombies. And also, as far as Adalind (Claire Coffee) goes, the Adalind storyline is insane that’s all I’ll say about that.

“You missed a lot” says a lot about “Self-Destruct.” This week’s Nikita brings Ryan back into the fold. After recovering from his gun shot wound, he’s shocked to see what’s happened in his absence. Also, Alex has gone AWOL in an attempt to right some past wrongs.

The Players:

• Director: Nick Copus
• Writer: Kristin Reidel
• Cast: Maggie Q, Shane West, Lyndsy Fonseca, Aaron Stanford, Melinda Clarke, Noah Bean, Lyndie Greenwood

Episode Title “Self-Destruct”:

Ryan awakens from his coma to find Division in peril. Alex, still reeling from Sean’s death, hits the streets to bust up a drug and prostitute ring. Nikita’s hot on her trail and tries to remind Alex that her life was worth saving. Meanwhile, Ryan’s ready to burn Division to the ground.

The Good:

• Ryan’s Responsibility: After seeing the damage that’s occurred, Ryan makes a drastic decision. He believes the best way to save the remaining recruits is to destroy Division. The president is still under the impression that they’re a fully staffed agency. With Commander Danforth dead, his replacement will visit the facility. Too bad there’s nothing for him to see. Ryan acknowledges that he tried to make Division something it wasn’t. He’s willing to burn it to the ground, while everyone else escapes. He wants to take responsibility because he’d been seduced by the dark side.
• Us Against Them: This has been the show’s theme from day one. The underdog vs. the Big Bad. There are only six people left at Division: Michael, Nikita, Alex, Ryan, Birkhoff and Sonya. They have to find a way to take down Amanda before the president catches on. The odds aren’t in their favor. Like Nikita said, “I don’t know if we’ll win but I’m ready to fight.” We say, “Go for it girl!”
• Uncertain Future: Thus far, 308 agents are on the run, plus the additional Dirty Thirty. On one hand, that means Division is officially dead in the water. On the other, that gives the show plenty of drama moving forward. If and when they defeat Amanda, that could be their next objective. The next season (if The CW renews it) could be them tying up the loose ends.

The Bad:

• Alex’s Plight: We understand that Alex has had it rough. But for the past few episodes she’s been nothing but a wet blanket. We knew Sean’s death would send her over the edge. Her going back to her old stomping ground wasn’t a surprise, and it wasn’t interesting. Yes, she finally dealt with her survivor’s guilt, but we would have rather seen her back at Division cleaning up her mess.

Overall:

“Self-Destruct” was an uneven episode. We were much more interested in Division than Alex. No offense, but her story was extremely distracting and took away from the big picture.

Rating: 7/10

Nikita airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on The CW.

What did you think of this week’s episode?

Sherlock Holmes becomes part of a crime in “Dead Man’s Switch.” On this week’s Elementary, the consulting detective races against the clock to find a killer, who has a thing for blackmailers. He also faces a personal milestone with his sober-versary.

The Players:

It’s been a great week for Superman fans. After the latest trailer for Man of Steel, anticipation has been at an all-time high. Today, we’re adding more fuel to that fire. Michael Shannon, who plays General Zod in the film, recently spoke to ScreenCrave while promoting The Iceman. The actor discussed his Man of Steel experience, which he describes as very physical.

On prepping for the role:

Michael Shannon: That was fun. Zack Snyder is an amazing person, a really beautiful man, a lot of fun to work with. You would think it would be a very high pressure environment with all the money flying around, but Zack keeps it very down to Earth. With Zack it’s a very physical approach. He wants everybody to be in on the physical side of things. That’s how you start it. You work with a trainer, you do the workouts, you do the stunt training… You do that for a few months and it was an interesting — I’ve never had a job like that before that was way into it, and I enjoyed it. I actually liked it a lot more than I thought I would, which is weird because I spent months where I was working on practicing karate chips and stuff and suddenly one day I had to say a line of dialogue. I was like, ‘Oh, right! That’s what I do. Right.’ I thought I was a bodybuilder.”

On who’s the most ripped on set:

Michael Shannon: Henry Cavill is the most ripped.

On working with a green screen:

Michael Shannon: I didn’t mind it at all. I mean, what’s the alternative? Because anytime there’s a green screen mean that whatever is supposed to be there is impossible to make. It’s supposed to be like the cosmos or something, so I might as well stare into a green screen than a black poster board with little holes punched out. Then I would feel silly.

Man of Steel is directed by Zack Snyder from a screenplay written by Davis S. Goyer. The film opens in theaters June 14.

Additional reporting by Melissa Molina.

The downward spiral continues on this week’s Nikita. In “Broken Home,” Alex pays the ultimate price for her betrayal. After releasing the hounds, her plan to peacefully close Division ends in violence. With Nikita still at Amanda’s mercy and Owen as Sam, nobody’s safe.

The Players:

• Director: John Badham
• Writers: Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett
• Cast: Maggie Q, Shane West, Lyndsy Fonseca, Aaron Stanford, Dillon Casey, Melinda Clarke, Devon Sawa, Noah Bean, Lyndie Greenwood

Episode Title: “Broken Home”:

Amanda reveals her biggest secret to Nikita. Thanks to mental conditioning, Nikita visits Amanda’s childhood home. She  learns of Amanda’s father and twin sister Helen. It’s there that her obsession with experimentation began. Meanwhile, the Division revolt takes a turn for the worse as lives are lost.

The Good:

• Amanda/Helen: We knew Amanda’s origin story was going to be a doozy. We learned that her father (guest star Christopher Heyerdahl) was a neuropsychologist, who experimented on his own daughter. Helen was his test subject, while Amanda was the protected princess. They were twins born a mere eight minutes apart. Their father used Helen as a lab rat for PTSD trials. Apparently, her entire existence was a secret. She had no birth certificate or I.D. It was a fact that would come in handy for later (the So-So section).
• You Can’t Save Everyone: This was the theme for the entire episode. You could argue that it’s been Amanda’s M.O. from day one. It doesn’t matter how hard you try, there are always casualties. This proved to be true with both Alex and Amanda’s stories. It was a wonderful parallel.

The So-So:

• Owen/Sam: How long are they gonna let Sam run free? We were huge fans of Owen, but Sam not so much. He’s cartoonishly evil. Can’t they hit him in the head and recalibrate his old personality? It worked for Hawkeye in The Avengers. One of the reasons we love Owen is because of his friendship with Nikita. They completely destroyed it when he turned her over to Amanda as the self-serving Sam.
• Amanda’s Twist: At the end of Amanda’s tale we learn that she’s not Amanda at all. She’s really Helen. She was the one tortured on a daily basis. Before her escape, she stabbed her father and sister and assumed Amanda’s identity. Since they were twins and Helen didn’t exist on paper, she got away with it. Our problem is this: If Amanda was on the receiving end of experiments all her life, why would she do the same to others? She knows how horrible it is. One could argue that it’s all she knows. Or that this is a classic case of the victim becoming the perpetrator. In a strange way she continued her father’s work.

The Bad:

• Sean’s Death: Who didn’t see this coming? At the end of the episode, they made it seem as if he was mildly injured. But he kept holding his side as if it was much worse — and it was. During the shootout in Ops, Sean took a bullet, which hit a major artery. He suffered internal bleeding and died on the floor. The promos promised a death and we assumed either Sean or Owen. Considering Owen’s recent behavior we would have been fine with him taking a dirt nap.

Overall:

Thanks to all the plot twists “Broke Home” left us emotionally drained. It wasn’t perfect but for the most part it was a solid episode. If only they could nip that Owen/Sam thing in the bud.

Rating: 8/10

Nikita airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on The CW.

What did you think of this week’s episode?

Division is in a free-fall and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. In this week’s Nikita, ”Masks” brings everyone’s hidden agenda to light. The Ops team is out of commission, Owen’s turned evil and Nikita’s nowhere to be found. Can you say, “Drama?”

The Players:

• Director: Chris Peppe
• Writer: Kamran Pasha
• Cast: Maggie Q, Shane West, Lyndsy Fonseca, Aaron Stanford, Melinda Clarke, Noah Bean, Lyndie Greenwood, Jessica Camacho, Chad Connell

Episode Title: “Masks”

After Commander Danforth mysteriously dies (from a “brain aneurysm”), Division sends Owen to do clean-up. Amanda intercepts him and restores his memories as Sam Matthews. His dark side resurfaces, he kidnaps Nikita and essentially sells her to Amanda. Meanwhile, Alex’s revolt gets out of hand when the operatives take Ops hostage.

The Good:

• Amanda’s Plan: She was a little more invasive than we thought. After learning of Alex’s betrayal, we assumed Amanda had her under mind control. We had no idea how deep (literally) her procedure went. She revealed that she kept Alex strapped to a chair and projected her entire escape, including the life and death of Larissa. Amanda played on Alex’s survivors guilt and used it to her advantage. Wow. Just wow.
• Use Your Brain: As we said last week, Sean was on to Alex. We’re happy he didn’t allow his love for her to cloud his judgment. He confronted her about her treachery but by then it was too late. The revolution had begun! Also, props to Michael for picking up on Owen-Sam’s sneaky behavior. Their confrontation was brutal. Too bad it had to end so early.
• Anarchy: Rachel and Chris have taken over Division. Alex is no longer their leader. She had plans to get everyone out safely and quietly, but things have gone too far. The new gang is giving ultimatums, join us or die. Well this snowballed quickly.
• I Am Sam: Owen-Sam is brutal. While in Special Forces, he led a heroin ring and killed three of his four accomplices when they tried to cut him out. He also tricked Nikita into finding the remaining soldier from his team so he could finish the job. He then tied her up and uttered the words, “Deep inside you always knew what I was. You just didn’t want to believe it.” Ugh. It was heart-wrenching.

The Bad:

• Nothing: This was a great episode.

Rating: 10/10

Nikita airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on The CW.

What did you think of the episode?