The panel room for “Nikita” was only half-full, but that didn’t dim the enthusiasm of the true fans in attendance (some of whom had come from as far away as Canada). With only six episodes of the show left, the mood of the stars and show creator Craig Silverstein was both nostalgic and enthusiastic for a wrap-up that promises to “start right in the middle of it and not take our foot off the pedal until the end,” according to Silverstein.
Silverstein was joined by Noah Bean (Ryan Fletcher), Melinda Clarke (Amanda), Aaron Stanford (Seymour Birkhoff), Lyndsy Fonseca (Alex), Shane West (Michael) and Nikita herself, Maggie Q.
After showing a clip which promises an explosive fourth season, Q talked briefly about how she felt when she learned the show was ending. “When I found out, it had nothing to do with the show, but my emotion about these people. My heart hurt, because I have a very deep love for them and miss them. Then I got over it. [laughter] We get to end this show with our heads high. I didn’t want it to [drag out]. I wanted to go out and people feel full but still a little hungry.”
After the group discussed how the storyline will jump right into the action in order to tie up story lines, Q continued, “Like Craig said, we don’t have to build to anything, we just get to it. When Nikita sees Michael again, it was a weird way to leave it, but it’s a decision made of love. She left because she really really loved this man, and that’s what it was about.”
West explained, “Michael may have gone dark again, especially after season 3. It’s going to be a really fun dynamic to play. He’s always going to love Nikita, and this will put their relationship to a test.”
As far as what will happen to Alex, Fonseca said of her character, “Alex has been through a lot and is in such a delicate place, but what does Alex do with her life? She doesn’t have to hide from anyone and is a real person and she’s going to take advantage of that. But it’s a tricky balance to be normal during the day and play spy at night.”
Since Division needed a new home base for season four, Silverstein revealed the new location — which is entirely mobile. “Their lair is an airplane, so they can be in different places around the globe. We’re never going to top the lair from first season, then they had a beach house, Division was destroyed last season, so we couldn’t do a hideout, so now we’re going to be in the sky.”
As Bean explained, “Division always felt like another character on the show. The place felt like a person, and we were obviously battling with that person a lot, and realized we couldn’t change that person. That was the battle Ryan was up against — it was like herding cats.”
What followed was a lengthy, teasing conversation about cats (some panelists heard hurting, not herding). Clarke joked, in character, “I would hurt cats,” which brought the house down.
Then it was time for Clarke to discuss her role and how Amanda has progressed. “We purposely kept her enigmatic, then peeled back the layers of the stinky onion. But this character befuddled me. I never knew what the motivation was, but I always tried to ground her in love, and we learn it was a betrayal of love from her father and it carried through with Nikita to destroy her and teach her a lesson. I understand somewhat what she’s motivated by.”
“She is too evil to destroy,” Silverstein said. “Our plan was to kill Amanda at the end of last season. She was dead, and something happened and we could not kill her. She survived everything we had up on the board… She’s the big bad and so is Nikita in a way. She’s her own worst enemy.”
As far as how Alex and Nikita handle their fractious relationship, Silverstein only said, “You’re gonna have to wait until the later episodes to see how it comes together.”
When the panel was asked what they’d personally like to see happen in the final six episodes, West joked, “I’d like to learn Michael’s last name.” Silverstein said it’s revealed in some of the deleted scenes on the DVD, though he might have been joking.
Speaking of joking, Q said everyone needs to see the blooper reel on the Season 3 DVD. Q spent much of the panel praising her castmates, clearly sad about the series coming to an end. The cast had an easy camaraderie. The topic of Stanford using a gun was the topic of good-natured teasing.
“It was so cute!” Fonseca said, as she and Clarke recalled him complaining of being sore the next day.
“I didn’t say that! I’m ready for action at all times,” Stanford joked.
Q also shared a favorite story from the set, when she and West shot a shower scene. “The shower curtain was clear but kind of see through, so we had to be in nude underwear so it looked like we were showering, and he looked like a Ken doll. He was wearing those tight bike shorts but they were skin colored. We didn’t know how to was going to happen… and then when it got wet, our nude stuff was totally see-through. Your thing was totally see-through. Shane, um, your junk’s out.”
West joked, “At least no more Ken doll.”