Nikita Season 3

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

Fair warning, this will contain spoilers from season 2 and some spolerish material from season 3, but no major season 3 giveaways.

This season is all about Division vs Amanda. That is the new Division that was created after Percy was killed and Amanda exiled at the end of season 2. Melinda Clarke really gets to flex her muscles as a bad guy this season. She is the main antagonist throughout the season, although the new Division (now headed by the ex CIA analyst Ryan Fletcher) faces threats from Amanda and from inside the government that is allowing them to operate. More and more of the backstory is being told (including more of Amanda’s origins) all leading up the the truncated final season.

Like is the case with the prior seasons, this one begins and ends with the characters in very different circumstances. There are several twists and turns throughout the season, some which are harder to buy than others. This is however a show that you have to suspend your disbelief a lot. If you try to look for logic in everything it will frustrate you to no end. The season ends on a storyline cliffhanger that threatens all of the main characters, but one above the others.

If you like the format of the previous seasons then you will like this one. The writing and acting are pretty much on par with the prior seasons, but the writers do seem to want to be a little clever with the twists. Some work, some not so much. But all the characters having shades of gray, even among the “good guys” continues.

For those who get the discs, the A/V quality of the blu rays is great as you would expect. As far as extras go, there are some deleted scenes on select episodes and a gag reel. Definitely less than in prior seasons. That is the one drawback for those who like going through the bonus material, but all in all it is worth getting.

– Mike S.
I’ve only watched 9 episodes so far, but I like it a lot! It seems to me TV shows have far exceeded non-avant-garde movies in ways (actual dialogue, more reasonably-realistic character interactions, etc.). Here’s my breakdown; obviously this is all just opinion, so you’re welcome to disagree!

Great: Reasonably realistic dialogues (characters aren’t unrealistically romantic, even when you might want them to make up / make out as a viewer). Maggie Q is an awesome action character, and good all-around actor. It’s not surprising in retrospect that she was a student of Jackie Chan. The mix of action, suspense/drama, etc. seems good to me — it’s a fun viewing experience.

Good but could be better: The average show environment is good, but not as jaw-dropping as a super-spy-thriller could offer. Shane West (Michael) doesn’t come off as a sexist entitled douche, unlike many male leads in the action industry (Andrew Lincoln or Jon Bernthal in The Walking Dead, for example), and can be at times genuine, complicated, and likeable … which altogether is relieving but not groundbreaking.

Could be improved: The storyline in the first 9 episodes hasn’t had as many twists and turns as I would have liked. Despite the loyalty conflicts in or between characters, minor ploys, etc., they have followed the “hunt down bad division agent X” format a little much. On the other hand, it’s kind-of nice not to see Fletcher become yet-another corrupted leader … I’m not exactly asking for the “opposite” plot-wise. Social dialogue around Michael’s transient disability (loss of hand) has been a degree of unsubstantiative so far.

Also: It’s really unfortunate Amazon Instant Video doesn’t work on my primary Linux desktop (with my 27″ korean IPS) or have native Android apps … I’m really hoping some time mainstream audio/video content publishing won’t be a frustrating user experience. I’m okay with paying a reasonable price for content, I just wish it were easier to access! Blu-ray’s no better though, and Unbox on my [dual-boot] Windows laptop works well.

-anon321

I think I’ve seen every iteration of the Nikita franchise and this one has turned out to be the best. The underlying story is really quite grim but this time around they’ve mixed things up with enough suspense to really move things along and enough brutal violence to make Wayne LaPierre happy. Why four stars? Well, I just think that at this point (end of third season) the story has run out of gas. Of course, I have no idea what’s coming but the stories have gotten more and more fanciful and just hard to believe.

In case you haven’t seen this Nikita, my favorite episode is the sensational “All The Way” from season two, where Nikita, having escaped Division, fights her way back in. There are scenes in this episode that are as exciting as anything you’ll see in the movies. Since things have gotten pretty familiar by the third season, I enjoyed the few humorous bits. Early in season 3, Nikita is at CIA headquarters, locked in a fight to the death with an equally attractive Russian agent. Two unsuspecting CIA guys walk by and the girls have to stand down for a minute. During this time out, Nikita complements the Russian on the great shoes she’s wearing and the Ruskie gal says “thanks!” Then they get back to trying to kill each other.

The best moment, I thought, of the entire 3rd season was when Owen returns to his hotel room where he has Amanda shackled to the bed. Owen’s just made a multi-million dollar deal and he plans to dispose of Amanda as soon as possible. Obviously, this is a tense situation but Owen says “I hope you haven’t been using the mini bar. They really kill you with the prices on those things.”

– Coronet Blue

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: Maggie Q, Lyndsy Fonseca, Shane West
Format: Multiple Formats, AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: Chinese, English, French, Korean, Spanish
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 5
Studio: Warner Bros.
DVD Release Date: October 22, 2013
Run Time: 946 minutes