Michael (Nikita character)

Michael
Nikita character
Shane West portraying "Michael"
First appearance	"Pilot" (episode 1.01)
Created by	Craig Silverstein
Portrayed by	Shane West
Information
Nickname(s)	Mikey
Aliases	Daniel Pope Mike Royce Jonathan
Gender	Male
Occupation	Spy/Assassin Former Naval Intelligence Officer
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth (wife; deceased)
Significant other(s)	Nikita
Children	Hayley (daughter, with Elizabeth; deceased) Max (son, with Cassandra)
Nationality	American

Michael is a main character and the tritagonist of the the CW television series Nikita, portrayed by Shane West. He is the primary romantic interest to Nikita, and was recruited by Percy after the death of his wife and daughter by previous "low-level snitch" Kasim Tariq. At the start of the story arc concerning Tariq, Michael originally believes that they were killed by Tariq so that he could enter Al Qaeda, having been told so by Percy. Percy and Michael met as Michael was trying to commit suicide,^[1] by an overdose of morphine, but is stopped by Percy, who instead persuades him to join him at Division. Michael then agrees, and takes up the position of a high-ranking agent due to his military training. He receives the job of greeting new recruits, processing them when they are first taken out of prison.^[2] He meets both Nikita and Alex this way.^[2] Michael discovers that the death of his family was actually due to the man who saved his life (Percy), who persuaded Tariq that Michael would be an ideal target to gain the approval from Al-Qaeda. Upon learning this, Michael joins Nikita in her search for Percy's secret-containing black boxes.^[3]

History

Michael reiterates the current knowledge of the backstories of the main cast (apart from Alex), as little is actually known about his past. It is known that Michael was also in the Navy, working as Naval Intelligence officer. In the first season episode "One Way", Michael tries to find the man who killed his wife and daughter and has flashbacks to the event itself. Tariq poses as a "low-level snitch",^[1] feeding Michael information. When in Yemen, Tariq leaves a car bomb intended only for Michael in a car with Michael's wife and daughter, leading Tariq to kill both of them instead of Michael. Michael joins Division in 2001 and works for them until 2011, when he joins Nikita and her cause after finding out the true reasons behind the death of his family. Later on in the episode, we see him recovering in a hospital bed.

Percy enters and gives him a position in Division, thus cementing the relationship they have today.^[1] He joined Division hoping that they will assist him in locating Tariq soon, so he could get his revenge. Almost achieving this in "One Way", Michael plans to stab Tariq with a shiv in a public airport after assistance from Nikita, unbeknownst to her. Nikita foils this plan to save his own life.

Relationships and personality

"It seems like he felt human with her, but robotic with everyone else."

Shane West in an interview for KSiteTV ^[4]

Michael is introverted in his relationships and is shown to have a closer circle of associates than the other agents. He is, however, shown to be friends with the likes of Seymour Birkhoff and Alex.

Concerning his relationship with Nikita, he seems to not completely understand her intentions (both past and present) when they work together. It is ambiguous to Michael as to why Nikita acted the way she did in saving him from being killed by Kasim Tariq's bodyguards. In the episode "Alexandra", he questions her about it, claiming that had she never acted he could have gained revenge and expresses anger that she did so,^[1] to which Nikita retalliates with an unfinished excuse, in which she trails off before regretting something. In the episode "Covenants", Michael leaves Division and joins Nikita. The two have since become romantically involved.In episode "Looking Glass", it is learned that Michael fathered a son with Cassandra (played by Helena Mattsson).

Michael was also in charge of processing new recruits, and telling them that they have been taken out of prison and been given a new life by Division. He breaks the news to Alex in the first episode, telling her that the public now will believe her to have committed suicide in prison. As a field agent, he played a similar role to that of Amanda, who were both high-ranking yet with some psychological leanings in their positions. It is also heavily implied that everyone, even Amanda and Percy, in Division know of Michael's implied affair with Nikita. Both Amanda and Percy have mentioned this to him, Percy rather more bluntly and Amanda stating that "Percy doesn't need to know everything that goes on here."

He also has a platonic relationship with Alex, whom is first processed into Division by Michael in the Pilot episode, and he instructs her on the training she will receive, thus learning how to properly "serve her country". This reflects six years prior, when he instructed Nikita of the same duties. This leads Michael to be more protective of Alex. He later finds out that she is Nikita's mole by matching the sounds of her phone calls to him to the echoes produced by Nikita's apartment.^[5] This is how he is able to track Nikita down. Alex, Nikita and Michael work together to track down Percy's black boxes for a very brief length of time towards the end of the first season, Nikita often in this time asking Michael to help Alex out of sticky situations at Divisions that may compromise his cover by doing so.

Reception

As was the character of Nikita as portrayed by Maggie Q, the character of Michael was highly-anticipated by fans who had previously watched La Femme Nikita. Part of this anticipation balanced on the idea of Michael and Nikita's romantic relationship (as had been portrayed in most former incarnations of the tale) and if West and Q possessed a good enough chemistry to play the two.

The character was well-received by critics in his own right, yet not as well-received by fans of Roy Dupuis' Michael in La Femme Nikita. West stated that, concerning Dupuis, he "always actually liked his work".^[6] However, there are some who have expressed negativity at the portrayal of the character; Dustin Rowles of Pajiba said that "Shane West has all the charisma of a toenail".^[7] Regardless of this, the character was generally well-received and West was praised for his performance as the first season continued. West won the Teen Choice Award for "Choice TV Actor Action" in 2011.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "One Way". Nikita. No. 9, season 1.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Pilot". Nikita. No. 1, season 1.
3. ^ "Covenants". Nikita. No. 17, season 1.
4. ^ ""Shane West Interview with KSiteTv"". http://www.ksitetv.com/3196/exclusive-interview-shane-west-of-the-cws-nikita/. 
5. ^ "Echoes". Nikita. No. 16, season 1.
6. ^ "'Shane West Interview with Daemon's TV". http://www.daemonstv.com/2010/09/03/exclusive-shane-west-interview-on-nikita-cw/. 
7. ^ "Nikita "Pilot" Review - If I Wanted Mindless Entertainment, I'd Go to the Movies". http://www.pajiba.com/tv_reviews/nikita-review-if-i-wanted-mindless-entertainment-id-go-to-the-movies.php.