Earlier this week, Shane West met up with members of a handful of media outlets at a coffee shop. Unlike the types of coffee-shop meetings he’d have on Nikita as his character Michael, there was no violence involved, and the only kind of intel that was shared had more to do with what’s coming up on his TV series, Nikita, which airs on Friday nights at 8PM (ET) and has a new episode tonight on The CW.
See a gallery of images from tonight’s episode!
In tonight’s episode, a woman from Michael’s past returns – “Cassandra,” played by guest star Helena Mattsson. The arrival of Cassandra has some die-hard Nikita fans worried about the implications of what that will mean for the “Mikita” (Michael/Nikita) relationship. Should they worry? Read on…
Questions to Mr. West are posted in bold; his answers are not. Please do not reproduce this onto other websites; instead just place a link to KSiteTV! Thanks!
What can you tell me about this “Cassandra” character who is coming in and has some of the fandom worried?
I’ve heard that the fans are a little concerned. Apparently – I haven’t seen the promos for this episode that’s coming up, her first episode – but apparently the promos have been a little racy. But I don’t think anyone would have to worry about this current episode, because it’s more built on their past and things that had happened.
Cassandra was a mission for Michael. Nikita’s had a lot of missions in the past, especially as the character Josephine – seduction missions, that kind of thing. Cassandra was Michael’s one mission that he did that was ever like that, where he was basically a boyfriend. He realized he couldn’t hide his feelings, and he couldn’t do things like that, so he stopped doing it and became more of a mercenary, doing the dirty work rather than doing the seduction type work.
It’s a legitimate problem, and I think that’s what’s great about Cassandra. She comes in to his life unexpectedly, and he’s got to deal with some real issues that she brings back. There’s nothing really negative that we know of, at least yet, of her, and there’s nothing really negative with Michael and her, and what he’s done in the past. It’s more awkward. Like “holy crap, now Nikita and Michael have to deal with this.” And can they?
No one’s in the wrong, which is good. It’s a smart way of causing a little bit of rift into Michael and Nikita’s relationship.
We now Nikita’s last name. Are we ever going to learn Michael’s, and would you like to learn Michael’s last name?
I would. You know what’s funny, is I’ve enjoyed not knowing. It’s been kind of fun. Because seriously, everything that happened in Michael’s back story in Season 1 was a lot. There was a lot that happened, and I was very content with that. Everything that they told me they were going to do, they did. And really, you could have summed up almost his entire life in one year. Now, obviously, we’re adding things, like his past with Cassandra and stuff like that this year… but they’ve never showed where he lived. They’ve never shown his last name. It’s kind of unique, but I like the fact that it was mysterious.
If we go into Season Five and I don’t know anything yet, then I’ll probably start poking at them and saying “Okay, let’s figure this out.” They’ll probably say it’s Michael Smith, something that’s like John Doe.
Is it possible that his name isn’t even Michael?
I think his name’s Michael. You know what, it pretty much has to be, because with the flashbacks with him and his wife and his kid, it was Michael. So it has to be Michael. But if he’s ever given a real name, it could be fake. Same thing about Nikita. Mears may not be correct, either. So you never know. You never know in this world.
A question that came in from Twitter that I promised I’d ask: Are there any hot “Mikita” scenes coming up?
There are moments, but Episode 4 was the last episode this year so far that’s going to be comfortable for them. Cassandra comes in, in Episode 5. So even though Michael’s not leaving Nikita by any means, or vice versa, because of what Cassandra brings to the table, and the issues that are brought up that I can’t mention beyond her… there are not going to be many lovey-dovey Mikita moments, but there’s still going to be huge moments where they’re helping each other, and certain things like that.
There’s some stuff in 6 where Nikita’s father is introduced. There are some “Mikita” moments there too. Michael doesn’t have much to do, but he’s more of the solid shoulder to cry on kind of thing. “I’ll be there for you,” the rock, basically, because she’s dealing with all of the sudden meeting family members. So there’s definitely some stuff there.
The fans aren’t going to eat them up, because she’s distracted. So when Michael’s being lovey, she’s distracted; and then with Michael and the stuff that he has to deal with, with Cassandra, when [Nikita]’s being lovey, he’s distracted. So they’re there and they’re not. But I think they’ll be more excited when the issues get resolved and you can see them being more a little more lovey.
Are they going to continue to live with Birkhoff?
They basically have to. I mean, they don’t HAVE to, but he’s got the means better than they did. You can see very quickly in Episode 1 of this season that they were going from motel to motel before they ran into Birkhoff.
Things are going to happen at Falling Waters, where he lives. They’re going to be on the run again. But you’ll see how set up Birkhoff is. He doesn’t have just one house. He’s got all sorts of stuff. The guy’s loaded. You’re not going to want to not live with him. It’s their best bet, and it behooves them to stay with him as much as possible.
Is there any history between Michael and Owen that we aren’t aware of yet?
That’s a good question. I certainly hope not, only because I’d be a little upset that the writers didn’t tell me that, so I could have played it.
I guess with me not trusting him, in all of the episodes that we’ve done with him, they could write in some stuff about that. Right now, I think we might have figured out if they had a past or not. Maybe they have and he’s completely forgotten. But I don’t think it’s something that Michael is aware of and hiding. Maybe we’ve all been brainwashed at some point. Who knows. With all of Amanda’s techniques and all of that kind of stuff. Maybe Owen’s my brother. Who knows. And they’ve brainwashed me. You never know.
Has Owen’s next return episode been shot yet?
No. Not yet. But I think it’s a two-parter – not meaning it is to be continued, but I think it’s a two-parter for him. I think he’s coming back for two in a row, so it’ll be a decent enough time. But we haven’t seen it yet.
Are we going to see any more interaction with Michael and Percy this year?
I hope so. It’s always fun working with Xander. It’s a bummer, not being able to work with hardly anyone from Division this year, for me. Not for Michael. But for me, as Shane, because I was so comfortable there.
You will [see them], but currently, all that I can say is that it’s only done in flashbacks.
A few episodes ago, we got to shoot some fun flashback scenes with me and Melinda and Xander, and it was so much fun to put on the suit again and be able to do that, but it wasn’t in the present.
Is it easier or harder to film this season, with Michael no longer being in that comfortable Division space, being on the run and having relationship issues?
Absolutely more difficult. It has just been, basically the way you just defined it. It lends itself to being more difficult.
It’s probably also another reason why Michael stayed in Division for so long – there was a sense of comfort, even being in Division, that you got used to, that I got used to as the actor, of just being able to work with everyone coming to me, or me walking to them. There’s something great and comfortable about that. You don’t have that this year. And being on the run, even from the aesthetic thing of looking different – longer hair, different clothes, no suits – it’s all a little uncomfortable. It doesn’t mean it’s not fun, and it doesn’t mean it has not been great. It’s just trying to find that balance.
What I think is working is that the scripts keep churning out, and end up being these amazing twists consistently, and it keeps us on our toes. Michael is confused at this point, and Nikita is confused at this point. They’ve made this decision in Season Two to work together. They’ve gotten lucky by having Birkhoff’s help. They’ve gotten lucky to have Owen’s help, and other things like that. But I was consistently in Division to be able to help out. Now I’m not. So I think there is this “what if.” We’re together, boyfriend and girlfriend, but what if? Anything can happen, and when it does, how do we deal with that? And I think that’s what makes this season more exciting than last season, but it also makes it more difficult.
Can you talk about what Michael’s goals have been for this season?
The primary thing has always been to open up this black box. Then it becomes the moral decision of “do you release it and let everyone in the world know?” Is it too much for everyone in the world to know? You go and take these problems little by little. We have Owen dealing with trying to figure out where the Guardians are. So they’ve set that plan in motion. But there will always be obstacles in the way. There will be the obstacle of Cassandra coming in for Michael, there’s the obstacle of Nikita finding her father, that will continue to slow us down.
I don’t think their goals changed. I just think they’ve been modified from the real life issues that are rearing their ugly heads.
You’ve also got Alex, who Nikita still cares about. I’m assuming Michael still cares about her, even though we haven’t really done anything with his reaction to her. Alex keeps changing, and we’re worried about her and if she’s going to go over the edge. Is she going to try and hunt us down, or is she going to help us? There are a lot of “what if”s.
KSiteTV would like to thank Shane West for taking the time to do this interview! Don’t miss Nikita “Looking Glass” tonight at 8PM (ET) on The CW! Here are some extras associated with the episode that you may enjoy:
