Even though the Dirty Thirty runner this week was a nasty bastard, I was so wrapped up in the story lines of our main characters in Division that I barely noticed what what was going on with their hunt. I knew they were on one, but what happened was of little consequence in comparison to the "Survival Instincts" of Michael, Owen and Sean as they got tangled up in 'missions' with Nikita and Alex.

Watching Owen's interpersonal skills was a riot. As soon as he met a female mark and she gave him that oddly feminine "kiss it" handshake and he shook it regularly, you just knew he was going to take a tumble. Seriously, does anybody know how to handle one of those awkward limp-wristed greetings?

Since Michael is still struggling with his new bionic hand, Nikita is saddled with Owen, whether she likes it or not. It's not that she doesn't enjoy his company or that he's a bad agent, he just doesn't have the finesse in the field that Michael does, and it makes her work all the more difficult.

With the member of the dirty thirty new Division was tracking down this week, finesse was greatly needed. Ray did tours in the military and ended up on death row after axing a dude he thought was messing it up with his wife. With the collapse of old Division, Rogue Ray found a real man doing his wife, Kate, shot him and announced to his frightened ex missus, "I'm back baby."

Oh goody. Kate was a pretty impressive kidnapped woman considering her history with her ex, and using the correct colloquial Western Pennsylvania term, asked to buy a "pop" and swiped her ATM so she could be tracked. Good girl!

It's not as if there wasn't already a lot of change going into Nikita Season 3, but I'm finding Michael's coordination from headquarters with Birkhoff rather exciting. Together with Nikita's pairing with Owen there are dynamics to all of their personalities we wouldn't ordinarily see. Michael is damned good at it. He could quite easily replace Ryan as the head of Division. It's always been assumed that Nikita would be the next person to take that leap, but she's a better field agent than Michael. As a female she has assets and an element of surprise that gives her an edge above her male counterparts.

Nothing spelled leader more to me than when Michael was grilling Owen and his final words of wisdom to him were, "Yeah, and your diction could use work." Owen does tend to mumble. Under Michael's tutelage, he could go from being a great cleaner to being an incredible field agent and an excellent partner to Nikita. Whether it will really come to that remains to be seen. Why? Birkhoff thinks he can get Michael's hand back. WHAT??

It was great to have Sean back, trying to patch things up with Alex and helping to take down Ray. I hadn't even realized he and Owen never met, but I loved their chest thumping as shown in this Nikita quote:

Nikita: Oh. Sean, Owen. Owen, Sean.
Sean: Yeah, from what I heard, I thought you'd be bigger.
Owen: Really? I didn't know what you'd look like, because, well, nobody ever talks about you. | permalink

Admittedly, I liked the reconciliation between Sean and Alex even more. Not only because it was preceded by a near miss shirtless Dillon Casey scene, but because they finally got to tell each other what they really meant when things went so wrong. Sean wanted her to make a choice between him and Division, but he left without giving her a chance to make a choice. Alex was pissed Sean expected her to be like most people, when most people hadn't seen their father murdered or been sold into slavery. They would never be most people.

Seeing a hit on shirtless Dillon Casey and a sexy make up and make out scene between Alex and Sean lead directly into Nikita goading Michael to finally prove to her he could take her down with one hand behind his back. He took her down - to the mat for a kiss. He ran, of course, but he'll come around. It's about damn time Nikita remembers there are some hot couples and we'd like to see some of that action in addition to what goes on in the field. Just sayin.'.

Odds Michael won't get his hand back? I'd go about 3 to 97 against not getting it back. In other words, that hand is practically attaching itself as we speak. Owen will be a cleaner again and my dreams of Michael running Division will have to wait. I hope they don't forget how good it was working and if the 3% occurs, the world won't come tumbling down, as long as Nikita and Michael are partners in life, if not in the field - so says Nikita.

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.