Wow!

When Amanda threatened to kill Michael if Nikita didn't kill the President in last week's "Invisible Hand," I had no idea how Nikita was going to get herself out of it. No matter what decision she made, it appeared that Amanda was going to destroy her happiness and ultimately win. 

In that regard, the Nikita season 3 finale, "Til Death Do Us Part," didn't disappoint. Nikita and her supporting team worked to undermine Amanda, while her former mentor was confident that she had contingencies in place for any deviations to her plan. The race to the deadline to assassinate the President was intense, especially in regards to the personal sacrifices Nikita and Michael were willing to make to protect the other.

And there's where the finale left me frustrated. It made no sense for Nikita to take off at the end. None at all!

Nikita continually put Michael ahead of herself and was willing to kill the President to protect him. When she revealed Amanda's plan, Michael told her that his life wasn't worth her sacrifice and the President's life. After their confrontation, the only reason he agreed with Nikita's continuation of the plan was because of Alex's suggestion they could decontaminate him and take away Amanda's leverage.

With Nikita still on task, she gave them the time necessary to save them all. Nikita recognized that was the only way and told Michael, "If you want to save me. Save yourself." At that point, the mission changed from a suicide mission to one with hope for a happy resolution for them and the President. Plus, Alex's speech about how Amanda was wrong about loved ones being a liability should have kept her there. Given these interactions and her love for Michael, it didn't make any sense for her to run.

Yes, Nikita's been a loner for most of her life. She started out a rogue agent on her own trying to take down Division, but that's not Nikita now. Once she recruited Alex to help her, everything changed. The Nikita of today is in love with Michael and loves her new family of Alex, Birkhoff, Ryan and probably even Sonya given her relationship with Birkhoff. She's no longer alone, she has a family. Why would she turn her back on them and take off?

Her belief that they would be better off without her is misguided, she should understand that running wouldn't protect them. They love her enough to not only look for her, but to continue their investigation into the Shop and why the "President" killed herself. Without their help, Nikita would have pulled the trigger and killed the President. So, why leave? It seems very out of character for her.

Poor Michael was left heartbroken, but he won't give up on her. He'll chase her to the ends of the earth, while trying to clear her name. 

Despite my dismay at the conclusion, it was otherwise an outstanding finale. Amanda and the Shop did have contingencies in place to guarantee a successful completion of their plan. The President was killed. Even though Nikita didn't pull the trigger, she's being held responsible for the President's assassination. They weren't entirely fortunate though. They underestimated Nikita's survival instincts and instead of having a "dead assassin scapegoat," they have scapegoat on the run.

The best reveal was the brilliant shocker that it wasn't the President that was killed in the Oval Office, but an impostor. The Shop abducted the President during the G-20 in Toronto and is holding her for an unknown purpose. Why do they want her, especially when the world believes she's dead? 

The idea that the President could be replaced with no one the wiser would have seemed absurd, but Michael did the exact same thing with the President of Belarus using advanced mask technology. And, since she was an impostor, Amanda could have used her mind intrusion methods to plant a suicide trigger.

With Amanda and the Shop set up as the big bads for the shortened season 4, there is still time for Nikita and Amanda to have a final face-off. Whatever itty-bitty amount of sympathy that Amanda gained by revealing her torturous youth is gone. She's beyond redemption and as long as she's alive, she will manipulate and hurt people.

I hope Nikita returns to the family of friends that love her and allows them to help clear her name. If she doesn't right away, then I want her to track down Amanda and get revenge for herself and everyone else that the witch has hurt. With the remaining six episodes not on the CW's schedule yet, it's going to be a stressful wait for Nikita's conclusion.

Odds and Ends

• Where was Owen?
• Nikita: If I fail, there won't be any reason to live. | permalink
• Alex and Michael ambushing Nikita was awesome and unexpected. Birkhoff is a god when it comes to hacking communications.
• Sterling's willingness to help the Shop kill the President was telling. He didn't do it for the money, but for a cause. What is the "noble" cause that they are fighting for? Is there any possibility that they are doing the right thing?
• The Shop Leader may be utilizing Amanda's abilities, but he doesn't trust her and he recognizes her obsession with Nikita. Good call to not let her in on Michael and Alex's knowledge of Nikita's predicament. 
• Michael's decision to lie about the antidote was noble. He understood that his life was not worth that of the President's or Nikita's sacrifice.
• I never tire of seeing Birkhoff get his fight on and firing a gun now. He gets very riled up.
• Amanda's Dirty Thirty attack was crazy. It was horrible to see them almost win. Alex, Birkhoff, and Ryan were saved by the return of Nikita. She's invincible, isn't she?
• The "killing" of Michael was a nice goodbye to Division. He's now been killed and resurrected like a Division recruit. He's comment when he was revived was hilarious given he had just been dead, "All of you went through that?"
• The end was heartbreaking -- to see someone so fierce crying uncontrollably. Wow. Why did Nikita leave if it hurt her so much? 

Carla Day is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter and on Google+.