Cyrus is quite the charming gun guy, isn't he? Unlike the other rogue agents that the new Division has chased down, Cyrus was actually a decent guy.

In "Sideswipe," Nikita and Michael went after Cyrus as a means to an end. They wanted to use him to track down Amanda.

Even though I enjoyed the episode as a whole and loved the addition of Cyrus, I had a few issues with the storytelling. First of all, seriously, how could Nikita and Michael NOT see Cyrus' escape coming or at least take precautions to prevent it. Okay, sure they put an electrical tracker in him, so maybe I'm being a little harsh. Though, seriously, Nikita wasn't even paying attention to what was going on. At least, Nikita remembered the clues he gave her, which proved he wasn't working entirely against her or Division. He really was on Team Cyrus.

Why didn't they find out the full technological capabilities of the device before going? Okay, rant over for now. It did provide a nice set up for Amanda to capture Cyrus in order to bait Nikita. Showdowns between Amanda and Nikita have been going on forever, but this time was different. Amanda is obsessed with teaching Nikita "lessons." Amanda has always been smart, manipulative and in search of power, but this is new. For the first time, I question Amanda's sanity. She is fixated on Nikita in an unhealthy way.

Amanda wants to hurt Nikita in the most painful way, through loved ones. The threat is heightened now that Nikita got the better of Amanda; the student schooled the teacher. Nikita figured out the one thing she could do to save Cyrus, put her own life at stake. Amanda wouldn't know what to do with herself if Nikita was killed. At some point, one of them is going to have to kill the other, that's the only way out of it. Unless of course, someone else gets to one of them first.

I loved Michael's comment to Nikita: "If Amanda is here, push harder. This time kill the bitch." Previously Nikita couldn't pull the trigger, but the stakes are heightened now. Nikita will do what is necessary to save those closest to her.

While Michael and Nikita were facing off with Amanda, a drugged-up Alex lead a team to take down Ari. Unfortunately, it was a trap and they were ambushed. At the last minute, Sean literally fell from the sky to save the day. While it created a dramatic rescue, it was a little unnecessary. Why didn't Sean just accompany Alex on the mission? It came across as falsely created drama. Though Salex fans had to be happy with the huge hug in Romania. That closeness was a short-lived reunion, as Sean pushed Alex away back at Division.

Division was hit hard by Amanda and Ari. Their success can be attributed to the mole within the organization. Birkhoff finally was able to uncover and trace the communications and it came back to Sonya. When he realized that she had played him, he couldn't control the pain on his face. All was not as it seemed though. Birkhoff confronted Sonya and she explained how she was forced into helping Amanda. At first, I was a bit skeptical, but she sold it well.

Her kill chip was re-activated? Another mole was watching her? Wow. I believe the part about the kill chip, but the second mole could easily just be a fake threat to scare Sonya into complying. Now that Birkhoff knows about Sonya, will he let the rest of the team know? Tricky situation.

Despite a few storyline choices that felt more contrived than authentic, it was a decent episode. The addition of Cyrus to Division is exciting, because he bring a freshness and charm to the organization that they desperately need.

Source:
http://www.tvfanatic.com/2012/12/nikita-review-sideswipe/