['Nikita' - 'Looking Glass']

This week's episode of 'Nikita' was arguably the most anticipated of the series to date, though perhaps not for the right reasons. Practically from the moment last season ended, fans started hearing ominous rumblings about obstacles on the horizon for Michael and Nikita; most notably, a woman from Michael's past who would come back to haunt him.

In episode 5, we finally met that woman. Cassandra Ovechkin is undeniably beautiful, but we know that Michael is far from shallow. No mere physical lust would lure him away from Nikita, not after all the years he spent pining for her. But past lovers (even fake ones) often come with present baggage, and initially, Cassandra's heaviest baggage seemed to be the unstable "husband" that Division provided after assassinating her real one.

The Ovechkin double apparently developed delusions of grandeur during his time impersonating an evil dictator (we'll call it method acting), and after Percy's deposition and Amanda's ascent to power, yet another Division asset decided to go rogue.

But Ovechkin was deftly dispatched by Alex and Sean -- who are finally starting to warm up to each other after weeks of Cold War chilliness -- leaving Cassandra, Nikita and Michael with a bigger issue to contend with: Michael's son.

Fans have suspected such a revelation for weeks now, but in true 'Nikita' fashion, even something that was predicted ended up being totally unpredictable. Michael is still oblivious to Max's true heritage, while Nikita now has a heavy secret to conceal, for the sake of Michael's safety as well as Max's.

It would've been easy to have had Cassandra reveal the truth to Michael and force a Mikita conflict through his decision to hide Max's paternity from Nikita, but the writers chose to go a much more compelling route, using Nikita's loyalty and the strength of her relationship with Michael to justify her keeping the secret from him. Over the past few episodes in particular, Nikita has been chided again and again for choosing to withhold information from her partners in order to protect them, and now she's being forced to do the same to Michael, the one person who helped her to justify that pesky habit last week and accepted her in spite of it.

Her protectiveness comes from a place of love, as it always does, but is it Nikita's right to hide such an important fact from Michael, even knowing (as Cassandra does) that Michael's loyalty and sense of responsibility would make it impossible for him to stay away from his son? As the cast has teased in interviews since the beginning of season two, this is a truly adult problem, and one that isn't just going to go away -- I'm intrigued to see how the writers explore the murky morality at play here, since the situation is far from simple black and white, or right and wrong.

Still, even though the actors and producers have acknowledged that Cassandra and Max's appearance will cause a rift between Michael and Nikita, I'm not too worried about the future of their relationship. Max's existence is certainly a hurdle for the pair, but hurdles are designed to be overcome. No matter how difficult Michael may find it to be on the run and away from his son if and when he ultimately discovers the truth, I don't think that his love for Nikita will ever be in question. For all her faults, Nikita is a rational and tactical character -- she knows that Max's existence isn't a conscious choice that Michael made, or a purposeful betrayal -- the only question is, how will the two of them evolve and adapt, now that Michael has an obligation to someone other than Nikita?

Though the concept of a secret, long-lost love-child is a decidedly soap-opera twist (and let's face it, how many of us were actually fooled by Cassandra's insistence that Max was four in the first place?), I felt that the story was handled in a dynamic way without becoming too overwrought. And while many viewers are rooting for Michael and Nikita to end up together forever -- and I still think that they will -- I agree with showrunner Craig Silverstein's assessment that their relationship (and any TV relationship) needs conflict in order to avoid becoming stale. As long as the show continues to deal with it in an organic and believable way for both characters, I think it could become a very engaging storyline.

Even though Nikita was initially suspicious of Michael's connection with Cassandra, it was clear by the end of the episode that there was no jealousy on her part, and I thought it showed a very admirable side of our heroine; I'm not sure that many women could've rolled with the punches or been as accepting of Max and Cassandra as Nikita was this week. Maggie Q. displayed just the right mix of grace and empathy to ensure that Nikita steered well clear of catty girlfriend territory, since that kind of behavior is, as Q. once told me in an interview, "so beneath her."

But as excellent as Q. always is, this week's episode was undeniably Shane West's time to shine. His performances are always subtle, but undeniably nuanced, and he conveyed Michael's guilt and anguish with impressive weight, especially in the scenes that echoed back to the loss of his wife and daughter. I loved the symmetry of the two car bombs and how, in this looking glass reflection of the past, the tragedy was averted, allowing Michael some closure and a chance to make amends for past sins.

Though I was initially dubious at the thought of 'Nikita' adding an illegitimate child into the mix, I actually find myself looking forward to seeing where the writers take the story, especially since it allows for greater insight into Michael's character. It will also, hopefully, force Michael and Nikita to consider their future together in a positive way. Although Cassandra reminded Nikita that families are a liability in their world, I hope that our favorite couple comes to realize that having a loved one in your corner can also be your greatest strength.

As for Sean and Alex; I've found myself a little underwhelmed by their scenes in the past few episodes, mostly because Sean has seemed to exist solely to throw a wrench in Amanda or Alex's plans and interfere in Division protocol because he can. As much as Michael and Nikita's storylines have felt (generally) organic and true to character, Sean has felt too two-dimensional to really add anything unique to the story thus far. This ties in to the fact that -- in my opinion -- the show's only real weakness is the way Alex's romances are handled. We know that Sean is designed to be her love/hate interest this season, and, similar to last year's generic CW boyfriend, so far it feels like he's been shoehorned in just to fulfill that role (and to make life difficult for Amanda, as noted above).

Because of this, I don't yet feel engaged by their scenes together, because it feels a little forced (I don't know if I'm alone in this or if you're all digging Sean, so I'll be interested to hear your opinions). This week, we finally got to see a little more of Sean's personality, as he blindly raced off to rescue a captured Division agent. He and Alex are starting to demonstrate some chemistry now that Sean's loosening up, and I'm willing to let the show develop his character a little more before I pass judgment, since we're only on episode five, but one of my TV pet peeves is when a writing staff introduces a character just to fulfill a specific function, rather than allowing relationships to evolve naturally through the stories that are told. They're seldom well-executed, though I'm hoping 'Nikita' bucks that trend. Mostly, I just miss Thom.

A couple of other random observations:
-- I loved Birkhoff's reference to reprogramming Cerebro in finding out more about Max; it was a delightfully nerdy nod to Aaron Stanford's 'X-Men' experience.
-- Percy continues to accrue pieces of his old life in exchange for information; I approved of his 'Batman'-esque dressing sequence and the way his new suit seemed to restore a little more of his swagger.
-- Did Nikita and Michael pull a Han and Leia "I love you," "I know," moment after the explosion? Geek heaven.
-- As with last week's episode, the direction was excellent, and it was once again satisfying to see Michael and Nikita's story intercut with Sean and Alex's, emphasizing how entirely at odds their missions were.

'Nikita' airs Fridays at 8PM ET on The CW.

I'm excited to hear your thoughts about the episode, 'Nikita' fans -- how did you think the Cassandra storyline was handled? Are you concerned about the stability of Michael and Nikita's relationship? What did you think of the introduction to Max? Sound off below!

Follow Laura on Twitter: @LauinLA