['Nikita' - 'Guardians']

It's definitely going to be a long month as we wait for 'Nikita' to return from winter hiatus; this week's midseason finale threw a lot of knives up in the air, and I'm very intrigued to see where they land.

I have to admit, I've been anticipating the episode's final twist for a few weeks now, but even though I wasn't surprised by the revelation, it doesn't preclude me from being interested in how the story evolves from here.

If anything, it adds more meat to Alex's story and gives her further motivation in wresting control of Zetrov from the duplicitous Semak, who is definitely long overdue for cancellation.

Tonight, The CW will air the last 'Nikita' episode of 2011, which will probably result in much wailing and rending of garments when we're left with an inevitable and infuriating cliffhanger to speculate over for the next four weeks.

Suspecting that this whole "winter hiatus" nonsense was just another evil scheme devised by Division to lower our morale, we decided to track down the show's elusive heroine to gather some much-needed intel on Nikita's relationships with Michael, Alex, Owen and Ryan.

In addition to supplying us with scoop about Nikita's potential romances and the character's troubled backstory, Maggie Q also shared a few of her favorite charitable organizations with us, just in case you're in a giving mood this holiday season. Hit the jump for our one-on-one chat with Q, but tread carefully, there are light spoilers ahead.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28

'Gossip Girl' (8PM ET, The CW)
Lily, Charlie and Serena eagerly anticipate the Studio 54 party being thrown in CeCe's (guest star Caroline Lagerfelt) honor. Nate takes on a new role at the Spectator, but his first big story turns out to be about someone he knows all too well. Blair turns to an unlikely person for help.

'House' (9PM ET, Fox) midseason finale
In the fall finale, a prosecutor suffers from what he believes to be cardiac arrest during an interrogation at the witness stand. The team's preliminary diagnosis is hyper-anxiety, but when Adams and Park investigate the patient's home and find a hidden arsenal of firearms, they uncover a more alarming and deep-seated psychological disorder. Also, Wilson becomes obsessed with proving that House is hiding something in his home, Park slowly comes out of her social shell and Foreman's lack of romantic relationships piques the interest of Taub and Chase.

['Nikita' - 'Fair Trade']

I had a feeling that last week's lackluster episode was just a fluke; this week's installment was a welcome return to the 'Nikita' we know and love, advancing the storyline while providing palpable tension throughout the well-paced hour.

'Fair Trade' was a long-overdue showcase for Aaron Stanford, with Birkoff the focal point for much of the hour, and for anyone who underestimates the importance of our resident nerd, this episode was a welcome reminder of just how integral he is not just to operations, but apparently to Nikita's sanity too. We never forget the devotion that Nikita and Michael share, but sometimes it's easy to overlook our irritable little hacker, grumbling in the corner but always coming through for our heroes whenever they're in a tight spot.

Sadly, even though the loss of Birkoff sent Nikita off the deep end, his presence beforehand wasn't quite enough to stop our heroine from going "on a bender" this week, behaving even more recklessly than usual in Michael's absence.

['Nikita' - 'London Calling']

I knew that the streak of awesome 'Nikita' episodes had to end sooner or later, and last week's 'Clawback' was definitely a hard act to follow, but I was still a little disappointed by how emotionally disconnected I felt from 'London Calling.'

That's not to say that the episode was terrible, by any stretch of the imagination, but the danger of focusing a story around a character who isn't a series lead (and further, a character whom much of the fanbase actively dislikes) is that the audience will struggle to relate to the narrative. I'm sure that the producers hoped that we'd be invested in Cassandra's fate purely because she's the mother of Michael's child, but frankly, I couldn't care less whether she lived or died, which made the stakes of the episode practically non-existent.

It's not even the fault of the writer. Kalinda Vazquez wrote a competent enough episode (even if the missing $200 million felt a little like a convenient MacGuffin that was never really explored in depth), but since Cassandra was introduced purely to be an obstacle to Nikita and Michael's relationship, nothing we learned about her in this episode actually made her more sympathetic.

['Nikita' - 'Clawback']

It feels a little like critical laziness when I find myself heaping praise on 'Nikita' week after week, but I'm not being hyperbolic when I say that 'Clawback' may have just replaced last season's Kasim episodes as my favorite of the series to date.

The plot was densely packed and yet maintained an energetic pace that kept me guessing, and the episode was replete with important character development to drive the emotional story forward right alongside the narrative.

And as for that twist ... midway through the episode, I wanted to hurl my laptop across the room in outrage, before the eleventh-hour reveal had me thanking the capricious televisual gods for their mercy.

As a show -- and as a character -- 'Nikita' exists to defy expectations; whether it concerns illegitimate children, long-lost parents or potentially damaging secrets, whenever you think the series is about to duck, it weaves instead.

Much was made of the introduction of Nikita's biological father, but nothing is ever as simple as it appears, and instead of finding some sense of identity, our heroine was merely reminded of how long Percy's reach is. Even from his plastic prison, the ex-Division head proved capable of manipulating everyone around him, from Alex and Amanda right through to the seemingly untouchable Nikita, Michael and Birkhoff.

But despite her emotional setbacks, the episode's final moments demonstrated just how far Nikita has already evolved since last season -- she clearly learned from her mistakes with Alex and decided, despite her fears and insecurities, to trust Michael with the truth about Max.

For producers of underperforming television shows, this is the scariest time of the year -- and it's got nothing to do with Halloween specials. By now, the glow of premiere season has long since worn off, and shows we couldn't wait to see just a few short months ago are in serious danger of getting the hook.

Truth be told, the majority of broadcast shows are floating precariously atop the cancellation bubble. A world without 'Fringe'? An NBC Thursday night without 'Community'? Folks, it could happen.

Take NBC: the struggling network is aggressively developing new shows, desperate for a hit. Can old standbys like 'Parks and Recreation' survive when big dogs Sarah Silverman and Dane Cook are all developing new shows at the Peacock network?

A few notches away on the dial, CBS's 'CSI' franchise is starting to fizzle and the network has its eye on new comedies. With three different 'CSI' shows, it's safe to say one will probably go.

Who will survive this season? Only time will tell, but any of these shows could be goners by May.

Last week's 'Nikita' left fans reeling, after it was revealed that our heroine's loyal lover Michael (Shane West) had an illegitimate son with a former flame -- and, even worse, the episode ended with Michael still oblivious to the boy's identity. Nikita (Maggie Q.) seemingly agreed to keep the secret from Michael for his son's safety, but since the producers have been teasing a major rift between the pair all summer long, we assume it's only a matter of time until the truth comes out.

Last week, we caught up with Shane West to get his take on his character's shocking new storyline, quizzing him on how Cassandra and Max's arrival might affect his relationship with Nikita and whether our favorite couple will need some space (perhaps on separate continents) after Michael discovers what Nikita is hiding.

Spoilers ahead.

['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.

['Nikita' - 'Partners']

I love it when a plan comes together, and this season of 'Nikita' seems to be laying out its puzzle pieces so confidently that it's a pleasure to watch the bigger picture falling into place with such precision.

As if Owen working for Gogol wasn't enough of a bombshell in 2.02, this week's installment deftly painted Ari Tasarov and his company into a much larger canvas, one involving Kelly, Nikita, Alex and even Zetrov itself.

Perhaps wiser minds than mine predicted that Ari and Sergei Semak were in cahoots, or that Ari was behind Kelly's escape, but few could've foreseen how intimately intertwined the storylines would become, or how satisfying it was to see such big moves being made so early in the season.

'The Vampire Diaries' fans will soon be able to sink their teeth into 'The Vampire Diaries' whenever they want on Netflix.

The CW and Netflix have struck a four-year deal to bring past seasons of shows to the streaming service. Previous seasons of 'The Vampire Diaries,' 'Gossip Girl,' 'One Tree Hill' and 'Nikita' will be on Netflix starting Oct. 15.

'Supernatural' and '90210' will be added in January 2012 and current seasons, including the first seasons of 'Ringer,' 'Hart of Dixie' and 'The Secret Circle,' will be available next fall.

['Nikita' - 'Knightfall']

A good show can help you to suspend disbelief under even the most unlikely circumstances, and 'Nikita' pulled that off seamlessly tonight.

Was the series actually going to kill off the male lead (and one half of the fan-favorite central couple) three episodes into the second season? Of course not -- but for a few moments when those drone missiles were primed and Nikita was racing through the jungle, trying to reach Michael in time, you truly believed that she might lose him, and felt that same breathless relief she felt when they were reunited.

It's a 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' reunion on 'Ringer'! Amber Benson will cast her spell on The CW drama in the show's 10th episode.

According to TV Guide, Benson -- known to Whedonites as the dearly departed witch Tara -- will play Mary Curtis, a stripper who is also an informant for Nestor Carbonell's character Agent Machado.

Our fingers are crossed for some flashbacks of Sarah Michelle Gellar's Bridget hanging out with Benson's Mary!

'Ringer' will now air twice a week, once on Tuesdays at 9PM and again Wednesdays at 8PM on The CW, replacing 'H8R.'

In other casting news ...

['Nikita' - 'Falling Ash']

After such an action-packed season premiere, 'Nikita' had big shoes to fill to maintain the momentum of the previous episode, which may be why 'Falling Ash' felt a little unspectacular (if competently executed) in comparison.

Still, the episode laid important groundwork for the weeks to come, especially with the surprising revelation of the last five minutes. Alex was also given a new goal to work towards in the hunt for her father's business partner, and poor, long-suffering Birkhoff finally admitted that he actually kind of liked having his freeloading rogue ex-colleagues crashing at his bachelor pad.