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Under the Influence
La Femme Nikita
03x10 Under the Influence1340
Episode no. Season 3
Episode 10
Directed by Rick Jacobson
Written by Peter M. Lenkov
Production code 308
Original air date April 25, 1999
Episode guide
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Slipping Into DarknessWalk On By


"Under the Influence" is the tenth episode of the third season of La Femme Nikita.

Summary[]

Karl and Simon Peruze are responsible for some of the most vicious and brutal attacks on civilians, but eliminating both of them is impossible, since each will stop at nothing to protect the other. To counteract this, Section cases, Nikita and Carl's life after Section has captured him and wiped a short term, memory clean. However, despite Karl's brutality, Nikita finds herself falling in love with him, which suggests something even more sinister at work.

At a terminal, Nikita inserts the DVD. She sees photos of Karl on one side and photos of anthrax victims on the other. People being brought out on stretches and left in an open area. Nikita closes her eyes and flinches several times.

Plot[]

Teaser[]

Act 1[]

Nikita enters Madeline's office. "We're trying a new neurostripping process on Karl Peruze. Your job will be to reprogram him," Madeline tells Nikita. "You mean over see it," Nikita states. "No, you'll be personally involved," Madeline clarifies. Nikita wants to know how personal Madeline means.

In the White Room, a much more sedate Karl Peruze sits. Madeline enters the room and Peruze tells her that she's wasting her time. "Don't worry. We have plenty of it," she tells him pleasantly. She takes out a gun and shoots him the upper thigh. Peruze screams in pain. "I will never give up my brother," he grits out. "I know," Madeline answers. The door opens once more and two technicians wheel in two very large pieces of equipment. They attach the apparatuses to Karl.

Nikita and Michael look into the White Room through the observation window. Michael hands Nikita a small DVD. โ€œHere is Peruze's file. Study it," he tells her. โ€œHow much of his memory are they going to modify?โ€ Nikita asks. โ€œThey're going to erase his mind. You'll become his teacher.โ€ Michael turns away from observing Karl and looks at her. She looks back at him. Karl is outfitted with a large iron mask goes over his face. His eyes bulge and a finger with a monitor flexes.

At a terminal in Systems, Nikita inserts the disk Michael gave her and loads it. It's filled with surveillance footage of Karl Peruze and of his crimes. Nikita diligently works her way through the footage. A subtle change comes over her the more she engages with the video clips of Peruze.

Birkoff works in Comm when he comes across a file about a man named Martelli. He investigates it further and discovers that Martelli is linked to the murder of Stephen Wolfe. Birkoff quickly leaves his station. He arrives in Madeline's office, where she greets him. He tells her he wants to talk about the Martelli file. "He's not coming in until Friday. Too early to talk about," she tells him. He informs her that he was checking out his activities over the last year to ensure that he wasn't abusing Section's protection. "There was a murder," he shares. "Even though we green listed him, he's still a terrorist," she tells him. "The victim was Stephen Wolfe. Operation's son."

Act 2[]

In a city apartment, Karl Peruze regains consciousness in bed. Nikita sits in bed within, as she dabs his face with a washcloth and worryingly calls his name. He asks about what happened and Nikita tells him that he was shot and that he'd been down for three days. "I was so afraid," she confess. He sits up confused and asks Nikita who she is. "Karl, I'm Nikita your fiancee," she tells him indulgently before she leans down to kiss him.

In Madeline's office, she asks Nikita if Karl Peruze suspects anything. "He has question. None I can't answer," Nikita replies. Madeline is pleased that Karl believes her. She asks Nikita if Karl is exhibiting any side effects from the treatment. On a screen is a live read out of Nikita's vitals. Nikita tells her that there aren't any so far. Madeline tells Nikita to drop by Systems before she returns to Karl because there's new data that she should review. Nikita heads towards the exit but she stops before she gets there. Madeline asks if she had something more to report. "Yes, I wanted to know what was going to happen to Karl after the assignment." The live read of Nikita's vitals shows a change during this exchange. Madeline asks Nikita for her question. "I don't know. Just curious," she mentions, slightly confused. "It's counterproductive to think along those lines," Madeline advises. Nikita thinks over her suggestion and then leaves the office. Now alone, Madeline requests an analysis. "Satisfactory," a female voice reports on intercom.

Nikita walks down a corridor but she stops when Michael calls out to her. He hands her another DVD and instructs her to look at it. He also hands her a pouch that Nikita inquires about. He tells her that they're for neurostrip maintenance. He wants Nikita to ensure that Karl to takes them. "Michael, he was shot. Do you have anything for the pain?" Nikita asks with concern. "I don't care about his pain," Michael replies curtly. "Neither should you." His remarks catch her off guard and she looks chastised.

Nikita arrives back at Karl's appointment with a grocery bag of supplies. She finds Karl going through several drawers. Nikita helpfully asks if he needs anything. He asks her where she's been and she mentions the supplies she carries and the medicine for his leg. "Why do I get the feeling that you're hiding something from me," he accuses. He wants to know more about a series of photos of the two of them that he found. Nikita grabs them, amused. "That was a crazy afternoon," she tells him with a smile.

In her office, Madeline attaches a communicator to her cell phone before she makes a call. "Hello, George. It's Madeline at One. I have something new for you," she offers.

It's nighttime and a distraught and confused Nikita awakens in bed. Karl is asleep beside her. She rises from bed with severe emotional distress. She walks away, unable to make sense of what happened between her and Karl. He continues to sleep. She glances in the mirror as she tries to steady herself and prevent tears from falling.

Act 3[]

A still distraught Nikita approaches Water in Munitions. He greets her with a smile and calls her "Sweetness." She's not there for lighthearted conversation. "What are they doing to me, Walter?" She demands, but Walter doesn't know what she means. "Karl disgusts me. He's as despicable a person as I've ever met and I'm falling in love with him...I can't help myself. I've got no control over my feelings." There are tears on Nikita's face and anguish in her voice. Walter asks her if there was anything out of the ordinary with her cover procedure and how she prepped her mission. Nikita mentions that Michael gave her some supplementary profiles on DVDs to study. "Let's go take a look," Water tells her.

Walter puts in one of the disks on a computer and pulls up the data. Video footage emerges and he immediately notices something. "A dropped frame," Walter points out. "That's Karl, my target," Nikita replies when footage of him appears. He tells her to look again but she doesn't know what she's supposed to see. "You're not going out of your mind. You're being conditioned. They've all been adjusted." Nikita still doesn't see anything. "Look at the irregulars in the skin tone. It's been airbrushed. Focus on the face." He pulls up a closeup of Peruze. "Look for differences in texture. Now watch as I adjust the contrast." They both continue to look at the image as it slowly transforms into an image of Michael. "You mean all of this is happening just from watching these DVDs?" Nikita asks. "Partly," Walter replies. He reaches for a black light and he runs it over the back of the disk. Fingerprints emerge. "They treated it with a chemical agent. You took it in through your skin. They primed your system." Nikita wants to know for what. "Your assignment hinged on Karl believing that you loved him. Now they know that you couldn't do that, so they directed your emotions using someone that you cared about."

An angry Nikita enters Madeline's office. "What do you think you're doing?" Nikita asks. "You manipulated me." Nikita holds up one of the disks. " I slept with him!" She declares in anger. "We had to make sure your cover stayed intact," Madeline explains. Nikita wants to know how long the effects will last. "Youโ€™ll have your own emotions back when this is over. In the meantime, donโ€™t fight it," she counsels. The door to Madeline's office opens and Michael enters. Madeline tells him and she and Nikita have finished her debrief. Nikita now directs her anger towards him. "You knew it all along, did you? Don't you ever get tired of being their errand boy, Michael?" Nikita slaps him and Michael accepts the physical blow without remark. "That's courtesy of my own free will," Nikita tells them as she flings the tainted disk at Michael and exits the office.

Nikita and Karl drive up to the meeting site.

In Karl's apartment, Nikita tracks the transaction a laptop. "Good. The money's all there. You're rich," she tells him. "No, no, no, we are rich," he replies, pleased. Karl starts to kiss the side of Nikita's face and then her lips. She doesn't resist him but she doesn't encourage him either and he picks up on it. "What's the matter?" He asks. She tells him it's nothing and that they'll now wait for his brother to contact him after he sees all that money in the account. Nikita tells him that he has to be careful. "Well, I was thinking if your brother is as suspicious as you told me he was, then you probably shouldn't tell him anything about losing your memory." Karl agrees. Nikita adds that he probably should say anything about her either. Karl asks about what they should do while they wait. Nikita tries to deflect to something else when she suddenly imagines Michael standing before her rather than Karl. Immediately, she pulls him towards her and instigates a passionate kiss.

Act 4[]

Tag[]

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Special Guest Stars[]

  • Alan Van Sprang as Karl Peruze
  • Val Venis as Simon

Episode Quotes[]

  • Nikita: "You manipulated me. I slept with him!"
    Madeline: "We had to make sure your cover stayed intact."
    Nikita: "So, how long was this going to go on for, huh?"
    Madeline: "Youโ€™ll have your own emotions back when this is over. In the meantime, donโ€™t fight it. Come in, Michael."
    (Michael enters Madeline's office.)
    Nikita: (to Michael) "You knew it all along, did you? Don't you ever get tired of being their errand boy, Michael?" (slaps him) "That's courtesy of my own free will."

Music[]

eden | HOOVERPHONIC

Video[]

La_Femme_Nikita-_"Eden"_-_Hooverphonic

La Femme Nikita- "Eden" - Hooverphonic









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