“Clean Sweep” begins with a standoff between Amanda and Percy. He’s still threatening to pull the trigger on Operation Clean Sweep if she doesn’t immediately release him. Percy is willing to go down with the ship rather than languish in his plastic bubble. And that handy little deactivation switch in the ventilation control room? Don’t even think about it. Roan has rigged the door to explode if anyone tries to get in. Dammit.
Amanda tasks a team with dismantling the bomb, but that could take hours and she doesn’t have that long. So she offers Percy a lesser deal. She’ll deliver him to the Guardians, but she wants the Clean Sweep trigger handed over and she’ll never cede Division to him. If he tries to return he’ll be shot on sight. It’s less of a win/win for everyone – more of a slightly disappointed/slightly disappointed. It’s a deal, so Percy calls his Guardians and tells them, “Hold your position, I’m coming to you.” What I LOVE about Percy is that the man barely blinks under pressure. Whether a needle is inches from his jugular or he’s about to be gassed out of existence – he is cool as a damn cucumber. It’s badass. And Amanda should know better than to make a deal with him. Someone that frosty always comes out on top.
Team Nikita has been put in a tough spot. They’ve overheard the chaos at Oversight, as well as The Guardians’ ransom call to Amanda. Are they really going to have to rescue Division? The same people who have been hunting them like dogs? But lives are lives and Nikita wants to take out the Guardians so they can stop Clean Sweep. Sean Pierce has the location of Oversight and all the tactical information they’ll need. But he still he doesn’t trust Nikita with his mommy so he insists on coming along.
Birkhoff figures out that the Guardians are accessing a power source to shut down the ventilation system properly. He pinpoints the old generator that used to power the missile base. Shutting it down would be a perfect Plan B for stopping Clean Sweep. But the only way to power it down is on site. Alex is the only person who can still waltz into Division freely (and she’s still beating herself up for helping Percy with his bank transfer/secret code) so she volunteers. Birkhoff outfits Alex with a cell phone equipped with a special program. She needs to get to the silo and plug the phone into the generator to drain all the power.
Meanwhile Sean leads Michael and Nikita to the perimeter of a Revolutionary War safe house called the Gates House. With her phone still running, Senator Pierce tips them off to the hostages’ location by asking, “Why did you move us to the study?”
As if there weren’t enough players involved in this whole mess, Gogol is still working to track down the Guardians and retrieve a black box. They have a lead on Patrick Miller and have tracked him and his partner to a murdered sky diving instructor and a plane crash in Newark, New Jersey.
Roan is preparing to transfer Percy to the rendezvous point, but Amanda switches him out with another agent. She tells Roan to ‘monitor the perimeter’ which is code for ‘I’m wise to your games, you double crossing sh*t!’ Amanda makes another call from her super secret phone, telling her conspirator, “Percy’s on the move. I had to meet him halfway. I’m more concerned about the problem inside Division. We have a saboteur.”
Amanda is still hoping her crack bomb team can get inside the ventilation system. Maybe there will still be time to haul Percy back to his plastic bubble and indulge in some good old-fashioned nyah-nah–nah nah–nah. Her agents detect Alex outside the perimeter and Amanda allows her entry. Alex drops the bombshell about her mother being alive and demands to speak with Percy. She’s sure he made a side deal with Semack.
But of course Percy is off the premises, being escorted to Oversight by an Alpha team. He tries to make his captor feel guilty. They were poor, sad felons, just waiting to meet their maker … before he stepped in and ‘selflessly’ gave them their lives back. It hurts his poor tender heart that they could be so disloyal. He reaches down into the car, pulls out a concealed weapon and shoots them all in the head. Then he casually wipes the blood spatter from his face. See? Cold. As. Ice.
Amanda and Division watch helplessly as their screen flashes red, indicating that their alpha team has expired. Amanda orders Alex to keep an eye on Roan. She knows he’s a betrayer but she wants to know who else has switched sides. “Once I know who he’s working with I intend to drown him in a pool of his own acid.”
Roan knows the jig is up and it’s time to make his move so he digs the Division tracker out of his arm and stashes it in a locker. Then he snaps the neck of the man dismantling his bomb.
Alex calls Nikita to warn her that Percy is on the loose and blows off Amanda’s request to spy on Roan. She heads down to the silo to power down the generator … but runs smack into Roan instead. There are so many people at play here it’s like a damn jigsaw puzzle. She tries to distract from her real purpose by demanding answers about her mother’s non-death (Roan was the one who supposedly pulled the trigger). Roan is too impatient to dance around so he just cops to being on Team Percy and tries to kick her ass. Alex escapes into an air vent tunnel as Roan chases after her. But she drops Birkhoff’s magic phone!!!
By this point, Gogol has managed to pinpoint the Guardians’ location. The only structure within 20 miles of the plane crash is the Gates House. They send in a team to retrieve the back box. Holy crap is it going to be a clutsterfuck when Percy and his Guardians, Team Nikita, Oversight, and Gogol are all in the same place. I know it’s an expansive property, but I still don’t think it’s big enough to hold that much bravado!
With his freedom secured, Percy makes his way to the Gates house on his own terms. Nikita is there to welcome him, gun in hand. Again, the dude is not even fazed. But he does take the time to comment on Michael’s new James Dean, ‘rebel without a cause’ ensemble. Tee hee. Nikita demands the Clean Sweep trigger and the release of all the members of Oversight.
As if he has all the time in the world, Percy starts trying to make his former puppets dance. Nikita, are you aware that Michael knew about the kill order on your fiance and didn’t tip you off? Hey Michael, isn’t it obvious that there’s more than friendship between Nikita and Owen? He keeps tugging on loose threads, trying to unravel things that have been threatening to come apart for a long time. He notices Sean Pierce and mocks him for trying to rescue his Mommy. Actually … I’m kind of with you on that one Percy!
When the Guardians call for Percy, Nikita tells him to reiterate her demands, but instead he says, “Kill them all but Madeline.” I barely had time to gasp in shock before three members of Oversight were bleeding out on their Revolutionary carpet, while Senator Pierce cowered in her chair. Nikita is seething mad, but Percy feels better now that he’s carried out a little personal vengeance. He’s willing to trade Senator Pierce for his freedom, but he’s not giving up his trigger. Nikita and Michael take a moment to go off and whisper conspiratorially. They can afford to do this deal with Percy and let him think he’s got the upper hand. He doesn’t know that Alex is about to shut down the generator and render him powerless over Division. I wanted to jump through the screen and start hopping up and down in front of them “Stop!!! Alex dropped her magic phone!!!” Don’t get me wrong … I still did that. It’s just that no one could hear me other than my bewildered downstairs neighbour.
Alex is desperately scrambling through the air vent with Roan hot on her heels. She reaches the silo, propels down to the ground with a rope and quickly yanks it out of Roan’s grasp, leaving him without a way down. She reaches the generator only to realize she doesn’t have the phone. Birkhoff tries to calm her down and talk her through it manually.
As Nikita is exchanging Percy for Madeline Pierce, the Gogol strike team finally reaches the perimeter of the Gates House. Imagine their surprise when they realize that not only have they found the Guardians, but other high priority targets Percy and Nikita as well! Ari orders them to “kill all targets”. The agents descend on the Gates House and everyone starts shooting with wild abandon. Percy clutches his trigger briefcase and runs to hide out in a getaway car. But Mr. Cool has taken a bullet to the chest and he’s done playing games. He enters the code and initiates Operation Clean Sweep. Omigod.
The power goes out at Division while Alex is trying to dismantle the generator as quickly as she can. Amanda is horrified and retreats into her office. She starts to tear up as she pulls out a gas mask.
Guardian Patrick Miller makes it to Percy’s car and they drive off together. Nikita rushes into the Gates House to rescue Madeline Pierce while Michael and Sean take down as many Gogol agents as possible. Jeez when Nikita makes a promise, she really keeps it. Percy’s escaped with the trigger and all the other members of Oversight are dead. Why is she risking her life to save an evil bitch who can offer her nothing? Because she told his son (who tried to shoot her a mere few hours ago) that she would.
Alex dismantles the generator in time to cancel Clean Sweep and the power comes back on inside Division. But Roan is shooting his way down the silo in the elevator and he is PISSED. Alex desperately locks herself inside Percy’s plastic bubble where Roan’s angry bullets can’t reach her.
Nikita saves Madeline and the team finishes off the rest of the Gogol agents. (With the amount times that Nikita been outnumbered by Gogol agents and killed them all, I’m surprised there are even any Gogol agents left!!!) Amanda calls Madeline to report that that Division has survived. When she learns that Madeline is the only remaining member of Oversight she practically starts beaming. Amanda makes it clear that she’s not jumping through hoops anymore. They should probably not communicate at all, you know for the sake of ‘keeping a low profile’. “But I promise, Division will stay strong and alert. Goodbye.”
Madeline Pierce has lost control of Division and the situation is more dangerous than ever. Nikita is the only person who can take down Division without exposing them to the public and starting an international panic. But Nikita is not eager to work for a woman who was part of a shady organization that ordered countless hits. Madeline pulls out one very huge trump card – she can get Nikita and Michael presidential pardons if they help her.
Patrick Miller and Percy, who is suffering through his painful bullet wound, meet up with Roan who tells them that Division survived. Percy is unmoved. Big surprise. He shrugs and says it will give them more options in the future. They leave for some unknown location.
Amanda makes one last secret phone call. “We’re almost there. Of course Percy’s still a problem.” She’s talking to … Ari, the head of Gogol! That’s … surprising … but I’m not falling out of my chair or anything. This show is so good at throwing me off balance that I guess I wanted to be blown away, but it’s still a clever twist. Amanda tells Ari that her superiors are no longer a problem and he reminds her that they still have his boss to contend with. Amanda points out that Alexandra Udinov might still be able to take care of Sergei Semack for good. So what is their end game? To create an American-Russian super alliance and rule the world?
Wow, what an episode! My adrenaline level was through the roof after watching the whole thing. I love that I still don’t know exactly how things will look in the future. Yes, Division is still intact and Amanda is still in charge, but with Percy on the loose anything can happen.
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