Nikita season 4, episode 3 “Set-Up” aired tonight, marking the halfway point of the show’s final season.
So what happened in Nikita season 4, episode 3 “Set-Up”?
A failed hack
In the wake of offering to turn herself in if the FBI compares the DNA of the late Deputy Director Graham with the DNA on file, Nikita suggests Birkhoff hack into the FBI to monitor Graham’s autopsy. The team suspects that Amanda has a trick up her sleeve to make the samples match.
Birkhoff, however, struggles with the hack as the samples are compared. While the initial result shows no match, Birkhoff is locked out of the system by another hacker, and it recalibrates to show the samples as matching. Frustrated, Birkhoff storms off while Ryan is suspicious.
Later, Ryan points out to Michael and Nikita that something has been off with Birkhoff lately; he’s been using his laptop rather than his desktop, and his recent shortcomings have all helped Amanda. Ryan believes Birkhoff is one of Amanda’s doubles, and while Michael and Nikita are skeptical, Nikita offers to test the theory.
“I’m not Seymour Birkhoff”
Nikita goes to talk to Birkhoff, who says he has something to tell Nikita: He’s not Seymour Birkhoff. Nikita starts to draw her gun but Birkhoff tells her about his life pre-Division, and she realizes that he isn’t a double after all. He was an accidental baby, became a hacker after his father was into computers, and faked his death at 15 for a fresh start.
As Nikita and Birkhoff talk, Ryan decrypts Birkhoff’s files on his laptop and finds the mole in the NSA: Ronald Peller (who you may recognize as Breakfast Club alum Judd Nelson). Ryan confronts Birkhoff about it, and Birkhoff realizes Ryan thinks he’s the double so he admits that Peller is his father — Birkhoff’s birth name is Lionel Peller.
Birkhoff doesn’t want Nikita to kill the double since that would be a death sentence for his father. The team instead plans to catch the double, give him fake intel, and follow him back to Amanda to rescue the real Peller.
Shadow Walker lives
Nikita and Birkhoff head for Peller’s. As they take him down, fake Peller doesn’t recognize Birkhoff. When Nikita later confronts the double, Birkhoff recognizes his glasses as a communication device — Amanda and The Shop are watching. Nikita offers to share her intelligence on The Shop with Peller if he can prove he’s not a fake.
Amanda, in turn, brings out the real Peller to coach the double. Birkhoff, though, realizes what’s going on as the double answers questions correctly but with hesitation. He asks more personal questions — about Peller’s wife, two living kids, and third child who passed away in a sailing accident. The double passes the test, so the plan is on.
Bikrhoff hacks into the NSA in order to identify a fake double to give to the fake. As he hacks, Birkhoff sends his father, who is also in the system on Amanda’s side, a message through the code: “Lovecraft lives.” Lovecraft was the name of the spider found on the boat Lionel supposedly died on.
Peller recognizes the message so asks for a picture of the hacker. When Amanda shows him Birkhoff’s picture, Peller recognizes his son and sends back his own message: “Hello Lionel.”
Birkhoff tells his father he is his only hope, then sets his bait by finding a fake double and handing over a flash drive with information on The Shop. However, as the double leaves, Amanda realizes that Birkhoff is Peller’s third child and cancels the operation. The doulbe attacks Birkhoff and is about to kill him when Nikita shoots him.
“What you run from, you run into”
Mr. Jones, who was suspicious of the plan to spy on Nikita via Peller’s double, tells Amanda she was played and takes over the operation himself.
However, Amanda didn’t kill Peller when his double died because she wants to use him to crack Shadownet.
Back on the plane, Nikita and Birkhoff share a sweet moment as Birkhoff grieves for his assumed dead father. He also tells Nikita, “What you run from, you run into.” Nikita replies that this isn’t over.
Meanwhile, in Mumbai…
Alex is taken to a CIA safe house where she is questioned. The CIA believes, as Amanda wants, that Alex paid Nikita to assassinate the president, connecting the amount of money in Alex’s Zetrov trust to the amount Nikita was allegedly paid as well as the fact they were both at the G20 summit.
While Alex is being held, Sonya gets in touch with the airplane and Nikita asks Sam to help rescue Alex, but he refuses. As he wanders the street, Sam is ambushed by loan sharks, who he takes out. He then calls the man he owes a hefty $25 million to, saying he will get the money.
In the safe house, Alex is treated as an enemy combatant but refuses to answer any questions. However, she deduces that there is more to her arrest than just the assassination; the CIA has been hearing chatter that there is an operation in the works by Pakistani intelligence. Alex realizes the human trafficking exchange she broke up was of doubles for The Shop to insert into Pakistan.
Since Sam refused to help Alex, Michael heads to Mumbai and connects with Sonya. They are brainstorming plans when Sam returns, offering his help. Alex breaks loose from her bonds and takes out most of her guards, but runs out of ammo, just in time for Sam and Michael to arrive.
Alex thanks Sam for coming back for her before talking to Ryan, who says the height and build of the surviving double The Shop plans to use doesn’t match any high ranking officials in Pakistani intelligence, leaving everyone confused about The Shop’s endgame.
