TV Goodness Q&A: Lyndsy Fonseca and Shane West Talk Nikita’s Final Season [INTERVIEW + PHOTOS] 

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

T-minus two weeks and counting. The thought of the final six episodes (ever) of Nikita have me on the edge of my seat in eager anticipation. I’ve loved this series from the start and I can’t wait to see how it all ends. TV Goodness had a chance to sit down with the cast at this year’s Comic Con. Last week I talked to series star Maggie Q and EP/Co-Creator Craig Silverstein. This week I talk to Lyndsy Fonseca and Shane West about what’s ahead this season for both of their characters, their favorite storylines from the series and how they’d like to see the show end.

Your character went through a lot of transitions last season-

Lyndsy Fonseca: “No. You think?” [Laughs.]

More than most. 

Lyndsy: “Yeah.”

With everything that went on with your character – being kidnapped, brainwashed, turning on people – what do you see going forward for the final six episodes? What’s there left for you to do?

Lyndsy: “I feel like it’s the opposite of all of that, which is not being totally accepting with who she is and kind of growing into a mature woman and just feeling like she’s competent and has been through enough to say, ‘This is who I am.’ I think throughout the last four years of her struggling with who she is and the baggage- it’s the beginning of that new chapter in her life of just accepting who she is. It’s gonna be really exciting.”

Do you think that’s a big change from when the show started and she didn’t really know who she was? 

Lyndsy: “Yeah. She had a lot of passion and anger and angst and energy to put it into something because she was an addict getting clean and getting into Division and being the mole, but she was so co-dependent on Nikita. Think about that. Nikita was her everything because it’s all she had and now three and a half months later she’s got this whole family now. All of these guys – being the baby of the family – have helped structure who she is and everything she’s been through.”

Are you gonna miss the fight scenes?

Lyndsy: “Oh yeah. Totally. I hope I do another action show or movie. It’s been so rewarding. I grew up as a dancer and that rush of being on stage and performing- I hadn’t felt in so many years acting. And this is the first job I ever had that was physical so, I’ve felt very fortunate to tap into some sort of new genre and get to feel at home but also something new. It’s been great. I’m gonna miss it.”

Did you learn any action tips from working with Maggie [Q]?

Lyndsy: “I don’t know about anything specific. I will say that just being on set and watching has been a very educational experience. Just for someone that’s never done it before ever. When we first started I was like, ‘Ok. I’ll learn this fight.’ Television is not- we don’t have the luxury of having the time like a  film does where we get rehearsals and we get to plan everything out. It’s kind of like we show up, we look at the set and go, ‘You’re doing that.’ We work with the fight coordinator, who’s amazing, and we gotta learn it then and there. So as far as Maggie’s concerned it’s just been about learning and watching and keeping up.”

In terms of the whole series what’s been your favorite storyline been? Yours or someone else’s?

Lyndsy: “That’s a good question. I loved the emotional, the really devastating stuff of Vladimir [Ivanov] and when she took care of that chapter in her life and I also loved Birkhoff. He’s my favorite character on the show to be honest. I feel like he is the guy that keeps us all together. I really have liked watching his character develop and I’m also a big fan of Michael and Nikita and I actually – I know everyone’s like, ‘It’s Nikita. Someone’s gonna die and there’s devastation.’ I actually hope that at the end of the season they’re happily on a beach somewhere sipping martinis or something.”

That’s be nice.

Lyndsy: “I know.”

What’s next for you? You have six episodes and then you’re a free woman. Is How I Met Your Mother gonna get you back for one final time on the couch?

Lyndsy: “I wish I could talk about that. How do I say this? Yes. I will, yeah. Just, yeah. I don’t know what to say. I can’t give anything away. They’re awesome and basically for anything in the future we’ve been shooting for nine months out of the year for three years now in Toronto, away from all of our homes. So I think all of us are pretty – at least for me- I’m excited to just be back. I’ve been living out of a suitcase for so long. I’m excited about just being grounded somewhere and having a home base, hanging my art back up on the wall. I’ve been living out of a storage unit, just kind of feeling back at home and starting over so no, there’s nothing planned right now.”

What’s your ideal ending for Alex?

Lyndsy: “I want her to be Angelina Jolie power. I want her to run sh*t and for the good, like take everything she’s been through and just put it to work. She’s on that path, it’s like the baby steps of that. As far as love, everyone’s asking, ‘Is she gonna have another love interest?’ It’s like, ‘Man. How many of her boyfriends die?’ I don’t even know. She’s got a really bad track record so I feel like I want her to grow up a little bit and then when she’s ready that’ll all happen later after season 4 in another alternate universe.”

Talk to us about Michael feelings about Nikita taking off again. She’s done this to him before. Is he angry? Has he mellowed?

Shane West: “He’s fine. He’s totally fine. No. It’s a great question. Thankfully we have got the first episode to read. In the first episode he doesn’t really let on that he’s upset when he runs into her, but he is upset. That’s happened too much, too many times. In a perfect world they’ll have that- in these six episodes they’ll have that storybook ending. It’s not gonna start that way. The first two episodes he’s gonna be very upset. We’ll see what happens.”

How possible is it to have a Mikita happy ending?

Shane: “With the ending of last year and the beginning of this season it’s really hard to say and with Craig [Silverstein] as the creator it’s really hard to say. Where is he? I’d like to think that’ll happen. I’m not even sure Craig necessarily wanted that in the beginning, he felt forced into it by the fan reaction so because of that I don’t know. I would naturally say, ‘ Yeah, of course. It’s six episodes. He’s gotta wrap it up quick.’ Figure it out in the first three and make the other three about other things or something like that, but I don’t know. I’m hoping so.”

Is there anything in particular you’d like to see Michael do in the last six episodes?

Shane: “This is the first year I’m going in where I know what’s he’s gonna have to deal with. The last few years, it’s been very difficult to answer a lot of questions, especially in the beginning of the year. This one I know what it is. It’s to save her to yell at her, I’m sure at some point, and decide if that’s ever gonna be a future. There’s only six episodes, it’s not twenty-two. So I think in the end I know what Michael would want and I know that would be the safety of everyone involved including Nikita. From Birkhoff to Alex to absolutely everyone. And I don’t even know if they’re gonna try and off any of the heroes in the six episodes. We pretty much know that Amanda’s probably gonna have to go. She was supposed to go last year. She’s holding on. She’s holding on like Percy. I think it would be more the safety of all of Team Nikita, really aware of what happens at the end. They’re a family, but it’s not like they’re related. How are they gonna go their separate ways, which will be truly sad to shoot when that comes to an end.”

Was it a relief to only have to do six episodes this year and know when it ends?

Shane: “Absolutely. I think we would’ve liked- there was a lot of talk at the end of last year. We also knew that syndication was coming and there’s no way they would’ve gone for three years and then just pull apart before you’re syndicated. So, in a perfect world we were hoping for thirteen, a little bit more room to wiggle. If you had an episode that wasn’t as good as the rest it’s alright, there’s still plenty to take care of it. They all have to be A pluses, perfect in every way for six. But it is exciting to know that it’s a smaller amount of time and you miss the winter this year. [Laughs.] We get to enjoy Toronto in it’s best month. September is it’s best month and finish it off and we’re not getting canceled half way through. It’s kind of the best of both worlds.”

If Michael were ever to be married would his wife take his last name?

Shane: “What would that last name be? Albert [Kim] and Carlos [Coto] made a joke, saying there was a name, that they just haven’t released it yet. So, yeah, I don’t know but if Michael’s marrying Nikita he’d probably take her last name. He’s as much of a dude as she is.”

What do you hope to do next?

Shane: “I told my representation once this was discovered at the Upfronts, probably not TV right away simply because this is the only experience I’ve had – it has been a wonderful experience – but a tiring, trying one in being nine or ten months out of the year away from home. ER, Once and Again – that shot in Los Angeles. It was easy to audition for films, did films at the same time, saw your family, slept in your own bed. With this you’re in another country, you have two cells phones, it becomes a nightmare. At the same time you want the show to be a success, so I might be skipping pilot season this year. I’m not sure. We’ll see. I am working on potentially writing [a pilot.] It’s already been a comic book and it’s something that we’re working on right now. And if that’s the case, I told the comic book writer if it’s cable, thirteen episodes I’ll play your lead character. If it’s any regular television, twenty-two and it shoots out of Los Angeles I’m probably gonna have to produce it or pass. So we’ll see. But that’s just how it feels. I think a lot of actors and actresses are at that point – writers, producers, crew, whatever it might be –  when you’re part of a family for a certain amount of years. You need a little bit of a break, but we’re all sort of in this industry to work all the time so a break could only be a month. You can change your mind in two months.”

You said maybe not any TV. How about a superhero movie?

Shane: “I was planning to audition for one of those one of these days. Absolutely. That’s a great Comic Con question and a dream come true for most guys and girls in that world, so I would love to. Believe it or not I’ve been doing this for about fifteen years now. I have auditioned for some, a lot more in the beginning – way too skinny, way too young, maybe horrible auditions. Who knows? It’s been hard to find the right part, especially for the comic book fanatics. And I will never audition for something in a comic book if I don’t want the part, even if they want to see me in it. I’m not gonna do that to the fans. So for me it’s something that I’d like to do and I’ll finally have the time to do it.”

Season 4 of Nikita premieres Friday, Nov. 22 and 8/7c on the CW.

Edited for space and content

PHOTOS

All photos courtesy of Sven Frenzel/The CW.