The Insider.com

I was a major Johnny Come Lately to Nikita. In fact, I barely finished marathoning the first two seasons before the third premiered last Friday. But based on the overwhelming love people I'd trust with my life shower upon The CW's spy show, I clearly needed to see what the fuss was all about.

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The fuss, my friends, is about one of the most expertly plotted, exquisitely acted and deeply emotional shows you'll find anywhere on the dial. Additionally, no series has more impressive, or jaw-dropping, stunt work, helping to fully realize EP Craig Silverstein's vision of global espionage.

In the just launched third season, Nikita, Michael, Alex and Birkhoff have found themselves in control of the agency they once fought, putting them on the hunt for Division's 30 most dangerous agents, who are now in the wind. I caught up with Lyndsy Fonseca, who brings a powerful emotional undercurrent to her character, and found out that Alex finds herself in uncharted territory this season as the identity she was forced to reclaim (of famous Russian heiress Alexandra Udinov) now prevents her from being the perfect spy.

TheInsider.com: What excites you about the team taking over Division?
Lyndsy Fonseca: In the past seasons, [the actors] never really got to see each other and have that group bonding experience because even though we're an ensemble cast, we always felt very segregated because of the storylines. So it's been cool to start in a place where we as a cast and the characters are in it together.

Insider.com: I found it intriguing that Alex is now too famous to go undercover. Does that impact her ability to be an effective agent?
Lyndsy: It's a really interesting thing to play because we've dealt with these two personas before, but never to this extreme. It definitely took some adjustment for me because she's still the same Alex, but it's a new side to her. It also affects the way she does missions, but as the season goes on, we focus more on life inside Division and less on the outside world. So Alex is pretty much underground all the time.

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Insider.com: Is it strange to be back on the Division sets again?
Lyndsy: It is, and the characters also talk about how strange it is to be back there a lot in the first few episodes. Also, as an actor, I never took it for granted that we were filming in certain rooms where so much torture has happened. It's something Alex is very aware of. But it's on our terms now; we're running it the way we want to run it.

Insider.com: Are you? The premiere made it seem like Ryan might not be on the exact same page as the rest of you.
Lyndsy: There's definitely some conflict because Ryan wants to run it a certain way, but we're the ones who have been there before. We keep saying, "No more new missions, this is about cleaning up Division and getting rid of the Dirty 30." I mean, we have a lot of work to do.

Insider.com: While there is all the mission work going on, there's also a lot of personal drama as well. Last week, Nikita and Michael got engaged. Does that make Alex think she and Sean have a greater chance of being a successful couple?
Lyndsy: Yeah! Absolutely. Having a couple to look at and see how they navigate this craziness while still having this beautiful relationship gives her hope. But Alex and Sean are going to face some big changes as well. They're both kind of figuring it out. As the season goes on, it's not going to be easy. They go through ups and downs [because] they can't really have a normal relationship because they don’t lead normal lives.

Insider.com: Sean also has no real tie to Division any more, so it seems like the only thing keeping him there is Alex. Which can put a lot more pressure on the situation.
Lyndsy: That's exactly what happens. Now that his mother is gone, his job at Division has ended, so why is he still there? He's going to really give Alex some ultimatums and make her think about why she's there because he doesn't think she needs to be there either. But that's so not where Alex's head is at. This is her life, this is her family and she doesn't know anything else. He's had more of a normal life. Sean definitely puts some hard decisions in front of Alex, and it doesn't go well.

Nikita airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on The CW.