Whether you know her as Division mainstay Alex or Russian socialite Alexandra Udinov, one thing is certain: Life dealt a difficult hand to Lyndsy Fonseca‘s Nikita alter ego. And to hear the actress tell it, things aren’t going to get any easier — at least not during the first half of the CW saga’s current third season.
Here, Fonseca chats with TVLine about this week’s installment, which showcases the calm before Alex’s impending storm. She also reveals the twist ahead that drives the once drug-addled agent to relapse, the truth about what’s really going on between ‘Salex’ and more.
TVLINE | Talk a little about this week’s episode, “Innocence,” and why this case — which centers on a young girl abducted and forced into a Division lifestyle — means so much to Alex.
Initially, Alex is hesitant to deal with this. It’s so close to her own life, so she wants to handle the parents, not the kid. And what ends up happening is that she really connects with the mother in a way that reminds her of her own mother, because [neither woman knows that her child] is alive and out there in the world. There’s some sort of closure that Alex has through being able to bring this little girl back to her mother. There’s so much similarity with this girl between both Alex and Nikita; it’s really cool.
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TVLINE | It also sets the scene for a very sweet moment between Nikita and Alex.
You know, what I really loved about that scene is the ending. I love that Nikita ends up letting Alex bring the little girl to her parents. It’s a really big deal because Alex never knew her mom was alive. This is such a meaningful thing to do, and a gift that Nikita gives her.
TVLINE | Recent episodic photos show Alex rocking an arm brace. What can you reveal about her impending injury?
Alex is, in an attempt to [push] Nikita out of the way, going to end up getting shot in the shoulder. The injury itself ends up being a bigger deal throughout the beginning of the season because the only thing keeping her going is the fact that she’s got this purpose in life; she’s with her “family,” they’re trying to clean up Division and they’re fighting for good and taking down evil. And when she’s injured, she can’t go out in the field. It forces her to stop and sit and wonder why she feels so anxious, why she feels like she can’t just be. Most people would be stoked to sit and chill out, watch Netflix all day. [Laughs] But that’s not how she survives. It’s going to end up with Alex [battling] her addiction again and bringing up a lot of the things that she’d thought she dealt with before.
TVLINE | That must be the “darker path” ahead for Alex that Craig Silverstein recently told us about.
What’s important for Alex and what the writers have done, which is great, is that… you can be clean, but you’re still an addict. That idea was always very important to me, because I didn’t want her to be on the street doing drugs and then saved and all better. No, if she has one glass of wine, she’s f–ed. So, there’s this bullet wound and the pain and the fact that she can’t get out there in the field; all she wants to do is get better. At first she thinks she’ll just take a pain pill and be fine; with an addict’s mentality, you start rationalizing and making excuses, and eventually it gets worse and worse and worse. So, we’re going to deal with that.
TVLINE | I imagine that might create some common ground between Alex and fellow addict Owen.
It’s definitely something that they have in common, but we haven’t shot anything that deals with that yet.
TVLINE | What exactly is the dynamic between the two once they finally meet?
When Owen is reintroduced this season, we don’t really know what he’s been doing. He comes out of prison and Alex is actually the one that interrogates him, since they’ve never met and she can get close to him. They have not written a romantic storyline between Alex and Owen yet, and I don’t know if it’s going to happen, but there is definitely a connection. There’s this weird spark and they just click. It’s not going to be obvious, it’s an under-the-surface thing. But there’s something there.
TVLINE | We’ve yet to learn the status of Alex and Sean’s relationship, other than to say that he’s still helping Division when he definitely doesn’t have to be. What’s ahead for this possible twosome?
I think Sean is there only because of Alex. Nothing’s keeping him there except for her. His love for her is very deep and for all of the right reasons, and he feels very protective of her. He doesn’t want her to keep getting hurt. It’s like, ‘This place is killing you. Look around you! There are dead bodies around and you’re in a f–ing sling. What are we doing? Let’s go!’ And that’s not where she is right now. This is where she wants to be. So, he’s going to make some ultimatums and it’s not going to go well. Eventually, they’re going to talk through it, but it’s going to take time. There’s still that love between them, but it’s going to go up and down until they can figure out where they stand in this world.
TVLINE | Anything else coming up for Alex that you’re particularly excited about?
I always like Alex when she shows her vulnerability, and when she does, it makes her strength out in the field so much stronger. There are going to be missions with her kicking ass, but there’s also going to be stuff that she’s dealing with on her own before people find out what she’s going through. And then I’m really looking forward to working with Melinda Clarke again. I know that’s in the future this season. I don’t know how it’s going to play out, but I’m looking forward to seeing that dynamic again. I always had a lot of fun with Alex and Amanda, and also as Lyndsy with Melinda.
