Alert: MPU Boss Explains This Week's Shocking Twist ('It Was A Big Swing'), Teases 'Emotional Fallout' Ahead
The following contains major spoilers from the April 1 episode of Fox's Alert: Missing Persons Unit, now streaming on Hulu.
But who will get back our babies now...?
With the second episode of Season 3, Fox's Alert: Missing Persons Unit sent viewers' jaws dropping to the forest floor as Jason and Mike (Scott Caan and Ryan Broussard) discovered that Nikki, played by original cast member and series front woman Dania Ramirez, had been murdered — with a single gunshot to the head.
Early on in the April 1 episode, titled "Badge #41870," Ramirez's Captain Nicolina "Nikki" Batista was sneaked up on and jabbed with a knockout drug by Raina, someone she once arrested for felony assault and now was out on early parole.
It was eventually discovered that Raina abducted and killed Nikki on behalf of Charlie McGannon, the Irish mob boss who first showed up in Season 2 and has shared a mysterious association with Nikki.
Of note, Ramirez appeared as Nikki just last week, in the Season 3 premiere. But when Raina preyed on Nikki, when she attacked her from the back seat of her car, and again when Raina pulled her out of a car trunk, Nikki was only seen from the back, wearing sun glasses, and/or in shadowy silhouette — meaning, a stand-in clearly was used.
TVLine emailed Alert: MPU showrunner Carla Kettner a few of our burning questions coming out of Tuesday's shocking twist....
TVLINE | To be clear, there is no sleight of hand at play, no "Nikki has gone deep undercover to expose a massive human trafficking ring"? She is indeed dead?
Nikki is truly gone, and the emotional and professional fallout from her death echoes all the way through Season 3.
TVLINE | What led to this shocking exit, of the series' lead female character? Had Dania asked off, for whatever reasons? [TVLine has also reached out to Ramirez's reps for comment.]
It was a "big swing" creatively. The great thing about procedurals is that you kind of know what to expect every week. But — and this is a big but — the best procedurals shake things up and find ways to deepen our understanding of the characters. Grey's Anatomy, Dexter, 24... they all killed off main cast members. It's sad to say goodbye, but I think those kind of bold changes make you sit up and pay attention.
TVLINE | Why was a stand-in used for this episode's few glimpses of Nikki? After all, Dania had appeared just last week in the season premiere.
Once we established the creative direction, it made sense to give her a big farewell at the end of episode 301 and let the storytelling take care of the rest.
TVLINE | To what degree will the show change moving forward, having lost its "I'll get your baby back" beating heart?
Alert is about finding missing people, so that will always be core to our episodes and our arcs. We said "I'll get your baby back" enough times that it was in danger of becoming a cliché, so although the words may be gone, the spirit — which is actually the important part — lives on. What I hope people take away from Season 3 is that we're not afraid to keep things surprising, because that's the best kind of ride. My only rule is that surprises need to be authentic and challenge our characters. Now that you know that's part of our DNA, I've given you a big clue to more surprises later in the season!
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