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Birkoff is a young man with an odd
combination of social naïveté and professional erudition.
Considering the scope of responsibilities he must shoulder in Section,
it is obvious he has the intelligence and knowledge necessary to the task,
but at the cost of a normal life. The playfully cynical interplays
we saw between him and Nikita in Season One were fueled by that uncomfortable
combination of arrogance and inexperience (Simone, Charity).
The artificially ‘sheltered’ life he’s been forced to lead has also denied
him the chance to build real-world courage (Noise, IOD).
New shoots can still sprout through cracks in the concrete...and thrive, after a fashion. Birkoff has proved he can help others in need (LFM, OBT), look after himself (AMN, TET, ITLG), and still run Comm, successfully. Although Season Three events have ignited debate on whether Birkoff is in Operations and Madeline’s ‘camp’ or Michael and Nikita’s (PWF), his actions point toward his own self-interest, doing what it takes to stay alive in Section’s ominous sphere of influence and protect his closest friend, Walter.
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