The L Word Interrogation Tape of Niki Stevens
The Movie Star Comes Clean about the Production of Lez Girls
Apr 17, 2009
Niki’s tape touches on a variety of sensitive issues, including trust, friendship, loyalty, and the production of the film Lez Girls, which was a crucial component of season five. Despite the weighty topics and the audience’s lingering curiosity about whether or not Niki could be responsible for Jenny’s suspicious demise, this tape neither assuages the viewers' curiosity nor implicates Niki in a convincing way, thereby again leaving the question of who killed Jenny Schecter wide open.
No Place for Niki Stevens in the Circle of Trust
Unlike the other three characters (Tina, Shane, and Helena) whose interrogations had been previously released, Niki Stevens promptly inquires about legal representation. In fact, the first question that the audience sees her ask in the interrogation room is “Don’t I get to have a lawyer here?”
Sergeant Duffy immediately preys upon this weakness and insecurity, letting it be known to Niki that the other women don’t feel compelled to seek representation because they trust one another; they would do anything for each other. When Niki responds, defensively and unconvincingly, that she “has a lot of friends that would do anything [she tells] them to,” the detectives look neither interested nor persuaded. And, with such an inappropriate and poorly-chosen reply, she is certainly doing herself no favors when it comes to demonstrating that she is free of any blame in Jenny’s death.
The Production of Lez Girls and What Became of the Negative
As the webisode progresses, Niki becomes increasingly anxious; this, in turn, causes the plot to wear thin. For an actress who has presumably been trained in stage performance, isn’t it somewhat bizarre that Niki has such a hard time hiding her emotions? Perhaps she wants to be pressed?
When Sergeant Duffy finally pulls the information out of her, Niki makes a confession about her involvement in the disappearance of the Lez Girls negative. With this information on the table, the audience is now forced to question whether or not Niki can be just as calculatingly manipulative as Jenny was, or whether her actions were spurred on by perceived self-preservation (with an added bonus of revenge by causing Jenny to be the scapegoat when Shane finds the missing negative in the series finale).
Kate French’s Performance
Upon the conclusion of the tape, it is still unclear whether or not Niki played any role in Jenny’s death. What is clear, however, is that Niki has an exceedingly limited ability to think or act beyond her own needs and desires.
Playing the actress that many viewers have loved to hate (even since well before the notorious incident with Shane at the Lez Girls' wrap party), Kate French has done a good job of showcasing Niki in all of her shallow, self-centered, narcissistic glory. In this webisode, French strikes a careful balance between these traits and Niki’s nervousness, anxiety, and foolish immaturity, thereby reminding the audience that, lest we be fooled, Niki is not always as naïve and helpless as she may appear.
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