Upon seeing Bourne Ultimatum, the thing that I was most intrigued with coming out of the movie theater was the mysterious relationship between Nicky and Jason. I was left wanting more. Maybe it was because of Julia Stiles and wanting to see her more involve in the storyline.
With director Paul Greengrass pulling out of the next Bourne film and no word whether Matt Damon is even attached to it, the possibility of fulfilling my craving for resolution more than likely won't happen any time soon.
In this blog I will revisit all three movies and comment specifically on this mysterious relationship. This will have to do for the time being.
In The Bourne Identity, little is revealed about Nicky Parsons other than she's a CIA agent undercover as a student in Paris. And the one seen the two characters share in the movie almost betrays any sense of history they may share. Just before Jason reveals himself to Conklin, Nicky says to him something to the effect, "It's Bourne, isn't it?"
Now if they had shared some history together, don't you think Nicky would have addressed him as Jason, not Bourne. Any kind of intimacy probably would have produced more familiarity.
When Jason does reveal himself, Nicky gets a look of horror on her face. Of course, Jason takes one look at her and doesn't know show she is. This carries over into The Bourne Supremacy, in which the one sequence of events where Jason gets Nicky alone to question her and induces nothing but fear into Nicky. Again, Nicky doesn't show any sign of intimacy, only fear.
With The Bourne Ultimatum, the Jason Bourne/Nicky Parsons relationship is hinted at. Again, probably having been just imagined for the first time. But since it's being drawn up for the first time and fails to follow through, this is why the dilemma is so interesting and another movie is necessary to satisfy people like me.
Nicky mysteriously shows up at Neal Daniels' office for reasons that are unclear to me. apparently she had been reassigned to Daniels, in a twist of fate that befuddles even me. But nonetheless, the two of them are together and for the first time, Nicky doesn't show absolute fear, but loyalty and benevolence.
She doesn't look at him fearing her life anymore. Now she looks at him as a long lost friend. In the diner seen, she questions him, "You really don't remember a thing?"
Here's where the contrast between the Jason/Nicky pseudo relationship compares to the Jason/Marie storyline. In bother Jason is confused, cold and calculating. With Marie, she was able to break through the barrier Jason's personality has resurrected. Marie was open and engaging; just what jason needed in order for their relationship to develop.
By contrast, Nicky was almost as cold and confused as Jason was. They were too much of the same person to be an effective couple. Jason, having lost Marie, couldn't dye Nicky's hair like he did Marie's. Nicky had to do it herself. And when Jason and Nicky share eye contact, he couldn't help but noticed the similarities between Nicky and Marie. But Nicky can't express herself like Marie could, thus she can only let Jason go.
It makes you wonder, what kind of relationship Nicky and Jason had, if they ever had one at all. Was it doom to fail because they were too similar in personality?
