Last Act

The episode "Last Act", from season one, in many ways
foreshadows the ideas that consume Nick in the final 
episode,"Last Knight".In "Last Act", Nick is severely 
depressed.He has many unsolved cases and his Captain 
is concerned about the backlog. At the same time as a 
new case arises, a strange discovery is made in a park. 
A person has been incinerated and Nick soon realises 
that it is Erica, a vampire he once loved. Nick knows 
that she has taken her own life. While shocked by the 
death of this past  love , he is confused that a young 
doctor, who supposedly had everything to live for, has
also committed suicide. Something is wrong.

While ruminating on the death of the doctor, Nick is 
visited by the spirit of Erica who asks Nick to consider
that maybe he has nothing left to contribute and , in 
that case, should end it all. Despite Nick's protestations 
that he still loves life and that there is much to do, 
Erica has planted a lingering doubt about his value.This 
depression becomes very evident to Natalie who tries to 
push Nick away from his gloom and talk of death, to a more
realistic and appropriate assessment of his everyday value.
This, coupled with an important break in the case , enables
Nick to see that he is more "human" than he thinks and that
everyday frustrations are part of living and can be dealt 
with. He has Natalie and Schanke to support him in a time 
when things go wrong. He is not a burden in the way Erica 
feels, rather, as Natalie says, he makes contributions all 
the time. 

It's interesting , that in "Last Knight", no-one, including 
Lacroix , can divert him from the path that Erica took.  
His depression is overwhelming because the very person who 
could move him away from it is, as far as he knows, dead, 
and at his hands. In this case, Nick , like Erica, has 
become a burden to himself.

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