The more frustrated I get that the "Broody Bad Boy Edgelord™ is the endgame love interest" trope is still at the peak of popularity for some reason, the more I appreciate that Nikola was the complete antithesis of that. Aside from his first episode, where again, I don't think the writers knew what to do with him yet, he's not really that much of a bad boy type? Well, maybe he kind of is, because he's got a cocky attitude and is always doing unhinged things that get him into trouble (which Helen basically admits she's attracted to). But he's not actually that dangerous? He's this class clown theatre kid who happens to be a vampire who also happens to have superhuman control over his violent instincts, so (again, aside from his first episode) he's never really a threat to Helen. He's just this absolute doofus putting on a "sexy charmer with a reckless streak" act (which works, as much as Helen tries to deny it) that makes it look like he's a cookie-cutter bad boy without him really being that. Not to mention that for all his flirting, he does give Helen space both to be herself and to set the terms of the relationship. He very obviously wants to be with her, but he's not pushy about it. He just messes with her when he knows she's receptive to the flirting, and he plays along when she pushes back.
He also doesn't brood frequently--the most notable exceptions being the end of "Sleepers" and the beginning of "Sanctuary for None" where he's going on about the pigeons. And even when he does brood, it's not like John's brand of brooding, which is more stereotypical. It's him acting like an overdramatic wine aunt who is trying to get drunk at the family reunion much to the chagrin of her relatives. He doesn't adopt this angry sadboi persona who needs to destroy things, he just starts whining like Aunt Sharon lamenting the fact that she's on her third divorce. I also think on some level he knows that Helen secretly finds it funny, so he plays it up to amuse her even if she'll never admit that she appreciates the levity.
Also, part of the reason Helen is into him is because she's just as unhinged as he is. This isn't a story about some perfect good girl who gets "corrupted" by the bad boy, this is a story about two equally insane scientists who become best friends because they are equally insane and fall in love because they are equally insane. Nikola is just more obvious about his insanity while Helen pretends to be normal but really she is just Very British About It™. They get each other because they're both crazy science freaks who are so in tune with each other that they can finish each other's sentences even when they're bickering.
Anyway, I just find this fascinating because you'd expect the vampire side of the love triangle to be the angry broody one, especially since Sanctuary came out during the height of the Twilight era when that was all the rage. But instead, the guy who is not a vampire is the angry broody one and the vampire is the quirky best friend who's been pining for the girl for years. And then he's the one who actually ends up with her (or is implied to end up with her) at the end? They completely turned that whole concept on its head and it's honestly kind of hilarious
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