Burn Notice: Good Soldier (summer finale)
(S02E09) “What do you see up there? A mastermind petting a Persian cat?” - Sam Axe
So , as you might expect from the finale, Michael is very close to solving one of this season’s mysteries. It seems the only missing pieces of the puzzle are who is the sniper’s target and does Michael want to save them?
I can only imagine that the target would have to be a really bad person in order for Michael to overcome his inflated savior complex. If Osama Bin Laden ends up as a passenger on the ferry, he’ll probably let the hit go down. Anyone else, however, is going to have to be a game day call.
You really have to admire Fiona’s powers of persuasion. It’s not enough that she’s smart and beautiful but she is also a master at the art of manipulation. She knows the exact buttons to push to make Michael do her bidding and the best part is that Michael knows exactly what’s going on.
Quite frankly, I was surprised that there was a B story in this episode considering how much Michael had on his plate. Generally, season finales are pretty focused on the climax we’ve all been looking forward to. Unless, of course, it’s all tied together.
Among Michael’s considerable talents, it’s clear that he also is an expert buzzkill. I’m as cynical as the next guy but even I thought it was out of line for Michael to start forecasting failure before being home for two minutes. I know we haven’t seen much of Nate this season but by all appearances he’s really trying to get his life together and that should count for something. The fact that he thinks asking Nate for help on a job counts as being supportive is a big clue just how self absorbed Michael really is. When a guy spends his days risking his life for total strangers without charging a penny and can’t even pretend to be supportive of his brother, he really needs to check himself.
I’ve always wondered about that image recognition thing. Could it really be that easy to fool the program? Anyone out there with experience in that sort of thing, clue me in.
Sometimes, when I’m watching Burn Notice, I get the feeling that Michael is just giving us his technical spy intel to fill time. However, seeing that Carla had a “slit” of her own was a pretty clever way to tie it in. Although, it seemed that Carla’s hiding place was more accessible than Michael’s since he needs an electric screwdriver to get at his, or did I read that wrong?
I loved seeing Michael act drunk. In my opinion, it was his most believable performance all season. The tips on how to actually stay sober were pretty clever too. I’ll definitely use them the next time I don’t really want to get drunk, if that ever happens.
I was worried that John Allen Nelson wouldn’t be very convincing as a bad ass. After his work on Vanished and 24 I was convinced he could only be weaselly or worried. Although, I’m curious just why “the muscle” was there since Nelson was happy to do the heavy lifting.
The fact that Michael couldn’t get Lesher to walk away from the kidnapping really wasn’t a surprise. This show didn’t build up a loyal following by spending an hour showing how to make sure nothing happens.
I figured that everything in this episode would come together at the end but I didn’t expect the explosion and while I’m sure Michael survived, it will be interesting how this particular message from Carla is received.