TV-Reviewed

Like all Burn Notice episodes, there were two parts to “Trust Me”: the first being Michael’s own mission to find out more about his “burning”; the second being the (side) “job”, which lately has become more of a headache for him than an income.

Utilizing his newfound intelligence that Carla can speak Arabic (but with a Kurdish accent), Michael Westen was off to, of all places, the Pakistani consulate.  Pakistan has a consulate in Miami?  Perhaps, they do and perhaps they don’t, but regardless, Michael’s plan was believable enough: infiltrate the embassy and see what (if anything) they might have on Carla.  There was more, though, to the execution of the plan than simply visiting the consulate.

It was sort of a surprise, to me, when we learned the information Michael had pulled from the filing cabinet was not actually what he had been seeking.  In fact, it was merely the beginning of the way he was going to get what he really wanted.  Now, there are a few things here that sort of didn’t satisfy me.  First, the idea of Michael disguising himself–Well, that was believable, and Donovan played the part brilliantly.  However, I have to call in question Sam’s diversion tactic.  Was it sufficient enough to call every security officer in the building to deal with it?  Also, aren’t there cameras in the consulate?

I would think the writers would have thought of that.  Then again, I suppose the only answer to that is that the head of security, the aptly-named Waseem, would only have checked the security footage had he thought somebody had been in his office.  But, Michael had left the filing cabinet open with the note on the folder…so it was apparent somebody had been in there…

Bruce Campbell as Sam Axe on Burn Notice

However, this brings me to something else, which I believe the writers of the show pinned down brilliantly: Waseem’s character.  Waseem was definitely comfortable here in America, eh?  I think that happens to a lot of people who come from a very restrictive country or culture to the United States; they find out we’re not so “evil” after all.  And, of course, the idea of Waseem not wanting to do anything to compromise his position in the regard of having to leave and return home made complete sense.

He sure warmed up quick to Michael’s request when he saw those photos Fiona had taken.  It looked pretty convincing, I’d say, that he was “accepting bribes”.  The concept, I think, of this was well-worked into the story.  So was Michael handing Waseem the photos and negatives at their last meeting.  There was no need, of course, in him making an enemy in Waseem.  In fact, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more happen there. The biggest factor, though, is what information was handed over.  That binder looked fairly thick…

So far, I’ve mentioned Carla a few times, but she wasn’t to be found anywhere in this episode.  I think that was a shame, too, as she (and her associates) bring a lot of tension to the story.  And that begs to ask the question: if she wasn’t in Miami, which I’m assuming she wasn’t, then where was she?  And, more importantly, what was she up to?

Though, even with Carla’s absence, there was still tension of another sort between Michael and Fiona, which offered us plenty of laughs–and lent a touch of drama.  She’s obviously not going to let Mike off the hook that easily.  She was trying to get under his skin when and wherever she could.  All of which was very entertaining to watch.  One memorable moment was when she had to use her, uh, skills of…diversion so that Michael could get into Zeke’s office–she sure was all over Zeke, too, trying to make Michael jealous apparently.  The look on Jeffrey Donovan’s face as an actor said everything, too; it was disgusting for Michael to watch, because he knew what she was trying to do.

Besides Fiona being all over Zeke, it sure was fun watching Michael dupe him.  And when Zeke realized he’d been conned, it sure was fun to see that sudden realization on his face.  Oh and when his partners arrived and found out, well, that was priceless.  When that door closed…Well, only the imagination could say what exactly might’ve happened to ol’ Zeke.

“Trust Me”, though not great, was still a good episode.  It’s really difficult to be critical of Burn Notice when it’s such an awesome and fun show.  What I found fun in “Trust Me” was that ex-boyfriend-girlfriend-tension that only Fiona was interested in dishing out and that Mike had to suffer through.  Also, I liked the fact that finally–maybe–Mike has, possibly, outsmarted Carla for once.

Rating: 7.0

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