TV-Reviewed

Lately, Michael has been getting slammed from all directions, and this week is no different. Between family issues, trying to learn what Carla’s gang is up to, and friends getting him into things he’d rather not be involved in: like stopping ocean-going thieves (arggh, pirates!) who specifically target medicine supply shipments. Or, being introduced to psycho-eccentric arms dealers who think he’s their latest partner. I’m sure Mike was thinking, “thanks Fi” on that one!

Speaking of Fiona…she’s found herself a new man, though we never see him. Of course, all episode, she was trying to get a reaction out of Michael about it–trying to see if he was jealous, I suppose. And, was he? Well, it seemed there was some tension there, but nothing that affected Mike too much.

Also, the first spy-tip, which gave us several nice close-ups of Gabrielle Anwar’s remarkable… physique, started with, “When you work with people you want to know everything about them.” Well, I guess Mike’s got Fi covered, then; because he definitely knows everything about her; like he said, “Although, sometimes, there are details you’d rather not know.”; like finding out that your ex-girlfriend has a new boyfriend? The second spy-tip of the night, while not as…stirring, was true, and simple, enough, “If you’re driving a sports coupe, you’re not going to be able to lose an off-road vehicle off-road.” I do concur!

Both of these spy-tips happened right at the beginning of the episode, involving Michael, Fi, Seymour (Fi’s arms-dealer friend), his bodyguard (jackass), and two very angry Bulgarians–as opposed to Ukrainians, otherwise people from the Ukraine. Anyhow. Our first introduction to Seymour begins with a note of intensity, silliness, and a total lack of, well, scruples–all this, of course, on Seymour’s part.

Apparently, Seymour has “trust issues” as Fiona put it; and he’s a little eccentric, too. All of which is very evident in the character. Though, if he has trust issues, why does he refer to his bodyguard as “jackass”? Perhaps, he figures, he pays jackass well enough to put up with, well, being called “jackass” all the time. Interesting way to test a person’s trust, isn’t it? That’s my take on it; he’s testing his bodyguard’s loyalty every time he insults him. Unless, jackass doesn’t speak English?

Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen

The other part of the ”trust issue” here is that Seymour is showing trust in Michael when he goes for a deal on the beach–which cuts off further discussion about the Dragunov rifle. Now, we get to the complete lack of scruples on Seymour’s part; he accuses two crazed Bulgarians of stiffing him on payment. And when the one pulled out the gun, Michael was sure quick to step in. Yet, another test, I’m sure. Seymour knew if anything went wrong he’d probably need some help; and he got that in the form of Michael.

Throughout “Rough Seas”, Mike’s quest in getting intelligence on the Dragunov is slow going at best, because he has to continually remind Seymour that all he needs to know is of a place where one can be calibrated or modified. It’s almost as if Seymour is avoiding the request. Though, I’m sure it’s another attempt at garnering trust, seeing how far he can push Michael. With one more round with the gun-toting Bulgarians, Michael does finally get out of Seymour what he wants, though not in a completely expected way, as we find out. I do want to mention I think the Bulgarian must really have been crazed with anger to be firing a gun out in the open like that, in the middle of downtown Miami–like the police wouldn’t be all over that one, then again, maybe not; though, they (the police) do come in handy for the side-job.

Of course, the “unexpected” outcome in the Dragunov-Seymour story arc, was the attack at the end. That’s the attack by Jackass and his boss on Mike and Fiona. Good thing Mike used to play soccer, else he might not have gotten out of this one with less bruises than he did. There’s nothing quite like a good ol’ kick in the shins to take somebody down. Now, of course, the attack was the result of Seymour’s “trust issues”, which made complete sense. I guess if I had learned that the only place round town that could even touch a Dragunov had been burned to the ground and its proprietor killed in the process, yeah, I might consider trying to get out of giving any information on the matter, too. Fear of death has an interesting toll on people–even arms dealers. That Carla, though, she sure works for some wicked people, doesn’t she?

The finding-out-what-Carla’s-group-is-up-to arc didn’t take up that much air time, though. We got to see plenty of bikini-clad babes hanging out at Seymour’s, and there was only that true touch of drama at the end. It was the side-job and the family arc that got more time this episode, and rightly so, I think.

We haven’t seen much of Nate lately, but we’ve seen a lot of Madeline, who is, perhaps, more important to Michael–at least, her safety anyway; Nate can handle himself for the time being, I think. The family arc begins with the return of Virgil; the only man we’ve seen thus far to be after Madeline.

I always thought the episode from last season where Virgil and Madeline first, I guess you could say, fall in love was one of the best. And it was definitely cool to see the character brought back. I liked how he was worked into the story, too. It figures that he would be the one to bring Mike yet another new job. And the latest alias Michael (or, should we say Jeffrey Donovan?) created, Jackson, was a blast to watch. Donovan’s acting ability was showcased even more with this guy; Jackson, a geeky chemist who designs designer performance enhancers, who used to cook Meth, who has asthma, and is afraid of guys with guns. It was a stretch for sure, but Donovan pulled it off with ease.

This side-job, however, was filled with more emotional hard turns for Michael than any other we’ve yet seen before, excluding, of course, the finale of last year’s season when Sam was taken hostage and nearly beat to death. Madeline gets in the way–in harm’s way–and his refrigerator was sacrificed for the cause. All that yogurt! possibly go to waste.

Now, Gerard, the leader of the thieves that stole the drugs from Marcela’s shipment, was your typical thug, but there were some interesting spy-tips, I thought, mentioned during his introduction. When the bar fight broke out, Mike calls it a “team building exercise” and when Sam helps out he says its an opportunity to “get noticed”, all of which is very true.

Meanwhile, on the family side…I thoroughly enjoyed the way Virg was trying to get Michael to give in to his request to see Madeline. The underwear scene was great. I cracked up when Virgil said he had borrowed the “blue ones with the stripes” and that “they’re a little snug down under but I got it all packed in”. Also, that was when Mike smelled something fishy about Sam going to Boca in order to check out the lead they’d just acquired but Virgil wanting to go visit some old friends while he was in town. It was obvious, Mike had figured out that Sam was the one going to Boca, and Virgil was going to head over to Madeline’s. Though, he needn’t worry about Virg, because Madeline found him instead. That was interesting. All episode she was trying her darndest to see Virgil, because she knew he was there. The pie scene was another excellent, well-placed item.

All in all, “Rough Seas” was a fun episode, though I believe the family element, and the growing tension between Fi and Michael, were the most engrossing parts. Well, maybe that and all the half-clothed women; there sure were enough “girls” begging to be looked at. The side-job was fun, too, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t stellar. Though, I did find Jackson enjoyable to watch, like I said.

Rating: 8.0