We’re all accustomed to what has happened since Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan), Fiona Glenanne (Gabrielle Anwar), and Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) have been up to since landing in Miami, Florida. The big question is what were they up to before Miami. I suspect this is something the producers will tackle again in other prequels after this successful look at Sam’s pre-Miami days.

The movie started out like several old war movies my mom and dad turned me onto, where an officer was brought in after a mission and had to explain what happened and why. The big difference was the tone. Burn Notice has a tendency to be both serious and downright comical all in the same scene. We got a lot of Sam Axe comedy, right from the maze-like entrance to his asking his superiors for a beer. I loved it!

After Lieutenant Commander Sam Axe had sex with a woman who turned out to be the wife of Admiral Gregory Maitland (Alex Fernandez), Sam got sent to the middle of Columbia as punishment. His mission was simple: monitor the actions of a small militia and report on their activities.

The mission quickly went sideways when it was evident right from the start that his so-called trusted contacts were really the ones up to no good. Colonel Veracruz (Pedro Pascal) was clearly a bad guy, but I felt the character was poorly cast. Pedro Pascal wasn’t nearly as menacing as most of the villains on Burn Notice.

All the while trying to save his own skin from Veracruz, he had to save the patients and members of staff at a small mountain-side hospital. It was determined that Veracruz would blow up the hospital, killing everyone inside and blame it on the terrorist group he and Sam were supposed to monitor. The US and Columbia would then send down more money and weapons, thus Veracruz and his cohorts would be wealthy from the little con game of his.

Sam wasn’t about to let Veracruz kill all of those folks and get away with it. After making friends with the doctor and a food aide worker at the hospital, Sam was able to concoct a plan to get to a secret CIA station in the area. The problem was the distance. Fifty miles is a long distance to transport a large number of sick people, especially when the roads are being monitored by Veracruz’s people.

How Sam was able to get to the CIA station and get everyone saved is still a mystery to me. There was so much that went on in this episode, some of it serious, but much of it was funny that it made for a hard movie to critique because I laughed so much.

Sam’s interest in the food aide worker, Amanda (Kiele Sanchez) was obvious and I loved it. I remember Kiele Sanchez best from her role in A Perfect Getaway, a very different movie than this one, but it still had a lot of action. I would have liked to see her character, Amanda, be a little more active. Amanda’s role was quite insignificant to be honest. More than anything, she was an attractive person for Sam to chat with. She was the token hottie in the movie and that role could have been filled by anyone.

The use of the military interrogation scenes was a bit much at times, but in the entirety of the movie, I felt they were done properly, even if the acting was a little poor in a few early scenes. As the film progressed to the end, the interrogation scenes became more intense until finally Sam threatened his superiors with ending their careers in a clever use of blackmail, or ‘graymail’, as Sam called it.

Actually filmed on location in Columbia, I have to give the Burn Notice crew credit for pulling it off. When so many productions being done in Canada nowadays, it’s nice to see they’re actually filming on location, even doing it in Miami for the main series.

In the end, Sam was able to get everything he wanted. An honorable discharge, his friends were left alone, a plane ticket to Miami, and another hottie at the Miami airport. You couldn’t help but laugh at the end as Sam checks out the woman in the airport and smiles at the camera. The end was terrific.

Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe was exactly what I expected it to be… a seriously fun time. Burn Notice doesn’t take itself too seriously and neither did the movie. The American taking on an evil South American army leader reminded me of MacGyver, actually. I can’t tell you how many times this movie reminded me of the “The Golden Triangle” episode from season one.

The movie’s originality can certainly be questioned, but more than anything, I enjoyed it. It could have probably been cut to 90 minutes, even with the commercials. A full 120 minutes with commercials was longer than it needed to be. There were a few too many “Sam Axe as Dr. Phil” moments for me.

Rating: 7.5

A lot has happened for Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) since the third season finale and it’s taken a toll on his mother. When they’re eventually united, Madeline Westen (Sharon Gless) isn’t nearly as enthusiastic to see her son as most people would think. Then again, one must remember the hell the FBI put her through during last year’s season finale.

Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona Glenanne

After reuniting with mom, Michael met up with friends Sam (Bruce Campbell) and Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar). The duo have kept up with Michael’s little business of helping out people, but they were in need of help when asked to take out a biker gang. The constant bickering between Sam and Fiona has only increased because of Michael’s disappearance after last season. I thoroughly enjoy any time Sam and Fiona are forced to work together.

The outlaw biker gang plot didn’t hold my interest as much as the plot possibilities introduced when Michael’s actions caused a spy’s life to be changed forever. What happens and just how it goes down will have to be learned later tonight when the premiere airs on USA Network.

Rating: 7.8

The setup was easy enough: hardcore criminal scum bag who treats everyone he comes in contact with like trash who has a lackey he’d rather be rid of has somehow avoided jail time and has killed or gotten people killed during his heists. But, what I didn’t see was that the said lackey wasn’t actually as criminally-minded as he wanted everyone to think. In fact, he was actually a good guy caught up in a life that just didn’t suit him. That, to me, had a fairly original flavor to it–at least, for Burn Notice that is.

Honestly, though, the side-job in this episode is one of the best I remember seeing in recent memory. Tommy, the lackey, was used to perfection–he was shown not necessarily as ignorant but rash, I think; he didn’t think anything through (which is something that could get a thief caught or killed). It was all interesting, frustrating and tearfully-funny to watch the interaction between Michael Westen (the spy) and Tommy (the wanna-be-mob-boss). There were some great moments there–two of my favorite happening during the dry cleaner robbery. When Tommy suggested using the can of spray paint to disable the lone security camera, I simply shook my head. In fact, I know what was thinking: You idiot, Fi would be seen running up to the camera. Good thing Michael pointed out how silly that would’ve been–covering it nicely, too, so that Tommy didn’t feel stupid. Same went for the cash register and the creative exit from the dry cleaners.

Yet, some of my favorite scenes dealing with the side-job had nothing to do with the heist parts of it. For example: Gabrielle with her Jersey-girl imitation was great. Like at the lobster dinner, her toying with her hair, popping the bubble gum and wearing the large hoop earrings–not to forget the accent–was great. I wonder how many episodes of the Sopranos she had to watch to get that down? Then, there was Michael giving himself a black eye. Oh, and Sam being accused as a cop–and Michael revealing to Tommy that he’s not Milo. And not to forget Tommy’s thank you hug at the end.

Of course, the ending heist that involved Mathison was the best. Man that guy was a jerk! It was obvious that the guy didn’t care what happened to Tommy and his crew–that was reiterated with the “killer” comment directed at Michael.  Speaking of that…I had visions of the A-team during the shootout. Like my brother said, “All that gun play and nobody gets hurt.” Yeah, it was sort of like that, but it was oh so satisfying when Mathison realized he’d been duped. Though, to me, the most satisfying part was when Tommy had just slammed the back door shut using the van and Mathison saw him, knew it was him. Then, there was the whole part where Michael calls the scum bag. Good stuff!

We nearly got some back story on Sam in this episode, too. I couldn’t actually figure out the entire relationship there. I thought I remember hearing “childhood friend” and “oh yeah, I dated your mom” somewhere in the conversation. I saw it coming, too, when Sam thought he was going to get out of his IRS audit by using his dashing charm. In fact, I think I said, “I bet Stacy’s a guy.” It was just too easy–which was the point, I suppose. But, it did make for some interesting stuff. I hope that–as promised in the behind-the-scenes on the website–that we get more substantial back story on Sam–and Fi. That would be awesome.

Speaking of Fi…It’s obvious the rift between her and Michael is now growing instead of shrinking. I think she’s coming to the conclusion that, no matter what she does (or how she argues with him), Michael is NOT going to change his mind when it comes to serving his country. But, more importantly, I think she realizes that her and Mike will probably never get together like she wants–at least, no time soon. The look on Gabrielle’s face–wow, she’s a good actress–said it all. The disappointment. The loss. The anger. Yep, she had it working.

Fearless Leader gave a nice conclusion to the Detective Paxson plot line. It took the relationship between Michael and Fi into a different direction. Over all it was excellent. I just wish we would have seen more of Madeline–she only got two little scenes!  But, truthfully, that’s a minor thing.

Rating: 9.0

It was obvious Nate was going to get used, and used good in this episode. Heck, doesn’t he always get the short end of the stick? Doesn’t big bro always have to dig him out of trouble? Of course. So, it was no surprise that when the infamous Brennen reared his ugly head again, demanding Michael’s help, Nate would be the man’s leverage. I thought it only ironic that Brennen would have to be the bad guy. Last time we saw him, he was wanting to harm another person sort of close to Michael. Again, they have him up to his old tricks–only now it’s even more close to home, if you will–it being Mike’s brother, and not just some past fling. This time its even more personal. And, I knew, from having seen the previous episode with this guy, Brennen is not someone easily fooled. Plus, the guy is unpredictable. None of it boded well for either of the Westen brothers. In fact, it was obvious that, when everything was said and done, Brennen had plans to kill them both anyway.

Seth Peterson as Nate Westen

However, in the end, Brennen WAS outsmarted. Last time it was more of a draw, but this time he was truly bested. It’s amazing that even a guy like him has someone that he cares for–someone that he couldn’t stand to lose. It took Michael a little doing, though, to push Brennen just into paranoia. Brennen was pretty sure he thought he knew Westen, right? But, I’m sure there was that nagging part of him that told him it might not be a bluff–that part of him said why take the risk. He couldn’t risk letting his work get his daughter killed. Even still, there needed to be something to really push him over the edge. Fi blowing up his house in Miami was only the beginning; convincing him the funds in his bank account were now gone, and convincing him an assassin was ready to take out his daughter at a moment’s notice were the two things that made him fully back off. My favorite part here, though, was when Brennen said Michael Westen wasn’t capable of harming a child, to which Michael replied that he wasn’t but Brennen was–as Mike pointed out, they were playing by Brennen’s rules. That was simply classic.

The side-job itself, though, wasn’t actually as fun as normal–I think it might’ve been because it was painful knowing that at any moment the Butcher might be employed to kill Nathan if Michael didn’t cooperate. Having to act drunk (having to cut himself with a sharp piece of glass in order to sell it) in order to steal the key, then having to collect the voice pattern of a gun-making, gun-wielding psycho, and, finally, having his brother shot right in front of him (knowing that Brennen had slipped another wild-card in that might just result in Nathan’s ultimate death)…Well, the situation had appeared desperate. All might’ve been well in the end, but those last few moments before Michael came up with his spur of the moment plan were simply…painful to watch, like I said. Plus, even though Mike semi-defeated Brennen, it wasn’t a…conclusion. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for bringing back past acquaintances–but, honestly, it would have been nice to have concluded things here. It would’ve been nice to  have seen Brennen really get it stuck to him–maybe get arrested and sent to prison by Michael’s new detective girlfriend. That would’ve been cool. Oh well.

Jay Karnes as Brennen

Of course, I couldn’t forget to mention Detective Paxson again. Throughout this episode Michael, Fi and Sam, along with the help of Barry, put a plan in place that’d hopefully get Paxson to lay off of him for a bit. Too bad that didn’t exactly work out as planned. It’d figure that Detective Paxson’s partner would be the one to investigate the “mysterious bank account.” Ugh! Michael just can’t get a break sometimes.

End Run was yet another twist on story concepts that have been used before on Burn Notice. I know, there’s only so much you can do with Michael’s predicament, and I believe the show’s writers do do their best to compensate. One thing I am glad to see is the way in which the episodes’ conclusions are being handled in this season so far with the use of family and friends at the end. For example, Michael and Nate and Madeline with the candid discussion. That was great–especially the part where Madeline says her and Barry are getting together to have a “product party.” Good stuff.

Rating: 8.0

Of course, Fi’s latest bounty goes awry when the sultry Detective Paxson shows up. Ah, Detective Paxson, yet another way to have some fun with Michael Westen. Though, I have to admit, I got excited here, and not just for the obvious reason.

I never really considered the real-life consequences of Mike and his friends and his enemies. Think about it: Every time Fi blows something up…Well, that something is owned by someone. When Michael, Fi, or Sam–or the bad guys for that matter chasing them–go speeding recklessly through the streets of Miami, causing accidents and what not, the average joe could be in danger of getting harmed, or killed. The question is: Did the guys in the suits help steer people like Detective Paxson away from Michael for the past year or so? Yet, what about the comment Paxson made? “Stuff’s been blowing up pretty steadily since you came to Miami.” The “since” is what made me think. If she’s only investigating a fairly recent incident, which only happened in last season’s finale, how would she know Michael had anything to do with any previous “things blowing up”? Perhaps, Paxson and her friend aren’t really with the PD? Maybe they work for the suits and are only there to toy with Mike? Anyway.

Moon Bloodgood as Detective Paxon, Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen

I suspected Fiona wasn’t going to be happy about having lost out on her money, but I wasn’t expecting it to lead to the side-job. That was a pretty cool segway, I think. It shows how Michael having lost his “protection” doesn’t just effect him, but also those around him. I’m not saying it’s a deep moment or anything, but it does get the point across.

I thought the back story behind how Fiona knew the client was creative. I liked the (talking about how she apprehended Patricia’s brother): “I had to hit him with a brick to get him into the car. Sweet guy…” That definitely gave me a good laugh. Seriously, though, it was an interesting way to introduce some back story into what Fi does when we don’t get to see her.

The side-job itself I had suspected would be, naturally, much more complicated than just “knocking some sense” into the husband. I knew there had to be more to the story, and there was. The husband was just trying to cover up that their son had been kidnapped by a ruthless jewel thief. And, boy, did this side-job have some fun and intense moments in it. First there was Michael chasing the husband down with his car and using the car door to stop him, then there was Fi in the back seat trying to help the wife relax, and let’s not forget the “reverse interrogation.” That definitely got intense quick! It was awesome, too, to see how something like that might go down. The entire part where Sam had to loosely describe Flowers so Michael could live was probably one of the most intense parts. Though, the ending was THE best bit. Sam getting those guys to kill each other with that single gunshot was just icing on the cake. That was definitely an oh-yeah, head-nodding moment.

Meanwhile, throughout this episode Detective Paxson sure did enough hounding of Michael Westen. One thing I thought that was a bit questionable, though, was when Fiona mentions C4 where pretty much anybody nearby could hear. You’d think she’d have been a bit more cautious–especially with mentioning Paxson’s name and about making explosions. Heck, Paxson–the “stalker with a badge,” as Sam called her–could’ve overheard that. Good thing she didn’t. That might’ve been bad. Anyhow. I thought it was interesting how Michael and Sam and Fiona were able to retrieve the C4 and detonators. In fact, I’d say that was an extremely clever way of going about it. Of course, there was the blatant hole left in the back wall–not to mention it’d probably take awhile using a saw like that. Oh, and not to mention the “puddle of water” on the floor. Detective Paxson is a…keen observer if anything.

With that said, I do think “Question and Answer” was another solid episode. The ending was well put together. Everything from Detective Paxson showing up at Michael’s pad as night fell (and the playfulness in their conversation) to Michael looking afraid to take even a bite of his mom’s cake to Sam’s gift of a five pack of beer to Fiona’s gift of a bayonet once used in World War I, was great. One things for certain: Detective Paxson is a handful. Her showing up at night, though; wow, she’s sure dedicated in her efforts in taking Michael out. I’m certain there has to be something more to her than we yet know.

Rating: 8.5

Obviously, the entire point of this episode was to reunite Michael with his friends and…family, and also to point out just how the men in suits are going to make his life hell from now on until he agrees to join them. Has somebody been “keeping them”–the law and Mike’s old enemies–”at bay”? Right off the start, it’s obvious Mike’s in trouble with the fine folks down at the Miami PD. I laughed myself silly when he grabbed up that pink t-shirt and glasses–and especially when he mussed up his hair; he looked like he was…well, I think you know. Anyway.

Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen

I wasn’t exactly sure what they were going to have Michael do once he got inside the hotel. However, it made perfect sense for him to try and locate the phone room: From experience–don’t as me how I know–it’s true that if you make a phone call in such a way that it would be “untraceable.” And, that phone call…I assumed the first person he’d try to make contact with would be Fiona. That just made sense. “It’s always a treat to get you out of trouble, Michael,” was, naturally, Fi’s response to his gratitude. I’ve got to say, too, that Gabrielle was looking all kinds of hot…laying there all casually on the bed…

One thing that did escape my mind, though, the first time watching this part was where Michael kept grabbing different chemicals off of the shelves. I mean, I really didn’t think about what he was doing–but, later I realized he was in the process of using his bomb making skills. Not sure how this all escaped me, but it did. In the end, really, the only thing that made sense was for him to give up. The police definitely had that building surrounded.

The thing was, though, Michael behind bars…I just couldn’t figure out what the police suspected–or, what questions they might’ve asked him. I know, I know, the whole point of this was to show Mike how powerful the people are that were behind his Burn Notice, though it sure would’ve been nice to know what lie they had told the cops. I mean, people just don’t get locked up without a reason. They have to have something on you in order to take you into custody.

I did like how Sam used the word “magic” to describe how Michael’s corporate buddies had kept him “off the radar.” In a way, normal rules and laws don’t apply. Everything involved here is like magic, some ethereal mist that Mike gets two steps close to before it evaporates and then moves into the endlessness that is this burn notice mess. Nothing like bringing in some more conflict. Without Carla and crew there needed to be something to fill the void, and Michael’s time, with.

Speaking of conflict. I wasn’t expecting Mike’s first side-job, after his stint in the city slammer, to involve an old friend–that should be jaded, old friend. We’ve all seen the story before: the one friend just does what he does best, and the other is jealous of how the other pulls things off with ease when it takes him seemingly much more effort to do the same job; this leads to said jealous friend betraying his better. That’s what we had here. I knew something wasn’t right from the beginning. For example: I knew that the door in the club was more than likely rigged with some sort of alarm. A man trained in covert operations would know this too. But, what does Harlan do? He just opens it without hesitation. I got the sense then that the guy was just feigning to be THAT thick.

However, at the start it should be noted that Michael did have some misgivings to the point of where he even questioned Harlan on it. Naturally, Harlan used a tactic he must’ve thought would work on Mike: That he was willing to do anything to profess his love for Marta–doing this job, getting Rafino, was THAT important to him. He knew Mike could relate: Michael, we all know, would drop whatever he might be doing at any given time–in a heartbeat, in fact–if Fiona were in distress and needed his help. That’s clear. Harlan just used this to his advantage–to get Michael to agree to help him.

Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona Glenanne

I thought this side-job was great, though. Michael having to outwit Rafino’s goon, Falcone, was definitely enjoyable. And that moment inside the SUV, when things almost unraveled…man that was intense! Then…came Fiona in the garbage truck. Bam! That was definitely one of the coolest moments in this show’s history. Yet, then we had to get to Harlan’s sob story. Sadly, there wasn’t much new here. This part was your typical I’m-betraying-you-because-I’m-showing-you-I’m-smarter-and-more-devious-than-you-think type of thing. Bla. Bla.

“Friends and Family,” I think, was an excellent opener into what I hope will be another solid, fun season of Burn Notice. Even though the plotline with Harlan wasn’t that original, it was still fun. But, maybe, the best bit of this episode came at the very end. The discussion involving Madeline, which led to Mike, Sam and Fi taking a swig of beer at the same time, gave a laugh but also built on some deeper meaning into the relationships between all of them. Then, there was the discussion between Sam and Mike at the very end, which, I think, gives a glimpse into some future developments. Over all, like I said before, this was a great intro into the new season.

Rating: 8.0

Firstly, Michael had to decide whether or not if he was going to trust Victor, or simply turn him into Carla as a peace-offering. Of course, the choice appeared obvious–with the old phrase, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” in the back of my mind, I thought for sure he’d have to trust Victor, and, obviously, he did. But, I also think it was a tough choice because Michael knows that Carla would–like Victor said–go after his family if he went against her. However, I think his faith in Sam and Fi is what gave him the courage to act as he did: to trust his gut instinct. The lesser evil, indeed: trust Victor, the semi-unstable assassin who tried to kill him, rather than give Carla what she wants.

Secondly, Sam and Fi had to decide how they were going to handle Michael’s orders not to get involved, other than to help out his family. Well, as we saw, they did the predictable: They came to Mike’s aid, and when he needed it most. But, before the big finale, Fi’s help during the car chase was fun to watch. I think she had a little fun there with all the explosions. Another moment that was fun (even though it was more dramatic on a personal level) was when Madeline offered Sam a beer, but he slammed the door to the fridge saying he didn’t want one. I think that showed Sam’s emotional estate and how serious he was in “having Michael’s back”. Of course, needless to say, Madeline had to make a tough decision there: Listen to what Sam was trying to tell her and admit that Mike was in danger, that she was in danger, or just keep on ignoring the facts and acting as if everything were fine.

Michael Shanks as Victor

Then, we have the ending: the stand-off between Michael and Victor on one side and Carla and her men on the other. That was probably the most tense scene I think I’ve seen on Burn Notice. Perhaps, it even surpasses the finale of season one where Sam was tied to a chair, being tortured, not to mention was going to be executed by the bad guys. This time around, though, it was Michael’s turn to be in such a predicament–Well, in a different way, as he wasn’t promised death if he chose to simply give up Victor and surrender. And here leads us to the toughest choice of them all: sacrifice.

Victor we learned early on in this episode isn’t the crazed villain bent on destroying Michael Weston that we were led to believe. Although…He had always thought of Michael as a threat, a threat he thought might expose him to Carla, as we found out. That’s why Victor had, in his mind, to take Michael out: to neutralize the threat, to take down another key player in Carla’s affairs. But, he didn’t realize–in fact, I don’t think Mike did until that point (where he learns the ‘why’ behind Victor’s motives)–that Michael isn’t trying to get “back into the business”, so to speak. No. Really, Mike’s just trying to clear his name and “have his life back”. That’s all, I think, he’s ever wanted since he got burned.

It’s been one heck of a ride since the show began, and this season has had it’s share of twists and turns. But…The over all plot since Victor’s introduction…had been working up to this point. To me it was surprising how I could’ve missed all the clues dropped since (and earlier than) this season’s mid-point finale. I had never guessed Victor’s importance to the story. Now that I look back through past episodes I see the significance. It should have been obvious that the it had to have been one on the inside of Carla’s operations who tried to kill Michael. It makes perfect sense to me, now.

OK. So let me get back to the grand finale of this season, of this episode. Michael trapped with Victor inside that boat. Carla’s gang all around outside. And there was only one way out: surrender. But, “management” was there to assess the situation, and if they thought Michael’s loyalties completely compromised, well, that meant a bullet for him. Victor was his out. If Victor were dead…then, he might have a chance. He’d already been shot–It was difficult for Michael to go along with it, though; the man who had tried to kill him only days before had slowly become a friend in a few short hours. You could see that. The understanding between the two of them was clear.

Still, there was an obvious flaw in their plan. What if management heard from Carla what Michael had been up to with Victor? The conspiracy between the two of them to ruin their operations would have resulted in, most likely, both of them being killed. However, a single bullet fixed that flaw. I’ve got to say I wasn’t–yet I was–expecting Fi to pull the trigger. It made sense and–Oh, it was just the icing on the cake. Carla needed to die, I think. And Fi was definitely the one to do her in. I don’t think Sam could have done it. Heck, I don’t think, if given the chance, Michael could have done it. Good thing Mike has Fi.

So, Victor made the ultimate sacrifice. But, Michael had to help with it, and that couldn’t have been easy. You could see it affected him more than anything else so far, other than when he thought for sure Fiona had been burned alive. When management finally arrived I didn’t know what to expect. Michael’s trip in the helicopter definitely looked like a trap with no escape. Who knew he’d actually be crazy enough to jump out of it a few hundred feet in the air. Obviously, he must survive this ordeal or there couldn’t be a season three, right? I guess we’ll find out.

Anyway. Lesser Evil was worth the wait. Does it answer any questions, though? Well, I’d say yes and no. It looks like Michael might be dealing with some sort of crime organization made up primarily of ex-government operatives and agents who have considerable influence within the federal government. That’s apparent. Yet, what exactly are these guys up to? And why do they single out certain operatives, such as Michael or Victor? Is it because of their skills, or for some other reason? Hopefully, all these questions get answered in season three.

Rating: 9.5

The story line itself involving Samantha was rather simple but nicely executed. Samantha the thief and ex-fiancee that no one knew about got herself in over her head and now has nobody else to turn to but Michael. Of course, the best bits were where Michael had to try and talk to Fiona–and Madeline–about the relationship he and Samantha had once had. Meanwhile, he needed Fi’s help to get his ex-fiancee out of trouble with the evil Brennen.

Of course, Brennen had to have some serious leverage over Samantha. Obviously, that was her son, Charlie. Right away the brain starts connecting the dots. Her and Michael…Does that mean Charlie is his son? I like how Samantha made Michael worry about that one for a bit. The oh-crap-I-hope-he’s-not-mine look on his face while the camera panned around him was classic. Naturally, we learn that no, Charlie is not his son, but Samantha used Charlie’s presence as her own bit of leverage. In this way she’s using her son as a shield in this entire mess. Leverage can go both ways–her and Brennen, to me, used Charlie to their own advantages. That’s what thieves do, right?

Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona Glenanne

The best bit, though, with Brennen was the fact that he couldn’t be fooled by Michael. In fact, even to me Michael’s story sounded pretty weak. Then again, that was the whole idea. Yet, with some slight misdirection things heated up and you could tell Brennen was starting to get antsy–not paranoid, no, but he was starting to show a sliver of uncertainty towards the end. Of course, misdirection–especially in this case–is a double-edged sword, so to speak. I knew Victor wouldn’t take kindly to being shot at. It was great with the conversation he and Michael had afterward; Victor couldn’t do anything but do his typical psychotic laugh when Mike told him it was nothing personal.

The next piece of misdirection was, of course, handled by Sam and Sam. When Brennen decided to make the deal on the tarmac rather than inside the hanger, I couldn’t see any way for Michael and company to get the guidance chip back. I mean, sure Sam had realized what was going on, but how could he take on all those guys with a single handgun? I just couldn’t see any plausible way for him to stop Brennen’s deal from going down. Luckily, he’s a trick shot as he got that one guy in the leg without seeming to aim. That sure got the south-of-the-border guys out of there in a hurry. Then, I was equally impressed by the way he sold it, by having Samantha drive up in the car so that Brennen saw her. Yet…

I’m surprised Brennen didn’t shoot at her sooner. I guess he was in shock over Samantha’s apparent tenacity and cleverness? That’s the only thing that seems logical there. Otherwise, he could have just shot her dead, I think. Because, that guy didn’t care about anything or anyone–all he wanted was his money. Then again, his deal was now off and he was stuck with a hot, hot piece of property. He knew he’d been bested and out-smarted. The only logical move for him to have made was in letting Michael return the guidance chip–which looked an awful lot like a standard computer hard drive.

However, the conclusion of this episode was, to me, the best part. The final showdown between Michael and Victor was another battle of spy-training and smarts. Mike knew Victor would have everything planned down to the smallest detail for their meeting. The way to take Victor hostage was to put something extra special into the equation, which ended up being the stun gun disguised as a disposable camera. He knew Victor would put a up a fight, though, and the only way to take him down was quietly. My only question had been: How is he going to get an unconscious man out of the bathroom without drawing people’s attention? That was only to be answered seconds later when he pulled up his pant leg and started unwrapping some gauze. Well, that sort of answered it. I just didn’t think of him using a wheel chair to further sell the diversion.

Back on the matter of Samantha, I thought it was great when Sam was trying to calm down both Fiona and Madeline. “Ladies, these things happen.” Yeah, he’d know. That hasty marriage of his way back in the day…

Anyhow, Sins of Omission was an all around excellent episode. The tension between Michael and Fiona and his mother was something you could easily feel, and something that was worked well into the story. The sympathy Sam seemed to feel for his friend. We all make mistakes. And then Victor being abducted by Michael–getting things ready for the season’s big finale.

Rating: 9.0

Then, interrupting Michael’s thought processes, his mom called out of the blue to say there had been a break-in. Yeah, some break-in Madeline. I say that, but it’s always fun having her around. I’m glad the writers have worked her into the story more often of late. Sharon Gless is a talented actress, in my opinion. It’s good they’ve been putting her to use more and more. I’ve enjoyed the various interactions between her and Jeffrey Donovan. The two of them seem to have a good repoire. And this time around was no different.

A mother-son bonding experience like tracking down a group of amateur thieves–Well, what could be better? What could create stronger family ties? Right. The ‘together’ part was something Madeline was insistent on. I give her credit, though, she was able to figure out everything on her own.

Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona Glenanne

Back on the side-job, Michael and Sam tracked down Jean-Pierre Duman easily enough. And, like Michael said, “a lot of the worst monsters on Earth are just spoiled rich kids.” I think there’s some truth in that statement. If you look back through history there have been many spoiled brats who’ve turned out to be some of the world’s worst villains. So, who best to get close to Duman? Yep. That’s right. Fi. And, does she have a French accent down or what? In fact, there’s just something about Gabrielle Anwar speaking with a Parisian accent…Fi plays to Duman’s playboy style, too, and does it well enough to get into his study. However…

When Claude shows up unexpectedly at Duman’s, Michael is able to think quick and save the man from getting himself killed. Of course, Claude just doesn’t know when to let the professionals take over. Later on he gets in the way again, and only Michael is able to stop Duman’s hit squad from taking him out. The Duman/Claude storyline, of course, ended with Duman being sent back to Haiti, which I thought was appropriate. Though, I was surprised in the way in which Duman was “delivered” to authorities. The rope ladder gag, though, was awesome–so was Duman’s fall into the truck.

Yet, the action and surprises didn’t stop there. Back on the Burn Notice plotline, Michael chased down the man who tried to have him killed. The surprise was, of course, it being Victor he was chasing through the storage lot. I like how, again, they brought back another unique and memorable character. Victor was great the first time around, and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of him in the near future. He’s very much part of Carla’s bosses’ plans–whatever those are. We’re still not clear on that.

Truth and Reconciliation does move the Burn Notice plotline along. And it does answer a few questions. Just not enough to have a sense of where things with Carla and her group are going to end up. Which, it turns out, isn’t a bad thing. The episode had so much going on with the side-job: the unique way Michael Weston got things done, capturing Duman and sending him back to Haiti on a boat. I liked that. And the relationship with Michael and his mother being “reconciled” was something that needed to be touched on. In the last few episodes Michael and Madeline’s relationship has improved, and now I think it’s finally resolved here. It should be interesting where things head with Victor, though. What exactly is he up to? Why did he try to have Michael killed? Was he acting on his own? There’s no telling. I guess we’ll just have to wait things out.

Rating: 8.5

And, of course, who better to trap Michael Weston in a bank with? Perhaps, Virgil would be the answer to that one. But, seriously, Jason Bly and Michael Weston trapped inside a bank during an armed robbery? Yeah. I knew it was going to get interesting, and fast. I wasn’t disappointed, either, when ol’ Bly almost got himself killed. It was only sporting on Michael’s part to help him out, of course. One thing, too, that made this episode so different and somewhat unique from others in the past was the side-job and burn notice plotlines being tied together. I don’t think we’ve seen that before.

Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen

Another thing introduced into this episode was the idea of full on competition between Sam and Fiona on who Michael’s best backup is. Sure, we’ve seen some minor competition between the two of them in past, but nothing like in Bad Breaks. Fiona and Sam don’t concede any sort of truce–not even at the end. And their constant bantering back and forth adds some comic relief to a few iffy dramatic moments–ones where you’re wondering how Michael’s going to get himself out of this one.

The scenes inside the bank…Well, I’ve always enjoyed a good bad-guys-having-to-deal-with-gremlins/back-luck plot. That part I didn’t fault the show’s writers with. Because, as we all know, Michael Weston has some MacGuyver in him, so it wasn’t too much of stretch for him to come up with some nasty things to do to Prescott and his men. In fact, Prescott’s tampered-with gun was the icing on the cake. It allowed Michael to save Bly thereby creating an unexpected ally in him. The gesture, in fact, created a mutual respect, which was enough to bring Bly to Michael’s side. I could deal with that. It worked for me. However, I take issue with Paula’s apparent ignorance. How could she not connect the dots? She’s the assistant manager of a highly secure bank, surely she’d have been told to look out for such things? I guess the only defense to this possible flaw is that she let the search for love–her emotions–get in the way of her job.

At least, Fi and Sam didn’t let their emotions get the best of them. Sam was able to let his beer-goddess, Angela, go, and Fi was able to commit without question to the job of breaking Michael out. It was a wee bit exciting when she blew up Prescott’s getaway vehicle, too, which was, of course, a better use of her expertise than blowing a whole in the wall–heh, only Fi can blow something up while casually sipping on a latte. The explosion was enough to further convince Prescott’s team that Michael’s story was real.

Michael’s favor from Bly only returned more questions than answers. The bank account yielded very little beyond the number. Like Bly said, they have ways of investigating that many people are unaware of. I felt there were many questions here besides who’s the owner of the account? How have they hidden their identy so well? Why hide their identity? Then, there’s the matter of the account being monitored. “Like an electronic trip wire,” Bly had told Michael. So, who was monitoring the account? Do they suspect Michael Weston as the culprit prying into their affairs? And, if so, what are they going to do to him? One thing is for certain: Michael’s just opened up another fresh can of dangerous worms–probably ones that carry a lot of guns and who are bent on world domination.

Over all, Bad Breaks was a fresh break from previous episodes of this season. I thought it had the right mixture of action, drama and comedy.

Rating: 9.0