It has been a long time since Burn Notice was able to keep me on the edge of my seat the way “Brothers in Arms” did tonight. In addition to non-stop action, there were some character twists that I honestly didn’t see coming at all. I love it when a show is able to throw me for a loop like that.
The mission was fairly standard, but it most certainly didn’t unfold in the standard fashion. Burke wanted to penetrate a Russian holding facility so that they could rescue the prisoner, Sonia, that the Russians were holding there. Naturally the prison was impenetrable with only one way in or out, so Michael decided to go in and make them think that the CIA was about to raid their facility. When they gathered the girl to move out, then Michael and Co. could grab her up. Sounds simple enough. Except that nothing went according to plan. The Russian commander naturally didn’t believe Michael at first, but the Gang did what they do and made it look like some spy in Miami was a traitor and feeding the CIA information. Even after they convinced the Russian commander, the team was still faced with corrupt local cops; insufficient supplies and manpower; a small army of Russian agents; and a submarine full of Russians headed for them. So, ya know. Just another day at the office for Michael and Co. In the end, Burke made the ultimate sacrifice so that Michael, Sonia, Sam, and Jesse could get out.
I am most surprised by Burke. I’m not going to say that I like the guy, but I can say that I respect him. He’s been calculating and ruthless since we first met him, but it seems like we got a hint as to why. This Sonia person seems like she’s more than just some random hostage. I don’t know if she was his lover, his sister, or one of his team members that got captured on another mission. But whatever she was to Burke, he was willing to give up his life to save hers. Now I really want to know why he thought she was worth his sacrifice. The last scene between Burke and Michael was both cryptic and poignant. Burke knew what he was about to do, and the look on Michael’s face as he reali ed it too was powerful. Their farewell was wonderfully played. Kudos to Adrian Pasdar and Jeffrey Donovan for great work in that scene.
Burke’s actions here also gave Sam a new respect for him. Sam was obviously not pleased by how things went down in the last episode, and it’s a pretty safe bet that he didn’t trust Burke with Michael’s life either. However, after Burke so forcefully explained to Sam that he wasn’t going to leave Michael behind, Sam seemed to reali e that there was more to Burke than meets the eye. That’s not to say that Burke wasn’t a stone cold killer. He was. But he had more honor than Sam (or I) gave him credit for.
It seems that we are going to continue seeing more layers of Michael Westen. He’s had to do things that were distasteful to him in the past, but it seems that this current mission is pushing that envelope even farther. In an effort to force All Around Bad Guy to give them information, Burke sent Michael into his home. Michael was supposed to put a bullet in the All Around Bad Guy’s little girl if he didn’t give them Sonia’s location. In the voiceover, Michael said that sometimes you had to pretend to be a monster while working undercover in order to protect your cover and complete your mission. I suppose that’s true, but that line between cover and reality seems to be getting more and more blurred for Michael. What if the guy had still refused to give up the information? Would Michael have been willing to kill that little girl? Thankfully, the guy gave up the info, so Michael (and we) weren’t forced to answer that question. However, the time may come when Michael is faced with that same choice. What would he do in that situation? Before this season, I would’ve said Michael would never hurt an innocent person. Now, I’m not so sure.
Michael also spoke to Fiona for the first time since he rescued her from her kidnapper. It was a difficult, heartbreaking and necessary conversation. Fiona finally told Michael the truth. He broke her heart and left her life in shambles. She’s just trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces and move forward. Michael genuinely apologi ed for causing her that pain and told her that he was glad that she had someone in her life that could give her what she wanted. It’s just the tip of the iceberg of what these two really need to talk about, but it’s the first time since Michael made the deal that they’ve spoke about how they feel. Fiona dropped what she was doing (once again) to help Michael. When Maddie asked her why, she said she didn’t know, but that was a lie. She knows exactly why. It’s pretty obvious that Michael and Fiona still love each other. I don’t know what it’s going to take for them to find their way back to each other, but they need to.
Since most of the action took place with the boys in Cuba, we didn’t see a whole lot of Maddie and Fiona back in Miami. What we did see was Maddie convincing Fiona to help a spy start over. They let the Russian spy that they kidnapped go and gave him and his girlfriend a bus ticket to Iowa. Fiona seemed like she went along with what was obviously Maddie’s idea because she (Fiona) still believes that it’s possible for a spy to change. She still holds that hope, however small it is, that it’s possible. She was willing to give the Russian a second chance, so let’s hope she’ll do the same for Michael somewhere down the road.
This was yet another very solid episode. I cannot say enough how much I am loving the focus on character this season. Part of Burn Notice’s problem in the last couple of seasons was that it had gotten so big that the characters seemed to get lost in the shuffle. Bringing it back down to such a micro level has made all the difference. We’re on a break for the 4th of July, but when we come back maybe we can find out who this Sonia chick is and what Burke meant that she’s the key to everything. So what did y’all think of this week’s Burn Notice?
Burn Notice Season 7 Review “Brothers in Arms”
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