Contributor: Henry T.
Written by Alfredo Barrios, Jr.
Directed by Tawnia McKiernan
I think “Burn Notice” is getting stronger after each episode. That’s an ironic statement because we’re getting close to the Fall break, which just means the show is going to end with some cliffhanger. There is, as usual, slow progress on the search for Max’s killer, though the episode heightens the stakes by getting Pearce almost as close as Michael does. Again, it’s up to the Case of the Week in order to keep my interest in the episode and it does a good job, although it stretches the credibility of Michael’s opponents by making them dumber and dumber each time they kept Michael alive.
This episode reminded me of another hostage-taking episode of “Burn Notice” from a couple of seasons ago, where Michael was trapped in a bank and had to fight and outsmart his way out. That was roundly considered to be one of “Burn Notice”‘s best episodes and this one doesn’t live up to that one’s reputation, but I still liked this one. You get Michael T. Weiss as the chief criminal, Holcomb, following last episode’s turn with Patrick Bauchau. It’s like a “Pretender” reunion! I’m expecting Miss Parker to show up next week (maybe as Max’s wife?)
He’s dangerous enough, until Michael gets involved and messes up his plans. Michael is the lead in the series and no one is going to outsmart him, but there was a bit of time there when I thought Michael might not get out of the situation unscathed. If Holcomb or one of his henchmen had pulled the trigger on Michael, the plan is kaput. Ultimately, it all works out, though I still find it funny that the police have no idea who Michael is whenever he calls in with a tip! Why would he do the weird thing of being there to make sure the police get Holcomb at the end? Moving on…
Michael does find out the name of Max’s killer and is now off to the races to get to him before Pearce does. He doesn’t have much time because Pearce is just about a step behind him, looking into how Lucien fits with the whole operation. Like with Holcomb, the longer Michael evades Pearce, the stupider she looks. I suspect the cliffhanger for the Fall break will be that he has the killer in his clutches and Pearce catches him red-handed. The story’s got to go somewhere after this. The cat-and-mouse game seems a little too convenient for Michael to circumvent.
This is especially true since, for some reason, Sam and Fiona and Jesse prove much more useful to the investigation than any of Pearce’s cronies would be. That needs to change, and soon. I still like the show and wonder where it’s going next, though I have reservations that they can stick the landing.
Grade: 8/10
