Contributor: John Keegan
On recent episodes of The Critical Myth Podcast, we’ve been discussing our disappointment with the fifth season as a whole, and specifically, how poorly the writers have used Anson as an antagonist. Not only is the threat that he poses a bit obtuse, but it’s never been clear why Michael wouldn’t just take him out or expose him. He just doesn’t seem like a viable threat.
This episode might have provided a bit of course correction. Perhaps not enough to convince me (or other jaded fans) that the writers are actually going to deliver a change to the status quo and break formula, but this finally made Anson’s threat level seem a bit more justified. I still think Michael could take him out and manage the aftermath with minimal fuss, but I’m beginning to accept that Anson’s head games would keep Michael from recognizing that fact.
It’s good to see Anson actually conduct those mind games, and demonstrate why his skills would be ideally suited to running an organization like the one that burned Michael (and now Sam, in terms of the FBI). Of course, I still felt like there was something missing, and it took a bit of time following the episode for it to become apparent.
In essence, we’ve seen this character before. Not necessarily on “Burn Notice”, though there have been examples of highly manipulative enemies in the past. The character that Anson appears designed to emulate is Ben Linus, the master of manipulation and survival from “Lost”. The problem is that Ben Linus was so damn effective at playing the mastermind that Anson feels like an understudy in comparison.
It’s likely that Anson was using the whole pretext of riding along with Michael to gain an understanding of him as a ruse. It’s far more likely that he just wanted to use the opportunity to sink his hooks in even further, while twisting Michael’s head around the entire time. But that’s the problem: Michael should have seen it coming. Anson’s just not that sneaky about his intentions. I felt like there was a layer missing from Anson’s scheme, that one thing that would sell me on the notion that he was firmly in control.
I was also a bit disappointed in the return of Beatriz. I never really bought the notion that Sam was taking her under his wing in “The Fall of Sam Axe”, and this episode wasn’t any more convincing. As a result, her role as the catalyst in this scenario just didn’t work for me. I realize that the entire premise was to demonstrate how well Anson could set up a situation to his benefit, without Michael even seeing how the pieces were arranged on the board, but Beatriz’ return is so unusual that one would think it would be more notable for Team Westen.
At the end of the day, herein lies the problem: for the audience to buy the idea that Anson is the ultimate manipulative mastermind, we need to see him being that devious on a consistent basis. This is the first episode where he hasn’t come barreling into a meeting with Michael with his intentions on his sleeve. Even in this case, though, he comes right out and reveals how clever he is right to Michael’s face. Either Anson has been playing towards some endgame, something so close to coming to fruition that he no longer feels like discretion is required, or he’s convinced that he’s so good that he can play with his victims without consequence. As fun as it was to see him twist Michael around in this episode, I don’t know that either explanation will make sense in the end.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4
Final Rating: 7/10
