Contributor: Edmund B.
Written by Michael Horowitz and Jason Tracey
Directed by Stephen Surjik and Ron Underwood
USA Network made sure we knew “Burn Notice” was returning with a two-hour premiere, blanketing the airwaves with promos. Well, actually, it was two regular episodes back-to-back, so the end of the Tom Card era has to ride shotgun with a case of the week involving Ayn, Fiona’s bestie from prison. Not quite the event USA was hyping, but they do take care of business from the first half and set the stage for the final run to what we now know is a season, not series, finale.
The first episode covers the team’s escape from Panama. Despite the claims they were going to be more serialized this season, the show still never extends a story much past two episodes. The plan to steal a drug runner’s DC-3 (always a treat to see that old warbird still in action) goes south when Travis Gray makes a bid to escape, throwing him and Michael off the plane. What follows is one of the grittier torture scenes we’ve seen. Michael’s interrogations tend more towards the psychological; the stock psycho drug dealer goes all in with repeated cattle prods.
I don’t have a problem with Gray turning on Michael, since Card has told him Michael was Anson’s accomplice. My quibble is he turned back a little too quickly. Taking the dealer’s side until the rest showed up, and he saw that the loyalty runs both ways, would have felt less convenient, not to mention more suspenseful.
Meanwhile, Maddie again proves indispensable with some fancy footwork in Miami to clear the way for their flight home. She also delivers the strongest emotional punch in the second episode. Her scene with Michael, berating him for keeping her in the dark about Gray, is the prelude. The actual meeting with Gray is the gut punch. It’s a familiar scene, giving a killer the human face of his victim, but Sharon Gless makes it heart-rending. It’s hard to imagine the team, and the show, without her at its emotional core. With questions arising about whether filming will remain in Miami, I am hoping that her move to her sister’s might just be the prelude to a shift of locale for everyone.
Shoehorning Ayn into the second episode with a pretty standard client-of-the-week feels like giving short shrift to both her and Card. I complained in the first half about the show refusing to deviate from its formula, and this was another classic case. Between torching the loft, with all its memories and associations, and wrapping up the Card storyline, there was more than enough content to fill this episode.
Ayn’s story could have waited. Plus, having her find them after they’ve gone to ground would have really highlighted her bad-ass street smarts. The story itself had some nice twists, between the team’s reluctance to help a convicted murderer, however justified, and the bad cop, Garza, who’s not really that bad. Having to save Garza from suicide by ganster is not the expected outcome, but, again, could have stood on its own.
Ending Card’s story here, literally, is a surprise, too. But his attempt to manipulate Michael back into his fold couldn’t stand. I’m actually happy to be done with the Big Bads, given where they’ve gone lately with Anson and Card. It would seem they’ve brought Michael full circle. He’s sure to be burned again, having taken down his CIA handler. Only, this time he’s actually done what he’s accused of. It’s kind of an inverse reset button. They’re all back on the run, but this time they have prove to the CIA Michael was right to do it. It’s back to the simpler beginnings of the show, but, if they keep it entertaining, it still feels worth watching.
Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Directing: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Total Score: 7/10