Incredibly, the USA network's claim to be "heating up the summer" just keeps getting more and more intense as far as Burn Notice is concerned. I've checked, the writers they list were there last year and the directors are the same; but, there must be a whole cadre of un-credited writing interns because just about the only resemblance of this years characters to last years is in name only! Michael is more goal oriented yet open minded, more intense but less "agitated," more single-minded but more open to help and suggestions. Sam is incredibly more assertive in his capabilities and is providing the "moral compass" for the whole cast – even the bad guys. Fiona has stopped being a "soap-box-opera" cliché and become a star in her own right; and even Madeline takes on a mission alone when Michael is unavailable. What has happened? The story lines are more robust. The normal two plots have become three and sometimes four being cut together. The pacing seems to have sped up to near dizzying heights with more chases, more explosions, more incidental characters, more convolutions and more locations. We likes it!
It's not giving anything away to say that in this episode the gang (sans Fiona who has her own problems) goes after a dirty guard who tried to have Fiona killed for some reason. And it doesn't take a genius to surmise, from Rebecca in the trailers, that Anson was behind it all and was probably in "clean up mode" using his new "padawan" to do it. Michael's spy-craft voice-over as she took Sam hostage, was sheer mastery when he compared "being taken hostage" with a "blind date," advising the captive to: "actively listen, stay positive and make a connection." We would have been surprised if the attempts against Fiona's life in prison HAD stopped. And, what's not to like about Madeline taking on an assignment in Michaels absence and Fiona getting a new friend to trust her?
