Burn Notice Review: And Things Just Got Complicated

On this week’s episode of Burn Notice, our man Mike gets a new friend. Well, several actually, and by friend of course I mean people trying to kill him, destroy him, torture, maim, quarter and otherwise ruin his perfectly complicated- but works for him- life. Let’s see, we have two hackers, a thief, a con artist, and a group of innocent teachers stuck in between; also an episode of international intrigue, the lines between work and pleasure, and the murder of an unexpected ally which puts Michael back at the top of the government’s hit list. So, with that being said, let’s get started…

We start off this week with Mike at a shindig with his government assigned partner Max. The two are watching over this Swedish scientist by the name of Günter. Apparently Günter is about to be robbed of some very important information stored on a drive at his side. Instead of stopping the heist, their assignment is to find and tag the person who makes a move to steal the files. While they’re waiting, Mike asks Max if he had a chance to read the file that Mike gave him, about the inconsistencies of the file on the people who burned him. Mike has a bunch of questions that never got answered and he’s looking for a nod from Max to continue. Max tells Mike that he’s already won against the people who burned him and that he really needs to let it go and move on. Passion’s one thing, but being obsessed with these people is really starting to make Mike look bad.

That subject done, they settle down to watch. Before too long a guy comes up and bam, switches the files; Mike follows him and pretending to be a belligerent drunk plants a quarter with a tracking system in the guy’s tux. Job done, Mike and Max make their exit by way of event security who tosses them out and into a back alley like yesterday’s trash.

Back at home, Mike and Fi are working on the charger when Fi asks Mike about what Max said about the people who burned him. Mike reluctantly tells her Max’s advice to let it go, advice which Mike intends to follow and this immediately puts Fi in a chipper mood. This mood is drenched when Madelyn comes by and tells them that Barry, accomplished hacker and all around wise guy, is there with his brother who’s in need of a little help. Mike bails out on the meeting telling Fi that he needs to meet Max (these government callings are coming at a most convenient time for Mr. Westen) and so Fi goes off to meet them alone.

Meet Paul: Barry’s brother is in major trouble. It seems he is the head of the teacher’s credit union and somehow someone has used Barry’s information to steal the access codes for the account. The theft of the security encrypted codes means that in a matter of days a whole lot of teachers could be out of their life savings and Paul will be in a whole world of trouble. Fi accepts the job and then moves on to a swanky hotel to try and recruit Sam. Sam is living in the lap of luxury, back to his playboy days he’s coupled up with a rich sugar mama and is content spending his days prepping for and primping for her. Sam declines the assignment stating his girlfriend is about to come back in town. It’s only when Fiona threatens to get a little too friendly with him in front of the hired help that Sam agrees to take up the mission.

Looking into the employee base of the school, they manage to track down a new employee hired just shortly before the heist, and grabbing Jesse the three show up at the home of Griffin Cale, guest star WWE’s The Big Show. There’s no real reason for The Big Show to be in this episode, they have it right that his size is imposing but putting him on the screen for two minutes in a role that does not use his size to an advantage is nothing less than a complete waste. This role could have easily been played by a smaller man, and if the differences are really that trivial, why bother. I would have loved if they used Big Show more, and gave him more of a character, because here he’s little more than an extra and that’s a shame to waste potential. But anyway, Sam and Jesse try to get info out of Cale on who hired him to steal the information. Of course, he’s not giving that information out easily so the three get into a major fight which is only stopped when Fi shoots Cale in the gonads with a bean bag gun. As expected, that takes him down, and ripens him for questioning. Cale tells them that not only did Eve, a computer hacker, pay him to steal the drive; he also stole ten computers for her. The gang figures out that she is setting up a super computer in order to crack the drive. The three manage to convince Cale to set up a meeting for them with Eve. Their plan is to hire Eve to crack a file, and then track her down digitally to find her physical location. But to do that, they’ll need some government help.

And speaking of government affairs, it seems that the agency behind the theft of the Swedish information is none other than the French government. Mike and Max did such a great job tracking the thief that the government now wants them to sneak to where the drive is being housed and copy it without being noticed and spike an international incident. Because the building has a super powerful security system that works off of heat sensors, Mike and Max decide to blow the AC, making the building a decidedly uncomfortable 99 degrees on the inside, just perfect to sneak two 98.6 degreed males in. While blowing the AC, Mike asks Max for a little help with his side mission currently headed by Fi and Sam. Mike wants Max to use his resources to track Eve for them, Max seems reluctant telling Mike that he could get in a whole lot of trouble for this but then he relents and tells Mike that he’ll do it under one condition: that Michael go no where near that address. As Mike’s on the fast track of being reinstated in the government, his appearance at Eve’s location would involve the government in this little scheme. And Max is not having that. Mike is grateful for his help and says that he’s sorry he had to involve Max in this. Max tells Mike that it’s no problem and he should feel free to ask him anytime although his answer may not be yes. I love this scene, and the two of them have awesome chemistry. Give me more of this side of Max working with Michael. Anyway, Max and Michael pose as AC repair men and are let into the building where they proceed to download the file. Mission completed.

Mike meets with Eve and posing as a small time thief hires Eve to hack the file which is being watched by Max at the government. Doing that they find Eve’s loft where Sam, Fi, and Jesse break in but find no drive. Disappointed but determined, Jesse takes the shredded papers from Eve’s trash can hoping to get more information and they get out of there. It’s a good thing that Jesse went dumpster diving, because through the shredded papers the gang knows that she’s been texting Dean Myers, the mastermind behind the teacher scam. They also learn that Eve is almost done decoding the file, so the gang needs to hurry up if they’re going to save the teacher’s funds. The new plan: hire Eve to decode another server assuming she uses the same supercomputer to crack both codes; this will put the gang in easy access to take out and destroy the whole system. The team set it up and when Mike heads out to join Eve in decoding the server Eve drugs Mike, she’s found out the account used to pay her is completely bogus. Mike’s in trouble, and while Eve is torturing him with asphyxiation Mike tells her that he was hired by Myers to steal the file which would then stiff Eve on payment. Eve is furious and at first she wants to kill Mike but then he convinces her to use him to get back at Myers. Once Myers comes to pick up the drive Mike and his crew can take care of Myers’ men allowing Eve to escape with the money and the teacher’s accounts. Everything works out according to plan, Myers shows up and Eve’s too furious with him to listen to his denials of even knowing Mike; Sam, Jesse, and Fi load up the computers and money into Eve’s truck so she can make her final getaway. But unbeknownst to Eve, Fi also plants a bomb in the truck, which she then blows up much to Eve’s dismay. So, Mike, Jesse, Sam, and Fi make their escape leaving a hog tied Eve and Myers at the mercy of the oncoming police.

At the end of the episode, Mike has to attend a debriefing on the French job; he uses his newly acquired (temporary) government card and enters the building where he finds a gun on the ground and Max lying on the floor with a shot to the chest. Mike asks Mike who did this to him, but Max just tells Mike to tell his wife good-bye and then in Mike’s arms he dies. That totally sucks. Mike picks up the gun and searches around for the person who killed Max, there’s an indistinct figure who shoots at Mike. Mike shoots back, but the person makes their escape leaving Mike alone with his fingers all over the murder weapon and the police on their way. To cover his tracks, Mike quickly wipes down the door and swipes the access log before he heads to the roof and repels down where Fi is waiting, the two make their escape.

The two meet Sam where they talk about someone’s attempt to frame Mike for Max’s murder. Knowing that this kind of thing takes time to plan, they dismiss the idea that this had anything to do with tracking down Eve’s case. Someone was working on this for a while; but who and why? Sam and Fi tell Mike that they need to work on getting him an alibi, but Mike seems troubled by Max’s last words meant for his wife. Sam snaps Mike back into the game and the three set off on how to save Mike from the government’s crosshairs.

Overall this was a very successful episode of Burn Notice. And though it totally SUCKS to see Max show he has a heart in the same episode that he is killed, I have to say it’s a very effective and rude awakening that everything won’t be smooth sailing ahead. Mike still has enemies out there and they won’t be letting go. It might be a small relief to Michael to see that he wasn’t crazy or paranoid trying to find out more about those who burned him. This goes to show that there’s a lot more that he doesn’t know and someone is willing to kill to protect their secret and completely discredit Michael Westen. I tend to think that Michael has the answers right in front of him; that the report that he handed to Max has something too close to the truth and that’s why Max was killed and Mike is now wanted. But conspiracy theories aside, all of this will be answered over time…

Next week on Burn Notice: Mike and team set out to clear Michael’s name and find Max’s real killer.

Season 5, Episode 4: “No Good Deed” (original airdate July 14, 2011)

Burn Notice airs Thursdays at 9/8c on USA Network.

Photos courtesy of Virginia Sherwood/USA Network.