Burn Notice TV Show - Terminated - Burn Notice Photos & Videos, Burn Notice Reviews & Burn Notice Recaps | TWoP

Aired 08-26-2010

Even while planning to grab evil CEO John Barrett and while Jesse is somewhere planning to kill him, Michael still has time to take on a job of the week. A high-powered defense attorney is about to lose a case, but the client's brother is so determined to prevent that that he takes the lawyer's five-year-old daughter hostage. The lawyer knows he can't get the bad guy off, so Michael has to come up with other plans. His idea of sneaking in with a submersible goes south when the lawyer blabs to the wrong person, so he comes up with plan B: trick the kidnapper into thinking his brother's been sprung. He, Sam and Fi stage a fake prison break for the kidnapper's benefit, and get the girl back before the bad guy finds out he's been tricked. Of course that's not going to be the end of the matter, but the hour's almost up, so it will be for Michael.

Which is good, because he's still got that Barrett thing to deal with, and his and Fi's overtures to Jesse have been soundly rebuffed. Michael sets up a meeting to supposedly hand over the Bible, but really to snatch Barrett. What he plans to do with him becomes moot, because everything blows up when Vaughn's guys show up and start shooting, even though Michael told Vaughn to stay out of it. Just when Barrett is ordering his men to grab Michael, Jesse shows up and puts a bullet through Michael -- but only to kill the guy who was grabbing him. Barrett still gets away with Michael, the Bible, and the code key. Michael realizes he's got to make a move before he bleeds out, and crashes the SUV they're in. Barrett doesn't appear to survive, and Michael barely does. And as for the code, it's collected from amid the road debris by a mysterious individual whose identity we won't learn until the show comes back in November (Jesse).

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After some previouslies reminding us that Jesse is on the warpath after learning that Michael burned him, Michael sits moping in Jesse's abandoned apartment in Madeline's garage. Fi's just finished checking the perimeter, and Madeline is back in town since Michael called her on her way to Tampa. Michael, looking a little shell-shocked, says the plan doesn't change: they still need to grab Barrett and grill him. What could be easier, besides everything? Fi reminds Michael that Jesse might be a priority, what with him wanting to shoot Michael and all, but Michael back-burners that issue since there's nothing they can do about it anyway. Except that Madeline's going to stick around to try to talk Jesse down. Michael and Fi head out to meet Sam.

Sam leads them to the fence outside a mansion crawling with armed guards, Barrett's digs for this Miami visit. Of course all these high-security compounds are always surrounded by a thick layer of jungle growth to provide plenty of hiding places for the people who are always about to burst in. Sam and Fi will be covering Michael while he goes in, VOing about the Native American practice of "counting coup" and how it's similar to infiltrating someone's security. Which he does by entering the perimeter, blinding a guard with a flashgun, disarming him, sitting on him, and grabbing his walkie-talkie to announce his presence and his wish to talk to Barrett

Inside the house, a guard hands a walkie-talkie to "John Barrett -- International Power Player" so he and Michael can banter for a bit. Michael says he wants to be taken seriously, and Barrett's taking him seriously enough that he's got ten guys pointing their weapons at him. Stellar plan, Michael. Michael sets a meeting for Tuesday about the Bible, and in return, he just wants to talk about their future together. "You could really use some new staff," he snarks. Always a good idea to make fun of ten people aiming guns at you.

day, after the credits, Michael is updating "Vaughn -- Michael's 'Partner.'" Vaughn's impressed with Michael's progress, but is a little worried about Jesse, and very determined that Barrett's not going to get away after all the work they've done to put a stop to his evil activities. "Understood," says Michael, rather than, "don't you mean all the work I've done?"

Back at the Carlito, Michael is telling Fi and Sam that he has no intention of handing Barrett over to Vaughn, but rather using him as a bargaining chip to get Jesse back in. Yeah, that'll be great. It's not like Barrett's a fugitive from justice or the subject of a multistate manhunt or anything. What does Michael plan to do, call Lane and Harris and tell them, "Here, this powerful multinational CEO is a really bad guy, trust us and the psychopath named Simon who really committed all the crimes I'm accused of. Can Jesse have his job back now?" Just then a young guy in a suit walks up, tosses an envelope of cash onto the table, and tells Michael that Adam Scott wants to talk to him. Sam exposits that Scott is a high-powered defense attorney here in town. Michael tries to beg off, but the news that Scott's five-year-old daughter has been kidnapped -- combined with Fi's expectant look at Michael -- changes his mind in a hurry.

By M. Giant

We catch up to Michael in the library of Danny Pino from Cold Case, who's looking kind of scruffy as he tells Michael that one of his clients' brothers took the kid and threatened to kill her if he loses the case. Which Scott says he will, no matter what. After going back and forth, Michael tells Scott to set up a meeting with the kidnapper. "You'll help me then?" Scott says hopefully. "No, I'll help her," Michael says, looking down at the framed photo in his hand of Scott and his daughter, "Becky -- The Client." Bad move, Michael -- Becky is not

going to be able to pay you nearly as much.

Michael and Scott meet the kidnapper, played by Michael Rooker, who shows Scott a cell phone photo of his daughter and says they might both lose someone. "I'm just a devoted family man like yourself," says "Dale Lawson -- Devoted Family Man." They're about to start arguing, but Michael interjects, introducing himself as Joseph and telling Dale that he doesn't need a layer to get his brother out of jail: "You need a miracle worker. That's what I am." Dale asks for more info, but all Michael gives him is a scrap of paper with "Joseph"'s phone number. He and Scott walk out, and Michael explains to Scott that the idea is to make Dale curious about him, which will make Dale put a tail on Michael, a tail Michael can then backtrace to Scott's daughter. Scott isn't too confident, but Michael says they should part ways because they're probably already being watched. Which may or may not be true, but Michael clearly doesn't want to spend any more time coddling this guy right now.

Sam is at the loft, drinking his product-placed low-cal beer while using a big map to track the movements of the kidnapper's auto fleet. One circuitous route leads all the way out to a key, which seems like a likely spot to stash a kidnap victim. Michael notices Fi's conspicuous absence, and Sam explains that she's out trying to follow up on their Jesse-sighting. Although clearly disturbed, Michael gets back on task, but since an approach by boat or car is too exposed, they'll have to think of something else. What are they going to do, borrow a submarine?

Michael reports back to Scott, who's ready to move in already, but Michael says they need to do this quietly. "I need you to call one of your drug cartel clients and ask to borrow one of their submersible vehicles they use to bring in cocaine." Hey, I could totally be a spy! Scott lamely protests his clients' innocence, but Michael reminds him, "Your daughter's life is at stake." Oh, yeah, that.

thing we know, Sam and Fi are taking delivery of a black, torpedo-shaped craft on a trailer from a tattooed thug. "Do we need to sign anything, or...So, the keys are in it?" Sam asks the thug's retreating back. Oh, and where's Michael? Meeting with Vaughn.

Michael is insisting to Vaughn that he's going to control the snatch and grab of Barrett, but Vaughn is resistant, not least because Jesse has turned up in a hotel in Hialeah under a fake name. Michael smoothly asks Vaughn for the info to pick him up for the operation, and Vaughn hands it right over. That went almost too well, except for the almost part.

Michael tells Fi about it, and Fi confesses to Michael how she and Jesse kissed on the last job. Michael isn't about to make an issue of it, but Fi can't let well enough alone, going on about confusing feelings, and how she thinks that she hurt Jesse even more than Michael did. Which she thinks means she should be the one to approach him. Michael isn't sure about that, but Fi says, "I'll bring your mom." She figures Jesse will be more scared of Madeline than of Fi, which may actually be valid. "Now go save that girl, Michael," Fi says. Michael goes to save the girl.

Michael VOs about how defending a spot is all about allocating resources, so if you plan to sneak into a stronghold, you're best off using a least likely approach. As he climbs out of the ocean onto the back yard of the private island where the safehouse sits, assault rifle at the ready, he VOs that it's dependent on surprise, so the only way it can go wrong is if someone knows you're coming. Cue every armed guy in the island converging on him. Michael surrenders, and out comes Dale, who got the scoop from tapping Scott's ex-wife's phone. He hands Michael a little device with a digital video clip of Becky begging to go home and tells him to take it back to Scott, and tell him that the only way he gets Becky back is if Dale's brother gets sprung. Michael says that there isn't going to be a not guilty verdict, "but there are other ways of keeping him out of prison...Like I said, I'm a miracle worker." "Okay, show me a miracle," Dale dares. We just get shown commercials, which is kind of a rip-off.

Michael and Sam go back to Scott and yell at him for blabbing. Fortunately, as always, they have a plan B: make Dale think his brother is free long enough to trick him into releasing Becky. They'll take their shot during the brother's prisoner transfer. All they need from Scott is a lot of money and some backup from his criminal buddies. I'd hate to think how Michael would handle this if the client was just some broke dude with no friends.

Fi and Madeline are waiting around for Jesse at his motel when he shows up behind them, wondering what they want. Madeline gets all angry-mom on him, and offers, "If you don't like what she has to say, shoot her." Sounds good to me. Jesse takes them up on it. Fi tells Jesse that his burning was an accident, and they lied to Jesse for his own protection. They really need to stop selling him that line; they lied to him to keep him from killing Michael. Surely Jesse would understand that. Fi goes on to say that now they need Jesse's help getting Barrett. Jesse's all in a high dudgeon of righteous indignation, so Fi tells Jesse that she originally fell in love with not Michael but his cover ID, and Sam used to snitch on Michael to the FBI. "We've all forgiven each other," she says. Except for her and Sam, who still hate each other. But Jesse's not ready to grow up. Fi tells Jesse where to find Michael later, and walks off, leaving Jesse alone with Madeline. Who tells Jesse that this little snit of his is beneath him. "If you're gonna kill my son, just do me a favor and wait a couple days, because he's trying to save a little girl's life." Oh, sure, the old "trying to save a little girl's life" card. That one never wears out.

A guy with a neck tattoo, who was sent over by Scott, presents himself to Michael and Sam. He'll be the one driving the van he just arrived in, while wearing a prison guard's uniform. "Not to state the obvious, Mike," Sam remarks to Michael, "but if Jesse were here we wouldn't have to work with a guy with a neck tattoo." Sam and Michael get to work dummying up the van to look like a prison van to go with the fake prison guard. "Now we just need a fake prisoner," Sam says to Michael. "Fi's' working on it," Michael says.

Fi drives over to that same nightclub and backs into one of the cars. When the guard comes over, Fi pops out with a gun on her and makes him get in the trunk. As if stomping on his foot wasn't bad enough, and it's going to get worse for him. Because over at the loft, they've got him bound, gagged, bald, wearing a prison jumpsuit, and covered with fake blood. And then sedated. The last of which is probably the best thing that happens to him all episode.

Cut to Michael and Dale watching Dale's real brother getting loaded into a real prison van. Michael doesn't give Dale many details about how this is going to go down, preferring to insist the girl gets delivered to the meeting spot. They follow along with the van on the street over. Meanwhile, the fake prison guard activates one of those traffic control devices that messes with stoplights. And while Michael and Dale are out of sight of the real prison van, which is stopped at a red light, the fake one pulls into traffic and takes its place. Nice timing on the neck-tattoo guy, there. After they catch up with the fake van, Michael pulls the car over to watch from a distance while he VOs about spies and magicians using the some of the same illusionist techniques. It's all very interesting, but what you need to know is that while parked on a cross street in an SUV with Sam, Fi activates a remote detonator under the fake van, making it roll over. Then he and Fi rush to the van with guns, "force" the "guard" out, and "make" him release Dale's "brother." Dale watches them drive off, and hearing the sirens, Michael says it's time to go.

They all go to an abandoned construction site, and Dale makes a call telling someone to "bring her on in." A car drives onto the site, and out get a couple of goons and Becky. Michael goes to scoop her up while Sam and Fi toss the keys to the SUV on the ground for Dale. Michael keeps on walking with Becky, asking her if she likes fireworks and telling her to close her eyes. "They're gonna get real loud." So closing her eyes will help. Sure enough, Dale kicks off the pyrotechnics by sending up a howl of fury upon finding his non-brother in the truck. Sam and Fi, who positioned themselves behind Dale's goons rather then actually leaving, club them to the ground from behind and exchange a little gunfire with Dale before getting away clean.

Michael returns Becky to Scott, and warns him that this isn't over. Scott says that Becky has a flight out of the country to take to get to her mom, and Scott has plans to deal with Dale, although he doesn't get into detail. He's about to write Michael a check, but Michael says he'll just keep the submersible and Scott can cover the cost of that. Scott's fine with that, but he's a little curious about what Michael wants it for. "That's my business," Michael says. Yeah, and the submersible worked out so great the first time.

Michael's sitting up late at a diner waiting for Jesse, who finally comes in and sits down. "Sorry I'm late," Jesse says matter-of-factly. "I've was sitting in my car for the last ten minutes with your head in the crosshairs of my rifle." "And?" Michael says. "Still thinking," Jesse says. Although he doesn't seem to be holding a rifle any more. Michael skips the apologies and says they need Jesse to get Barrett. And maybe get Jesse his old job back in at the same time. Jesse talks all woundedly about trust and friends, and Michael says he is Jesse's friend and always will be. "I'm here because this is your investigation too." He adds that Barrett expects Jesse there, and Michael needs him too. Jesse tells him to go ahead and have his meeting, but makes no promises.

Michael returns to the loft to report that Jesse isn't going to shoot him, yet, but he's not up for the Barrett meeting. Sam goes over the plan, which is a little weak because they're shorthanded. Michael insists it's this, "or we give up and go home." And if that never happens at the beginning of the episode, it's not about to happen this late on.

While Michael waits on a small, barren island, with the accursed submersible anchored nearby and Fi and Sam setting up to cover him in a sniper nest a mere ten miles away or so, Michael VOs about the important balance between resources and secrecy. "You can only bring as much manpower and equipment as you can conceal." And it's not like he can marshal more than Sam and Fi anyway. Here comes Barrett's motorcade of Escalades across the one bridge to the island, and Michael VOs, "If the circumstances don't offer much cover, an extraction can get very risky, and very, very lonely." Especially when you have to wait through another bunch of ads before it even goes down.

After the break, Barrett's SUV is the only one that actually approaches Michael. He and two goons get out with him to meet Michael, who's standing there holding Simon's Bible. Barrett reaches for it, but Michael says he's looking for work. "And when I say work," Michael clarifies, :I'm not talking about joining the black t-shirts and sunglasses squad -- no offense." Barrett agrees that he could use someone like Michael, and Michael hands him the Bible. Barrett hands it off to a goon, who squats down with some kind of code key in a briefcase that Barrett brought along and verifies that the Bible is the real deal. Michael asks Barrett about the Bible. Barrett explains that the people who burned Michael and Simon are in place all over, in every walk of life. "And if you know who they are, you can see the possibilities." In other words, he plans to use the Bible to wipe out Vaughn's organization. He goes on to say that Simon compiled the list to cover his ass, encrypted it for security, and needed Barrett to use it if necessary. Just then Barrett gets a cell phone call. "Where? How many?" he asks. That doesn't sound good. Indeed, Barrett is pissed at Michael for trying to screw him over. Did Fi and Sam get spotted? No, here comes a whole new motorcade. Must be Vaughn's men. I guess Vaughn didn't get the message to stay clear. They jump out and start exchanging gunfire on the bridge with Barrett's private army. Barrett orders the two goons with him to take Michael, while Sam and Fi watch helplessly from their distant perch. Great backup, there, guys. But no sooner does one of Barrett's goons have his arm around Michael's throat from behind than a stray bullet pierces Michael's shoulder, proceeding on through the goon's heart. The man drops, apparently dead, and Michael sinks to his knees as well.

By M. Giant

But it wasn't a stray bullet after all, as we see when Jesse breaks cover with a gun of his own. Well, looky who showed up. Also, nice job vetting the site, guys. "Shooting through a friendly to hit a target is a tricky thing to pull off," Michael VOs. "There are only a few places in the body that can take a bullet without severing a major artery or destroying a vital organ." Awfully generous of Michael to cut that much slack for a guy who just shot him. Well, I guess Jesse did give him fair warning. Jesse ends up in a firefight with the other goon while Barrett grabs the case, hauls the wounded Michael into his SUV, and drives off, blowing right through the gunfight. "Who do you work for?" Barrett screams at Michael, gun in his face. Michael claims to be self-employed. His boss is really a hard-ass, then. I think Michael needs a union. Michael VOs about how you only have so much time when you're losing this much blood, so you better make your move quick, even if it's desperate. And so he grabs the wheel and yanks it. The SUV rolls over on Barrett's side. Michael crawls out of the wreckage, but Barrett's still inside, bleeding from the face and staring up at nothing, apparently dead. Good luck getting Jesse back in with leverage from a cooling corpse, Michael. The crash and the blood loss have taken their toll on Michael, leaving him lying helpless on the pavement. All he can see is Barrett's case on the road where it fell out a few dozen yards behind. And then a pair of black boots walks up to the case, and their owner picks it up. The end. No clue on who retrieved it, so I guess we'll just have to wait until November to find out it was Jesse.

By M. Giant

M. Giant is a Minneapolis-based writer with a wife, a son, and a number of cats that seems to have settled at around two. Learn waaaay too much about him at Velcrometer, or just e-mail him at m.giant[at]gmail.com.

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Burn Notice TV Show - Terminated - Burn Notice Photos &amp; Videos, Burn Notice Reviews &amp; Burn Notice Recaps | TWoP

Burn Notice TV Show - Terminated - Burn Notice Photos & Videos, Burn Notice Reviews & Burn Notice Recaps | TWoP