Burn Notice – Episode 3-16 Review

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“My name is Michael Westen. I used to be a spy. Until…” sometime in June 2010!! Well folks, last night’s episode of  <Burn Notice> was the last one of the 3rd season, and now you and I have at least 3 months until the premiere of the 4th season. I don’t know about you guys and gals, but all I can say is “Grr!” I really don’t want to wait 3 months to see where the show goes from here. I’ve heard rumblings that some portion of season 4 will take place in South America, and that (if it’s true), could be an awesome backdrop for a story arc. But since my name is not Matt Nix, and I have a love/hate relationship with spoilers, that’s all I’m going to say on the subject of next season…for the moment anyway.  The only thing that can ease my withdrawals until the June premiere date is my DVR box and all the season 3 episodes…and the season 3 DVD (whenever it’s released). Anyways…time for the recap:

Basic premise: Michael is confronted by an escaped criminal who committed the crimes that resulted in his (Michael’s) burn notice. The irony is that he wants Michael’s help to lure “Management” (played once again by the always awesome to see John Mahoney of <Frasier> and Pretty in Pink fame) to Miami, so that he (Simon) can confront Management and receive full credit for the acts he committed…or else he’ll detonate a bomb in a local Miami hotel. With the FBI searching him, Michael has to find a way to sneak into his loft, contact Management and get them to Miami, all while hoping that Sam and Fi can find the bomb in time and deactivate it before it blows up. Obviously, he succeeds in getting Management to Miami, by informing them of what Simon’s endgame is, and offering to help bring him down. Sam and Fi find the bomb maker, get the location out of him, and (somewhat) safely deactivate it. Meanwhile, Maddy has been taken into custody by the FBI, who proceed to interrogate her about Michael and his possible location. Of course, Maddy doesn’t give them anything, except a couple hard slaps to the face at the end of the episode. In the end, Maddy is released from FBI custody with no charges (as she had been threatened with earlier in the episode), Michael and Simon are arrested, Sam and Fi are left to wonder what;s happening with Michael, Simon is sent to a heavily secured facility, and (after having a black bag removed from his head) Michael finds himself in a very nice office/study.

This whole season has revolved around the aftermath of the season 2 finale, when Michael turned down “Management’s” offer after Carla’s position was…hmm, I’ll say…vacated. Along the way, Michael encountered a few obstacles in his path for independence. First it was Miami-Dade Police’s Det. Paxson. Then it was Tom Strickler (who I still love watch getting shot after Michael delivered his “Fiona is not my past” line). Then came Gilroy, whose brief appearance seemed more of a fizzle than anything. The thing about Gilroy, is that his character was made out to be this top class spy/assassin, and all he was used for (really) was to setup the season finale for an even worse villain. Which brings me to Simon. So, last night we finally met Simon (played by Garret Dillahunt), the “black flight” criminal that Gilroy was paid to help escape (only to be shot and blown up by). I have a problem here. Simon was made out to be a supreme bad guy, but he only lasted 1 episode. I mean, come on. We get all this build up for the season finale about this character, he appears, and he’s gone. While the episode itself was awesome, that whole Simon storyline was a bit of a fizzle. If it were me, I would have given Simon a several episode storyline, so that his character could be developed a bit more. Maybe some more backstory info on who he was and why he was who he was. Even fan-fave villain Victor got more character development in 1 episode than Simon did in his 1 episode. Was the episode, as a whole, a fizzle? Absolutely not…just the Simon storyline. Can I wait until June for season 4? As far as I’m concerned, it needs to be June now!! In the end though, I’ll settle for season 3 on DVD whenever it comes out. Until then <Burn Notice> fans…get your <Burn Notice> fix any which way you can.