Agent Olivia (Dunham, umm no) Riley
is pursuing Mike with more hatred thought possible of a human being. In the
last few episodes, we have seen Sonja Sohn (Body of Proof) scream orders into a
walkie talkie with a voice faster than an auctioneer. Sonja Sohn was perfectly
cast as Riley and is fun to watch. My first thought when I watched this episode
was, “She’s just doing her job. How can you blame her? Mike would do the same
thing in her position.” I immediately thought of (DEXTER SPOILER ALERT) the
recently deceased Captain Laguerta of Showtime’s Dexter. They are both major
pains for our protagonists, extremely determined, but also with good intentions.
Laguerta wants to catch the real Bay Harbor Butcher and clear her ex’s name.
Riley simply wants to catch the murderer of a decorated CIA official. My
thoughts on Riley were changed drastically in the episode. I won’t say exactly
what it is, but Riley crosses the line in a big way. Good intentioned no more; Olivia
Riley is just as bad as Tom Card.
Speaking of bad people, Michael Westen
isn’t exactly in the clear. Last we saw him, Mike found a note from someone
wanting to meet. That someone, we will learn, is CSS agent Jason Bly. Bly wants
to offer Mike a deal, but there is no way to sugar coat it. Even as vague as
the offer is, you can tell that it doesn’t end up nice for anyone. As Bly puts it, his deal is the, “Last, best,
and only deal you’re going to get.” But, I’ll leave the rest of Bly’s story to
everyone on Thursday night.
I do want to talk a little about
how Michael Westen has changed the last few seasons. When we first met him, all
Michael cared about was getting back to the CIA. Then, he gets back and just
wants out. Now he’s more than out, and… what now? The problem Westen has is
setting a limit. It’s like Walter on Fringe
not setting himself any boundaries in the lab. Michael has lost countless
friends and even his brother to this entire situation over the last 6 seasons
and still does not know his limits. All this time, Michael has had 3 people who
always remain loyal to him; Sam, Fiona, and his Mom. Throw Jesse into the mix
and you have 4 musketeers for Michael. As has been teased throughout the
season, Michael is going to continue to put those people directly in the line
of fire. If we were to see a figurative translation of what Mike has done the
last few seasons, we would see him cowering in the corner while his Mom,
girlfriend, and 2 best friends do all the talking (and shooting). This is a major part of the
season finale and leads one of the most beloved Burn Notice characters to a
slippery slope.
Favorite Quotes of the Episode
“Mr. Porter is a clever one.” – Olivia Riley
“Come on Campbell.” – Sam Axe (Which is ironic considering the the actor who plays Sam is named Bruce Campbell)
“He owes me $20.” – Jesse Porter
“Who uses a phonebook these days? You guys don’t have internet?” – Jesse Porter
"Did you take pictures?" - Sam Axe
“This ends now!” – Michael Westen (Seriously Mike, how many times have you said that?)
Action: 10/10
Plausibility: 6/10
Writing: 10/10
Overall: 8.7/10
The Burn Notice season finale airs on December 20th at 9/8c on USA Network. After you watch, be sure to come
back to this page to let everyone know what you thought.
