'Burn Notice' recap: Method acting
Aug 15, 2008, 02:24 PM | by Aubry D’Arminio
Categories: 'Burn Notice', Mini TV Watch
Was it me, or was Madeline much more subtle upon last night's return? She didn't whine. She didn't nag. She didn't demand Mike get therapy or reconcile with Fiona. Or make him coddle Nate. She just smoked like a dragon, drank like a fish, and kept things light and hilarious. She called her VCR a "home theater system" for Pete's sake. Between that and her ancient coffee pot, I half expected her to pull out a magic lantern and claim she'd gone HD.
I'm a bit chuffed over how I predicted that Sam and Madeline would be bunking together. Though I assumed it would be because Mike sickened of him, his beer, and his chips, not because Madeline needed protection from a crazy new covert operative (Stargate's Michael Shanks) assigned by Carla to "wrangle" our guy. His code name: Victor. His act: insane. His mission: Force Mike to assist with a smash-and-grab heist on a local pier. His vibe: a bit boring, if I do say so myself. "Help us or we'll come after you and your family"? Snore. Didn't Timo already pull this on Trevor last week?
Victor wasn't even a good foil to Mike. He was too predictably unpredictable. You knew he wasn't going to let Michael sever his radial artery with a chess piece and that he was packing fire under the table. You knew if Michael ignored him he'd show up and ruin Michael's job. You also knew he'd want to kill the security guards on the pier, but that Mike wouldn't let him. And you tired of his twitchy, psycho killer act ("The last man who insulted me had to fish pieces of his tongue out of a garbage disposal") and his love of rocking flower patterns in about five to ten minutes.
That said, the heist itself really piqued my interest. First off, can you actually make an X-ray machine in the trunk of your Buick using old TV parts and a taser gun? Are professional, government-sanctioned thefts pulled off in broad daylight? Why would a Chiquita Banana facility be hiding sniper rifles? Moreover, what do Carla, Victor, and Co. want with the gun? Is it to use on Mike? To make Mike use? Or, as I believe, is it because they are truly a good operation trying to stop the bad guys from getting the weapon? Plus, when did Fiona start making friends at veterinary clinics that are willing to develop large films of scary weaponry for her?
But let's get back to the bad guy/good guy thing. Last night's job involved the younger brother of Mike's childhood best friend Andre. Little Ricky (played by one of the series' best writers, Ben Watkins) is now all grown up and an accountant to Miami's most dangerous gangster-turned-hip-hop mogul Valentine (Method Man, in the snazziest white suit and smoking the fattest cigar ever). Seems scary enough without adding that Valentine's number two, Eddie Ash (Felicity's Rob Benedict), embezzled a boatload of cash from the rapper and framed Ricky. Considering that Valentine called a board meeting just so he could whack a dissenting worker over the head with a platinum record à la De Niro in The Untouchables, I'd say Ricky had reason to be freaked. Mike's plan to pose as Boston-bred, mob-connected, diamond-wearing money launderer Jimmy Glynn and get Ash to admit he stole the money nearly worked â until Victor busted in and told Ash that Jimmy had the feds after him, which just seemed to raise the stakes. Thinking he needed to clean his money immediately and tie up all lose ends, Ash sent a kill squad to Ricky's house. Enter Fiona, flashing her abs, her thong, and her rock-throwing abilities to foil the initial hit and Sam to pose as a disgruntled music lover (so what if he likes Kenny G., Barbara Mandrell, Captain & Tennille?) in order to kidnap Valentine and make him watch while Ash tries to do away with Ricky on his own.
Still, no matter how terrible Ash was, or how frightening Valentine could be, I still don't think it's right how Mike seems to happily let the bad guys of Miami murder each other. I buy what you guys said in your comments about the system sucking and jail not working, but I can't help thinking prison would have been better for Eddie Ash than getting pushed off Valentine's boat. Nearly five people witnessed him trying to kill Ricky and admitting to the embezzlement scheme. Sounds like a slam dunk case to me. Then again, Ash could have always turned on Valentine and gone state's evidence, ending up in witness protection out west (I have been watching too much USA). So maybe he did get what he deserved. And why would such a good guy like Ricky still want to work for Valentine after having proof that he's a murderer?
Speaking of getting what's deserved, I'm glad Fiona is finally demanding things (like money) from Mike for her work. We know Sam's got a pension, but what does she have to live off of? The odd bounty hunter job? Selling her snow globes? I'm also happy she's playing the market â just interested to know when Mike will too. As for Sammy, he once again delivered my favorite line of the night, when telling Mike to take a "little sippy sip" of his curry.
So what did you guys think about last night? For my money, it wasn't the greatest episode, but it was solid. And can anyone tell me when Tricia Helfer is coming back?
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