I was very excited to see the previews for Past & Future Tense. Burt Reynolds with the Miami crew? How could that not be inspired casting and great fun? As expected, Burn Notice didn’t disappoint. This was a somewhat lighthearted and very thought-provoking episode that didn’t fail to satisfy.
Fiona, Michael, and Jesse are enjoying a quiet day at the beach, but it soon becomes clear that this is anything but. Jesse is watching his old boss’ wife on the beach. Marv, Jesse’s former boss, is at an international intelligence conference at a nearby hotel, and Jesse intends to make contact with him.
Michael finds Marv in the bar area and enlists Marv’s help regarding Jesse, but Marv isn’t willing to go to bat for Jesse, even though he believes in his ex-employee’s innocence. As Michael, Fiona, and Jesse confer after this discussion, they eye a group of suspicious men, tagging them as a Russian team intending to kill someone. Michael suspects he may be the target, but isn’t sure. They need more intel.
Jesse and Fiona work together to kidnap one of the Russians, who breaks easily in the face of interrogation. He admits that they’re not after Michael, but are targeting a retired spy named Paul Anderson, who works at a bar.
Sam and Michael go to the bar and question a bartender, who quickly disappears, then pulls a gun on the duo. They’ve definitely found Paul! Paul is skeptical until the Russians show up at the bar. With a little fancy footwork, the trio is able to evade the Russians and hole up at Michael’s house.
Paul explains that he has information on congressman Bill Cowley, who is the keynote speaker at the convention. Paul outed himself on the Internet and has drawn very unwanted attention to himself. Paul explains that some files he needs are at his home, and he and Michael make plans to go there.
Meanwhile, Fiona is tasked with connecting with Marv. She flirts with him at the pool, explaining that they’d met at a past conference, and then invites him up to her room to chat about a program she’s created. Of course Marv takes the bait!
Fiona warns Jesse about the search for justice and answers, but Jesse isn’t receptive. He explains that he can’t walk away from this and that he won’t stop until he’s taken down whoever burned him.
Sam approaches the congressman and attempts to make contact, but the elected official brushes Sam off, muttering that he is only one constituent. What a charming individual! Sam calls Maddie and asks her to help out with the congressman.
When Michael and Paul approach his apartment, Michael is aware that the place will be under tight surveillance. But Michael has a plan—the Russian he took from the hotel initially is used as a decoy. Dressed only in briefs, and with an explosive belt around his waist, he could kill them all. Even though the standoff is very tense, the Russians are forced to put their weapons down and attend their comrade.
Paul takes a long time in his apartment and Michael has to go after him. Paul has forgotten the combination to his safe and needs to enlist Michael’s help. This brief pause is all the Russians need, and they go after Michael and Paul. Paul shows Michael documentation his has about a government cover-up of an event where over a dozen American soldiers were killed.
In a tense car chase, both Michael and Paul prove their methods have validity. They work well to evade and elude the kidnappers, first with speed and driving ability, and then by thinking on their feet.
Madeline approaches Congressman Cowley and pretends to be a friend from college who had an affair with him. She lets him know that he has to drive home alone to meet with Paul, and in the face of a PR nightmare, he complies.
Marv meets Fiona at her hotel room and he and Jesse have a confrontation. Marv lets Jesse know that he would like to believe his innocence. Jesse suspects that his burning was done by the people he was investigating, and he asks Marv to procure him some information. Marv reluctantly agrees.
The congressman arrives home to find Michael and Paul in his home. Michael explains that the Russian team is about to take Paul and suggests that the congressman organize protection for Paul. They present the paperwork that implicates the congressman in the cover-up. The congressman explains that he is actually clean, but Paul doesn’t believe it, and their confrontation quickly becomes physical, with Paul knocking the congressman out.
In mere minutes, it becomes clear that the Russians have arrived and the congressman is revived. He quickly comes around when he sees for himself that the Russian team has arrived. Michael uses the typical Russian black ops tactics to predict where they will strike, and gets the upper hand that way. He locks the team inside the house until they surrender.
When the Russians bluster after they’ve surrendered, Paul shoots and kills one of them. The congressman is understandably shocked, but Michael and Sam point out that he has very few options and needs to concoct a story about having killed the Russian. This ensures his compliance and will help Paul’s name to be restored.
Paul and Michael have an interesting chat about the spy business. Michael realizes that Paul’s memory may be failing. It is clear that Michael sees what he could become.
Marv gets the information Jesse needs to Fiona. Marv wants Fiona to understand that he believes Jesse and shows Fiona some evidence that shows that Jesse’s key card may have been duplicated. He suggests that someone with clearance could get some video footage of the person who burned Jesse. Fiona crumples the paper up as Marv leaves, but she is very shaken. The information on the bank is passed to Jesse.
Fiona and Michael have a heated confrontation, and Fiona explains that she destroyed evidence that would have led Jesse to Michael as the man who burned him. Michael tries to tell Fiona that the end result is worth it, but Fiona can’t handle lying to Jesse. Fiona tells Michael that he’s forgotten about the people and is now too focused on the ideals. She walks out, leaving him alone.
We’re reminded throughout the episode that Michael is a legend in spy circles, and this brought forth the old-school spy feel to the episode. The home truths he learns throughout the episode will resonate with him in the future. It took a fairly lighthearted episode and gave it an edge and depth that I hadn’t expected.
My one complaint was that the Jesse storyline appeared and reappeared and seemed a little random. While I did enjoy that thread, the transitions seemed a little jarring. While the casting of Richard Kind was lost in the Burt Reynolds hype, Richard, who played Marv, stole every scene he was in just as aptly as Mr. Reynolds did.
One thing I would have loved and felt that the viewer missed out on was a scene with Paul and Maddie and seeing the way Sharon Gless and Burt Reynolds could have played off each other in these roles.
All in all, I really enjoyed this episode and am intrigued to see how things progress in the future. Will Michael and Fiona be torn apart by the Jesse situation? Will Jesse find the answers he needs? Will Michael change in the face of working with Paul and Jesse? I can't wait to see what Matt Nix and company have in store for us!
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