At the very end of last season, we learned that Michael Westen had been removed from federal custody and had been placed in a very luxurious home. He was sitting in a chair, apparently bruised and battered, but fine otherwise. Who kidnapped him? What will be his fate? Had a new player joined the mix?
Matt Nix and company gave us a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat season finale with “Devil You Know” in March and the reruns from USA Network have served only to whet my appetite for more.
“Friends and Enemies” was well worth the wait!
The episode opens right when “Devil You Know” ended. Michael is in a chair in a richly-appointed room. He has just regained consciousness and is taking stock of his surroundings. As he assesses the situation, a new player walks in, The genial Vaughn reveals to Michael that he needs his help. This kinder and gentler new player seems to want to gain Michael’s help with offers of food and by freely sharing information. Vaughn explains that Management is safe and Simon is locked away. He offers Michael a file to read, and when Michael is done, Vaughn proposes that they join forces.
It quickly becomes clear that this case is tied to Simon and the over arcing thread of what powerful terrorist worked with Simon to wreak havoc on
Hart clearly has some high-powered employers, and Michael and Vaughn barely escape a drone attack that kills Hart, who expects his fate. Hart goes down without giving Michael and Vaughn any concrete information, though Michael spies a file on Hart’s desk before all hell breaks loose.
Michael and Vaughn fly back to the States, where Michael is reunited with his mother, who reveals that she hasn’t seen Fiona recently. And when he finds Fiona, he realizes she and Sam are in the middle of an op, a job they took without him. A lawyer named Winston has crossed a biker gang and they’ve targeted him for death. Just like that, Michael is tossed head first into the operation. There is something to be said about routine, or for what passes for routine in the Burn Notice world!
Michael jumps right in with guns literally blazing. In a tense standoff, the bikers back down. Michael quickly devises a plan to lay a paper trail to implicate Winston in the gang’s business. His death would bring far too much attention to the gang’s not-so-legal activities.
The case culminates in a car versus motorcycle chase with guns blazing and biker versus biker, Fiona saving the day by bringing reinforcement bikers, and Sam saving the day with some fantastic driving.
At the end of the episode, Michael enters a secured facility and collects some information for Vaughn. He and Fiona sit helpless as a counterintelligence agent named Jesse Porter goes down for this and is taken away by federal agents. Michael later learns that this act burned Porter’s file and that the man is in federal custody.
Is Michael recruiting for Management now, or is this just part of the Simon end game? Has Michael become his worst enemy? The pieces should start coming together next week.
Sharon Gless was a standout in this episode. Madeline’s usual high energy manner was tamed, toned down, the chinks in her emotional armor clearly visible. Michael’s time missing clearly wore on her. Madeline looked shaken to the core by all that had happened. Her attempt to get things back to normal by offering Michael a sandwich were both sad and touching.
Their final scene where Michael confided his own self doubts to his mother was incredibly done and shows the raw power and chemistry of Jeffrey Donovan and Sharon Gless. The emotion in Michael’s eyes and the need for Madeline to watch over her son were so powerfully moving. Her whispered assurances that he is nothing like Simon and the faith she has in her child were easily the deepest moment of the episode, and one of the deepest in the series thus far. Jeffrey Donovan and Sharon Gless brought so much understated emotion to this scene, and it showed.
The emotionally charged scene where Michael accuses Fiona of just moving on was brilliantly done. His shock and feelings of betrayal were illustrated very clearly. Gabrielle Anwar shows Fiona’s explosion in every jerky movement, in every word Fiona spits out. Her anger and anguish over Michael’s fate jumps off the screen. The way her emotions ebb and flow, from protective, to annoyed, to worried, to tender underscore Fiona’s conflicting feelings about Michael. I hope this will be revisited in future episodes.
The cinematography and scene change when Michael and Vaughn went to
Vaughn is a new kind of “ally,” one who appears to be very multi-layered. The initial friendliness and warmth quickly gave way to a steel will. Michael’s mild surprise when Vaughn handed him a weapon in
The contrast between baby-faced and meek Winston, the honed Michael and the scruffy and more dangerous looking Sam added an interesting dynamic. I enjoyed Rich Sommer as Winston.
Fiona was wonderfully used in this episode. Her interactions with the bikers were fantastic and completely in character. I never felt that Sam stood out in this episode, but I didn’t miss that aspect too much.
I wasn’t quite sure what we’d get with “Friends and Enemies,” and I was very happy with the result! The adrenaline rush was non-stop, the characters all worked well together, and the unfolding storylines have my complete attention. The addition of new player Vaughn and the hint and tease of Jesse Porter’s storyline have me intrigued. This “Simon” arc is still fresh for me and is unfolding at a steady pace. Is it next Thursday yet? Bring on more Burn Notice! I’m hooked!
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