'Burn Notice' - 'Blind Spot': Chuck vs. Charles
Chuck Finley is forever as the summer season winds down
Jesse may not be hanging at Madeline's house much after last night's "Burn Notice."
A quick review of last night's "Burn Notice" coming up just as soon as I score 1420 points at canasta...
As the lead-in to the summer finale(*), "Blind Spot" had a bit of an obligatory feel to it. It brought John Barrett (played by the impeccably-cast Robert Patrick) and his private army to Miami, and it finally clued Jesse in to Michael's responsibility for burning him. But we knew both developments were coming, and the latter was one that always kinda rankled me. I knew all season for a moment like the one between Jesse and Fi in the climax, it still frustrated me at times this season that Michael never let Madeline, Fi or his own common sense talk him into confessing to Jesse. No, it wouldn't have worked at the beginning, but there came a point in that relationship where Jesse liked and trusted them, and where if Michael had framed the explanation in the right way, Jesse might have accepted it and continued helping Michael take down Simon, or Barrett, or Vaughn, or whoever we've decided is the real bad guy this week. But Michael never realized that, mainly because the plot demanded that Jesse turn on him at some point. I'm not a fan of what Roger Ebert calls the Idiot Plot - where the plot only works if the main characters are idiots - and I particularly don't like it when it's applied to a show whose hero is defined by his intelligence.
The standalone story was fine. I appreciate a Chuck Finley appearance as much as the next "Burn Notice" fan, particularly at the end when he revealed to Charles everything he had done to him, and Jeffrey Donovan had fun playing Michael's greedy corrupt cop character. And given the previous hints the show has dropped about Jesse's attraction to Fi, I was actually glad that his feelings about their makeout session got derailed by his discovery that she and the others have been lying to him. Jesse's professional relationship to the gang interests me; Jesse as romantic obstacle to Michael and Fi does not, particularly since the series is often ambivalent at dealing with them as a couple at all.
While I didn't love this one, Matt Nix and company always tend to kick things up a notch in their finales, so I'm looking forward to whatever comes down next week, even if our hero had to be kind of dumb to get there.
What did everybody else think?
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August 20, 2010 at 10:02AM EST Reply to CommentAlan, as usual your comments are right on the spot. I enjoyed the show last night, especially Donovan's dirty cop act, but I couldn't help feeling how FORCED the Jesse situation became.
Nonetheless, I am still looking forward to next week's finale.
Jayme
August 20, 2010 at 10:38AM EST Reply to CommentI feel like the finale can't possibly live up to the level it should in just one hour. There's so much material to cover and it doesn't feel like 1 hour should be able to cover it.
Liz
August 20, 2010 at 11:10AM EST Reply to CommentCompletely agree about the standalone story. I like to see Sam Axe lead now and then, and anytime Chuck Finley makes an appearance, I'm cackling with glee. The reveal at the end ("plus, I've been drugging you") was a nice payoff.
As to what happened with Jesse...yes, I knew it was coming eventually. But somehow the writers still managed to shock the hell out of me with last night's ending. I don't know, maybe I don't pay as much attention to the structure of the series. Or maybe I just expected the reveal about who burned him to come all the way at the end of the season. Either way, it worked for me. Even the dynamic between Jesse and Fi worked for me. I think if the writers had gone for a real love triangle, I would have hated it. But I think they've handled it with just the right touch. It's been obvious Fi felt a little physical attraction to the guy, or at least enjoyed a light flirtation with him, and that he in turn had developed some more serious feelings for her. But neither acted on those feelings, and it never got in the way of the work they needed to do. Until the scene in the car last night -- which I liked because it was so obviously a mistake.
At the beginning of the season, I wasn't that crazy about the addition of the Jesse character, particularly the way in which he was introduced with a lot of us being *told* what he was like, instead of us being *shown*. But as the summer season has unfolded, I've come to enjoy him as part of the team. While I agree with you that Michael not telling just telling him everything is incredibly frustrating, I do like how the storyline has drawn some parallels between Jesse and Michael, and Michael and his handlers. How similar is Michael to the people who burned him?
Very much looking forward to next week's episode, though I'll be sorry that afterward it'll be off the air until November.
klg19
August 20, 2010 at 11:27AM EST Reply to CommentDid we already know that Maddie's cigarette of choice was Morley's? Combine that with Robert Patrick's appearance and it was a very X-Files episode.
Kujo
August 20, 2010 at 2:06PM EST Reply to CommentJesse will come after Michael, they'll be a confrontation, but after he cools down, he'll end up helping him take down Barret, and Vaughn. Then he'll leave Miami.
That's what I think will happen anyway.
August 20, 2010 at 4:43PM ESTPerhaps next season they will lighten things up and Team Westen will be back in the thick of such goings-on that made Seasons 1 and 2 crackle.
August 20, 2010 at 4:39PM EST Reply to CommentDidn't like the standalone plot, because a) the actor playing the British con man was awful - sneering and over the top throughout - and the woman they were helping was last seen in "Yes, Dear," a show of stab-me-in-the-eyes awfulness, so frankly I wanted to see her get punished.
Blake
August 20, 2010 at 5:29PM EST Reply to CommentDownward spiral continues.
Just before I stopped watching "Rescue Me," I saw a promo for it in which one of the actors said, "For the fans who liked last season, you're going to love this one."
That's a problem with many shows after several seasons, and a problem here also, I think: keeping the core audience happy is a different objective from reaching a wider audience.
Hobart By the time a show is in its fourth season its most likely hit its ratings peak. At that point its a matter trying to maintain which usually means trying to top themselves by doing the same thing.
August 20, 2010 at 10:38PM ESTVisionOn
August 21, 2010 at 4:48PM EST Reply to CommentNormally I prefer serialized shows but in the case of Burn Notice I wish it would become entirely standalone.
At this point I don't really care about anything involving Michael being burned and the arc plots are becoming more convoluted and confusing each year.
The show is flopping weakly around the arc plot so much it's barely worth featuring. The show needs to go all the way and start having an entire string of episodes devoted to just the arc or not at all. As it is the show is wasting fine actors and characters like Dillahunt and Wisdom in what amounts to cameo roles.
August 21, 2010 at 6:01PM ESTVisionOn I'll take it.
August 23, 2010 at 12:55AM ESTRight now the show isn't serving either very well. Killing one aspect would allow them to turn their full attention to one element and give the characters more time to work in them.
Shitegeist
August 21, 2010 at 9:47PM EST Reply to CommentThe product placement in this episode was absurd. I don't know what was worse: the blatant plug for Skype, the close-up of the MGD bottle or the characters repeating the word Hyundai 50 times.
CeCe
August 22, 2010 at 3:16AM EST Reply to CommentWrite a comment...
CeCe
August 22, 2010 at 3:25AM EST Reply to CommentAlan, I really enjoy reading your blog and I usually agree with your take on shows but I have to respectfully disagree with regards to this seasons "idiot plot." This season has in part been about Michael's blind spot about Jesse but more importantly, about himself. Michael despises the person/people who burned him and the series throughline is about his quest to not only clear his name but to get revenge on the people who fundamentally changed his life. How could he possibly allow himself to contemplate a role reversal? Wouldn't he have to possibly reconsider his motivations?
Mike didn't accidentally burn Jesse; he used Jesse's identity without caring about the possible consequences for an innocent person. That might get awfully uncomfortable if he thought about in relation to the people he's pursuing. So Michael does what I think most or all of us have done at least once in our lives. He tries to ignore it as much as possible. I think the fact that Michael's intelligent actually works against him in this instance because he can trick himself into thinking that he can take care of it without dealing with it.
Michael makes a conscious decision to ignore Maddie and Fi's advice because he believes he can fix it so Jesse gets his life back. Jesse will never have to know and Michael will never have to be that guy. That guy who burns a perfectly good spy without a legitimate reason. Is it irrational? Yes, but I don't think it's contrived. Instead, it seems to illustrate how willfully we can disregard our better judgment when it comes to truths about ourselves that we're unwilling to accept.
Liz Nice insight!
August 22, 2010 at 11:35AM ESTvigo
August 22, 2010 at 1:01PM EST Reply to CommentI recorded the episode and just got around to watching it last night. Imagine my surprise when I saw that part of it was filmed on my street! That gorgeous white waterfront house that Charles lived in is on the corner about half a block away. They must have filmed it while I was at work because my street was clear by the time I got home. I love watching the show just to see if I recognize the locales but I never expected them to be that close!
Maureen
August 23, 2010 at 5:39PM EST Reply to CommentI enjoyed the episode, but I think it helps that in my eyes, Bruce Campbell is just getting better and better looking. Chuck Finley needs his own show.