Burn Notice 3.9 - Long Way Back

Plot: So Fiona's moving back to Ireland. Having decided she can't stick around and watch Michael jump through Strickler's hoops, she's leaving.

Let it never be said Fi isn't decisive. While reels from that, he meets with Diego who says there'll be people in contact with Michael soon to hear his side of the story. Diego looks forward to them ending Michael's dreams once and for all. But not if Tom Strickler has anything to say about it. He's got a file prepared for Michael, detailing all the things he's done. Except, Michael didn't actually do those things, and some of the people vouching for him are people he'd prefer not to associate with. So there's friction there.

On top of all that, Madeline is getting ready to sell the house.

OK, that's relatively small potatoes. The real problem is Fi's brother is in town. He's there to protect Fi from one Thomas O'Neill, who is looking to either kill Fi, or perhaps sell her to some important people back in Ireland in exchange for getting a 'seat at the table', as he puts it. Michael's glad to help, but one small problem: Fi never told her family the truth about Michael. As far as they know, the cover i.d. he used when he met Fi is his real self. So Michael has to play that role for Sean, then play another role while he tries to set up O'Neill. O'Neill likes to make nasty bombs you see, always the same type, but he can never be tied to them. So Michael's going to dupe him into being caught with one as part of a trade in exchange for handing over Fi.

Except O'Neill has someone else feeding him info on where to find Fi. Someone adamant Michael not be killed. Yes, all those Westen/Strickler shippers will be disappointed, because that relationship breaks up on the ugly rocks of "You handed my off-and-on girlfriend over to a murdering bastard". Seen it a million times. Bye, bye, Strickler. Sam and Mike make the daring rescue, but just as things are looking up, a panicked Diego calls. Strickler's death has gotten out, though it apparently isn't known Michael's responsible, and someone is cleaning up the mess. By the time Michael reaches Diego's home, he's done a swan dive onto the pavement. Which leaves Michael without a clue what's going on, other than there's a killer out there, somewhere. Someone connected to a man Michael just killed.

Ready for some sleepless nights, Mikey?

The Players: Strickler (Agent to Spies), Diego (Michael's Agency Contact), Sean Glenanne (Fiona's Brother), Thomas O'Neill (Bloodthirsty Hooligan), Fiona (The Client)

Quote of the Episode: Strickler - 'Oh come on, Michael. You're not in the truth business. You never were.'

Does Fiona blow anything up? No. Not really Fi's best episode.

Sam Axe Drink Count: 2 (29 overall).

Sam Getting Hit Count: 0 (2 overall). Sam comes out pretty well. Mike got shot with rubber bullets, Sean with real bullets. Fi got abducted.

Michael's Fake Laugh Count: 0 (2 overall). Yeah, not much funny about this week.

Other: Mike has two aliases. For Sean, Michael McBride. For O'Neill, Paul Smith.

Let's take a moment to mourn the loss of Ms. Reynolds' beautiful Buick. *pause* Hmm, when Sam said last week that sometimes it's hard being Mike's friend, he had no idea.

Sean's an idiot. How do I know this. The first time we see him, he stuff a loaded gun into the waist of his pants. Did we not see why this is a bad idea in "The Hunter"?

I'm very impressed with how calm Maddie was helping Sam try to patch up a chest wound on Sean. Ice in her veins, man. At least very cold mountain stream water.

I'd also like to pause a moment to mourn the loss of Diego. *pause* I mentioned last week I like how he won't play Michael's games. But he does it in a way that's distinct from Brennan. Brennan knows Michael's always trying something, he just figures he's smart enough to stay a step ahead of him. He's the babysitter who deals with the hyperactive, sneaky child by trying to beat them at their own game. Be more sneaky, anticipate the kid's tricks, and circumvent them. Diego's the old lady babysitter that's too tired for that shit. She just refuses to play, and figures the kid will lose interest once they see they're being ignored.

That being said, why is Diego just now getting concerned Michael is working with Tom Strickler? What the hell did he think Michael was doing asking Diego to check on him for? Idle curiosity? Continuity glitch there people.

I'm not happy with how Fi gets handled in this episode. I understand she's already shipped out most of her heavy ordinance, but that hardly leaves her helpless. But most of the episode is guys trying to protect. Sure, Sean's her brother, Michael's her boyfriend, Sam considers her a friend (even if he'd never say so to her face), but Fi doesn't get a chance to do much for herself. I think the part that disappointed me most was when O'Neill and his team bust in, as Michael's passing out, we see Fi being carted off by one goon, kicking futilely. I don't mean she's kicking him and he's such a wall of muscle he doesn't notice. I mean just flailing her legs around like some damsel in distress. It'd have been one thing if we see Fi fighting some goon, then getting clocked in the head with a rifle butt. Fine, there's like a half-dozen baddies, Mike's down, Sean's down, Fi's blinded by tear gas. As it stood, though, she didn't feel much like Fi in this episode

Except for the bit where she said she'd envisioned stabbing O'Neill in the neck with an ice pick. That felt like Fi.

So, now Fi and Michael can never return to Ireland (O'Neill outed Mike as an American), so I guess they're stuck in Miami. Well, Mike was already, but, uh, um, never mind. Anyway. There's a killer on the loose, so we'll see next week where that leads them. And whether Sam can keep dodging Ms. Reynolds' calls.