Sunday, August 25, 2013

Burn Notice 6.2 - Mixed Messages

Plot: Fiona's trying to adjust to life in prison. Given that prison is all about other people dictating the schedule you live your life on, she's not doing so well. Then the boss of her cell block, a nice woman named D.B. decides to test Fiona's will. Predictably, Fiona refuses to submit, which means she's got a target on her back. But she has a helpful little friend, named Nicole, giving her advice, and plenty of pent-up aggression to work out, so she might be OK. Or she might be worried about the wrong person.

Meanwhile, Michael's dealing with not being able to see Fiona in perfectly reasonable ways. Namely, tossing furniture around. Capturing Anson might get her out, but he'll need to earn points some other way if he wants to visit her. And that's why he turns to his training officer at the CIA, Tom Card. Card's in Operations now, but he's having a little trouble with the Zetas cartel. He needs a way to get close enough to bust a major drug smuggling operation. The plan is for Mike and Jesse to pose as crooked DEA agents who who killed their boss before he could expose them, only to learn he was ready to bust this big shipment. They approach the Zetas' enforcer, a loon named Rafael Montero, with this information, so he convinces his boss to change the drop off point. Then they just so happen to know a helpful place to use, which just so happens to actually be swarming with federal agents.

Great plan! One problem. Montero is having lunch with the cartel's attorney, one Bruce Gellman (last seen in 1.3, "Fight or Flight"). So Michael's out, which means Jesse's going in alone. Michael, Card, and Sam will have to listen in on the bug Jesse's wearing, and adjust on the fly to keep him alive, and the plan in action. Harder than you might think, since Montero is a little, shall we say mercurial, in temperament.

In more personal news, Nate is back in Miami, because Ruth has left him and returned to Miami with their son. The exact reasons are unclear, but Nate is feeling a little abandoned, so he wants to be there for Mike, so Mike will be there for him.

The Players: Tom Card (The Man Who Trained Michael), D.B. (Queen of the Cell Block), Rafael Montero (Security Expert/Psychopath), Ramiro Salazar (Drug Kingpin)

Quote of the Episode: Montero - 'You're one hell of a salesman.'

Does Fiona blow anything up? Nah, she creates a small incendiary device out of batteries and stuff, and beats up 3 larger women, though.

Sam Axe Drink Count: 1 (1 overall). Card didn't approve of Sam's drinking on the op, but Card's an ass, so who cares?

Sam Getting Hit Count: 0 (2 overall).

Michael's Fake Laugh Count: 0 (0 overall).

Other: If Mike had an alias, I missed it, but it hardly matters, since he never got to use it.

Lot of interesting parallels in this episode. Michael's desperate enough to turn to Card, and Card knows it. Card is desperate enough to actually talk to Michael, to consider using him, and Michael knows it. Nate is feeling abandoned by Ruth, left questioning what he did wrong, why his efforts weren't appreciated. I think Michael's feels that, too. He tried so hard to save Fiona by playing along with Anson, and then she went and left him. To try and save him, but you can sort of see why he would feel abandoned. Fiona is in prison because she wanted to protect what she loved, and Nicole does what she does to protect someone.

It is encouraging to see Michael trust Jesse to get things done. Yes, Mike has the ulterior motive that he badly wants this mission to succeed, but he does advise aborting it as soon as he sees Gellman, because there was no way they could approach together. This leads to him being stuck on the sidelines for most of the mission, which has to be killing him. It's already in Michael's nature to take risks so others don't have to, but here he has to sit and watch Jesse do it. Of course, Card had to sit back and trust Michael to handle things for him, and Fiona is likewise sitting in prison, waiting to see if there's going to be a way out of it. Little like Russian nesting dolls of dependence.

When Card was describing the mission to Michael, he said that it would be just the two of them, with their butts flapping in the wind, and how did that sound? Michael said it sounded like a risk he was willing to take. I wanted him to say, it sounds like Thursday to him. It's like these people have no idea what Mike's been up to for the last few years.

I like Anthony Ruivivar's portrayal of Montero. He's just so gleeful all the time. Even when he's brandishing knives, or encouraging people to stand next to him with assurances he won't shoot them. he absolutely has that manic glee. It's endlessly entertaining. I do worry it's too over the top, though. It feels like his impulse control issues would create problems even slick lawyer Bruce Gellman couldn't get him out of. So maybe not right for the tone of the episode, but still fun.

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