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| Michael does some spy stuff on "Burn Notice" Credit: USA |
My review of the season premiere of Burn Notice is after the jump.
I have always found that the episodes of Burn Notice that focus on the overall arc tend to be a lot better then the self-contained episodes. This episode was not an exception to the rule. I thought that this was an explosive start to the new season. The episode made the smartest move that it could possibly make, hitting the reset button while giving us all the closure that could come from an arc that has been very confuzzled over the past four seasons. Even if it was the premiere, it felt finaleish, which is something that didn't cause a problem as I quite enjoyed the episode.
There was no way that the show could have pulled everything that happened over the past year and a half (let alone four season) to provide closure on the Burn Notice story. There's no way that they could have brought everything together in a way that could have pleased everyone. They realized that so they took the easy way out. I don't know if that's a good alternative, but for a person who wasn't incredibly invested in the storyline it was OK that they didn't provide closure. (Although, I could have done without the incredibly explanatory conversation with Madeline). I wasn't disappointed that the show did a complete 180 on what I was thinking with the cliffhanger and essentially reset the series. I don't know if I would have liked Michael Westen as a CIA agent without Fi and Sam so I'm glad that the show didn't go in that direction.
Saying all of that, I probably wouldn't have been that positive on the episode if it wasn't so damn entertaining. At the most basic level, the episode had an entertaining plotline with Michael going to Caracas to try to catch the guy who burned him. The episode turned into a fun little mission that actually had an impact on the overall arc. That's the type of mission that really works for me and that I love. It was a fun plotline that worked on the simplest level, and that's all I can really ask for from the show.
Some other thoughts:
There was no way that the show could have pulled everything that happened over the past year and a half (let alone four season) to provide closure on the Burn Notice story. There's no way that they could have brought everything together in a way that could have pleased everyone. They realized that so they took the easy way out. I don't know if that's a good alternative, but for a person who wasn't incredibly invested in the storyline it was OK that they didn't provide closure. (Although, I could have done without the incredibly explanatory conversation with Madeline). I wasn't disappointed that the show did a complete 180 on what I was thinking with the cliffhanger and essentially reset the series. I don't know if I would have liked Michael Westen as a CIA agent without Fi and Sam so I'm glad that the show didn't go in that direction.
Saying all of that, I probably wouldn't have been that positive on the episode if it wasn't so damn entertaining. At the most basic level, the episode had an entertaining plotline with Michael going to Caracas to try to catch the guy who burned him. The episode turned into a fun little mission that actually had an impact on the overall arc. That's the type of mission that really works for me and that I love. It was a fun plotline that worked on the simplest level, and that's all I can really ask for from the show.
Some other thoughts:
- My only quip about the episode is that I wish we had more of the team in this one as Sam and Fi were criminally underused. I understand that this episode was a Michael focus, but the show could have done more with them. That's why I don't want this to become a CIA show. I want Sam and Fi to actually be used on the show. The team dynamic is one of my favorite aspects of the show and it just wasn't present in the episode.
- Jesse wasn't used very much either, with him only getting to give Michael his Dad's car.
- Speaking of the car, what's going on with that? Is that what's going to be the focus of the season? I admit that there isn't enough for me to actually put everything together right now.
- As a note, I don't think I will be writing about this show every week. Like other USA shows, I will be writing about it if I feel the episode justifies review.
Overall, I found this episode to be a strong one. It was a well conceived episode, and most importantly it was fun to watch.
What did everyone else think?
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