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'Burn Notice': In Soviet Russia...
I can only imagine that it is bad news to be involved with any mobster outfit, especially those featured on Burn Notice. If you somehow get lucky and happen upon those who can truly help your cause, thank your lucky stars.
Spoilers are like fine wine… it’s liquid gold if you know what you’re doing.
Michael and Fiona are enjoying what appears to be frozen yogurt at the beach while Michael pores over Carla’s dossier, which appears to be largely devoid of any really juicy details. Fi lets slip the Lincoln that’s been tailing them all day. This is when Michael decides to flee the scene, Lincoln in tow. In a “kids, don’t try this at home” moment, he jumps from the moving car in order to push a random rickshaw in front of his tail. It turns out his tail is none other than his brother Nate.
Back at Casa Michael, Nate weaves his tale of woe: his secretary friend is in bad with the Russian Mafia and he needs Michael to step in and untangle the sticky web. The damsel in distress only wants to do good by bringing her sister to America. After she pays an initial $25,000 fee, she goes to pick her up, but as it turns out, the mobster-in-question wants double the initial fee or the sister dies.
Katya, Nate and Michael set off to do initial surveillance. Michael deciphers Ivan the bad guy’s tattoos: the spade for thief, the tiger for enforcer and the skull for murderer. Ivan seems like quite the charming fellow, don’t you think? Fi then continues to tail Ivan.
Later, Sam meets with an agricultural guy, Harvey Gunderson (played by Larry Miller with even less hair than I’ve ever seen on him). The purpose of this meeting is to find out how legit Carla is in the industry. Sam wants the info, but Harvey seems unwilling, for whatever reason, to part with it so easily. Too bad Sam can’t drink Harvey under the table.
All Sam has to show for his efforts the next day is a wicked hangover. Fi’s attempt to pin anything on Ivan went just as poorly. With their backs against the wall, the three plan on hitting Ivan hard for any kind of info. If they make him think this is the end of the road for him, he might just crack under the pressure.
Fi’s solo effort to take Ivan down does not go as planned, so Sam springs into action. Before he arrives to save the day, we learn that if you intend to use a stun gun on a person who is in contact with you in any way, you will be stunned yourself. Sensing that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, Fi takes one for the team and stuns Ivan anyway.
Sam and Michael end up building one badass interrogation cell to house Ivan. If they control all aspects of what Ivan can see, hear, eat and so on, and if they make him think all hope is lost, they might be able to better extract information. Once Fi brings Ivan back from the disorienting drive through the Everglades, he gets the third degree from Sam. Of course when you’ve dined in gulags more horrific than this, you’re not going to break as easily.
Sam suggests expanding the supporting cast to include everyone. Michael takes on the role of “Prisoner #2” in order to gain Ivan’s trust. To look convincing, he needs to look the part. Enter Fiona, who proceeds to beat the living piss out of Michael.
Once in the holding cell, Michael asserts his dominance and kicks Ivan’s ass. Working as Sergei from Tampa, Michael doesn’t initially learn much from Ivan… but that’s how these things start: slow and easy.
Fi and Sam stake out the Russian restaurant where Ivan focuses his energy. Thanks to thermal cameras, Fi is able to determine the top floor is heat-shielded. Inside, Sam points out the boss, Takarov, who looks an awful lot like a bad Larry Flint impersonator from the 70s. Sam plays up the angry customer, buying Fi the chance to get up to the third floor. What she hoped would be the missing girls turns out to be pirated computers running God-knows-what.
Sam makes one last go at extracting information from Ivan, telling him that the Russian outfit is near extinction. With Ivan still as strong as a rock, Sam places the shroud over his head and turns up the electronica. It was torture for me to hear what I did, so I’m not sure how long Ivan can hold out. Sam proceeds to change metaphorical suits and is off for yet another meeting with Harvey.
Back in the cell, Ivan finally lets Michael in on what he knows. Basically, he won’t say a word to the Americans, because the girls will be dead before they have any clue as to what happened.
As it turns out, Ivan isn’t the only one withholding info from Sam, so he kicks his other character into high gear. Before Harvey can enjoy the crab cakes, Sam flashes a DEA badge, insisting he gets the info, or else Harvey will be on the outside of the agricultural society looking in.
This is why they paid Sam the big bucks, kids.
Michael determines that Ivan must escape the holding cell and return to the girls for them to survive. Nate is skeptical of the plan, but ultimately agrees to help out.
By helping out, it’s Nate’s turn to take one for the team. Michael engineers the escape with a little help from Ivan. Nate is bitch slapped back to the Stone Age, while Michael and Ivan walk out unharmed. Michael insists not going back to Takarov without the girls, so he has Ivan tell him what he wanted to know all along… the location of the girls.
The two reach the house in Hialeah to find the guards not knowing what’s going on. Michael gets the guards to split up, making it easier to ultimately take the rest down and save the girls. Meanwhile, Ivan goes to Takarov, thinking he’s doing the loyal thing and forewarning him of the impending danger. Of course, there was no Sergei, no operation in Tampa, and so I guess that’s the last we’ll be seeing of ol’ Ivan.
In the end, Michael and Nate make nice, and Nate gets a kiss from Katya. All Sam got from Harvey was a PO Box address, so we leave Michael and Fi enjoying yet another surveillance session in the hot Miami sun.
Nice job on the recap. Could we get a little more than just plot summary, though? A little commentary on the interactions/character development would be nice.
Tempest | Aug 1, 2008 7:58:22 AM | #Good ep!
Marisa | Aug 1, 2008 8:00:52 AM | #Ok, when Fi stuns herself and Sam says she is one crazy woman, I laughed so hard I woke my husband up. Then again when Nate jumps in and punches Michael (UM SHOULD TOTALLY HAVE BEEN IN THE RECAP!), I laughed again and my husband woke up again. He did not appreciate it as much as I did.
And at the end when they were fighting in the "cell", you could tell that some of the fighting was brotherly. And then when they kind of kissed and made up at the end. I'm glad that they brought Nate back because I was upset that he was just one throwaway line in the first episode.
But the second season, still not getting me like the first season did.
Yeah, I agree with Momof3. Something is off in the first 2 episodes of Season 2. Micheal, Fiona and Sam are great but I feel like we're not making any real progress on answering the central question of the series. The dribs and drabs of info that is coming out is too little to get excited about. Also show is starting to feel a wee bit claustophobic with the same cast of characters. Besides Nate and the money launderer, it's time to inject some new regularly occurring characters to the mix.
IggyPop | Aug 1, 2008 11:27:36 AM | #Fi ...I love you...let's spy each other's secret files( wink-wink)
WHOLETRUTHY | Aug 1, 2008 11:30:59 AM | #I really liked Sharon Gless the first season, this season, every time she appears on screen she brings the episode to a screeching halt. That is one of the problems with this season.
WE NEED MORE TRICIA HELFER!
Agreeing with Brian about less Gless making for a better show, I have to also nod my head with those who aren't loving season 2 so far. Then again, all long-running shows have sophomore slumps, then hit their strides again, if the networks/stations they're on don't cancel them first. Different genre, but Eureka last year was much worse than season 1, while this season seems to be getting back to what made the show great to start with. My hope is the same for Burn Notice. Another nice change would be if the clients were grateful, thankful and not so damned whiny whenever things go less than perfectly from second one. If I were Michael, there would have been at least a half dozen clients dangling from fish hooks over a batch of hungry alligators by this point. It's not like he HAS to solve their petty difficulties; he has plenty of his own, thank you very much.
Dark Disciple | Aug 1, 2008 12:08:52 PM | #I agree that the same cast of characters is getting tedious. I think that's why I liked Nate and Barry so much. I thought the show was going in the right direction with Mom and Michael in therapy. Perhaps the show started bringing closure to the relationships to soon. Anyone want a flashback with good ole' dad?
Question: If Burn Notice did a flashback, who could play their dad? Who would play the young Michael? The young Sharon Gless?
I think there's a difficult balance for a show like this to find in it's storytelling. They can't explain Michael's burn notice too soon or they would have nothing to cover later on in the show. But I agree, the same people doing the same thing every week is going to get tedious.
I'm crossing my fingers that the writers that they will keep the show interesting because I do love it.
Mica | Aug 2, 2008 2:06:54 PM | #That's two episodes in a row where Michael has put in a lot of hard work and screen time in order to pull off ‘the plan’ and help out the client. Show creator Matt Nix is really showcasing Jeffrey Donovan’s acting range this year.
Was there a reward or payment for helping out the Ukrainian girl? Last season we occasionally saw him get some sort of payment for his services and expenses, this year, not so much. I wonder if that’s intentional.
Otherwise, another great ep.
I wonder when Carla will come calling again?
I agree with Tempest - how could you leave out the look on poor Sam's face when Fi told the bad guys that he was her often disoriented daddy thus sending Sam's mojo straight out the door? Or the obvious pleasure she got from beating Michael up with his permission?
Solly | Aug 2, 2008 4:03:52 PM | #A good, solid episode that pushed forward on all fronts: Michael got a little more information on Carla, even if it is just a location to stake out; Michael and Nate had their bonding moment; and Sam gave Fi a nice compliment when he suggested she extract Ivan by herself. Plus, Fi tasered herself to take out Ivan. That’s hardcore. Or in Sam’s words: “Fi, you are one crazy chick.”
Rick | Aug 2, 2008 4:27:11 PM | #I also agree with Tempest… I believe everyone would appreciate a recap that is a little more than just a basic detailed summary of the plot! Please bring back Sarah to do these recaps. Take a look at her enthusiastic take on the season premiere episode as a reference. How about including:
- The spy tips of the week
- Good quotes, lines, or dialog exchanges
- A little commentary or insight from the recappers point of view
- Some ‘behind the scenes’ or production info when relevant
By request:
Tonight saw the return of Nate Westen, played by Seth Peterson. Seth had originally read for the role of Michael and impressed Matt Nix, but didn’t quite fit what he was looking for in his burned spy. He did strike Nix as the perfect annoying little brother, though, and this role was created for him.
To be honest; until last year’s season finale, I could not stand Nate. Then it finally hit me that he was playing his role perfectly. I was supposed to be annoyed by him. On re-watching the first season, I really appreciated his performance a lot more.
Spy tips:
- Jobs in agriculture make convenient covers. The downside is you might have to become a chick pea expert.
- You can tell a lot about a tail by the moves they use
- Torture’s like getting groceries with a flame thrower. Getting information is about creating a new reality.
- No makeup can simulate blood and bruises up close
- The way a person fights can tell you a lot about where they’re from
- One of the hardest things to do in a fight is make it look like you’re trying to kill someone without doing permanent damage
The character of Harvey Gunderson (played by always wonderful Larry Miller) had multiple titles, including:
- Secretary/Treasurer Agricultural Association of South Florida
- President Miami Water Resources Board
- Vice President Board of Soil Scientists
Best exchange of the episode:
Fiona: Take your hands off my father! He has dementia! Do you understand? Can’t you see his mind is gone? He doesn’t even know what he’s saying...
Sam: Daddy?
Fiona (as they leave): Bet you never thought you’d hear me call you that.
Ha!
I just saw "Comrades," the fourth episode in season 2...does anyone knkow the same of the incredibly beautiful woman who portrayed "Katya"? What a doll!
vitobonespur | Nov 2, 2008 1:27:49 AM | #Does anyone know the mix at the end when Fi and Michael are doing their surveillance?
stormrage50 | Dec 16, 2008 11:35:11 AM | #Does anyone know the mix at the end of the episode when Fi and Michael are in the charger doing their surveillance?
stormrage50 | Dec 16, 2008 11:37:20 AM | #
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