Burn Notice season 4 finale

By Michael Vass | December 17, 2010

Season 4 has been a lot of the same, with a bit of spice now and again. At some points fans were sure the show had jumped the shark. At others it was the kind of program that fans enjoyed in season 1.

We started the season with Vaughn backing away from Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) and crew. At the same time, Michael and his most loyal buddies (Fiona and Sam) found themselves chasing after, and then in possession of a list that would expose Vaughn and his organization. Which was a problem. Not because the list existed, but that Vaughn would neither pursue it nor even be aware of its existence. Real sloppy on his part, and out of character.

Fiona Glenanne (Gabrielle Anwar – who thankfully finally gained some weight) continued to be upset with her relationship with Michael. She resolved her flirting with Jesse Porter (Coby Bell), and went straight to nagging about needing her relationship to be defined and go somewhere.

Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) is still the same as always. Loyal, informative, and a bit of the Boy Scout ethos. It is perhaps his character that has grown the least over the years.

So what does Michael Westen do? What might you do? Blackmail Management? Kill them one by one for all the pain and suffering? Expose them and hope that this ends their corruption and influence? Michael takes option 3, which is quite boring and unproductive. It leads to the death of a minor recurring character, essentially leaving Jesse in the cold for good. But it also gives us the return of possibly the best bad guy in the entire series (tied with Victor Stecker-Epps, played by Michael Shanks) Tyler Brennen (Jay Karnes).

Thus begins the finale. Brennan has the list, and he has all audio of the exploits of Westen since being burned. That’s bad news to the exponential. But it gets worse. The audio has been sent to Vaughn and Management – ensuring their return and desire to kill Westen, his crew, and family.

Add to this mix of misery “Dead” Larry Sizemore (Tim Matheson – a jump the shark regular). He is now in the employ of Brennan, targeting a member of Management. Brennan wants the man dead, Michael wants him kidnapped, Larry really doesn’t care as long as he can get his gun off. But fans of the show know a couple of things for sure. Michael Westen does not kill unless there is no option, Larry will kill at the drop of a hat and absolutely will do anything to give himself leverage and cash, and Brennan wants to beat Wesyten then kill him. So the combination of characters guarantees at least a dead body.

The element of surprise gone, it is of no surprise when Larry first double crosses Westen in the kidnapping plot – that otherwise would have been successful. Then when Westen tries to use Larry’s greed against Brennan, again there is a double cross. It was telegraphed so badly that no one should have been surprised. Kudos to Jay Karnes for giving the impression his character was shocked at the outcome. The real shame is the pitiful loss of a great bad guy, who was a deep thinking problem that really added to the show.

Of course Larry, once again, is thwarted by his own greed. Given the chance to kill Westen, at the cost of his own life, he lets Westen go and is presumably arrested for murder. The end of the first part of the 2-part season finale.

Stopping there, I must say that this episode was a let down. Brennan is a smart character. He plans well in advance and makes a point of knowing who he is dealing with. Why he was not prepared for the double crosses of Larry is just lazy on the part of the writers. Brennan is not a trusting man, and this was the only time that he was alone with people he blatantly does not like/trust. (Beyond appearing in very public places, and when travelling with Westen previously he did have Nate as a hostage to ensure his safety as well as cooperation).

I really expected the episode to be the full 2 hours. That it would weave in Vaughn and Management in a deal to sell Westen and the list, with Larry as a watchdog on Westen to make sure nothing went sideways. I expected Michael to be playing Vaughn versus Brennan, possibly with the Old Man backing up Westen (paying him back for saving his life) and Larry being stuck with a choice of destroying the list or dying after failing to double cross everyone. But nothing close to that happened. A real waste of talent.

So in the next episode (because the 2 hour special was really just back-to-back episodes because of the impending Christmas holiday), Vaughn comes to town. He is pissed, in a snooty attitude that is the character. He wants to kill Westen, his friends and family, and recover the list – not necessarily in that order. You would think this would be simple. Management has no end to manpower and resources.

Instead, Vaughn has arrived with a handful of men. Nate is seemingly secure in Las Vegas. Sam and Madeline Westen (Sharon Gless) split off to speak with a corrupt politician they have influence with. Michael, Fiona, and Jesse go off to try and securely hide the list – to buy time and safety. Which plays out weaker than this description states.

Vaughn uses his influence and power to have men comb the area and find Michael et al. Yet he can’t find Sam and Madeline, who are in the open at a political event? Vaughn is able to remove the influence of the police – as he surrounds Westen and crew in an abandoned hotel, yet ultimately is arrested by them? This episode mixes badly the power of Management, and complete idiocy in weilding that power.

Ultimately, Madeline gets caught and hit in an attempt to coerce Michael. Fiona makes a choice to stand by Michael, even with the knowledge that his path does not share any of her desires. Jesse is wounded (this time physically) and otherwise useless – like in virtually every episode he has appeared in. Sam of course rides in to save the day.

Michael though goes through the episode with the appearance of frenzy, though the situation is far less dramatic than presented. The hopelessness of the situation is over-emphasized. The Custer’s last stand mentality was just too thick. Vaughn was equally too smug and 1-dimensional. It was one of the worst episodes of the show ever.

It ends with the concept, becareful what you ask for as you might just get it. This as Michael is ushered into a building (presumably a CIA office in D.C., or an equally shady spy equivalent) and welcomed. He is back in the graces of the Government. Though the man that has run around Miami for 4 years, acting as a sort of Robin Hood, and actively rejecting corporate control is not the same one that was given a burn notice.

What does season 5 possibly entail? Especially since we already know that season 5 and 6 have already been authorized? Well we can start with the presumption that USA Network is more honorable than SyFy Channel, thus the contracts mean at least what the words say. We can also assume that Jesse will not be long for the main cast – a return to the Government for him is also likely.

Michael will be faced with beauracracy, paperwork, and the slow plodding mannerism that is a Government job – even for spies. He will yearn for freedom to act, and clarity of knowing why he is doing something and that he is helping the “right” side. This while his friends will continue the work he started, needing his help from time to time. Plus the likelyhood of some members of Management ending up in sweet positions of power and protected as part of deals made with the Government – much to the frustration of Michael.

Season 5 will likely be one of realizing that Government is no different than Management. The real issue will be trying to free himself from the very people he once believed in. Somewhere in there, you might just notice a shark.

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