Burn Notice 2.2 - Turn and Burn

Plot: Michael finally gets to meet Carla face-to-face. The meeting doesn't go as well as he'd like, since Carla's boys grab both Sam (who was trying to get photos of Carla) and Fi (who was waiting at the Charger to tail her). He does get a new assignment, though: Contact a Tunisian counterfeiter and get him to make a duplicate of a passkey.

While Michael's trying to track down Barry to facilitate contacting this counterfeiter, he gets roped into another job by Sam. Seems a waitress who takes a cooking class with Sam and Veronica is having problems with a stalker. Of course, it just so happens this stalker is in the drug trade, and Sophia isn't really a waitress. Which means Michael needs to buddy up to Raul, so that he can set him up and bring him down.

Added to all this is Madeline's insistence Michael attend counseling sessions with her. Somewhere in Fort Lauderdale, Nate breathes a sigh of relief without knowing why.

The Players: Carla (The New Handler), Sophia (The Client), Raul (The Stalker), Barry (The Money Launderer), Campos (The Boss), Nefzi (The Counterfeiter).

Quote of the Episode: Michael - 'That stalker happens to have a MAC-10 in his jacket!'

Does Fiona blow anything up? A car, so she's definitely getting to have more fun this season. She also got to fire rifle repeatedly at a window.

Sam Axe Drink Count: 2 (6 overall).

Sam Getting Hit Count: 0 (0 overall).

Michael's Fake Laugh Count: 2 (2 overall).

Other: Sam's officially become a friend who used to inform on Michael to the FBI in the opening sequence. I can't recall Fi ever becoming a trigger-happy girlfriend, instead of ex-girlfriend, but that situation changes so often they'd have to redo the opening sequence three times a season.

Sophia says she heard a rumor about Michael taking on a cartel sometime recently, which is why she approached him. I'm guessing that means episode 1.3 (Fight or Flight)?

I made a note (but didn't mention it) for last week's episode questioning whether the 'I didn't get your name' trick ever works. That generally continues this week, but it is impressive to see Michael's constant quest for information. Still, if Carla's as clever as she seems to be, I'm not sure why she rose to the bait of responding to Michael's Arabic farewell in Arabic. Maybe she's just too cocky, been running these kinds of operations so long she figures there's no worries. Or maybe it was an odd enough tactic she didn't have her defenses up (though she didn't seem to regret speaking afterward).

I'm also not real clear on why it had to be Nefzi. Presumably he's the best, but why not just say that? Why specify you want Michael to use a Tunisian counterfeiter, instead of telling him to contact Nefzi, or telling him to find the best counterfeiter? I do agree with Michael that quality work takes time, and Carla shouldn't be so impatient.

While I do enjoy Michael's constant digging, and his work to set up Raul, the highlight of the episode was his and Madeline's trip to the counselor. The whole bit about "communication", Michael's explanation for not calling on her birthday that one time, how pleasantly surprised he was that he got a chance to mention an example of Maddy failing to communicate. I suppose he might have enjoyed Madeline's discomfort a little too much, but she was the one who dragged him into it.

When Michael initially contacts Raul, he's told at one point that 'talk like that will get him killed.' I wasn't clear on what part was going to get Mike killed: Saying he used to work for the Mexicans, or saying 'cut the crap'. I don't know, perhaps the restaurant has a strict policy against bad language. A really strict policy.

I love that Sam is the go to guy when you need someone to be really annoying. If you need to start a fight, or just need lots of armed guys kept busy trying to make someone go away, Sam's your man.