Burn Notice 2.4 - Comrades

Plot: This week, it's Sam taking the lead in the hunt for information on Carla. Having learned Carla's cover in the Middle East was as an irrigation consultant, Sam's hitting up Harvey Gunderson, who has a finger in pretty much every agrarian related pie in the area. The downside is that Harvey's hitting up Sam for meals, and may actually be able to drink more than Sam.

At least it's on Michael's dime, and he's too busy to object to Sam's expenses. With Sam and Fi having roped Michael into jobs recently, it's now Nate's turn to bring someone requiring his big brother's help, a coworker of his whose sister is in the clutches of a human trafficker named Ivan (Andrew Divoff, who was Blackbeard LaCutte on Brisco County Jr.). When interrogation fails to produce results, Michael has to pose as a member of the same organization, gain Ivan's trust, and find out where all the girls are kept. In about three days, since the girls will be killed if Ivan's men don't hear from him by then. Nothing like a deadline.

The Players: Nate (The Brother), Katya (The Client), Ivan (Human Trafficker), Takarov (Mob Boss), Harvey Gunderson (Secretary/Treasurer, Agricultural Association of South Florida), Harvey Gunderson (President, Miami Water Resources Board), Harvey Gunderson (Vice President, Board of Soil Scientists)

Quote of the Episode: Michael - 'What do you want Katya? You want your sister hack, or to hit Ivan with a wrench? Because it's gotta be one or the other.'

Does Fiona blow anything up? No, but she does use a stun gun on Ivan, which meant using it on herself, which was pretty cool scene.

Sam Axe Drink Count: 3 (10 overall). That we know of. Considering the hangover he complained of, and Harvey ordering two bottles of wine simultaneously, it's probably quadruple that, at least.

Sam Getting Hit Count: He wasn't hit, per se, so it's still at 0. He was pushed down on a bar with his arm behind his back. Employees of restaurants run by the Russian mob are not as tolerant of his Annoying Guy routine as Pakistani consulate employees, or even cartel security.

Michael's Fake Laugh Count: 0 (4 overall). There wasn't much to laugh about this week, being locked up with Ivan like he was.

Other: Michael's fake name this week is "Sergei Yoblanovich". Hey, Sam used a different fake name for once! He told Ivan to think of him as uncle. Uncle Sam. I love Sam playing interrogator throughout this episode. How excited he was for it, the "thinking bag", the Bulgarian disco, even the bit with the gum. And there's the point when he gets fed up with Harvey's crap and drops the hammer.

Unlike last week, I enjoyed all of this episode. I think it's because Nate is such a wild card for Mike. Not in the sense that Nate will complicate things, since Michael knows Nate's going to do that. But he's never sure when Nate might show up, or what exactly is going on. He's always suspicious of Nate (with reason), but that makes things harder because even when Nate's trying to do something right, he's still catching crap from Michael. And because he needs Michael's help, he feels like he has to sit there and take it. Which is why I enjoyed it when he seized the opportunity to punch Michael during their prep, and that he refused to be fake knocked out as easily as the plan called for. If you have to lose a fight to your brother, might as well make it a good one. Plus, Michael once again showing no tact in dealing with a client forced Nate to defend him, which brought the wrath of Madeline down on Michael's head.

What's impressive is that even though Ivan is a miserable human being, a thief and murderer in addition to being a human trafficker, I still felt a little bad for him when he realized he'd been duped. Michael had done such a masterful job of gaining Ivan's trust, and even so, Ivan really thought he was just being loyal to his boss. Except, whoops, he kind of screwed up and now he's dead. You know it was an ugly death, too. Lots of screaming.

Anyway, now Michael has a post office box connected to Carla. What will come of surveillance?