Burn Notice 3.8 - Friends Like These

Plot: Barry's ledger has been stolen. As he launders money for some very powerful and occasionally violent men, this is not a good turn of events for Barry. Fortunately, he knows someone who is very good at getting things back, and happens to owe Barry a ludicrous number of favors. Enter Michael Westen.

It wasn't too hard to track down the pair who stole it, a Serbian named Milovan and a real estate agent named Natalie, but neither one will say where the ledger is. Milovan specialized in interrogations himself, so he's not cracking, and Natalie is just some frightened working mom, so she's no help. Which means Sam's wasting that lovely villa for nothing, when he could be there with Ms. Reynolds and large quantities of rum.

In other key developments, Madeline's roof is leaking! Wait, that's not an important development (said the guy who has never owned a home with a leaky roof). The important development was Michael did a job for Strickler. More critically, he does it without asking questions, like who they're working for, why they let the thieves make off with the goods and destroy the safe house, who the thieves work for, etcetera. All of which leads Fiona to refuse to help Michael with that job (Strickler's attitude towards her didn't help). Michael completes the job solo, and what do you know? Here's a call from Diego, saying they'll be reviewing Michael's file.

The Players: Strickler (Michael's Ticket Back In), The Cleaner, Barry (The Client), Amy (Barry's "Special Lady")

Quote of the Episode: Strickler - 'Laugh if you like, but I wouldn't be driving an Aston-Martin if I didn't know how to keep a promise.'

Does Fiona blow anything up? She activated the trembler switch in Amy's car, causing it to explode, but that was someone else's bomb. Half-credit, then.

Sam Axe Drink Count: 2 (27 overall). I'm sure it would have been higher if his lovecapade hadn't been ruined.

Sam Getting Hit Count: 2 (2 overall). It took half the season, but Milovan made it happen. I'm counting burning his hand with a cigarette and the headbutt, but not the spitting. That's not really painful, just disgusting.

Michael Fake Laugh Count: 0 (2 overall).

Other: Mike opted for no name this week.

I like the friendship between Maddy and Barry. They both live very different lives from Michael, Sam, and Fi, yet constantly find themselves being dragged into the world of violence and threats. They seem to share interests, and I think it's good for Barry to hang around someone who calls Michael on his crap. Barry gets pressured into doing a lot of stuff for Michael, and rarely says a peep. Not that maddy doesn't frequently help Michael, but she also makes him work for it, and speaks her mind. Not her fault Michael doesn't listen.

Which brings us to Fi. Things between her and Michael are getting steadily worse, as they do, but I'm completely on her side here. She feels strongly that it's a mistake to work for/with Strickler. Michael is clearly too focused on getting back in, or he'd be asking more questions. Let's face it, in most of Michael's cases, setbacks are caused because the client either didn't follow instructions, or withheld some crucial piece of information. It's like House that way. Michael wasn't listening to Fi, so she stopped helping him. Short of pistol-whipping him, there wasn't any other way to get his attention. As long as she kept helping him help Strickler, she's an enabler, so it's good she drew the line. If things blow up in Mike's face, well, then it's his own damn fault for being a moron.

But maybe that won't happen. There's movement on his burn notice now! Diego will be in touch! Hooray, I like Diego Garza! His complete refusal to play Michael's games endears him to me.