Burn Notice 4.5 - Neighborhood Watch

Plot: Michael has himself a high tensity tape drive that belonged to Kendra, the woman who killed Jesse's contact, "Cobra". Problem being, Michael can't find anyone who both has the equipment to read it, and can decipher what's on it. The good news is, Kendra still wants it back. An initial attempt to capture her fails, but Kendra does leave a phone so she and Michael can discuss making a swap: The tape for 50 grand.

While Michael has this to contend with, Madeline brings him more trouble. Lauren and her boyfriend David run a clinic in a nearby neighborhood. Someone's been dealing drugs right outside. David, a strong believer in law and order, called the police, which didn't really solve the problem, and drew the ire of the head drug-dealer, a Vince Cutler. Michael isn't any more eager to get involved than David is to have him involved, but he relents in the face of a two-pronged guilt attack from Maddy and Jesse.

It only takes a quick conversation with Mike's old neighbor, Sugar, to confirm getting rid of Cutler won't be easy. He took a major loan from a Mexican cartel, so he has to sell, sell, sell, or he's going to die, die, die. The plan becomes make Cutler have bigger concerns than David, by finding his stash house and destroying it. Which leads Michael to pose as a fast-talker with a line on horse tranquilizers Cutler could lace his drugs with. While the plan's in motion, though, Cutler's still trying to get rid of the clinic, and David's being stubborn. Eventually, Michael figures out a way to get rid of Cutler by making him fear David. And by destroying all the drugs Cutler got from the cartel, so he has to run from them. Little from Column A, little from Column B.

His meeting with Kendra isn't a pleasant one as - surprise! - she tries to kill him, but Michael succeeds in defeating her with a briefcase. Now it's just a matter of getting her to talk.

The Players: Kendra (Friendly Neighbor/Professional Killer), Lauren (Concerned Girlfriend), David (The Client), Sugar (Michael's Old Neighbor), Cutler (Drug-Dealing Plague)

Quote of the Episode: Fi - 'Someone's getting a little too flirty for his own good.' Mike - 'I'm trying to snatch Kendra off the street and tie her to a chair.' Fi - 'You are not helping your case.' Mike - 'This is just a harmless game of cat-and-mouse between me and a professional killer!'

Does Fiona blow anything up? Cutler's car, and his stash house. Plus, she got to shoot at Cutler and his guys multiple times with rifles, and make Michael uncomfortable by dropping hints about what she'd like to incorporate into their sex life. Good week for Fi.

Sam Axe Drink Count: 4 (9 overall). I might be fudging that a bit. He didn't drink the beer that got delivered as Mike called, asking to set up the first trap for Kendra. But he'd already finished one, so it's probably a wash.

Sam Getting Hit Count: 7 (8 overall). Yeah, Vince really did a number of Sam, but Sam can take it better than Sugar could. And Sam got a little back. Broke a bottle over Vince's knee.

Michael's Fake Laugh Count: 1 (1 overall). Right after David hit him in the face. Funny how people are always eager to help Mike sell a cover identity when it involves him being beat up.

Other: Michael's alias this week was "Kyle Barkley". Kyle. Call him Kyle. Mr. Song-And-Dance was his father. I like Kyle, he's animated, especially when he's excited. Hands moving all over the place. Reminds me of me, though Kyle's much more glib than I am.

I wonder how uncomfortable Jesse and Sam get when Fi and Mike have conversations like the one I included above. Jesse was there for that one, and Sam was there for the sequel. I'm not sure I would want to be around when my best friend's girl is making those suggestions to him. Some places your brain is better off not going.

Hey, it's The Shield alum Benito Martinez as David! Always good to see somebody from The Shield. I've been considering getting that on DVD, but I wonder if I'd enjoy it as much. I like David more than I did Captain Aceveda. Aceveda was an antagonist for Vic, for one thing, but he was also such a politician. Condemning Vic when it was convenient, turning to him when he needed results. David objects to Michael's involvement throughout, consistently hopes the cops will be enough. Critically, he's willing to bend, to work with Michael and his crew when it's needed. He doesn't want to go outside the law, but he wants his clinic to be there for the neighborhood, and Michael was willing to come up with a plan that worked within David' moral constraints. Which Michael probably would have gone with anyway, since I doubt he wanted to kill Cutler.

I should mention the product placement, I suppose. it was pretty flagrant during the sequence where Jesse has to make a quick escape. All the talk about rear-wheel drive, and 300 horsepower, while the camera looks directly at the front of the car as it zooms off. It's not that they haven't done it before - the motorcycle chase with Carla in the middle of Season 2 had something similar for whatever Fi was driving - but it the way it was shot this time was so blatant.

Love that track suit Vince wore to firebomb the clinic. Jeez, you're a head drug-dealer, try not to dress like your average retiree. I wear t-shirts and jeans 90% of the time, and I still dress better.

I like Sugar. I don't need him in every episode, but a brief appearance like this, where he brings some levity to the proceedings, it works. It works because it's a situation that shouldn't call for that, so Mike and Sam are dead serious. They still could have given Sugar a fist-bump. Leaving a guy hanging, not cool.

Now that Michael has captured Kendra with Briefcase Fu, the challenge becomes getting something useful from her.