Burn Notice 4.7 - Past & Future Tense

Plot: Jesse's old boss, Marv, is in town for some big meeting of operatives and diplomats. Jesse hopes Marv will look into the attempted bank heist Kendra mentioned, and give them a lead. Marv is not eager to be helpful, even though he claims not to believe the accusations against Jesse. Perhaps having Michael - who has a terrible rep -  was a mistake? They rectify that by having Fi make the next approach, a little business casual flirting, Marv comes to a hotel room, and there's Jesse. He makes his pitch, and Marv agrees to help. He turns the info over to Fi, and even throws in a bonus. Marv's been looking into the file download Jesse was accused of, and he found some avenues to investigate that might clear Jesse's name. As this would also reveal Michael's guilt, Fi destroys that piece of paper.

OK, that's the overarching plot stuff out of the way. The other issue is that Michael noticed a Russian wetworks team at the conference after Marv gave him the brush off. A quick conversation with Alexi, utilizing Mike's reputation among the Russkies, and we learn they're here for a Paul Anderson. He had a mole in their government 20 years ago, and they want to to know if the guy is still there. At least Mike isn't in the bullseye for once. Mike and Sam track down Paul Anderson at the Banana Fish Bar and find. . . Burt Reynolds?! Well, an old guy with a drinking problem and a grudge against a local Congressman. Paul got drunk, got on a message board, and basically outed himself as a spy. So they'll have to keep him alive until the find some leverage on Congressman Cowley to get Paul federal protection. Paul thinks he has something, but they'll have to get past the Russians to get it, then get to Cowley.

Which they manage, as Michael plays off his rep again, and Maddy comes through in getting Cowley away from his fund-raiser, glad-handing p.r. bullshit or whatever it was. Turns out Cowley signed off on sending American troops into Colombia back in the '80s, off the books. That's bad for Cowley. But he found an embezzling general to take the wrap, so that won't work on him. That's bad for Paul, and everyone else, since Cowley's a vindictive asshole. Not as vindictive as the Russians, though, and their arrival does provide us all with a chance to see Cowley removed from the halls of power forever. Unfortunately, Michael decides to save everyone and capture the Russians, then let Cowley take credit in exchange for Paul's protection. So that all works out well.

What isn't working out well is that Fi's starting to feel the strain of ostensibly working with Jesse, while also working to keep him in the dark.

The Players: Marv (Jesse's Old Boss), Alexi (Russian Operative), Paul (The Client), Vitali (Wetworks Specialist), Bill Cowley (Congressman)

Quote of the Episode: Alexi - 'You joke. Everyone in Russian special forces has heard the name Westen. He is like the boogeyman - not real.'

Does Fiona blow anything up? Nope. She mostly has to chat up Marv. But hey, she gets to flirt with Burt Reynolds.

Sam Axe Drink Count: 0 (13 overall). sam's too busy to drink this week.

Sam Getting Hit Count: 0 (8 overall)

Michael's Fake Laugh Count: 1 (2 overall). I assume those were fake laughs.

Other: Everyone else is using aliases this week. Paul was living under a different name. Fi introduced herself to Marv as "Barbara". Maddy approached Cowley as "Helen Foxvog"? I hope she came up with that herself. If that was the name Sam suggested, he's really slipping.

Perhaps it was in the spirit of an episode based on Cold War conflict, but Michael's driver's license photo looked it was taken in the '80s. It was like he stole Arnold's hair and jacket from the first Terminator flick.

When Maddy askes Sam if he'd still love her if she switched to 'autumn colors', I have no idea what that means.

I too, want to know what the giant key was about. We need a flashback movie about Paul's adventure with the giant key. I'm not sure who you can find to play Burt Reynolds three decades ago.

Alexi had a bad go of it. Punched by Jesse, threatened with slow death by dehydration, strapped to a bunch of explosives, shot in the leg with a nail gun. Kind of surprised Cowley had one of those inside his house, rather than in a shed. He doesn't strike me as a man who does anything for himself.

I didn't really like the first punch Paul hit Cowley with. The form was really awkward, like Burt stopped halfway through, then started again. The two he landed once Cowley was on the ground, though, those were much better.

OK, explain this to me. How is it worse to get caught with your 'hand in the till', than to illegally send American soldiers into another country? Considering the latter is actively getting people killed, that is completely ass-backward. Which is par for the course. Lives are cheap, money is sacred.

I wonder if Paul's character was meant to be a take on Daniel Craig's Bond, how he'll end up. Paul has the same sort of hard-drinking, flirty, "solve all problems by shooting them" attitude. And he ends up alone, with stories he can't remember, and friends who either hate him, or aren't alive any longer. More ghosts to collect. He likes Michael, likes his style, but he seems too impatient, doesn't want to wait for Mike's plans to come to fruition. 'Are you telling me I can't kill Russians when they invade Florida?' I loved the frustration in Mike's voice during the car chase, when Paul began shooting at the pursuing cars. "Stop that right now!" It's the same tone of voice my dad gets when Charlie won't stop barking, or trying to climb in his lap, but with less profanity.

A lot of this episode seemed to be about Michael's reputation. Marv, Cowley, Alexi, Vitali, they've all heard of Westen. With the exception of Cowley (who is too stupid and arrogant to know better), they're all scared of him. Marv for different reasons than the Russians, but it all translates to fear in the end. Another story for Michael to collect. You wonder though, considering the game Mike's playing with Jesse, and Fi's sudden strong reaction to it, whether they'll end up as ghosts for Mike, or those friends who hate his guts.

I found it interesting that when Fi uses Michael's experience to try and dissuade Jesse from pursuing the facts of his getting burned, Jesse brushes it off with 'different circumstances'. What does he mean by that? Marv made a point of telling Mike he never believed what was said about Jesse, but didn't offer Mike the same benefit of the doubt. Jesse made it clear when he first approached Mike for help that he was not one of the people who thought Mike was framed. So has Jesse been working with Mike all this time, still believing Mike did all those acts of Simon's they pinned on him? Otherwise, what's different about it? Mike was kicked out for things he didn't do. So was Jesse. Jesse believes it happened because of the case he was working on - and he's sort of right, Mike needed his files on it - but in reality he was collateral damage. I guess that's a difference. Vaughn, Management, Carla, they selected Michael, wanted him for this job. Jesse was just unlucky. I don't see how that makes a difference in their respective attempts to get unburned.

I thought Fi's crisis of conscience was rather abrupt, and I can't believe she hadn't come to the conclusion Michael only cares about the idea of people before now. Michael didn't help matters any by claiming what they were doing was bigger than one person's career. Because Michael has no ambitions whatsoever to use this case to get his old job back. No sirree. One wonders if Paul was that delusional when he was still active. Either way, considering the crap Mike's dragged Fi through in his efforts to clear his name, he can't be surprised it was a poor argument to use.

Yes, it appears the Annual Michael and Fiona Relationship Pattern has moved into the region! This cold front will produce lots of turbulent winds and lightning storms, with a corresponding sharp decline in temperatures. You may wish to seek shelter until it blows over.