Burn Notice 4.8 - Where There's Smoke

Plot: You may recall Kendra was hired to kill some guys who botched a bank robbery. And Marv provided Fiona with the information on which bank, and I guess, which deposit box. So now Mike and Jesse are planning to pull off the heist themselves, after Madeline helps them assess the bank's security response. Which she manages, with the help of her dead husband.

Meanwhile, Fi is still steamed at Michael, so she's teamed up with Sam to take a job as security for some big manufacturer. He's having a party to show off his new battery, and he's concerned someone will try to take it. Turns out they're more interested in taking Sarah, his wife, and holding her for ransom. As Fi and Sam are badly outgunned, Fi opts to play a wealthy woman herself, so she'll be taken hostage as well.

From there, the whole thing becomes a matter of time. Fi has to keep herself and Sarah safe, while figuring out some way to either escape, or clue Michael in to their location. Which is made more difficult when Christian goes against the plan and agrees to pay the ransom. Too bad the kidnappers let Fi and Sarah see their faces, so there's no way they can be allowed to live. . .

The Players: Sarah (The Client), Eddy (Hot Headed Little Brother), Jacob (Lying Big Brother)

Quote of the Episode: Michael - 'It's one of them against four of you.' Fiona - 'Don't feel bad for them, Michael.'

Does Fiona blow anything up? A light bulb, but more credit for getting loose of a chair she was handcuffed to. Sure she separated her shoulder in the process, but that just makes the fact she beat Jacob's ass a few minutes later even more impressive.

Sam Axe Drink Count: 0 (13 overall).

Sam Getting Hit Count: 0 (8 overall)

Michael Fake Laugh Count: 0 (2 overall)

Other: Mike didn't have an alias this week. Fiona was "Charlotte", and Sam was "Charles Finley". For, whenever it's needed. Oh, Sam, you're incorrigible.

They did another car commercial, when Michael was rushing to get to the pay off.

Michael still doesn't know Spanish. I'm amazed that doesn't work against him more often, considering Miami has a sizeable population from Spanish speaking regions.

The revelation that Jesse has feelings for Fi kind of came out of left field. They've worked well together, certainly. They have a similar temperament and preference for the direct approach, but it was still a surprise. Maybe it was a surprise to Jesse, too. It's hard to say without knowing how it would have played out, but offhand, I'm glad they aren't going to play some love triangle thing with Fiona playing Archie Andrews. Fi and Michael's (positive) feelings for each other have been reaffirmed by the end of the episode, and Maddy dropped a painful truth bomb on Jesse. 'Fiona and Michael love each other, and hate each other. But it's always, each other.' Doesn't mean it won't have an effect on Jesse's behavior going forward, but it would have been awkward to do the triangle thing.

Michael would obviously be Veronica Lodge in that scenario, Jesse is Betty Cooper.

The little thing I enjoyed was the Sam/Fi interaction. Fi still gives Sam a lot of crap, but I'm finally starting to feel like she does it as a way of demonstrating affection, rather than disdain. It isn't like my friends and I don't bust each other's chops, but we eased into it, you know? It didn't start until we were comfortable as friends. Fi started out hating Sam, and has gradually softened that stance. That she and Sam played a married couple, and she largely refrained from embarrassing jokes was a change. She didn't give him a bunch of crap for not rushing out to confront the heavily armed guys when he only had a handgun. She told Michael that Sam values her opinion. OK, that was more a jab at Michael, but I still believe she meant it, which means she recognizes that about Sam and appreciates it. Sam, for his part, has been pretty consistent in his concern for Fi for the last couple of seasons. He just usually doesn't want her to know about.

This is really Fi's show, though, since Michael and Sam are only able to help in terms of stalling Jacob, and only a little at that. Fi does most of the work herself. She keeps Sarah calm, and more importantly, gets Sarah to go along with her on her plans. Sarah, for her part, is pretty game. She picks up the thread of complaining or fake arguing without much prompting. Clearly Fiona is better at the soft touch than Michael.

Mostly, I like that Fiona never seems too worried. She's not overconfident, she can't afford to be with Sarah there, but she's working on an exit strategy from the moment they get shoved into the basement. She gets the guard tossed out before Jacob's even had a chance to leave the basement. She manages to play vulnerable enough that Jacob actually feels bad for her. Which makes him inclined to do little favors for her, favors that help her bring him down. She took his idea of how she should behave, and used it against him perfectly.

So Fi's back safe, the kidnappers are going to jail, the Annual Relationship Pattern may have moved on, and they have the contents of the safety deposit box. A Bible, that once belonged to a little man named. . . Simon.