Burn Notice 4.15 - Brotherly Love

Plot: It might raise some eyebrows with Vaughn if Mike traveled to the Dominican Republic for the list auction, so that falls to Sam and Jesse. Their problem is that Justin Walsh is keeping the list constantly on the go until the day of the auction. It's gonna take Sam's skills at making friends, and Jesse's skills at deciphering a lot of information to sort this out.

In the meantime, Mike has to pick up Nate at the airport. The little brother's come to town to find a stolen car for a couple of old friends, Jeff and Billy. It's a little more than a car, though. The car was loaded with drugs belonging to Hector Rivera, and he and his lieutenant Caleb want those drugs. Michael can't let Nate handle it alone, so he's in, but he's gonna need info. Tony Soto's (2.11, "Hot Spot") the man to talk to, but Tony knows "Johnny", not Michael, so put that old role back on.

Tony points Johnny in the direction of Buckwild (hey, I didn't name him), but Caleb (who Rivera insisted accompany Johnny) shoots Buckwild before they can learn what happened to the car. Little suspicious, that. It gets worse when Caleb says he found the car, in a property Billy and Jeff happen to own. Fortunately, Fi and Nate got there first. Now comes the part where they have to use the car to incriminate Caleb before Hector loses patience and kills both the Taylors (and Johnny). Things all work out in the end, except for Caleb, and Nate heads west with some money for his incoming baby. Mike's headed south to help acquire the list, which goes remarkably smoothly. Now it's a matter of what to do with it.

The Players: Justin Walsh (Auctioneer/Covert Intelligence Thief), Jeff & Billy Taylor (Nate's Clients), Hector Rivera (Car Enthusiast/Drug Kingpin), Caleb (Michael's Cheerleader), Buckwild ('Former' Car Thief)

Quote of the Episode: Johnny - 'If I had known it was a party, I would have brought my floaties.'

Does Fiona blow anything up? She sets off a lot of little smoke bombs to cover Mike's escape with the list.

Sam Axe Drink Count: 3 (37 overall)

Sam Getting Hit Count: 0 (9 overall)

Michael's Fake Laugh Count: 0 (2 overall). Johnny's still not much of a laugher.

Other: Yes, he reuses the Johnny identity this week. Good times.

They burned Buckwild's chop shop down, per Tony's request. But the other 2 stolen cars were there and they presumably belonged to someone. Probably Rivera, but maybe not. Are they just writing them off as lost causes?

That hat Sam wears does not go with his shirt. Then again, it's a Gilligan hat and speaking from experience, those don't really go with anything.

Why was Nate wearing a cross when Mike picked him up at the airport? Has he found religion? More critically, is this what it's like to have a younger sibling? Being constantly held responsible for their bad decisions? I understand Maddy's concerned with Nate's looming fatherhood, and Mike's the trained operative, but she spends the entire episode acting like this is Michael's mess. Would she prefer he stay out of it? Maybe sucker punch Nate and put his unconscious form on a plane back to Vegas? No? Then stop giving Michael shit about it.

The bit where she whips out her camera to get a picture of the two of them all dressed up was cute.

Is it possible to dismantle an entire car, then put it back together in working condition in less than 8 hours? With no more than 3 people? Seems improbable.

This isn't a bad episode. I enjoy the return of Johnny, though I might have enjoyed seeing more of Sam and Jesse working together. A lot of their stuff was relegated to montages, and I don't think they ever really discussed Jesse's getting burned the way Jesse did with both Mike and Fi. It is hard to stay mad at Sam, though. The only issue I have is that Nate feels a little shoehorned in. Like they realized they had barely mentioned him this season, and maybe they ought to check in on him. I suppose the fact he's going to be a dad could be contrasting with Maddy's admission last week that she doesn't expect Mike and Fi to be having kids any time soon. Nate's growing up, concentrating on being a parent and all the annoying responsibilities that entails. Mike is running around with a gun negotiating with drug dealers and stealing lists of ruthless government employees.