Burn Notice 5.13 - Damned If You Do

Plot: Now that Anson has Michael under his thumb, it's time to get to brass tacks. Michael has to travel to Puerto Rico and find a man named Oswald, who created a virus called Voidbot, then get a copy of that virus. He brings him back to Miami, but there's a problem. Oswald was paid in advance by a drug dealer named Xavier for Voidbot, then arrested and put into witness protection. Now that he's back in country, Xavier wants his Voidbot, his money, and Oswald's life. Oswald's not really helping Mike's efforts either, not at first. Mike wins him over with compassion, amazing as that might sound, and between the two of them, they get Mike a copy of the virus, frame Xavier for it, and get Oswald bac out of the country. Of course, now that Michael has Voidbot, Anson wants him to use it - and Michael's new higher clearance with the Agency - to wipe Anson's records from the CIA computers.

There's also a substory about Jesse, Sam, and Maddy trying to determine how likely the police are to connect the consulate bombing to Fiona. The answer is, not likely, as long as Anson keeps his yap shut. Which, gee, I don't know, killing him would certainly seem to guarantee that. And don't give me that, "the information gets leaked if he doesn't check in every so often line". I don't buy that Anson would actually take those measures, because that would imply he's gonna be defeated, and he's too smug to even contemplate that.

The Players: Anson (The Man Who Framed Michael), Oswald (Computer Genius), Sherry (Oswald's "Associate"), Xavier (Big Problem)

Quote of the Episode: Michael - 'I've been past saving before. You didn't walk away, Fi. I'm not going to.'

Does Fiona blow anything up? An SUV, strictly as a diversion.

Sam Axe Drink Count: 4 (18 overall).

Sam Getting Hit Count: 0 (7 overall).

Michael Fake Laugh Count: 0 (9 overall).

Other: I like that Jesse pinned his bringing Madeline to the police as a "witness" on his fictitious girlfriend. At least, I assume he's not dating anyone. Wouldn't blame him if he opted to keep that part of his life separate from Michael's typhoon of madness. My point being, Jesse's been trading a lot on his past government work recently, and I have to think he's going to exhaust that credit sooner or later. Here, the cops gave him a chance because of his CIFA past, but he makes it clear it wasn't his idea to bring Maddy.

The funny thing is, I enjoyed a lot of this episode when I wasn't expecting to. Jesse and Sam trying to teach Maddy some more spycraft. The pettiness Maddy demonstrates by taking Sam's beer after he takes away her smokes. Oswald's the type of client that can be irritating really easily, but he's played as sort of a big kid. He pouts, he yells, he throws tantrums at the drop of a hat. It's comical enough that I enjoy his presence for the exasperation he brings to Michael. It helps that Oswald didn't approach him. I always find myself befuddled at the people who ask for Michael's help, then don't do what he tells them. But he abducted Oswald, so as Oswald points out, he has no reason to help Michael.

I like that Michael and Fiona's roles are reversed. Michael is usually the one who doesn't want to get involved, or advises clear thinking, while Fi is the one planning to go forward regardless of the risks. Here, Fi's the one taking the fatalistic approach., advising Michael to give up on her, rather than go forward with Anson's wishes. What's especially intriguing about it is they aren't required to behave out of character for it. Michael is going along with Anson not only because he fears losing Fiona, but also because he's sure if strings this along, he can turn the tables, as he has on everyone else so far. Fiona's considering turning herself not only to keep Michael from doing something he can't fix later, but because she doesn't tolerate being under the thumb of someone like Anson. Fiona's never been the patient sort, and she'd rather take the direct approach. If you can't neutralize Anson by killing him, remove his leverage.

All that being said, I'm still not a fan on Anson. Without fail, his arrival on screen disappoints me, because I want someone to strike him, and nobody does. Like when Jesse and Sam are going over what Maddy got them. I was enjoying that, then Anson shows up with his smug face and vague threats, and nobody puts his face through the table. If he's not gonna get punched, then he needs to just go away. No such luck.