Episode 3×03 of Burn Notice was called “Questions & Answers”, and I have to say that it was another fine offering! In all honesty, during S1, I thought Burn Notice was just kind of a cheesy show that was fun summer viewing, but over the years it’s been on, it has developed into a pretty solid series. I could definitely picture something like this on a national network!
Odd Job of the Week: Fi, who apparently makes money as a bounty hunter, has another job from a past client. This woman is named Patricia, and she’s worried because her son Brandon didn’t come home after spending a couple days with dad Howard. Patricia and Howard are separating, and she thinks he might be withholding the boy as a bargaining tool. Mike and Fi agree to help get Brandon back. But once they talk to Howard, they realize the boy has been kidnapped by men who want to use him as a bargaining chip to secure some diamonds that Howard has access to.
Without any leads on Brandon’s whereabouts and with time running out, Michael decides on a very risky play: the reverse interrogation. Basically, he’ll pose as a junkie informant while Sam plays a bad cop. Sam will let Santora (the kidnapper) know that the junkie has info about a double-cross on Santora’s job. For a couple thousand, Sam the bad cop will let Santora interrogate the junkie first. This works — although Michael has to take quite a few punches to “sell it” — and the crew get the boy back safe and sound.
Burn notice progress: Nothing happens as far as the real burn notice goes, but Michael does meet a woman named Det. Paxon, who promises that she’s going to be his “worst nightmare”. Paxson says that she’s been noticing a lot of explosions around town since Michael arrived a couple years ago, and that she’ll be keeping a sharp eye on him. She even knows where he keeps his stash of explosives. But fortunately for Mike, she’s not a dirty cop, so while she’s waiting for a warrant to move in on the storage facility, Mike, Fiona, and Sam are able to sneak in first and retrieve all the C4.
Character Development: This episode was Michael’s birthday (it originally aired on June 11, but I don’t know if that’s the real date in BN land). We learn that he never had parties while growing up, and that the most Madeline ever did was order take out. This time, she cooks a meal and bakes a cake for a dinner party with Michael, Fiona, and Sam. Sam then gives Mike a “five-pack” of expensive beer (apparently he couldn’t resist testing the goods), and Fi gives him a WWI bayonet — since Madeline had earlier said that loving Mike was like “trench warfare”.
My Reaction: As I said, this was a pretty good episode. I was pleasantly surprised at how good Sam was in his role as bad cop. He totally has that look and pulled off that character brilliantly! It’s not often that he’s better than Mike during these assignments, but he was awesome here! He definitely has that look of some guy you’d go to for a used car or rv finance deal, but that totally works for him. I also have to say that I’m liking Fiona more and more. She didn’t bother me at all in this ep — even with the whole “I thought you better arm yourself” thing. Oh, and Paxon seems interesting thus far. Loads better than Carla, at least. I can’t wait to see where that goes!