Episode 3×03 of Burn Notice was called “End Run”, and served to show that Michael’s life will indeed be hell without Management protecting him. This time, it’s Brennen, the arms dealer who was introduced in Season 2 (but who I didn’t remember at all until I looked it up after the ep ended), who needs Michael to run a few quick errands for him.
Odd Job of the Week: Brennen is holding Nate hostage, and will kill him unless Michael does exactly what he wants. This amounts to going to various places to get information and documents so that Brennen can eventually steal a biometric lock for advanced infantry weapons. He doesn’t say what the lock does, but tells Michael that wars and killing will go on whether Brennen has this piece or not. The only difference is how much money Brennen can make off the wars.
So Michael does his thing, causing even Brennen to sit back and chuckle in admiration time and time again. Of course, Michael isn’t just going to let him have his way. He gets in contact with Sam, who, with Barry’s help, figures out a way to bluff Brennen into forgetting about his plan and letting Nate and Michael go.
Burn notice progress: Not much today at all. I think Michael and the gang are too concerned with holding off Det. Paxson to devote much time or effort to figuring out who burned Michael and why. They’ll probably get back to it by the time the finale rolls around!
Character development: Madeline and Barry are becoming friends! That is so hilarious!! And poor Michael feels responsible for screwing up Nate’s life even more than Nate does himself. And poor Nate thought he had a legitimate business opportunity on his hands, only to realize that it was once again all about Michael. Ah, the Westen clan is so screwed up!
My Reaction: I thought this was a decent episode. I wasn’t too crazy about the Brennen character, but liked that he was at least as awed by Michael’s super spy skills as I was. I also enjoyed seeing Nate come back, as that character was gone for far too long and family has always been a big part of what drives Michael. Looking forward to the next one!