Monday, June 27, 2011

Burn Notice - Company Man


As the Fifth Season opens Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) is back with the CIA. Well, sort of. After the fallout of the Season Four finale Michael has begun working with the man who recruited him (Dylan Baker) to take down the various members of the shadow government conspiracy that burned him.

An open montage reveals that over the last six months Michael has worked with a team to track down all but one member of the conspiracy. Now he and Shaw (Grant Show), his CIA handler, go after the last piece of the puzzle, but to get this done their going to need a little help - namely Sam (a trimmed down Bruce Campbell) and Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar).


It's an interesting twist for a series that has taken place almost entirely in Miami to open with an episode that has very few scenes in the city that Michael has called home the past year. The inclusion of Fi and Sam on the job feels a little forced, but at least that gets them some screen time (and another fun scene playacting as husband and wife) which is more than I can say for Jesse (Coby Bell) and Madeline (Sharon Gless) who get little more than cameos in this episode.

Even if it diverges a bit from form, the episode is strong opener for the season that ends on its own cliffhanger. Michael's mission is accomplished, but his questions will have to go unanswered. Where will he go from here? Here's hoping the rest of the season provides entertaining answers to that question.

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