Burn Notice "Loose Ends" (2007)

Well it's been a hell of a ride. Watching the entire first season of Burn Notice in two weeks was certainly a treat but ]ll it does now is make it unbearable to wait a whole week before another new episode makes it way onto the airwaves. I did love this finale as it showed with Michael back at the helm the gang inched its way back on top after how part one ended with Sam captured and Fiona on the run. Michael's burn notice is certainly interfering with his side business now as while he's trying to devise a rescue plan for Sam, agents working for Cowan's boss are trying to bring Michael in and are always a step behind him wherever he goes.

I wish we had seen more of Michael, Nate, Madeline and Fiona all in hiding together. The comedy potential for such a group living together is too much to contemplate. However, on second consideration, it would have been out of place with the feel 0f the rest of the episode so we only get a brief glimpse. Michael eventually tells his mother and brother they have to leave Miami for their own safety. Michael's not as cold to his family as he seems when he admits he is scared for his mother and hugs her before their departure assuring her he knows she made sacrifices for the family as well as he did. He even comes to an understanding with Nate and it looks like the two warring brothers have declared a truce, at least for now.

I think this might have been the first time Michael may have been at a loss about how to resolve their current situation but it didn't last long. Michael determines that he is going to rescue Sam and even makes a deal with the pursuing agents to come in peacefully to give him enough time to pull off his plan. What says friendship like wiring a club with C4 on a dead man switch in order to extort information out a rival heroin dealer to find out about the men holding Sam? Sam and Michael's goodbye was a sweet moment as Sam says he wanted to keep Michael out of danger but would have done the same for him as well. Sam is certainly pretty tough in his own right as he held his own against the special forces squad holding him captive. Campbell was in top form, joking while taking numerous hits in order to keep his spirits up and figure out a way to keep Michael and Fiona out of danger.

I think this would have made a good season premiere. Relating to what I wrote about part one, I think the cliffhanger there works much better as a season finale ending as here everything is resolved with everyone safe and sound and Michael on his way to meet the woman who was behind his burn notice. Not that I'm not interested in what's going on with the Burn Notice but what a way that would have been to end the season with the cliffhanger from part one. But I guess the writers wanted some sense of closure should the show not have been renewed. I am looking forward to season two as long as it keeps the gang together in Miami with Mama Weston there to provide the occasional tangential guilt trip.

Favorite moment: Michael's one-man assault on the ship holding Sam shows just how good a commando he is. His fight with Harrick (Johnny Messner) was both brutal and showed the Michael is not a superman and can be defeated by someone else. In fact without the timely intervention of Sam hitting Harrick in the head with the door, the plan may not have come off. I also liked that Michael didn't necessarily kill Harrick as there is still time to get him medical attention. Has anyone been killed by the group yet? I find it interesting that these three who have all lead pretty grueling and dangerous lives in the field have not killed any of the people who so often do deserve it sometimes. It adds to the heroic nature of the characters and it's going to be a treat to see how much farther they can go.