Some spy gets blacklisted goes freelance, he could be standing right in front of you; you wouldn’t even know it.

After the incredible highs of the last two weeks, we had to expect we’d eventually have a bit of a let down. Fortunately, this is Burn Notice, where even the off episodes are eminently entertaining. Plus, we can always count on Fiona and the FX guys to give us some tasty explosions.

The Recap

Miles Parker ((Apparently Charlie Davis was busy, but this is still a smooth, jazzy riff.)) here to give you a quick rundown of the situation. Michael’s in need of some quick cash so he won’t be indebted to his “friend” Seymour for too long so he takes a job from Fi. Art dealer, name of Chandler, found a bug on his phone and some other evidence of espionage. That’s where I come in. “Any place where a little information goes a long way. I’ve been there to protect it.”

Things are not what they seem with Chandler, however. Disabling a keylogger draws the spy out of the woodwork and I discover his receptionist has been the one digging around. But she has cause. Her estranged father was a celebrated artist and former client of Chandler’s, but when he threatened to go to another dealer, taking hundreds of thousands in commissions with him, Chandler had him killed and stole his final painting, worth millions.

So I take on the role of spyhunter, though in actuality I hunt myself.

It takes little effort to push Chandler:

• I wipe out the hard drives containing the security footage. This keeps Chander from seeing Melanie breaking in and allows me to imply a conspiracy.
• I use that as my entre to Chandler’s computers where Sam discovers evidence that Chandler met with Jacob Orr, his likely wetworks man, several times the week Melanie’s father died.
• Fiona entices Orr in a hotel bar and she and Sam leave him unconscious. This causes Orr to get nervous and push back on Chandler.
• I go to Chandler’s place and tell him a man and woman broke into my home and ransacked my files.
• While waiting for some special equipment to break into Chandler’s vault, Melanie takes it on herself to look around the office on a weekend. But Chandler’s set up a honeypot for his supposed spy and heads down there.
• I switch plans and take advantage of the girl’s mistake and have her leave a crude device that looks like a bomb by the entrance to the gallery. Meanwhile I call Chandler and tell him there’s been an attempt on my life. When I arrive, I show him the “bomb” through he door and he tells me about the painting.
• One last nudge: Fiona blows up his car. Chandler is now willing to hand the painting over to me to save himself from an enemy who doesn’t exist.

While I’m playing Chandler, Seymour is beating the bushes to track down Michael’s bomber. The bomber moonlights for the Russian mob, and with that information Seymour tracks down his girlfriend who leads them straight to Derek Poole: Bomber for Hire.

Disruptor shells to knock out Derek’s booby traps and a blitz on the cottage where he’s hiding and Derek’s talking in no time. All he can provide is the number of a bank account, but that should be enough for Michael to track down the bag man.

Character

This was sort of an odd episode, and not nearly as emotionally satisfying as the previous two, but at least it brought back Seymour ((Silas Weir Mitchell will always be Haywire to me. That was an indelible performance. Still, he’s a lot of fun here.)) for some laughs. I just now realized what was missing: family. There was some fun cat and mouse between Fiona and Michael, a lot of good Sam moments – especially as regards the renewal of formal relations between those two combatants – and even Seymour got in the game with his engraved throwing daggers, but we had no Madeline. A Burn Notice without Madeline just isn’t the same.

But what we did get, especially Michael telling Fi he’d brought her an egg-white Spanish omelet and her reaction to that, was still nice. There were no thrills like last week’s rain-soaked kiss, but this was a decent aftermath. I just wish they’d found a way to squeeze in a trip to Michael’s mom.

Chin Bits

• “This corporate espionage stuff is kinda fun, you know? There’s no guns, no explosions. It’s like going on the kiddie rides at the carnival.”
• “I’m going to grab another beer…and drink it on the balcony.”
• “How many times do you have to touch the flame before it burns?”
• “I object to the fact that you wanted me to work with her without telling me that you were doing a little bootie call.”
• “I’d say you have a gift for getting men to make bad choices.”
• Just watching Bruce Campbell try – repeatedy – and fail – repeatedly – to break down the hotel room door is funny. I could watch that for hours. More entertaining than most of NBC’s primetime lineup.
• “I can drink this outside if you two need some alone time.”
• “Careful now. Last time I saw you, you got your ass kicked by a girl smaller than her.”

Important Lessons in Spycraft

• A spy can’t hold grudges because yesterday’s bat wielding assailant might be today’s resource.
• In order to protect someone without blowing your cover, you need a believable story that both of you can play.
• “More spies get caught changing batteries and fixing wires than any other single activity.”
• To make an electromagnet strong enough to wipe out disks, you might use a wall socket, but if one isn’t available a car battery works just as well. Just be sure to use a large enough wire.
• When you’re playing a spyhunter hunting yourself, the trail can lead wherever you say it does and you are in the best position to induce paranoia in your target.
• For a female operative, picking up a man in bar is a delicate balancing act. If it’s too easy, the man will get suspicious. ((Uh, maybe a spy will, but as a man I can say if it’s too easy I just assume she’s drunk. Or has daddy issues. Either way: score!))
• The difference between a spy and a thief is that a spy has to go back in the next day.
• People tend to hide things in places they have easy access. Smart targets don’t always do that, so you have to look for moved furniture, scuffs on walls, anything out of place.
• Disruptor shells – shotgun shells filled with water – can destroy explosives without setting them off. And while they can be deadly up close, at 10 feet, they just hurt.

Final Thoughts

• She’s been working regularly, but I hadn’t seen Marla Sokoloff in a while. It was good to see her again. ((My little crush on Marla started when she was at least 20, so keep your dirty thoughts to yourself.))
• Likewise Joel Gretsch, although in his case it’s a bit more bittersweet. Seeing Gretsch on USA again just reminded me that we won’t be seeing any more episodes of The 4400.
• I have a feeling we’ve not seen the last of Seymour’s engraved throwing daggers. They looked a bit like Chekov guns.
• I hate spoilers and I won’t share them, not even things from the previews for the next episode. That said, I’m weak and never can get myself to turn away from previews, so I’m really excited for next week. I think it’s going to be a very fun outing.

What did everyone else think?