Tuesday, July 20, 2010

What I'm Watching: Burn Notice

Burn Notice: Season 4, Episode 6 “Entry Point” (B+)

It’s somewhat of a relief that new team member Jesse actually gets along so well with Michael and the rest of the gang since they haven’t always had such a spotless record when it comes to getting along with people who desire to be involved in their ventures. Take Buddy, for instance, who serves as a continual annoyance for Michael and Fiona while they’re trying to help him and expresses his wishes to be included in all of the action even though he really can’t handle it. But speaking about the new guy who does fit in, Jesse is doing a much better job. Having him there as a literal sounding board for Michael’s ideas and helpful tips is even more entertaining than Michael’s usual narration. There’s also the added bonus of having Michael commend Jesse on his success at assuming the role of the weak and sentimental henchman. Tricking Kendra into thinking that her bank accounts had been trained and motivating her towards revenge proved to be a clever trick, and it’s good that he didn’t give himself away and reveal his duplicity. While it might have been fun to have Kendra stick around for a bit, it’s probably for the best that her arc ends with this episode since Navi Rawat’s stubbornness and forehead-splitting reminded me too much of her irksome and whiny guest spot on “24” during the show’s first season as a jealous nemesis of Kim Bauer’s. I did enjoy Jesse asking Sam if it’s weird that he misses him, though the best-delivered line of the episode was definitely Fiona’s affirmation to Michael of her abilities when it comes to getting what she wants from firefighters. Even if the villain in this episode was obvious from the start, it was worth it for that line alone.

3 comments:

Greg Boyd said...

This one was good, although I'll be sorry to see Kendra go. She should have stuck around for a while.

Is it just me, or is the client stuff starting to get a bit repetitive? Jesse has added a nice little wrinkle, though.

Movies with Abe said...

As far as I can tell, you've never been a fan of the client stuff. This episode seemed to be more fun in that regard because Buddy was an entertaining character.

I will admit that I expected right from the start that since Jesse and Sam were handling Kendra, Michael and Fiona would have to get a random side case. I do think that it's a format that works, and therefore for me it's not overly repetitive.

Greg Boyd said...

I think you misunderstand me. I'm not complaining about the formula itself (though it is my least favorite part of the show). I'm talking about the cases themselves. I'm fairly certain that we've seen this type of heist plot before. The same can be said for the biker gang plot a few weeks back. They're a bit different, but not very.

And I do agree that Buddy was cool. I hope he's a recurring character.