Burn Notice's second season was a big improvement as it seemed like the show was really starting to find its footing. Its third season, while still good and entertaining, is a bit of a step down.
Season 3's main storyline is a bit more disjointed than last season's. Now that he's free from Management, Michael has become entirely vulnerable, meaning that he can be targeted by the police, old enemies, and sleazy opportunists. So unlike Season 2, which had an overarching villain, this season feels more like it's split up into self-contained story arcs, all of which of varying quality. The season starts with an arc about Michael trying to get a detective off his back, which was fine. The idea of the storyline is fun, and the client of the week episodes during this arc were especially fun, but Paxson's obsessive nature became slightly more uncomfortable than entertaining. Soon after, there's a storyline about Michael meeting an agent named Strickler who offers to help him regain his CIA job, and it's easily the weakest part of the season. Strickler is really annoying and nonthreatening, and Michael's relationship with Fiona became even more frustrating than last season! I'd understand the primary conflict was about whether or not Strickler was trustworthy, but instead it was about Fiona not wanting Michael to get his old job back and clear his burn notice. It seemed somewhat selfish of her after all he's been through because of that burn notice and left me pretty done with their relationship. I never really liked Michael and Fiona together, but now I genuinely feel like they're being forced together when they just don't work.
Thankfully, the second half of the season was much stronger and hooked me back into the Burn Notice storyline. Garza's death kicked the plot into high gear as Michael tried to take down his psychopathic killer, Gilroy. Gilroy might be one of my favorite Burn Notice villains, he's so calm but he's also so smug that you feel like he could do anything at any moment. His banter with Mike is great, the mark of any strong antagonist, and his conflict builds up to a pretty great final battle. Just like Season 1, the main villain is killed off in the second-to-last episode. Unlike Season 1, however, the phenomenal finale is packed with plot twists and action, and brought things back to the main conflict with Management. The client of the week episodes are also a lot better in this part of the season, as we not only get some of Mike's best and funniest covers, but some great appearances from characters like Sugar and Larry. It's still not perfect, it takes a few episodes until the annoying Michael/Fiona conflict fully dies down, but this second half is much more on the level of Season 2.
Despite my criticisms of the season, there were quite a few episodes I did really like:
Long Way Back: While I didn't quite like this season's first half, this was easily the craziest midseason finale yet. The storyline about Fiona's brother was actually pretty fun, especially since it gave us Michael's hilariously bad Irish accent. And once again, the final third was pretty surprising as Strickler dies (finally), Fiona nearly died, and Garza being killed leaving Michael wondering what the hell is going on?
Friendly Fire: This was a solid episode elevated by easily the best Michael cover in the whole series. Michael playing the devil, of sorts, was incredibly fun, from Fiona cuing explosions to the snap of his fingers, to his detached attitude. The gang war storyline itself was also pretty fun, but there's something about seeing a nearly unstoppable Michael that I just adored.
Enemies Closer: Larry's back! While this episode wasn't quite as intense as Double Booked, his sheer existence is always just a ton of fun. I also really liked the concept, Larry pretending to be Michael and angering the cartel in his arm is a pretty inventive concept. There's also some of the show's most memorable setpieces here, particularly the mattress jump that ended up getting tested on Mythbusters (as was shooting through the floorboards in Lesser Evil, they were both busted).
Devil You Know: Killing off Gilroy so early could have been a disaster, but this finale worked really well! Simon is an amazing and terrifying villain, and the decision to bring Management back for the final confrontation was great. There were some great twists here and a surprisingly strong Madeline subplot, but the ending was also a bit of a mind screw. It probably wasn't as good as Lesser Evil, but this was another strong Burn Notice finale.
Overall, Season 3 got off to a rough start with some frustrating character dynamics and weak storylines, but the second half saved the season with its great client of the week episodes, memorable villain, and great ending.
3/5 Stars
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