Burn Notice (Season 4)

With the inconsistent and disjointed Season 3, I was a bit wary about whether or not Burn Notice's fourth season would reach the heights of the second. Well, it definitely did that.

Season 4 shifts things back to having a overarching plot rather than constantly throwing out villains like the odd numbered seasons. As a matter of fact, just like in Season 2, this season has Michael work for a handler, this time a man named Vaughn. While Carla was probably a bit more menacing and appeared far more often, I like how Vaughn mostly communicated in person rather than on the phone, and his stint as the season's antagonist in the final few episodes was pretty great. The season also brings back a bunch of old villains as well, with Simon, Larry, and Brennan all making strong appearances. Aside from the main storyline and villains, what made this season so strong is just how much it slowly improves throughout. It just keeps building and building towards a big finale, and ends up delivering with a phenomenal final trio of episodes that feel like the end of an era for the show.

But the real highlight of the season is the storyline about Jesse, an agent that Michael accidentally burned. I really like Jesse, he might actually be my favorite character of the show right now (if not second to Sam). He lends a great sense of energy to the cast, I like his failed attempts at bonding with the core trio, and the conflict about learning out who burned him was some of the most compelling parts of the season. However, this season wasn't perfect, as the client of the week episodes were probably some of the weakest in the series. There were a few experiments to keep things varied like the Fiona-focused episode and an episode about Michael in prison, but otherwise, they were all so dull and generic. It's a shame because I think there are a ton of unique ideas like Bad Breaks and Friendly Fire to really change up the dynamics of the show, but the show rarely tries anything new. At this point, I'd be fine if the series just stopped with the clients all together, the burn notice storyline is far more compelling anyway.

This season had a ton of great episodes, especially in the second half:

Where There's Smoke: I don't like Fiona. Her motivations are inconsistent and her selfish attitude stopped being funny a while ago. However, I actually quite liked this episode. Fiona got captured, but this time, she escapes all on her own. Even more, she's actually kinda fun to watch and her reunion with Michael was super low-key. The subplots were great too, the opening about Madeline robbing a bank was easily her best and funniest moment, and the big cliffhanger about Simon is exciting.

Hard Time: As far as clients of the week go, this is one of the better ones. Michael trying to protect a guy in prison is a cool concept and a great vehicle to show off his skills. But the real highlight is the return of Simon, one of the show's best villains, who leads to the big reveal that Vaughn definitely played a part in him getting burned.

Guilty As Charged: While the client of the week plot is fairly standard, the rest of the episode is fantastic. Jesse dealing with learning Michael burned him is a really compelling storyline, and the big final confrontation at the end of the episode was incredibly devastating and chaotic, bringing the whole cast together in a massive skirmish that ends on a pretty big cliffhanger.

Out Of The Fire: Larry's a great villain, Brennan's a great villain, so having them together in a single episode would obviously lead to something especially great. Not only is this a tense outing with some great set-up for the finale, but I love how the two teaming up lead to their most crippling defeat yet, with Brennan dead and Larry in prison.

Last Stand: This was easily one of the most accurate episode titles in the series. The big final battle with Vaughn was just big, it was a desperate and tense all-out war that almost resulted in nearly everyone dying. I don't think the cliffhanger was as good as Lesser Evil's, but seeing Michael back in DC leads to some exciting possibilities for the future.

Overall, Season 4 was a big improvement on the third with a solid overarching plot, a great new character, and a top-notch finale. However, I'm starting to get a bit bored of the client of the week episodes.

4/5 Stars