Mario Kart: Double Dash

Mario Kart: Double Dash was the first Mario game I ever played, and I thought it was the hardest thing in the world (Granted, I was four). However, it wasn't until a few weeks ago when I actually managed to play the full thing, and it was excellent.

Double Dash is a Mario Kart game, meaning that you drive around through sixteen crazy courses as characters from the Mario series. The main gimmick of this one is the ability to control two characters in one kart. On a superficial level, anyone who is unsure of which character to play as doesn't have to worry anymore! But on a gameplay level, this new mechanic completely changes up how items work. Not only does two characters allow you to carry two items at once, but each character has their own incredibly powerful special items, all of which have their own strengths. As a result, Double Dash's races are the most chaotic in any Mario Kart game as items are constantly being tossed around the track, making this easily the best party experience in the series.

It helps that the controls in Double Dash are pretty much perfect, feeling just challenging enough to be rewarding without feeling unwieldy to control. Drifting feels great, the kart is weighty, and the general speed is incredibly fast. It helps that the animations are incredibly dynamic as the racers lean left and right during turns, cling on for dear life whenever they get hit, and hold their items in the air where you can see them. Speaking for which, the cartoony GameCube art style that Double Dash goes for looks great. It's bright and colorful, and the animations look great. The music is also pretty good, though pretty standard fare for a Mario Kart game. There are some highlights, however, like the catchy "Mushroom Bridge", the upbeat "Mario Circuit" theme, and the absolutely amazing "Rainbow Road".

But how about the courses? Well, Double Dash probably has the best difficulty curve in the whole series. The early tracks in the Mushroom Cup are easy and simple, but the final tracks in the Special Cup are insanely fun and complex. This game is also willing to experiment a bit, which is evident from the very first track which uses intersecting paths like no other in the series. We also have "Baby Park", a simple 7-lap oval track that quickly gets flooded with items, "Daisy Cruiser", an entire track taking place on a boat, "Yoshi Circuit", a track shaped like the titular character, and "Wario Colosseum", a twisty-turny track so long it only has 2 laps. I wouldn't call this the best track lineup in the series (Wii, DS, or 8 might beat that), but it's a really strong one nonetheless.

However, while all of this makes Double Dash an amazing party game, it also makes it a pretty weak single-player affair. With only 16 tracks (retro courses start in the next game) and no single-player VS or Battle modes, there isn't much to do if you're not playing with friends. The game does have a bunch of unlockables, particularly characters and karts, but it won't be too long before you accomplish everything the game has to offer. Between DS's missions, Wii's online, and 8's massive course roster, Double Dash doesn't quite stack up in terms of its replay value. Still, as a multiplayer party game, Double Dash might just be the best of the bunch.

Overall, now that I've managed to play every single Mario Kart game to date, I can definitely say that Double Dash is up there with some of my favorites. It's fast, it's chaotic, and boasts some of the best controls, mechanics, and tracks in the series, even if it might not be the best single-player experience.

4/5 Stars

Psych (Season 3)

While I definitely enjoyed the first two seasons of Psych, they did have their own individual problems that prevented them from being truly great. Season 3, on the other hand, is the point at which Psych really starts to become one of my favorite comedies.

With Season 2 being fairly lacking in character work, the premiere indicates that this season will not have the same issue. Ghosts is jam-packed with great character-driven subplots, from Shawn reuniting with his mom to Gus being forced to choose between Psych and his job. While the show still doesn't utilize any overarching storylines, Season 3 actually starts to develop the characters and progress some of the threads. Shawn's mom actually sticks around and becomes a recurring character (though still not appearing all that often), Lassiter briefly reunites with his ex-wife to finalize their divorce, Shawn gets a new girlfriend by the end of the season, and the finale has the team face off against their biggest criminal yet. Even with how episodic Psych is, the characters have always been one of its greatest strengths, so the fact that Season 3 is far more character-driven was a great decision for the show.

This season also includes far more experimental episodes aside from the standard cases of the week. There's a homage to John Hughes movies, a hostage crisis episode (a Blue Skies TV staple), and an even a horror episode that's legitimately kind of intense. As a whole, these experiments comprise about half of the season, so there is still plenty of standard Psych fare, but I really love how much more varied the show is starting to become. Even the more basic cases of the week are generally better this season, with episodes like Daredevils, Six Feet Under The Sea, and Christmas Joy being elevated by the show's strong writing. Once again, the writing this season has improved since Season 2 and is far more consistently funny. However, I won't say that every episode managed to stand out, with "There Might Be Blood" and "Any Given Friday Night" being particularly uninteresting.

Still, there were a lot of highlights this season, with these being the biggest:

Gus Walks Into A Bank: I wrote about this in a Burn Notice review, but there's something about bank robbery episodes where they always end up being great. While I don't quite love this one as much as Bad Breaks, the decision to slot the otherwise goofy Shawn and Gus into a tense and serious situation led to a ton of really funny moments, along with a compelling mystery.

Six Feet Under The Sea: I still don't quite get why I love this episode so much. It's a fairly standard case about an aquatic murder mystery, but the comedic writing managed to be some of the best in the whole series? Maybe it's the fact that the victim is a sea lion, maybe it's the many hilarious sea puns, maybe it's Shawn and Gus breaking into an aquarium, or maybe it's all of the above. Regardless, this episode is just too damn funny.

Lassie Did A Bad, Bad Thing: Lassiter is one of my favorite characters in the series, maybe second to Gus, mostly because I love his dynamic with the Psych duo. His reluctance to interact with them makes episodes where he's forced to ask them for help incredibly satisfying and oddly heartwarming. It's funny, it's tense, it's sweet, and it develops the group dynamic just a little bit more.

Tuesday The 17th: Judging by the name, you can tell that this whole episode is a homage to slasher movies, and the genius stroke here is to start it off as more of a parody, but when the murders start, the episode suddenly becomes deathly serious. What ensues is a surprisingly tense and scary love letter to slasher flicks, juxtaposed with an emotionally affecting and incredibly important subplot for Lassiter.

An Evening With Mr Yang: I adore the Yang finales. The decision to end the season with a dramatic episode, with Shawn forced to partake in a cat-and-mouse game with a serial killer, is really great. This finale in particular is incredibly tense and packed with great set pieces, and the ending where Shawn starts dating Abigail even though Juliet has feelings for him is a great cliffhanger.

Overall, Season 3 was a big improvement for Psych, kickstarting what I like to call the peak of the series (Seasons 3-6). It's funny, inventive, and has some of the best character work to date.

4/5 Stars

Touhou Soundtrack Retrospective Part 2: The Music CDs

So I pretty much finished my retrospective of my favorite music from my favorite video game series, but when I was reviewing the Touhou soundtracks, I noticed that I was excluding some of their best scores, those from the Music CDs. Touhou's Music CDs are super underrated and boast some of the strongest music ZUN has ever composed. They can be dark, experimental, and downright exhausting to listen to (in a good way!), so I wanted to rank all of them as well:

1. Changeability Of Strange Dream (#3)

Man, where do I even start with this one? When I said the CDs can be exhausting to listen to, this is the one I was talking about. CoSD's music is intense, every single song amps up the drama, melancholy, and eerieness with melodramatic piano solos and hard-hitting techno. But even more than that, CoSD's music is good, like really good. Every single song knocks it out of the park, to the point where sometimes I just get exhausted by how good it all is. The album grabs you with the ode to ZUN himself and never lets you go for all of its eleven songs. The ratio of remixes to original music is perfect, and both halves absolutely knock it out of the park. As far as the original music goes, we have the beautiful "Kid's Festival - Innocent Treasures", the quirky "Boys And Girls Of Science Era", and the chill-inducing "Border Between Dream And Reality". For the remixes, we got the return of two of Imperishable Night's best pieces, the criminally underrated Yukari theme "Night Falls", the phenomenal remix of "Mystic Maple" that pretty much invalidates the original, and the crushingly hopeless remix of one of Seihou's most memorable themes, "Phantasm Machine - Phantom Factory". Seriously, I cannot understate how good this album is, it might just be the best thing ZUN has ever done.

2. Dolls In Pseudo Paradise (#1)

If you like the uniquely distorted sound of Embodiment Of Scarlet Devil, wanted some more PC-98 and Seihou remixes, or wanted a Touhou soundtrack that's dark and eerie, then Dolls In Pseudo Paradise is for you. The story alone is one of the creepiest takes on Gensokyo to date, and the whole soundtrack is just plain beautiful. It's the perfect showcase of what makes early ZUN so great, with every song having a compelling sense of melancholy even with how upbeat they could feel on the surface. There aren't too many original tracks, but the ones that do exist like "Forest Of Dolls" and "Legend Of Hourai" are great, and the remixes stem from so many of ZUN's different works like Seihou, the PC-98 games, and even the obscure Torte Le Magic. And even with the variety, there's a consistently dark tone makes the soundtrack feel more cohesive than many of the other music CDs. It's also really hard for me to list my favorite tracks here, you really need to listen to the whole thing. The remixes "Enigmatic Doll" from Seihou 2, "UN Owen Was Her" from Touhou 6, "Eternal Shrine Maiden" and "Strange Oriental Discourse" from Touhou 1, and "Reincarnation" from Touhou 3 are all probably the highlights, all of which completely surpass the original compositions. The whole CD is great, though, so many of the themes rank up with some of my favorite Touhou music ever.

3. Magical Astronomy (#5)

As far as the original tracks go, Magical Astronomy is easily the high point of the CDs, with a whopping seven original tracks and all of them ranging from great to absolutely fantastic. The whole CD has wondrous and soaring vibe that perfectly fits its story about going into space. I also love how certain songs feel like they're directed towards pivotal figures in space travel, particularly "The Wheelchair's Future In Space" obviously being about Stephen Hawking. As far as highlights go, I love the awe-inspiring "Welcome To The Moon Tour", the emotional "The Far Side Of The Moon", the jolly "Greenwich In The Sky", and especially the epic "G Free" that could've been a perfect final boss theme (wait a sec...). There aren't too many remixes here, but along with a great Shoot The Bullet remix, we also get easily the greatest remix in all nine CDs in "Necrofantasia", which takes all of the previous versions of the song, improves the instrumentation in case the original hurts your ears, and turns it into a beautiful and impactful seven-minute track. Overall, Magical Astronomy is absolutely worth listening to if you're a Touhou fan, containing some amazing original tracks and ZUN's best remix.

4. Neo-Traditionalism In Japan (#7)

This is the perfect example of a CD that manages to juggle strong remixes and original tracks without one category overshadowing the other. Nearly every track here is great, with hardly a weak point to be found. For the original tracks, we get "Led On By A Cow To Visit Zenkou Temple" which nails the title theme vibe, along with the eclectic "Izanagi Object". As for the remixes, we have "Let's Live In A Lovely Cemetery" and "Heartfelt Fancy" getting great updates, along with "Fate Of Sixty Years" and "Youkai Back Street Road" getting remixes that absolutely bring them to new heights. My only issue with this CD is my struggle to figure out what kind of vibe it's going for, as if it's trying to capture that same weird vibe of Dr Latency and Dateless Bar without really going all the way. Despite that, Neo Traditionalism In Japan has easily one of the best selections of songs, with highlights for both the remixes and original tracks. 

5. Dr Latency's Freak Report (#8)

Dr Latency's Freak Report is weird and experimental, but unlike a certain other CD ranked lower than this, I think it tends to work a lot more. It's got a good balance of strong original tracks and a great selection remixes, many of which improve on the originals, and the CD has a general sense of consistency throughout. My only issue is that most of the remixes are so good, they kinda overshadow the original tracks. "The Frozen Eternal Capital", "The Shining Needle Castle", and "The Sea Where The Home Planet Is Reflected" are already some of my favorites in the series, so having them all in the same CD is a bit unfair. Still, there are some original tracks worth noting like "Natural History Of The Childlike Duo" and "Schrodinger's Bakeneko". Frankly, Dr Latency's Freak Report is a really good and consistently strong CD, but the original tracks, while still great, do struggle to match up against the phenomenal selection of remixes.

6. Ghostly Field Club (#2)

The first Hifuu club CD and easily the most solid of the bunch, in my opinion, with a pretty good lineup of both remixes and original tracks. My biggest problem with Ghostly Field Club is that it saves all of its best tracks for the second half of the CD. The first half has some solid remixes and great original tracks, but from "Mary The Magician" onward, the CD just becomes amazing, with some of my favorite tracks in both categories. "Mary The Magician" is an experimental and eerie track that borders into horror and "Illusionary Eternal Festival" feels like a triumphant yet melancholy credits theme. As for remixes, we get a strong remix of "Necro-Fantasy" along with an even better remix of Seihou's already great "Magical Girl Crusade". The second half even brings in an unused track from one of the mainline games just to make it even more special. Overall, I like Ghostly Field Club a lot, but I'd rank it as one of my favorites if the whole thing was just a bit more consistently strong.

7. Dateless Bar "Old Bar" (#9)

This CD goes for a bit of a goofy vibe, trying to create the feel of getting drunk at a bar or something. As a result, a lot of the music is experimental, and I do respect ZUN for trying something new with this one. Not much of the original songs really stuck with me, with the except of "Old Adam Bar" which might be one of my favorite original CDs songs in general. I also really love the remixes in this CD which tend to improve on their source material more often than not. "Omiwa Legend" gives one of the less memorable tracks a great techno vibe that makes it hit so much harder, "Pandemonic Planet" is generally higher quality, and "Rural Makai City Esoteria" adds more instruments to make it sound fuller. Not all the remixes are as strong, "The Lost Emotion" is exactly the same as the original, but overall, they're welcome additions. Overall, I quite like Dateless Bar, it has some unique original songs and great remixes, but it also doesn't stack up to the best CDs of the bunch.

8. Retrospective 53 Minutes (#4)

Some of the CDs suffer from an issue where the remixes completely overshadow the original songs, and this is definitely one of the most blatant instances of this. Retrospective 53 Minutes includes some of my favorite songs in the series like "Reach For The Moon, Immortal Smoke" and "Higan Retour", along with outstanding remixes of songs like "Locked Girl" and "Retrospective Kyoto", but the original songs are a bit lacking. The CD goes for a more chill and laidback vibe with a lot of its music which I'm just not a big fan of, with the worst being "Blue Sea Of 53 Minutes" which is relaxing to listen to but also completely lacking in melody. Still, the original tunes aren't all bad, I do really like "Hiroshige No 31" which is an upbeat tune all about trains. However, with only four original tunes and just one of them standing out, Retrospective 53 Minutes is definitely just carried by the remixes.

9. Trojan Green Asteroid (#6)

This CD is easily the weakest for me for a number of reasons. First of all and most importantly, the original tracks are mostly misses. The only original track in the CD that I really love is "Satellite TORIFUNE", which captures the exciting vibe of some of the series' best menu themes. As for the remixes, they're also a bit hit or miss. The remixes of "Hartmann's Youkai Girl" and "Desire Drive" actually surpass the originals, utilizing Ten Desires' distinct soundfont to give the songs a new twist. On the other hand, the remixes of "Emotional Skyscraper" and "UFO Romance", while still great songs, are nearly exactly the same as the original. It also feels like the CD is trying to go for a space-y vibe that other CDs do so much better than this one. Not to be too harsh, any music from ZUN is great and there are some great songs here, but Trojan Green Asteroid is a bit of weak point.

Fate/Zero

Before I start this review, I'd like to outline my plan for going through the Fate anime. The Fate series was something that I wanted to get into for quite some time, the only problem being how do I get into it? Three different routes, a prologue, anime adaptations of varied qualities, it's kind of a mess and it took me days just to figure out the best route through it all. Here's my plan: I read up on the Fate route of Fate Stay/Night, I know what happens and how it ends along with who most of the major characters are, so I won't be watching the bad, spoiler-y, and oddly unavailable DEEN version. I'll be starting with the prequel Fate/Zero, then I'll move onto UBW, and finally I'll end with the Heaven's Feel movies (once again, if I can somehow get access to them). Now let's start the review.

Fate/Zero is a prequel to the Fate Stay/Night visual novel written by Gen Urobuchi of Madoka fame (see why I wanted to watch this now?). It's also epic, compelling, and pretty damn good.

Fate/Zero is about the Fourth Grail War, where seven people call in historical figures to help them battle for the Holy Grail. Stay/Night is about the Fifth Grail War, so this anime depicts the events that led to that series. The first season is fairly slow, introducing the cast and setting up a lot of the threads that would get set up in the second season. Most of the series actually has a defined villain in Caster/Uryu, a serial killer who managed to find his way into the war. But once they're defeated, the anime shifts back to the cast as they fight each other, and the deaths become far more numerous. Something that I think is really fresh about Fate/Zero is how it really feels like an actual war is playing out, with large battles and game-changing risks scattered throughout the series, along with episodes that dealt with the ramifications of said battles. As the anime progresses, each battle feels grander and more devastating than the last as the war becomes closer to a conclusion. Despite how the war is just among a select group of people, everything is played really seriously and the show feels epic and dramatic. The sheer lengths that the characters would go through (from arson to murder) just made me genuinely compelled to see how it would all fall apart. My only major with Fate/Zero is how it was structured, split up into two seasons at a fairly arbitrary halfway point that make both feel incomplete. That's why I wanted to review the show as a whole, as its first season ends up being too uneventful and its second season ends up being too relentless with its death scenes.

This anime has a pretty massive cast, following each of the seven masters and their servants, among other important characters like Irisveil, Risei, and some of the children who would become major characters in Stay/Night. With 25 episodes, it's not hard for the cast to be spread a bit thin at times (especially with Kiritsugu getting two flashback episodes), but I still found most of them at least interesting. Out of the human characters, I think Kiritsugu and Irisveil are strong protagonists, and I really like Waver for his strong character arc. Speaking of which, the servants are the real highlights here. Each of their designs does a good job of anime-fying the historical figures they're based on. Saber (based on King Arthur) is obviously a highlight for her great fight scenes and noble attitude, and she works really well as a main protagonist. Also the decision to give her a motorcycle was just the coolest thing ever. But I was surprised to find that Rider (based on Alexander the Great) might have been my favorite out of the whole cast. Not only was it a superb translation of the historical figure, but his jovial attitude, surprising moments of thoughtfulness, and bombastic powers made him even more memorable. I especially love his friendship with Waver that develops throughout the anime, their dynamic was just so adorable and they had a lot of mature and heartwarming moments together.

Presentation-wise, Fate/Zero is predictably spectacular seeing as it's animated by Ufotable (Demon Slayer) and has music composed by Yuki Kajiura (Madoka), both of which I've praised in earlier reviews. The character animations are mostly pretty good, though it really comes alive during the fight scenes. Demon Slayer's fights were great, but nearly every battle in Fate/Zero is phenomenal. The movements are fluid and weighty, and the visual effects are just so bombastic. I also really like the backgrounds in Fate/Zero, they're so detailed compared to the rest of the show. I especially like how they get destroyed during fight scenes. The show also implements CGI really well without it feeling too unprofessional. As for the music, Yuki Kajiura is really shaping up to be my favorite composer in anime. The score in Fate/Zero is just amazing, it's grand, epic, and fits most of the scenes really well. Some of the anime's best scenes are made even better thanks to a great score, especially the fights.

There were a whole bunch of pretty great episodes throughout the anime, but these were my favorites:

Spearhead: This episode contains the first big action sequence in the series, and it's really spectacular. The fight between Saber and Lancer is exciting, tense, and incredibly well-animated. It's a great back and forth as whichever fighter is in the lead changes constantly, only for Rider to storm in at the end of the episode and ruin everything.

Rin's Big Adventure: I've said this a few times, but I hate the term "filler". An episode can still be entertaining even if it doesn't progress the plot, and that's exactly what this episode was. We got to spend a whole story with young Rin as she takes on Uryu all on her own. I got some serious slasher vibes from the episode, and seeing Rin improve her magic skills is really satisfying. I also thought it was nice to see Kariya actually do something for once.

Discussing The Grail: It's so easy for people to resort to violence, so seeing Saber, Archer, and Rider discuss their motivations in a simple yet gripping conversation is far more interesting and fascinating, and Saber's debate with Rider is up there with any flashy fight the anime had to offer. It's even cooler if you consider the fact that King Arthur, Gilgamesh, and Alexander the Great are having a conversation with each other. But even if you wanted action, this episode also had Rider wiping out every assassin in spectacular fashion.

Golden Shine: This episode ties up a ton of loose ends in spectacular fashion. Saber gets her arm back, and finally reveals Excalibur, using it to completely annihilate Caster. There's also the fight with Beserker, Kariya's near death, and some more cool Rider moments to help make this easily the most bombastic episode yet.

The End Of Honor: Well, it was only a matter of time, but Urobuchi's starting to kill people off. Prior to this episode, it was just antagonists, but here we get the shocking deaths of Risei, Kayneth, Sola-Ui, and worst of all, Lancer. This whole episode is just a repeated bloodbath and punch in the gut, from Saber and Lancer's fight, to Kiritsugu's deal, to the argument about honor in the last few minutes, this was easily one of the show's best episodes.

The Sea At The End Of The World: And so, the final battle begins. Overall, this was a pretty fun and action-heavy episode, but there were two scenes in particular that got me. First is the reveal of Berserker's true identity, him being Sir Lancelot makes a ton of sense given his design and Saber's realization is heartbreaking. Second is Rider's last stand which is not only beautifully animated but also just painful given he was one of my favorites.

The Last Command Seal: In an anime where historical figures duke it out every other episode, I was surprised that one of my favorite fights was just between two normal people. Kiritsugu vs Kirei was all kinds of badass, and when you add in the more emotional Saber vs Berserker fight, the first eight minutes of this episode might be the best of the whole series. Not that the rest of the episode isn't also amazing, the corrupted Grail stuff was a surprising twist, and the ending was an amazing cliffhanger. I'm also starting to pick up a trend that Urobuchi really likes dealing with utilitarianism in his works.

Fate/Zero: Coming after the last two action-packed episodes, this was a bit more of a denouement. It's also the second Urobuchi finale to leave me a bit confused (what did the Grail even do?!). Still, this finale did a good job of tying things up for all the characters and did an excellent job of setting up for the events of Stay/Night, from Kariya's inability to save Sakura, to the long-awaited appearance of Shirou.

Overall, Fate/Zero is a compelling story with a large but interesting cast of characters, phenomenal action, and a top-notch presentation. Both seasons felt incomplete on their own, but when viewed as a complete 25-episode story, it's works really well.

Season 1: 4/5 Stars

Season 2: 5/5 Stars

The whole anime: 4.5/5 Stars

Burn Notice (Season 3)

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

Burn Notice (Season 2)

Burn Notice's first season was definitely enjoyable, but it was riddled with issues that prevented me from loving it. I don't quite love this season either, but it went a long way towards fixing a lot of those issues.

Right from the get-go, Season 2 addresses one of my biggest problems with the first season. There's an overarching villain this time, established from the very first episode, in Michael's "handler" Carla. Michael spends the season trying to use Carla to learn more about his burn notice while also being forced to work with her, as an intriguing mystery develops on what she's up to. However, the real highlight of the season is actually a subplot that kickstarts halfway through, where Michael is nearly blown up and tries to find the bomber. I found it to be way more compelling and it intersects with the Carla storyline incredibly well by the finale. Something I noticed about Burn Notice is that my enjoyment of the series is derived by how good the antagonist is, and the fairly detached Carla just isn't quite as compelling as, say, Jason Bly from last season. However, there were some good villains this season. The psychopathic Larry Sizemore was a phenomenal single-episode antagonist who I hope will reappear later on, and Victor had a great dynamic with Michael that made up for Carla's issues. Still, I'd say this burn notice plotline was overall better than the first. It felt planned out, with a self-contained storyline and an overarching villain.

As for the "clients of the week", they were still the weak link of the series for me, though a lot better than last season. I think the decision to lean more on Michael using silly covers gave them a bit more entertainment value, and it genuinely felt like some client of the week storylines weren't afterthoughts. I already mentioned how great of an antagonist Larry was in his episode, but there was also a fun episode where Michael pretended to be a nerdy scientist along with one where he gets trapped in a bank robbery with Bly. As for the characters, they're still pretty entertaining. The season explores Michael's darker side a lot, whether it's when working for Carla, for Larry, or dealing with the bombing. It makes him a far more interesting character and I'd love to see later seasons unpack this even more. The one thing with him that still doesn't work though is his relationship with Fiona, which goes from on to off to on again so fast and so frequently that I feel like I get whiplash every time. I also think Madeline is still incredibly annoying, though I'm starting to warm up to Nate a bit. 

This episode had way more great episodes than the first, including:

Double Booked: This is one of the few episodes where the "client of the week" storyline was actually more compelling than the "burn notice" plot, which also served as great set-up for the midseason finale. Larry Sizemore was a great character, he's a truly chaotic and terrifying antagonist who gives us some more insight into Michael's darker past. And I love how the ending was a bit of a downer as well, with Larry getting away with what he wants.

Do No Harm: This was an oddly somber episode compared to the rest of the show so far, and I loved it! It was great that the bombing had an actual effect on Michael, and it was really fascinating to see tensions start to form between him and Sam/Fiona. There were a ton of really great individual scenes, like Michael turning himself in, the interrogation scenes, Michael fighting Sam, and Fiona's breakup. 

Bad Breaks: "Bank robbery" episodes are odd. They're so common and their core premise is kinda contrived, but they're also nearly always good! Bad Breaks might just be the best one yet, having Michael be on top of things compared to most hostages is a nice change of pace. Jason Bly is back and his dynamic with Michael is better than ever, seeing the two finally get over their differences and work together was great. I also really like the robber, as played by none other than Leverage's Mark Sheppard.

Lesser Evil: While Season 1's ending felt a bit dull, this finale was thoroughly epic, packed with great action, high stakes, and an insane final few minutes. Michael and Victor's team-up was a ton of fun, as was Sam trying to protect Madeline, and the big final battle with Carla felt climactic and satisfying. The final scene where Michael cuts ties with Management should be a massive change for the future.

Overall, Season 2 was a pretty big improvement over the first, with a stronger overarching plot and some truly excellent episodes, even if it still struggles a bit with its villains and client of the week episodes.

4/5 Stars

Burn Notice (Season 1)

Burn Notice is another one of USA Network's "blue sky" TV shows (Monk, Psych, White Collar, etc.), a lighthearted espionage series with a likable cast, an intrigue plot, and a bit of a slow start.  

Burn Notice is about Michael Westen, a spy who got burned and dumped in Miami. With the help of his ex-girlfriend Fiona and old friend Sam Axe, he tries to do random tasks to make money and help his family while also trying to figure out who burned him. I really like the burn subplot, I like that each episode tries to further it in some way, along with the season's arc about the FBI trailing Michael. This was easily the most compelling stuff of the season, and the best episodes are the ones that make strides in it. On the other hand, the episodic "random tasks" end up being not as exciting for me. The basic storylines are fairly standard (helping a fugitive escape, saving someone from kidnapping, etc.), so the only times I was really engaged was whenever Michael had to help out someone unexperienced, like the aforementioned fugitive who absolutely sucks at avoiding cops. Procedural shows like this (Psych and Person Of Interest are good examples) had a similar rough start though, so I'm hoping that come Season 2, Burn Notice starts to experiment with these more episodic tales.

As for the cast, I mostly like them a lot. Michael Westen is a likable protagonist, and I especially love his narration throughout the episodes. I'm not entirely sure how realistic his advice is, but his commentary on action movie tropes is still really fresh and entertaining. Fiona and Sam are also great side characters with a strong dynamic with Michael. I especially like Sam, who's played by the great Bruce Campbell, so he obviously has a lot of the most badass moments in the series. Michael's family on the other hand (his brother Nate and his mom Madeleine) aren't as likable, rather they end up holding him back a bit. Thankfully, they don't appear as often as the core trio, so they don't drag down the show that much. As for the antagonists, they're alright, but the show constantly switches out villains regardless of whether or not they're good. The bumbling FBI agents in the first five episodes were awful, but the far more charismatic and smarmy Jason Bly was awesome. The only problem is he only appeared in two episodes. Similarly, the enigmatic Phillip Cowen died in the episode he appeared. I hope the show tries to stick with a villain for a bit longer next time, because they have some great ideas here.

While this season wasn't anything amazing, it did have some episodes worth noting:

Broken Rules: I don't think I mentioned this, but I love that trend of shows pulling midseason finales because it's an excuse to expect some big shift in the story arc. Case in point, Broken Rules managed to balance a somewhat entertaining job about terrorizing a crime boss while also containing Michael and Bly's incredibly fun rivalry throughout the episode. The final few minutes where Michael blackmails Bly, gets his dossier, and ends up sleeping with Fiona is an eventful end to this first half of the season.

Dead Drop: The first part of the season's finale was a far more plot-driven episode than most in this season. It was so plot-heavy that Sam and Fiona had to take care of the job, which was a nice change of pace. I like Michael's intriguing game with Cowan, the fact that his family is starting to get concerned, and I especially like Fiona bringing up if he really wants to go back to the CIA. But the real highlight is the last five minutes with has Sam captured, Fi and Michael on the run, and Cowan reveal he isn't the burner only to get suddenly killed off, serving as an insane cliffhanger for the finale.

Loose Ends: While it wasn't as climactic and tense as Dead Drop, this was a pretty alright finale. Harrick wasn't an amazing final villain for the season, but it gave a chance for the whole cast to be badass in their own ways with some of the show's largest set pieces. The cliffhanger was also pretty great, and I hope it leads to some genuine progress on the Burn Notice arc next season.

Overall, Burn Notice's first season was incredibly standard. I liked the cast, and the burn notice arc was definitely compelling, but the clients of the week were mostly forgettable, and none of the episodes truly wowed me yet.

2/5 Stars