Burn Notice 5.04 Episode Review: First Game Changer Of The Season

One of the little things I’ve loved about Burn Notice is that it doesn’t just make characters up and then forget them; like real people, they come and go, and are often heard from again. That’s the case with this week’s episode, as longtime reluctant ally Barry Burkowski (Paul Tei) asks for help on behalf of his brother Paul, whom he describes as “screwed six ways from Sunday” after he’s been framed for the theft of a valuable server at his credit union. The bickering brothers provide the episode’s comic relief, but are also the in to a much more complicated story. With Burn Notice, nothing is ever simple, and that’s the way I like it.

It doesn’t take Team Westen long to identify the giant perp (that’s wrestler The Big Show), who quickly gives up the woman who hired him. Her name is Eve (Aviva Farber), and she’s a high-priced hacker who’s got a vicious streak. When she outs Michael, it gets ugly in a hurry, even as he convinces her to turn on her employer. She’s a much more ‘wicked witch’ than last season’s Kendra (no offense to Navi Rawat), so it’s pretty delicious to see her get hers with a well-placed foot on her throat. I wouldn’t mind seeing her make a return appearance.

Meanwhile, Michael’s still on CIA time, and tasked with handling theft of his own – namely, committing it to get the Agency data that’s already been stolen by the French. The subplot exists to show us that Max (Grant Show) is sympathetic to Michael’s side jobs, and not averse to helping him where he can. It’s a refreshing change from the stodgy type we’d normally see in his position, and adds yet another layer to Max’s character – which makes it a real shame that he ends up murdered. His demise is shocking, but it also makes me think about how much more we won’t get to see done with him. Only time will tell if the plot surrounding his death makes up for the potential that existed in keeping him around.

On its own, I don’t think that “No Good Deed” is as good as the previous two episodes, but it definitely qualifies as the first “game changer” of the Burn Notice season, and just in time (if season five runs the average thirteen episodes, we’re almost a third of the way through already). It begins a whole new arc for the season, and who didn’t cheer when they saw the Dodge Charger roar into view at episode’s end? There’s certainly plenty of possibility here, and we’ll have to see where the show takes it.

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  1. i was just starting to like Grant Show on the show. i was so surprised they killed him off already. but still an awesome episode. next weeks looks even better

  2. First, I have to say I loved seeing Kripke from Big Bang Theory on Burn Notice. A combo of two of my favorite shows! I was surprised about Max, I really thought they would kill off Jessie to make it more scandalous and for some reason I thought Max would turn out to be more villainous and maybe even be the one who killed Jessie. Now I’m curious to see where this goes