Burn Notice – “Past and Future Tense” – review

There’s a gathering of the intelligence community in Miami, and Jesse takes the opportunity to try and reconnect with his old boss, Marv (Richard Kind), and learn more about the botched bank robbery Kendra mentioned in last week’s episode. Marv is unwilling to help two burned spies, but meanwhile Michael spots a Russian special ops team. Interrogating one of the team members, Michael learns they are targeting aging spy Paul Anderson (Burt Reynolds).

The Russian team believed Anderson had a source in the Russian government, and they wanted to interrogate (a.k.a. torture) him. Michael and Sam found Anderson working at a bar. Paul had information on an unsanctioned operation in Colombia that was approved by Bill Cowley, current chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Michael and Sam had to protect Paul from the Russians long enough to reach Cowley and pressure him into providing protection from there.

This episode’s metaphors were obvious:  Jesse was the younger version of Michael, and Paul was the older. Paul had been through more adventures than he could remember, and the implication was that if Michael kept going at the same pace, he would lose focus the way Paul had. Casting Reynolds as Paul elevated the episode above average. Reynolds still has the distinct delivery and charm that made him a star in the 70s.

Congressman Cowley proved tougher to convince than I thought he’d be. He had already pinned the Colombian operation on someone else. Still, Paul and Jesse’s situations seemed more optimistic than Michael’s. I wonder if, eventually, someone will really help Michael the way Michael helped Paul.

In addition to the high-action chase scenario, there was good tension between Michael and Fiona. After convincing Marv to share information on the bank robbery, Fiona destroyed evidence that would lead Jesse to discovering Michael helped burn him. She is clearly tiring of helping Michael only to watch him sink deeper into the mystery of who burned him. She would prefer he forget the past and accept his life as it is. I’ve had many guesses about what Michael will do and what will happen to him over the years, but I’ve never been able to predict anything very well. Then again, that’s why I still watch the show.

About Gerald So

Gerald So covers THE BIG BANG THEORY, BONES, BURN NOTICE, NCIS, NCIS: LOS ANGELES, and PSYCH each week for BSCreview. His personal blog is If You Want to Know About My Life.