Burn Notice: Season Five

A darker direction for Westen and Co., but it works surprisingly well.
This latest season of BURN NOTICE, one of the best TV shows on the air right now, was decidedly different in tone if not in execution as Michael Westen, Fiona Glennanne, Sam Axe and Jesse Porter face a much more insidious threat than they have before on this show, and this show has seen plenty of threats.

We begin with Michael being embraced once again by the CIA, under the purview of his old handler Raines (the always great, but sadly under-used Dylan Baker) and while he's in a probationary period, he's putting all of his old skills to work with his new partner Max (Grant Snow) and has a new case officer, the sharp and attractive Agent Pearce (Lauren Stamile). He's living in something resembling bliss also, with Fiona moved into his loft, desperately trying to make the place more hospitable. Sam is back down to his "fighting weight", as we saw in the tie-in TV movie THE FALL OF SAM AXE, and Jesse has a flashy job with an independent, high-profile security contractor...

No spoilers attached
I am a huge fan of this show, but I don't completly agree with the other reviewers about how great the last season was. It was still very good, just not like it has been in the past. The only real standout in this season was Gabrielle Anwar's Fiona. You were able to see new depth to her character that you hadn't before. In past seasons she was always willing to do whatever it took to help their clients, but the show never explored her as a person. This season we were better able to see what she was willing to sacrifice for the greater good of those whe loved, even if it was her freedom. This was a big turnaround for someone who I always thought was a little selfish and narrow minded. Like I said she was always willing to do whatever it takes, but usually in her own terms. She relentlessly pursued her relationship with Michael, but she would always threaten to walk away if he did something she didn't like. While the changes in Fiona were good, I did not always like the changes...

Burn Notice reinvigorated
I had been getting a bit tired of Burn Notice. It was becoming too obviously formulaic and the antagonists were getting sillier and sillier. Each season the people Michael's team was fighting against became ever more powerful - they could circumscribe world governments and they became less and less believable as time went on. What new super power of evil would the team be fighting against next, I asked myself after Season Four - the Devil? I stopped buying the DVDs after Season Two - But. I can't wait for Season Five to become available. The creation of Anson as the antagonist is inspired. He really could qualify as the Devil; he is so believable that it is chilling. He has tied the previous four season together as we get glimpses into Michael's past. The use of a highly intelligent, skilled psychologist as Michael's foe, bringing the evil back to one man, makes the series believable again.

If you think of Anson as Archangel Lucifer and Michael as Archangel Michael...

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