DJariya

Synopsis:



Burn Notice will return for season 3 (16 episodes) this summer. No word whether USA will pull another split season. They normally don't start production until April, so my guess is late June/early July.

rfduncan

Can't wait to see how this season ends. Glad we don't have to wait too terribly long for new episodes!

wirefan

I thought this was a fantastic season ending and the show really took off this season. Ditching into the water at the end was a great way to leave it. Pretty cool that it's coming back in June as well. The only thing I had hoped was the killer turned partner made it and they became a tag team for a little while - they had a pretty good chemistry (of course that would not have worked plot-wise).

The cable stations are really putting the major broadcast networks to shame on programming lately.

Mysteryfan

^Totally agree!

cdoug57

What a way to end the season. I felt this was a much more satisfying ending than the "cliff-hanger" that capped off season 1.
The look on Michael's face when he shot Victor was extraordinary. Enjoyed the way the whole thing played out.
Guess we will be seeing Frasier's dad next season because I don't think Management is done with Michael.
Loved Sam's reaction to the neighbors car. Was really glad that the family in danger did not include the brother.
Enjoyed Madeline finally believing Sam when he refused a beer.
Great season and fantastic finale.

Doug

rfduncan

I agree. Great season ender and again I'm happy we don't have to wait too long for more! And what can I say - John Mahoney as Management?!?! Nice pull!

+1000 I was thinking this exact thing. How come something this good (writing, production, casting-wise) isn't on broadcast network television?!??!

Oh and I have to say that the "labeling" technique is genius now that they've kicked it up a notch with the funny by rolling them by people two and three times occassionally. "Victor - Client"

Adios, Michael. Have a nice swim until June!

Panda Phil

That was really well done, and thank goodness they skipped the whole 'cliffhanger' thing this time. Hmmm, so next season some of Michaels old enemies are going to start showing up? Should liven things up considerably.

And the fact that the agency had been watching his back answers one of my big ? with the show. Namely with all the crap that gets blown up on a weekly basis, why the city isn't swarming with FBI, ATF, and assorted anti-terrorist agencies.

devilshalo

I thought Fi would have shot Carla in the head.

Definately interesting to see where this "fresh start" of Michael's going to lead.

Panda Phil

I thought that too. But I guess a headshot with a sniper rifle would've been too gory for tv.

If I were to guess, I suspect they'll change from 'Who burned me?', to 'Which one of my old enemies is stalking me?'

Looking forward to the season opener when Michael and Sam have to appologize to mom for blowing up her house.

rfduncan

Agreed. Although I'm sure it will be an off the cuff slam from Madeline as she is wont to do. She didn't seem pissed when it happened. I think she's really now starting to get a true grasp of how deep in Michael really is. Sending Sam away to protect Michael like that is not her standard M.O. Normally she genuinely would have planted her feet in her living room refusing to budge. She was certainly less stubborn when she saw the real threat with her own two eyes!

Superman07

So is Carla dead?

Pretty good end to the season. If, as Victor said, the emphasis is no longer on who burned you, but rather your role in the machine (and how to get out of it), then I suppose they may drop that aspect of the show (even though that's the title)?

Michaels reaction to Victor on the boat was very well done. Impressive to hop out and do what you need to on a dime.

Red Dog

John Mahoney. Cool.

Loved how when mom offered a beer to Sam and he strongly refused that it was serious.

I agree about the comment about network tv above - this is a show (fun, action, not too risque, appealing for stand-alone and serial) that would probably do quite well in a 9 or 10 pm network slot. I wonder if it was ever pitched to the networks. If I was NBC, I would throw even the reruns on during the summer.

Panda Phil

It's like someone said up thread, when Sam refused a beer, she realized how serious things were.

Actually I like the mom a lot more this year, now that she has a clue about whats going on. I remember the first season I could almost hear the plot screaching to a halt when she came onscreen.

Charlie Goose

Great finale. I won't miss Carla at all.

Totally badass move jumping from the helicopter. "I'll take my chances." And the expression on Management's face.

I was expecting (read: hoping) since the camera focused on Michael's sunglasses on the seat, that he had somehow booby trapped them with just enough C-4 to take out the helicopter.

wirefan

I wonder if it has anything to do with writers/producers/etc thinking they'll get a better shot on cable, who may have more patience then broadcast networks? (I have no idea if this is accurate but it just seems the broadcast networks have 'itchier' trigger fingers)

Was thinking the same thing! Though I thought even before the double dipping and humor, the labeling was a great device. I also like the real time label double-up - one with the actual information and the 2nd where they just wipe the info (leaving the name) and re-label with some humorous characterization or instant correction based on the dialogue.

wirefan

This kind of irked me a bit real time as I was watching... sure the show requires a bit of suspension of reality at times, but why wouldn't they go after the brother? And why wouldn't Michael as quick and sharp on his feet as he is, not consider the possibility? It probably would have been too much to jam into the show and I'm not a huge fan of the character, but it would have been nice if they at least gave it a bit of an explanation (even after the fact).

DJariya

Very good finale. I actually liked Tricia Helfer this season. Even though she wasn't a series regular, Carla was actually a good nemesis to Michael.

I wonder if Mahoney will make any appearances next season.

I think Madeline already knew that Sam was going to blow her place up considering she was helping Sam put together the explosives.

And I agree the Lower 3rd graphics that label people as "Clients" is great.

Can't wait until June. Depending on how early in June it starts, I think we could see all 16 episodes in one summer/early Fall rather than the split season thing.

Jimmy James

You know they're going to split the season. This is USA.

I don't mind the split season as long as they get to all the episodes within the span of a year and not splitting them over the course of 2-3 years like FX now seems to love doing (the Shield, Nip/Tuck).

My guess is that the Burn Notice premise is hardly dead. Just because Victor looked at it that way and peeled one layer of the onion back does not mean there aren't other layers to the onion.

My guess is that Mahoney may recur a few times but won't be the person Michael has to cope with. I imagine that, true to "management's" word, Michael is going to have a powerful enemy he'll be dealing with for a lot of season 3.

Heat

Tricia Helfer sure looks different in Burn Notice than in Battlestar Galactica (Number 6).

And yes, a pretty good ending to the season - I kind of wish that Victor had lived but that's it. And I guess that the new season will feature foreign intelligence attacks against Weston since the Management won't be offering protection anymore.

Good series, I'm glad it's survived.

bunnydojo

Wasn't it agreed a few episodes back that the brother, after Michael arranged with Carla to get him out of jail, would go into 'hiding' or 'off the radar' or something to that effect? Perhaps I'm mixing that dialogue up with the Dina Meyer dialogue last week. Either way, I'm glad he was left out.

I'm really enjoying this show's evolution. The attention paid to not only the 'client of the week' but also the overall plot's forward momentum every episode is quite admirable. Two seasons in, it feels like the show has been on much longer.

Also, ricocheting bullets off the ground and into the bad guys' car behind you? Awesome.

Shamus McAnally

Agreed, on both counts.

Along with Chuck, the two shows I most look forward to each week. Many others I watch, but none with the the anticipation I have for these two shows.

Burn Notice just brings the awesome every week, it seems. Already waiting for June to get its ass here for the next installment and see where they take us in Season 3. This show just keeps getting better.

Deftones

awesome episode. nice setting up of "management". at first i thought it was fraser's dad. then i couldn't tell. then i thought it was again. weird how camera angles can make a difference. totally badass that Fi killed Carla. sucked that victor, died. would've sort of been cool if the popped in an out of next season, where they could help each other.

wirefan

So you expect the person trying to kill Michael, and someone who killed the family of the 'client' to recruit him, to suddenly honor a past agreement with Michael? I really like the show, and really don't like the brother... but this was a hole in the plot. And the hole occurred in 2 places:
- Michael just assuming Carla would honor the agreement and his brother would be safe (or if it wasn't an agreement and it was just Michael moving him off the radar - would he assume Carla would not be capable of finding him?)
- Carla not using any and all potential leverage, given the backstory that was presented about the client. The organization seemed to have plenty of resources and the will to use them ruthlessly.

Again, I really thought the finale was great, especially the ending where it was wrapped up, yet things were left open-ended, but the brother thing just bothered me (maybe they'll mention it early next season and explain how they knew/thought he was safe). I think it is a testament to the show's quality that I expect these details to be covered.

Jimmy James

It's not like Michael absolutely knew what he was getting himself into. If he did, he'd have already moved mom.

I think we can infer that since brother wasn't popping up in episodes, he was out of town. That means Michael, whose only established resources are in MIAMI, could do nothing to help his brother and that Carla, whose only established resources are in MIAMI, would have to track him down before getting to him. If Carla had unlimited resources, do you think a trip to Orlando would have done any damned good? Michael did what he could. Now, maybe we'll find out next year Carla sent an operative to Bumwad, New Mexico to kill Nate (most of us would probably prefer that). What else did you want Michael to do, precisely?

The Victor family assassination scenario was very different. They had time to plan and scout that one. They knew Michael went rogue one morning and had a standoff with him that afternoon.

uteotw

Awesome finale. He had one LONG swim there at the end. Very glad Fi shot Carla.