Michael infiltrates John Barrett’s security to get Barrett to take him seriously. He sets up a meeting, telling Barrett he’s looking for work. Before the meeting, criminal defense attorney Adam Scott (Danny Pino) hires Michael to rescue his five-year-old daughter, Becky, who’s been kidnapped in hopes of ensuring a not-guilty verdict for one of Scott’s clients.
The evidence against Scott’s client, gang leader Rod Lawson, was too solid for a not-guilty verdict, so Michael approached Rod’s brother, Dale (Michael Rooker), posing as the man who could miraculously keep Rod out of jail. Michael first tried to rescue Becky approaching by sea, but when Dale caught him, he suggested an elaborate plan to hit the prison transport that was moving Rod. Michael would then exchange Rod for Becky. Of course, the hit on the prison transport was staged, and the trick was making Dale believe Rod was being broken out.
Meanwhile, Jesse remained a threat to Michael and friends. Vaughn found where Jesse was holed up, and Fiona and Maddie went to talk to him. I’m not sure all the secrecy was necessary. Michael still operated out of his loft. If Jesse wanted to kill him or talk or whatever, he could have simply visited Michael. Anyway, Fiona told Jesse where Michael would be if he wanted to talk. Jesse met Michael but refused to help him go after Barrett.
At the climactic meeting, Barrett told Michael that Simon’s bible was the key to decoding the real names of the people who burned Michael. The meeting went sour when Vaughn’s men came in shooting. As Barrett tried to escape with Michael, Jesse delivered a sniper shot through Michael’s shoulder, killing the man holding Michael.
Bleeding seriously in Barrett’s car, Michael decided to make a move before he was too weak to do so. He jerked the steering wheel to the side, causing the car to flip. Michael climbed out of the car in time to see someone snatch the bible, but he couldn’t tell if it was one of Barrett’s men or one of Vaughn’s.
Burn Notice‘s finales are consistently good because they deliver on all the tension built up over the season. I hoped Jesse would have Michael’s back, but until I saw him, I couldn’t be sure he would. The only running quibble I have with the show is that the jobs Michael takes on don’t always mesh well with the season-long arc, which makes them seem obvious distractions from the arc. In any case, I’ll be wondering who took the bible until Burn Notice returns November 11.
That image is so intense. He’ll survive though