Burn Notice: More Than Meets the Eye

Michael and Sam travel to a clock shop in Tallahassee. The owner, Lucien Dobos (Patrick Bauchau), is also the man who built the bomb that almost killed Michael’s impersonator two episodes ago. Meanwhile, Fiona helps Jesse beef up home security for James and Sadie Forte (James Frain and Darby Stanchfield).

“Eye for an Eye” was not typical of Burn Notice in that, for the most part, the regulars did not play roles to fool the bad guys. Instead, they were fooled by a couple of villains who put up solid fronts. I’ve been a fan of Patrick Bauchau since his role on NBC’s The Pretender (1996-2000). He played Sydney, a scientist who worked for the nefarious Centre. The Centre had abducted child prodigy Jarod (Michael T. Weiss), but Sydney had also been a father figure who helped raise Jarod.

In “An Eye for an Eye” Sam initially doubted whether Lucien, who seemed a kindly old clock-maker, was also the bomb-maker. After Michael and Sam chained Lucien to a chair, he still gave them the runaround. Claiming a failing memory, he cited several customers who could have hired him to make the bomb. Michael finally put some pressure on him by threatening to have his daughter deported back to Romania. At this threat, Lucien appeared to crack, but he proceeded to send Sam on a wild goose chase that acted as a distress call to Lucien’s allies.

In the other storyline, Jesse was impressed with James Forte, who, according to the official record, had developed a life-saving vaccine. Jesse and Fiona then discovered the man trying to break into Forte’s house was actually his former partner, Dan Tessman. Tessman claimed he was the true inventor of the vaccine and that Forte framed him for a crime in order to take credit. Furthermore, Forte’s wife, Sadie, had formerly been Dan’s girlfriend. Tessman’s story sounded too fairy-tale to me. I thought he might be lying just as he claimed Forte was. However, his story swayed Fiona, so she and Jesse proceeded to undermine Forte’s own security team to get themselves hired in its place. This would allow Dan to get the evidence he needed to prove Forte framed him.

I would’ve liked to see one more twist to the Forte-Tessman story. Instead, Fiona and Jesse brought Michael in to play Forte’s stalker. Michael claimed one of Forte’s drugs had killed his mother, and he swore to make Forte suffer for the rest of his life. Using a remote detonator, Michael exploded a parking lot full of cars one by one. This scared Forte into letting Jesse and Fiona take charge of company security. Forte’s change of heart seemed radical to me, given his previously ultra-confident demeanor. Then again, I’d be scared, too, by cars exploding around me.

I last saw Frain in NBC’s recent superhero series The Cape. He played a similar role, respected philanthropist Peter Fleming, who moonlighted as the mysterious villain, Chess, and had framed the series’ protagonist for murder.

I had a little trouble believing Michael and Sam could take a break from watching Lucien long enough to help Fiona and Jesse. Yes, Lucien was chained and not very mobile in any case, but he did send a call for help, didn’t he? In the final moments, Lucien’s allies filled the clock shop with gunfire. Little did Lucien know, they were also aiming for him–a great twist. With his dying breath, Lucien revealed the last location of the man who hired him. He also said the man had been a friend. That was why Lucien hadn’t given his name up to Michael sooner.

Despite a flaw here and there, I appreciated how “Eye for an Eye” flipped the usual scenario, making Michael and friends the ones fooled by the villains’ performances. I think I know how the first half of the season will end from here. I hope I’m wrong.