Burn Notice, "Hot Spot": Where's Wallace?

"Burn Notice" spoilers coming up just as soon as I get a few dozen phonebooks...

"There's an element of theater in any offensive campaign. It's not just about bullets and bodies. Killing people usually creates more problems than it solves. It's about undermining your enemy's will to fight -- destroying the morale of his troops. Sending the message that fighting back is useless, because the battle is already lost." -Michael

I'm usually a big fan of Entertainment Weekly's TV coverage, but today's blog entry by lead critic Ken Tucker is the second time in a couple of weeks that someone from that magazine has complained about the current state of "Burn Notice," the gist of which is that they don't like Carla, or the mythology around the burn notice, or Michael and Fi's relationship, and would like the show to get back to focusing more on Michael, Fi and Sam using their international skills at the local level.

Now, I don't know if either of those pieces were written just off of last week's episode (which I clearly liked more than them) or if they had also seen "Hot Spot," but I'm having a hard time seeing the merit of those complaints after this one.

After never really caring one way or the other about the state of the Michael/Fi romance, the sight of a rain-drenched Michael discovering that Fiona was alive and realizing how much he cared for her -- and Fi, upon seeing that look on his face, realizing she felt the same way about him -- I'm fully on board this 'ship. Call it corny or cliche or whatever, but Jeffrey Donovan and, especially, Gabrielle Anwar, sold the hell out of it. "Burn Notice" is about a man who usually denies his own emotions, because it's the only way he can function in his chosen profession. But these moments the last two weeks where Michael has let his feelings show (anger last week, love tonight) have only enhanced the character, in my opinion, rather than taking away his mystique. If you don't occasionally see glimpses of what he's trying to hold inside, you can't appreciate what an effort that is, for both character and actor. And, for the purposes of this show, Michael and Fi are kind of a perfect couple -- they already work together, they share loads of common interests (guns, explosives, wetwork) and aren't really into the mushy stuff -- who won't get in the way of the storytelling most of the time.

(Mo Ryan, who usually can't stand Fiona, e-mailed me after watching the episode with an ode to Fi that included the line, "Who knew I'd end up not only not detesting her, but liking what she adds to the show?")

And while it doesn't feel like the Carla arc has really gone anywhere in a while, even with the introduction of this mysterious third party, I just love watching Donovan and Tricia Helfer circle each other, each one convinced they're the shark and the other one's the chum. There's this wonderful flirtatious vibe to their scenes together, where it's hard to separate what's real (Donovan and Helfer are both attractive physical specimens, Michael and Carla both clearly admire the other one's skills) and what's an attempt to get over on the other. I'm sure in both their heads, they're completely winning this particular mind game, when in fact it's a complete stalemate.

And even with all the arc stuff going on, and the obligatory Super Bowl synergy cameo by Michael Irvin, the episode still managed to tell another entertaining "Burn Notice" case of the week, which was extra cool for pitting Michael B. Jordan (aka Wallace from "The Wire" season one) vs. Sticky Fingaz (aka Kern from "The Shield"). The slo-mo montage of Michael, Sam and Fi suiting up to get into character as rival car thieves filled my heart with Barney Stinson levels of joy, and the guide to bullet-proofing a car was one of the better lessons in hardware store espionage we've gotten in a while.

If there was one thing I found disappointing, it was that Michael's psychological terror campaign got derailed by the arrival of Felix's boss. It provided an easier solution for the problem, but I would have liked to see Michael continue to step it up on Felix, and maybe to also show what happens when the spy mentality (cold, calculating, all business) goes up against the street gangster mentality (where reputation trumps common sense or dollar figures).

But come on: Michael dropped a coffee can full of thermite on top of Felix's engine block. That in and of itself should qualify for my dayeenu rule.

What did everybody else think?