Diary of a Burn Notice Virgin – Season 2 starts with a mysterious woman

(Season 2, Episodes 1-3)

So they are really not rushing with this whole Carla storyline, are they? Talk about a slow burn. In the first three episodes of season 2, Michael gets out of the panel truck, but we find out basically nothing about who may or may not have burned him, except that Tricia Helfer may have had something to do with it. Burn Notice tries to make up for the lack of information with some sweet guest stars and an aspect of the Michael/Fiona relationship storyline that doesn’t completely annoy me, so despite the unanswered questions, I consider the first three episodes a win.

(Season 2, Episode 1 “Breaking and Entering”)

Season 2 starts off strong, not only with the dissolution of Fiona and Michael’s “relationship,” but with some pretty awesome guest stars. I know that most people were probably pretty excited to see Battlestar Gallactica‘s Tricia Helfer as Carla, the mystery woman who may or may not have burned Michael. I however, was more psyched to see Patrick Fischler, the ultimate “Hey! It’s that guy!” who has most recently been seen on Southland and Lost.

The case of the week was interesting not only because it was Carla who had essentially “hired” Michael, but because it reminded me yet again of how much research must go into this show. The scenes in which Michael talks about counting steps to make a floor plan, how to drill through concrete floors without damaging anything or electrocuting yourself, and how to beat heat and motion detectors is really impressive. Of course, it may all very well be bullshit, but the point is, it sounds good. It doesn’t matter if any of it is true or not, but I totally believe everything I’ve learned on this show about how to be a spy.

I really have no idea who Carla is working for or what her purpose is. I kind of don’t think she had anything really to do with burning Michael. Based on the fact that she had him complete this mission makes me think that she’s more of an opportunist who is exploiting Michael’s weakness (his quest for the truth) in order to use him to her advantage.

(Season 2, Episode 2 “Turn and Burn”)

“Carla speaks Arabic with a Kurdish accent.” That’s about as far as we get in the Carla mystery for this episode. It’s not a whole lot, and I’m still not any closer to understanding what she has to do with Michael getting burned, if in fact, she has anything to do with it at all.

This case of the week was pretty good, because similarly to the case with Lucy Lawless, the damsel in distress was anything but. The DEA has apparently heard rumors about Michael, which leads to one of their undercover agents enlisting him in getting rid of a particularly nasty drug dealer. I’m glad to hear that law enforcement is at least aware of Michael, because he’s involved in way too many shootouts and explosions to remain completely under the radar.

The best part of the whole episode, however, is Michael’s counseling sessions with his mom. Sharon Gless is amazing as Madeline, and I really enjoy her interactions with Michael now that she knows what he’s been doing for a living. Also? The fact that she chose a counselor who looks exactly like her is absolutely hilarious — as was Michael’s reaction upon realizing this fact.

(Season 2, Episode 3 “Trust Me”)

Carla is noticeably absent this episode. I understand it in the way that they maybe only have Tricia Helfer for a certain amount of episodes so they want to stretch out her storyline, but it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me that after making him jump through hoops, she would just be silent. Despite her absence, her storyline did inch forward: Michael got in contact with a Pakistani spy who has information about her service. He gives Michael a dossier at the end of the episode that mainly just includes a lot of blacked out text and a picture of her in fatigues stepping out of a Hum Vee. I have no idea what any of this means.

Something really crazy happened for me during this episode: I actually like what they did with the Michael/Fiona storyline. Despite the fact that she was the one who broke up with him, it’s obvious that the situation causes her a great deal of pain. When they were in the club together at the beginning of the episode and she was picking out girls for Michael, it seemed very real. She was hurt and vulnerable and angry, and she was acting out. I still don’t think they have any chemistry, but both actors are doing a great job of selling the fact that this relationship meant something to them.

I also enjoyed the guest stars on this episode as well. This week’s baddie, Zeke, is played by Patrick Fabian, a handsome, smarmy type who has most recently popped up on an episode of The Mentalist. The woman who played Andy’s mom bugged me throughut the entire episode. She looked so familiar but I couldn’t place her for the life of me. I thought I knew her from another TV show, but it turns out that it’s Cindy Pickett, the mom from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I feel so much better now.

Clacked by Kona Gallagher
on Jul 06, 2009 @ 13:00 EST5EDT