Burn Notice – A not-so-acceptable loss

Usually, with an episode before a season finale, I’m thinking forward a little bit. I’m looking for an episode that gets me amped up for the following week and that starts pulling the season together before the end. “Acceptable Loss,” the next-to-last episode of Burn Notice‘s fifth season, didn’t light a fire under me — but it did tie my heartstrings into knots, and that’s good enough for me.

There were the last wrinkles in the season-long plot: Vaughn (Robert Wisdom), last season’s big bad, revealed to Michael that Anson is planning to relaunch the organization that burned him. Vaughn probably isn’t long for this world after Michael repaid him by having several of his “old friends,” including Simon Escher (unfortunately mentioned but not seen, as Garret Dillahunt is fantastic), transferred into the same prison. It was a chilling reminder that no matter how much we love Michael, and how many good things he’s done over five seasons, he still has a dark — and vindictive — side.

The real meat of the episode, though, was a ‘case of the week’ that slowly developed into something genuinely wrenching. Jesse’s old friend Ian (Gregg Henry) invited him to his retirement party — but when Jesse arrived, he discovered that there was no party. Ian wanted Jesse’s help making amends: he’d been the enabler for Yash (Ravi Kapoor), an Indian diplomat with a side business smuggling diamonds. Okay, simple enough, and it took its time to brew, seeming at first like any other gig for Team Westen, albeit one with a few more bumps in the road (nice to know that even these guys can have bad days!).

But when the first plan fell through (and resulted in the unfortunate demise of Jesse’s beloved Porsche), Ian shocked everyone by proposing a new idea: getting Yash for his murder. With only six months to live thanks to pancreatic cancer, he was willing to be killed in order to ensure that a very bad man was brought to justice. Albeit reluctantly, our heroes respected Ian’s wish to go out a man instead of a coward, and watched from a distance as Ian baited Yash into shooting him dead in plain sight.

This was another Burn Notice episode where the acting was the strongest suit (another one being “Necessary Evil”). Coby Bell worked doubly hard this week, with Jesse creating another memorable character, and also struggling with the plight and eventual demise of his friend. It’s been a treat to watch Jesse continue to grow in his second season — he’s gotten more to do, and we’ve also learned more about who he is and who he wants to be. Tonight, I just wanted to hug him.

Yet Gregg Henry stole the episode. Ian was a stranger to us in the beginning, but by the end, he felt like a fully developed person — not just within the context of the episode, but we got a sense of who he had been before. We believed him when he said he was remorseful for his past actions and determined to see Yash brought down. And it was honestly painful to watch what we knew would be his final moments, knowing from his earlier scene with Michael that he was at peace with his fate. Kudos to Henry for taking a character from start to finish in forty-odd minutes and bringing us along for the ride.

“Acceptable Loss” reminds me a lot of the way Suits ended its season. Yes, there were major plot developments in “Rules of the Game” and “Dogfight,” but the episodes weren’t showy or attention-grabbing (except for that cliffhanger). Those two episodes weren’t trying to prove anything. They were just well-written, well-acted and true to character. This episode makes me feel the same way. There was no huge moment, but it didn’t bother me as much as it might have, because I was absorbed in the characters.

Now there are questions to answer next week: Who’s been working for Anson? I don’t want to think it’s Agent Pearce (Lauren Stamile), whom I’ve finally warmed up to, but I can’t help but think it could be. She’s a guest character, which means she’s easier to get rid of, and traitors don’t usually last long. She’s also a character that we’ve gotten to know, which would be more interesting than it being someone from next week’s episode.

Or I could be wrong and maybe it’s Dean Cain. Who knows?

The bigger question is how much of the “conspiracy behind Michael’s burning” storyline will Burn Notice really wrap up? Will it say goodbye to the plot that’s been the underpinning of the whole season? On one hand, it’s a risky move knowing that the show is already renewed for next year. Yet I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t think Burn Notice needs an ongoing mythology to survive. It’s a strong series that could stand on just Team Westen righting the wrongs of the greater Miami area.

There are many directions Burn Notice could go from here. I’m excited to see which one it takes.

Clacked by Brittany Frederick
on Dec 09, 2011 @ 20:58 EST5EDT