In last week’s episode, Michael turned his back on the CIA in favor of James’ organization, while his friends made one last attempt at pulling him back from the edge. With James and the CIA closing in on their location, Michael was frozen with indecision as Sonya pulled a gun on Fiona.
After seven seasons, Burn Notice comes to an end in tonight’s series finale, “Reckoning”. With time running out, Michael has to rely on the friends he just betrayed in order to complete his mission with the CIA. Read on to find out what the Burn Notice writers have in store for the show’s final installment.
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Michael Saves Fi
As fans everywhere predicted, the episode begins with Michael killing Sonya before Sonya can kill Fi, with James as a witness. James tells his people that Michael betrayed them and orders them to take out Michael and Fi. But after a brief shoot-out, Michael and Fi are rescued by Jesse and Sam.
As Michael’s friends plan their next move, Michael deals with his guilt and confusion over turning against his friends. In his current state of mind, Michael is very dangerous, as he proves with a reckless decision that saves Sam and Jesse but gets him shot in the process. This recklessness continues throughout the episode.
One Last Mission
Once Michael saves Fiona and blows his mission with the CIA, the agency puts Michael and his friends on the top of their most-wanted list and broadcasts their faces over every channel. Michael and his team realize that their only chance of making things right with the CIA is to go after James and complete Michael’s mission. As Sam and Fi prepare to help Michael bring James down, Michael asks Jesse to stay behind with his family and keep them safe.
Michael and his friends use a man working with James to find the location of James’ communication center. Michael and his friends break into said communication center with plans to steal the hard drives that contain vital information on James’ organization. But because things never go smoothly for this group, James follows Michael’s team to the communication center and boxes them in. James also sends his men after Madeline and Charlie and orders Michael to turn himself over if he wants to save his friends and family.
What We Do For Family
My favorites scenes in tonight’s episode are between Michael and Madeline. In the first scene, Michael tells Madeline about their plan to go after James and Madeline begs Michael to stay safe, as she is not prepared to lose another son. Still suffering from a death wish thanks to his recent betrayals, Michael tells Madeline that he cannot make her any promises and there are times when sacrifices are necessary.
In the second and final scene between Michael and his mother, Michael calls Madeline to tell her that he is giving himself up to James in order to protect her and his friends, but Maddy has her own plan. In one of the show’s most heartbreaking moments, Madeline repeats Michael’s words to him: “sometimes, sacrifices must be made.”
Maddy plans to buy Jesse time to get Charlie to safety by using an explosive charge. There is no remote detonator, so someone has to stay behind and Jesse is the only one who stands a chance of fighting his way out. Michael and Madeline say goodbye and Madeline tells Michael that she has always been proud of him.
As James’ men are sent in to kill Michael’s family, Maddy is waiting for them. “This one’s for my boys,” Madeline says as she sets off the charge. Maddy’s sacrifice gives Jesse enough time to take out James’ men and save Charlie. Her death also gives Michael the motivation to survive.
C-4 and Yogurt
One of the major arcs tied up in tonight’s finale is the Michael/Fiona relationship. By killing Sonya, Michael puts Fiona before everything and everyone else, yet he begins the episode questioning why Fi would risk her life to save him. Fi explains that the risk was minimal because if the Michael she loves was gone, it did not matter if she got out alive. Or, for the non-spies among us, Michael and Fi choose each other, even after everything they have been through.
Madeline’s death is the kick in the pants Michael needs to give up his death wish and fight for a future with Fiona. Thanks to some quick-thinking and even quicker shooting, Michael and Fi corner James and plan to hand him over to the CIA. But James has one last play, courtesy of a ton of explosives and a dead-man’s switch. As Michael and Fiona run for their lives, James detonates said explosives throughout the communication center. As far as explosions go, this one is very impressive and certainly worthy of being the final explosion of the series.
James may die thinking he defeated Michael, but his final decision gives Michael and Fi the out they need. The CIA thinks they died in the explosion, giving them a chance to get away from the chaos of a life as spies. They settle down somewhere with Charlie — I imagine it’s Ireland, as the score seems to indicate — and get the happy ending Michael/Fiona shippers have been hoping for since the show’s debut.
Sam and Jesse
With Michael and Fi believed to be dead, the CIA is holding Sam and Jesse in detention. But because the hard-drive they recovered helped Strong take down most of James’ network, Strong works a deal to get Sam and Jesse released. The men attend Michael and Fiona’s ‘funeral’, then make plans for their next mission and the show’s possible spin-off.
What did you think of tonight’s finale? Do you think this was the right ending for the series? Are you shocked by Madeline’s death? Do you think she was the right character to kill off? What about Michael and Fiona? Do you like the idea of them leaving the spy world and raising Charlie? Would you watch a spin-off with Sam and Jesse? And what are your favorite moments from tonight’s finale? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
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(Image courtesy of USA)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
