[NOTE: The articles include spoilers for the
Burn Notice second season finale episode.]
At the
Newark Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ):
(Please follow the link for the complete article.)
Burn Notice, "Lesser Evil": I guess this means we're not going to Disney Worldby Alan Sepinwall/The Star-Ledger
Thursday March 05, 2009, 11:00 PM
Spoilers for the "Burn Notice" season two finale coming up just as soon as I ask On-Star for the nearest hardware store...
"You have no idea what hell will rain down if we stop watching out for you." -Management
"I'll take my chances." -Michael
And so an outstanding season of "
Burn Notice" comes to an appropriately outstanding ending...
... The finale takes care of both Carla and Victor, the former in one of those aforementioned "Hell yeah!" scenes (Fi was probably speaking for half the audience when she said, "Finally!" after putting a bullet in her), the latter in a moment that was deliberately the opposite of satisfying. Victor was introduced as Michael's opposite number -- just as competent, but crazy and overheated where Michael is cool and controlled -- and here we find out he's just another poor bastard who got a burn notice at a bad time, and the poor fortune to lose his family in the bargain. This could have been Michael, and he knows that, and that's why he hesitates so long before letting Victor help him pull the trigger. A great moment for
Jeffrey Donovan and
Michael Shanks.
... I just feel incredibly satisfied by this whole season, and I can't wait to see how things play out next season now that Michael's unquestionably a man without a country. Was Mahoney exaggerating about the threat level, or will we see his weekly missions constantly being disrupted by disgruntled former colleagues popping up to take a shot at Michael, Fi and Sam? And how long do we have to wait, anyway.
Bravo, "Burn Notice."
What did everybody else think?
~~**~~**
At
Entertainment Weekly Online:
(Please follow the link for the complete article.)
Michael Shanks and Jeffrey Donovan'Burn Notice' goes out with a bang and a splashMar 5, 2009, 11:05 PM | by Ken Tucker
... In an earlier post I'd complained about how the Carla/Victor stuff was getting in the way of
Burn Notice's momentum -- snipping the satisfying snap of Michael's voiceovers, as he described tricks of the spy trade while we watch him craft weapons or execute bone-snapping punches and kicks. But last night, everything clicked into place. In an hour written by creator
Matt Nix and directed by
Tim Matheson (yes, the actor who must be weary of being credited as
Animal House's Otter, and a darn good TV director), Michael united with his nemesis Victor (
Michael Shanks) against his handler-against-his-will Carla (
Tricia Helfer). We got some backstory -- Carla killed Victor's family, which is why he hates Carla -- but most of the time, we got the action we craved.
... So what did you think of the finale? Satisfied? Not?
