"i eat a lot of yogurt".
Jun. 26th, 2011 04:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eleanorjaneOh, Michael Westen, ILU. (In other words, I just watched Burn Notice 5.01.)
First of all: was it just me, or was the tone of this episode kind of... odd? Maybe it's just the juxtaposition, but it was very low on banter and snark, which is unusual for a season opener - they usually save the (melo)drama for season finales. And even Michael's voiceovers sounded different: slower, lower, less expressive. If it's a style change, it's not one I like - but it might just be reflecting the Srs Bsns of the episode content.
Also, I'm calling it now: Max and/or Raines (probably Max) is a bad guy, part of the shadowy whoever-they-are organisation. Kessler was just the head of operations; just because they've been cleaning up the operational branch doesn't mean the entire thing's wiped out. I assume.
I do like that they had Jesse explicitly finding it hard to go back to his old life; it doesn't surprise me that after getting used to life as an independent, rejoining the rules-and-regulations intelligence community would be kind of tricky. I'm hoping that's the kind of direction Michael goes as well, because I think they'd be hard-pressed to keep Sam and Fi relevant to Michael's professional life if he rejoins the fold.
Ooh, or maybe Michael will develop suspicions about Max-and/or-Raines and become a double agent, remaining in the Agency but only for the sake of gathering intel about the target.
Or, you know, maybe the whole burn notice plotline really is over, signalled by Kessler's ignominious death (at his own hands, not assassinated by some other shadowy figure). But if so, I find it hard to imagine how they're going to keep the show's "feel" the same without contriving some other reason to have Michael call it quits with the CIA beyond just "I'm too independent and can't go back". He needs a season-long enemy/investigation arc to counterbalance the Case Of The Week episode plots.
So, yeah. I'm really not sure about the tone of the episode. It would have worked well as a season ender, but it didn't really make me enthusiastic for Season 5 in the way that season openers usually do. I'm quite happy to give the show a chance to convince me, but if this is the tone for the whole season, I'll be pretty disappointed.
(It's an especially sharp contrast for me as I've been rewatching Season 1 and the first half of Season 2 over the last couple of days as I rip the DVDs for vidding source. This was barely identifiable as the same show.)
On the up side: I really like the fact that Michael's relationship with Madelaine has gotten a lot healthier; it might be less funny now, but it's also realistic, and it's just plain nice to see.
Also on the up side: man, Bruce Campbell just gets hotter and hotter. He is looking pretty great these days, ngl.
First of all: was it just me, or was the tone of this episode kind of... odd? Maybe it's just the juxtaposition, but it was very low on banter and snark, which is unusual for a season opener - they usually save the (melo)drama for season finales. And even Michael's voiceovers sounded different: slower, lower, less expressive. If it's a style change, it's not one I like - but it might just be reflecting the Srs Bsns of the episode content.
Also, I'm calling it now: Max and/or Raines (probably Max) is a bad guy, part of the shadowy whoever-they-are organisation. Kessler was just the head of operations; just because they've been cleaning up the operational branch doesn't mean the entire thing's wiped out. I assume.
I do like that they had Jesse explicitly finding it hard to go back to his old life; it doesn't surprise me that after getting used to life as an independent, rejoining the rules-and-regulations intelligence community would be kind of tricky. I'm hoping that's the kind of direction Michael goes as well, because I think they'd be hard-pressed to keep Sam and Fi relevant to Michael's professional life if he rejoins the fold.
Ooh, or maybe Michael will develop suspicions about Max-and/or-Raines and become a double agent, remaining in the Agency but only for the sake of gathering intel about the target.
Or, you know, maybe the whole burn notice plotline really is over, signalled by Kessler's ignominious death (at his own hands, not assassinated by some other shadowy figure). But if so, I find it hard to imagine how they're going to keep the show's "feel" the same without contriving some other reason to have Michael call it quits with the CIA beyond just "I'm too independent and can't go back". He needs a season-long enemy/investigation arc to counterbalance the Case Of The Week episode plots.
So, yeah. I'm really not sure about the tone of the episode. It would have worked well as a season ender, but it didn't really make me enthusiastic for Season 5 in the way that season openers usually do. I'm quite happy to give the show a chance to convince me, but if this is the tone for the whole season, I'll be pretty disappointed.
(It's an especially sharp contrast for me as I've been rewatching Season 1 and the first half of Season 2 over the last couple of days as I rip the DVDs for vidding source. This was barely identifiable as the same show.)
On the up side: I really like the fact that Michael's relationship with Madelaine has gotten a lot healthier; it might be less funny now, but it's also realistic, and it's just plain nice to see.
Also on the up side: man, Bruce Campbell just gets hotter and hotter. He is looking pretty great these days, ngl.