Thursday, September 12, 2013

The Final Burn - On the Audience

The Final Burn - On the Audience 

For those of you who like happy sort of television shows on USA, stuff like that one doctor show or that one about a spy who was burned and has to do good deeds for the locals with a dash of A-Team, a pinch of Miami Vice as well that actress from Cagney and Lacy

It was a fun show at the beginning. Filled with all these sort of Fight Club lessons in how to make explosives... minus a sort of one or two components and instruction. But I hate to see how far this show has fallen.

The latest and last storyline we have going is that Michael is working for the CIA to make up for his crimes he pulled in killing a CIA agent and to make sure his friends stay out of jail with him by bringing down a huge terrorist organization.

The problem I have with this is that I don't feel like I've been given enough information to make up my mind that this terrorist group that Michael has infiltrated is even all that bad. You have the leader, James, and his second in command, Sonya, a love interest to throw in the way of Michael and Fi. Sure, there's the fact that James apparently left his friend to rot in a mental institution and straight up executed a guy for trying to pull out of a mission, plus the fact that he killed his whole squad way back when. But then there's his now "no man left behind" policy. Some good indication that he does have at least some noble intentions, and most recently, his self-sacrifice when he could have just shot Michael in the face. And then we still know almost nothing about Sonya's back story or motivations as far as I can tell.



The CIA also has been shown as nothing but just as bad, if not worse than the terrorist group. I basically consider their likeability to that of Jar Jar Binks. Michael has been shown to side with James, if not in missions, at least in terms of end goals. In another better written show that wasn't for USA, I would think that this was a clever subversion and that I'm meant to be checking the dark corners of my own heart. Instead, I'm thinking this show just thinks that I actually give a shit about Fiona or any one else on Michael's team that isn't Bruce Campbell's chin, to actually be anti-James at this point.

Let me give you the blunt news, USA. We don't care about Fiona. Like, at all. I wish her to be dead, actually. From the moment she stepped on the show with that god awful accent. To the choices she has made from flipping around on her stance of hurting innocent people, especially odd since she comes from an IRA background. 

I'm in the stance that Mike would make a good super spy leader because we know he's very loathe to use collateral damage, unlike the TV version of the CIA that we keep seeing in this show. Then again, let's be honest- that's what the real CIA would do as well. But I feel like Michael's spy ring would be the most moral of the intelligence agencies in the whole world. Who's been shown to be better when it comes to doing right by those who have been wronged and looking out for the little people out there? 

It's gotten to the point that I'm watching this just for some sort of closure. That after god knows how many half seasons or summer/fall/winter breaks, that we'll finally get some resolution for the spy who got burned by those who he trusted the most, and how he's pretty much shitting any relationships he had now that he's going to the side that was always obviously meant for him.

I basically loved how Fiona was so against the CIA since the beginning of the show because of what they did to Michael and how they operate, then she suddenly ups and puts herself in a position to be killed so that Michael sticks to the mission the CIA gave him.

"Oh yea Fi by the way, I'm turning James in today. They want me to run their network after he's in jail, I guess I can figure it out later. Either way you guys are off the hook and the CIA is happy."

Seriously Burn Notice? I feel like they're not trying since it's the last few episodes. Either way, it's been a good first couple of seasons, and then rest have been dragged out "who burned michael... oh, that other guy, I guess, follow him next season"

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