Dammit, who forgot to tell me that Burn Notice was back!

It used to be so much easier: new shows begin in September, end in May, and that was it. Now we've got seasons starting whenever they damn well please, and shows taking mid-season breaks and then coming back with new episodes. Burn Notice is in the midst of Season 3 on the USA Network, and when we last left Michael Weston, he had given up a chance at getting unburned in order to save Fiona from Irish assassins (which would be a great Boston sports franchise). Tonight has him dealing with the aftermath of his decision, and picking up Fi's clients, since she's out of action with a bullet wound in the shoulder. The client is a woman whose husband was killed in an insurance scam car accident, and who is being shaken down for money by the guys behind the scam ring. The usual job for Michael, only this one gives us sweet vehicular action (for the guys) and sleeveless Michael (for the ladies). We also meet our subplot, a mystery assassin who seems to be several steps ahead of Weston and the gang, and whose motives have yet to be uncovered. Spooky, I know.

The real meat of the episode is in the scenes with Michael and his mother, who they recruit to help persuade a records clerk to get them some files. The first time, they just need one file, then Mrs. Weston befriends the clerk/asset. That backfires later when Michael needs her to blackmail the clerk in order to get the rest of the files that he needs to put the gang away. The scene where she gets the files out of the clerk is great, but the real heartwrenching moment is when she confronts Michael on what he has to do to get the job done. "Do you really think it's about the money!" is a killer line, and really sells us on the motivations behind Michael Weston and why he wants his old job back so badly. Everything works out in the end, but we'll see if this has any character repercussions down the line. Good job, Burn Notice!