As Maddie and Michael adjust to the shockwaves rippling through their lives thanks to Anson’s latest revelation, Fiona finally digs up something useful intel that sends Michael to prison to confront an old enemy in search of guidance.Meanwhile, Fi, Jesse and Sam try to help out a contact of Jesse’s who wants to send his boss to jail for dealing in blood diamonds.

This one’s a fairly compelling exercise in Burn Notice 101 – but as the season-wide mystery starts amping up the tension, it’s the Jesse-centric side mission that compels audience attention.For a season that’s turned out to be more about the passing away of old worlds than anything, this episode is the most heavily entrenched in the themes of noble death and finishing up old business.

Ian is an incredibly sympathetic client, in fact his plight is one of the more memorable in recent canon – his decision heartbreaking, noble, and – and one that seems to put ideas in Michael’s head that might bloom to heartbreaking fruition this season.

Coby Bell rules what’s truly his first showcase episode; he’s at turns authoritative and hilarious, and when Sam and Fiona take center-stage mid-episode, the results are a joy.Thus, the three-way force of Sam, Fiona and Jesse is fun to watch, yet Michael’s distance from the team missions are pushing them into the background.

As stated above, the odd man out, intentionally, is Michael, who’s grappling with the enormity of what Anson did to him the previous week.Jeffrey Donovan shows excellent range as the snare around Michael and the team begins to tighten; one of the episodes’ most powerful scenes involves a prison yard chat between Mike and his latest helpmeet in the Anson crises.

While one had a feeling that the guy Michael eventually turns to would be the lynchpin, it was written beautifully, and handled with a decent amount of suspense.An exciting twist is bound to be around the corner.

Letter Grade: A-