Nate returns to Miami and gets Michael way in over his head.
When discussing the many recurring guest stars on Burn Notice, many names come to mind. Lucy Lawless, Tricia Helfer, Tim Matheson. All of whom I look forward to seeing whenever they pop up. Unfortunately, Seth Petersen as Michael’s brother Nate does nothing for me. Aside from being another one of many thorns in Michael’s side, I fail to see what the character adds to each episode. Oddly enough, he brought along his new baby on this visit, giving him even less of a reason to be in the middle of Michael’s action-packed day-to-day.
The only thing less interesting than Nate Westen is the continuing saga of Michael (Jefferey Donovan) and Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) moving in together. I agree that it’s time for Michael to get off the pot, but shopping for drapes? Really?
As Nate laid out his sob story about his friend’s widow, I started to wonder, does Michael ever refuse to help someone? Are there times when he says no and we just don’t see it or do these requests only come every two weeks or so and that’s why he can always lend a hand. In any case, I appreciated the yogurt gag.
In what can only be an effort to complete the uninteresting hat trick, Michael and Sam go do some spying on the loan shark squeezing Nate’s friend at the nearest Jai-Alai match I honestly was about to watch the rest of the episode with my ear buds in until I saw that this week’s villain was played by Wade Williams. I loved Williams on Prison Break so I figured I would stick this one out. When Michael O’Keefe showed up as Wade’s boss, I was even willing to overlook the latest in Jeffrey Donovan’s terrible accents.
I must admit that I did not see the FBI badge coming. Aside from the time Michael inadvertently burned Jesse (Coby Bell), I don’t think I’ve ever seen a twist quite like this one. Along with Bruce Campbell’s charm and Gabrielle Anwar’s skirts, these kinds of twists are why I watch Burn Notice.
I liked how the caper ended and was happy to check out as soon as Nate started boo-hooing about his baby and his gambling problem. As for Michael’s latest obsession, it better pay off big at the end of the season.
Some stats and info about Burn Notice, “Mind Games”
TV SHOW – Burn Notice
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 5, Episode 3
AIRED ON – July 7th, 2011
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – USA/Hulu
GENRE – Drama, Comedy, Spy Shows, Action Shows
CREATED BY – Matt Nix
CAST – Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, Sharon Gless, Coby Bell
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.