Burn Notice (TV Series)

Entry Point (2010)

Jeffrey Donovan: Michael Westen

Photos 

Quotes 

• [first lines] 

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  Interrogating a hostile prisoner is a little like proposing marriage - you want to get it right on the first try - so you don't settle until you find the perfect spot, you take special care to create the right ambience and set the mood, and then you wait for the best moment to pop the question.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  The threat of rendition is usually more persuasive than the fear of immediate torture. For prisoners who want to believe that they've hit rock bottom, the idea that their circumstances could get even worse is a powerful motivator. It's kinda like "The Grass Always Being Greener," only in reverse.

• [Michael pulls Jesse out of interviewing Kendra] 

  Jesse Porter : [in an angry whisper]  What the hell was that! One of us had to stop her from scrambling her brains!

  Michael Westen : [normal tone]  I know. You did the right thing.

  Jesse Porter : Wh... What? No, yeah, I know! I know! I know I did. So what- why...

  Michael Westen : Rendition only works when the Bad Cop isn't in the room. She invited him in and kicked him in the teeth. Our play was dead, we needed a new one, now we've got it.

  Jesse Porter : We don't have a damn thing!

  Michael Westen : [pointing to monitor]  That woman is a predator. She's overconfident around people she thinks of as prey.

  [pause] 

  Michael Westen : You're the prey, Jesse.

  [a moment is taken as it sinks in] 

  Jesse Porter : So I'm the, I'm the weak link. I'm the guy with the bosses breathin' down his neck.

  Michael Westen : That's what I was tryin' to tee up.

  Jesse Porter : Okay. All right, but look: if we make the soft play, it is just me in that room from now on, okay? I gotta be out on a island by myself. That's the only way that this can possibly work.

  Michael Westen : I know. And this better work.

• Michael Westen : I'm gonna call 9-1-1.

  Fiona Glenanne : Oh! How very civic minded of you, Michael.

  Michael Westen : [getting up and walking away]  You don't guard a room full of belt grinders and bandsaws with a bomb! Something in there is worth finding and it won't be around much longer if that fire doesn't get put out.

  Fiona Glenanne : Well, Fire & Rescue's not gonna let you just waltz right in there, Michael.

  Michael Westen : One thing at a time, Fi!

  [secondary explosion] 

  Michael Westen : [picking up the pace]  Okay, let's go.

• Sam Axe : [shouted playacting at Jesse for Kendra to overhear]  Were my instructions too complicated for you to understand? Do I need to speak in single-syllable words maybe? Draw you a picture? Now quit playing nice, get in there *and get me some* DAMN *ANSWERS*!

  Sam Axe : [quietly, cleaning some spittle off Jesse's face]  Sorry man, got a little something, there.

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  Every interrogation is a struggle between two parties for control. When forward progress depends on you giving up this control, you have to be careful. An overt show of weakness is transparent; bluffing strength and allowing that bluff to be called creates a believeable fiction that lets the person across the table think they actually have something on you.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Bureaucracy is a spy's best friend. The overlap between city, county, and state emergency response creates confusion that can be exploited at a crime scene. If you wander in off the street and claim jurisdiction, you buy time by wrapping yourself in red tape.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  For a spy in a rush to steal large computer files quickly, file sharing sites are a dream come true. File sharing has none of the drawbacks of e-mail: there are no size limitations on uploads, no waiting for files to bounce through multiple servers, and no electronic trail leading back to the account on the receiving end. The only drawback is whatever you post can be seen by anyone in the world, but since nearly every visitor to these sites is busy trolling for illegal music and movie downloads, chances are good no one will think twice about whatever boring intelligence you left there.

• Fiona Glenanne : [picking a lock]  Oh, damn it. Open.

  Michael Westen : [it opens]  Ugh. Finally.

  Michael Westen : Minute, 53. Not bad considering the guy clearly doesn't skimp on security, the lock was professional grade...

  Fiona Glenanne : Just, don't.

• Buddy : Somebody's shooting!

  Michael Westen : [inspects Buddy's arm, clean through]  Nice shot, Fi!

  Buddy : You shot- *You* shot-?

  Fiona Glenanne : Well it was either shoot you or bring flowers to your funeral, Buddy.

  Michael Westen : [they start to leave, then Michael stops]  Hey, Fi, we can't leave a bomb here.

  Michael Westen : [to Buddy]  Give me your shoe.

  Buddy : What, you want one of my Brunos?

  Michael Westen : Give me your shoe!

  [He removes a shoe and gives it to Michael. Michael throws it at the shed] 

  Buddy : Why are you doing that?

  [the shoe impacts the shed's door, swinging it open slightly. The shed explodes] 

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  There's a reason why most thieves work at night: darkness makes it easier to commit crimes. But darkness also makes it harder to see where you're going when you're trying to escape. Infrared paint is invisible in daylight but can be seen under a blacklight or with the help of IR goggles. Useful if you need to find an exit in the pitch black.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  There's an art to letting someone think they're corrupting you: you can't be too eager or too reluctant; you can't be too quick or too slow; most of all, you have to sell the guilt in the eyes that comes with betrayal. Once they think they own you, then you make your move,

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Hydraulic arms are safety features that slow the speed a door can close to minimize injury, but wrap a belt around them and they can be turned into an improvised lock.

• Michael Westen : All right, we're getting out of here.

  Buddy : How? It's the second floor.

  [Michael chambers a round] 

  Buddy : What are you doing?

  Michael Westen : [aims]  Making an exit.

  [Michael shoots out a window] 

  Buddy : Are you serious? How are we gonna...?

  Michael Westen : Keep your arms in. Land on your feet. Tuck and roll.

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  It doesn't matter if you're a spy or a civilian, falling isn't fun. You can minimize injury by absorbing shock with your knees and rolling as you hit the ground, but the most important thing you need to do is remain calm and accept that it's going to hurt.

  [Michael gives Buddy an encouraging push out the window, cringes at his landing, then follows] 

• Michael Westen : Buddy, reach into the duffel bag at your feet, give me that rope.

  Buddy : What are you going to do?

  Michael Westen : I'm goin' fishing.

  [Michael unbundles the rope, pulls out a small, radio-triggered explosive device, and puts the device into a clutch purse] 

  Fiona Glenanne : No, Michael, I love that bag!

  Michael Westen : Sorry, Fi, I never did.

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  To stop a moving car, you can kill the engine, kill the driver, or kill the tires. If you only have a small amount of explosives, the tires are your target. The trick is getting the charge in the right place.

  [Fi passes the target car. Michael drags the explosive behind them in the purse, letting out the rope to get it under the target car and, once in position, triggers the explosive, taking out the right rear tire. Meh, dragging on the pavement likely ruined it anyway] 

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  When you're interrogating someone with nothing to lose, you have to give them another reason to talk. If you're looking to motivate someone who's cut off, alone, and convinced they're going to die, you can't beat revenge.

• [last lines] 

  Sam Axe : [toasting]  To the new guy! For putting that hot slice of crazy in the rearview.

  [they tap beer bottles and drink] 

  Jesse Porter : Mmm. Ohh, man!

  Jesse Porter : [looks at Kendra on monitor]  It's gonna be weird not hanging out with her tomorrow, you know?

  [Michael regards angry Kendra on the monitor] 

  Michael Westen : You could really use some more friends. I'd work on that.

• Michael Westen : You mentioned that when he called he had a voice scrambler. Did you get a number?

  Buddy : Uh, I did better than that. I, uh, greased a woman at the phone company with some Jimmy Chu knockoffs and she, um, what are ya gonna call it, uh, triangulated? where the calls came from? And, I went and bought *this*

  Buddy : [pulls out a small handgun]  little honey, ha ha, so I thought we could go and catch the guy together.

  Buddy : [puts gun back into his shirt, missing the pocket, and it falls straight to the floor] 

  ["Buddy" / "The Client"] 

  Michael Westen : Why don't you just give us the address and we'll take it from there?

• Fiona Glenanne : Michael? The antenna. That shed is wired to blow.

  [Fiona pulls out her gun and aims] 

  Michael Westen : Fi!

  Fiona Glenanne : You have a better idea? Now's the time.

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  When an operative hears a gunshot, his first instinct is to identify where the shot came from.

  [Fiona fires, hitting the ground behind Buddy] 

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  When a civilian hears a gunshot, he might turn to locate the source of the shot, or he might run straight for the nearest building, which is a problem if that building's been rigged to explode.

  [Fiona aims again...] 

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  At that point, you may have to choose the small injury over the big one.

  [... and fires, hitting Buddy in the upper left arm, causing him to fall into the water short of the shed] 

• Sam Axe : You sure this Deans is our thief?

  Michael Westen : Yeah. Why?

  Sam Axe : 'Cause I just watched him get blown sky high. Somebody wired his car. Now he's hosting a neighborhood barbeque.