- Madeline confronts Michael's mentor, Tom Card. The team runs into trouble as they head to Panama to track down an assassin.
- Mike musters the team to go after Nate's killer, master sniper Tyler Gray. Former CIA mentor Tom Card has him NSA-located in Panama and arranges an unofficial trip there, with the fatal mission's former HQ handler, Brady Pressman, for once volunteering for field work. Back home, grieving mother Weston blackmails him to disclose the context of Nate's death. In Panama, Mike's team walks into one trap after the other. They still catch Tyler, who points out a chilling truth.—KGF Vissers
- Previously on 'Burn Notice:' Nate was killed and Michael and the gang began trying to track down the killer. Some clues led them to the name Tyler Gray, but a big-shot private military broker was killed before he could give Michael any details about Gray.
'Desperate Times:' Michael is being careful about who he shares the new intelligence with. Fiona is upset that he shared it with the CIA, but Michael says he didn't have a choice because he needs their resources. She's worried their resources always come with strings. Michael tells her Card called and he's meeting him in one hour.
Michael meets Card, who says there were nearly 1,000 partial matches, but Card was able to boil it down to one person who just broke into a munitions warehouse in Panama (there's surveillance video), and he's the same person who flew out of Newark just three hours after Nate was killed.
Card tells Michael he can't have a tactical team, but he is sending a "desk jockey" from Langley named Brady Pressman. Michael doesn't want the guy to come but Card says he has no choice.
Michael goes to visit Maddy who is still down about Nate's murder, has no makeup on and her hair isn't done and tells her he's going to Panama. She worries about something happening to him. Michael gives her the phone number of Card's secretary at Langley. Michael tells Maddy that he's trying to make up for Nate's loss. Maddy shouts at Michael that she doesn't want his apology. She tells Michael that every mistake Nate made was because he was trying to be like Michael. She tells Michael that her job was to protect Nate from him and she "didn't do it."
(Overlooked is the fact that Maddy traditionally was the one who would play the "Mommy card" and insist that Michael help Nate out of a situation of Nate's own doing.)
Michael reaches for Maddy's hand and she pulls away. He leaves.
Michael and the crew land and meet Brady Pressman. Fi doesn't shake his hand. They set up in an abandoned building. That night, Brady leads them through the details of what they know and where Gray is. Brady also shows them all kinds of fancy guns and gear. Fiona leaves the briefing, frustrated that Brady seems to be running things but won't be on the front lines of the operation to get Gray.
Michael and Fi have another quick heart-to-heart early in the morning. After Michael catches Fi looking out at the sunrise and saying it reminds her of the Irish Sea, Fi tells Michael she doesn't want the CIA involved in the effort to find Nate's killer, but Michael insists they have to do everything they can to get him. Michael notices an electrical truck on the street outside and thinks there's a problem. It's too early and there's no electricity in the building. On the security cameras, they see many armed men headed into the building. The gang escapes through the roof, jumping over to a building across the alley. Jesse does this all without wearing shoes, because he was woken up and didn't grab his. Michael wrestles a gun away from one man who made it into the roof and makes his jump. He looks back to see a big, black Humvee pull up and Gray steps out. Michael instinctively takes a couple of shots, but misses and Gray drives away.
Having brought just a couple of handguns and some of the ammo for one of the larger special purpose rifles but not the rifle, Michael and Fi set to work making explosives out of the ammo's components. Michael tells Fi he also misses their time in Ireland. She says she just wants to be with him. Michael tells her that after he gets Gray, he's out. He's done with all of it. Fi says that sounds really good.
Maddy goes to Card and tells him she wants answers. She wants to know everything he knows about the operation that killed Nate. He says it's classified and he can't help, but she blackmails him by telling him she knows about Michael being in Panama and will make a scene about it if he doesn't cooperate. He takes her to a room and hands her the file. He tells her he's only doing it because he trusts Michael.
Jesse, still shoeless, joins Sam and Brady as they look for a place to do their snatch-and-grab. There are heavily armed guards at one spot, but one lookout at another spot. Jesse gets a truck and drives up to the guy, pretending to ask for directions to a gas station. When the guy gets close enough to the truck, Jesse grabs him by the arm and drives him around a corner into an alley where Brady and Sam are waiting. The guy fights his way away from Sam and Brady, but Jesse knocks him out by throwing open the truck's door as he's about to run by. Jesse's first thought: "What size shoe do you think he wears?"
The crew tries to sort out assignments and Sam is worried about Michael, who took a pretty good shot to the ribs in his tussle with the one gunman on the roof. Meanwhile, they hear radio communication in Spanish with some guys saying they're returning with Gray in about 30 minutes.
Back in Langley, Card asks Maddy what more she wants from him and she suddenly opens up. She tells Card about how her decision not to leave her abusive husband and how Michael and Nate ended up so different as a result. He tells her not to focus on the bad, and that Michael is just a little boy who wants to protect his mom and little brother, and that all the people Michael has ever helped actually have Maddy to thank. She cries a bit more and asks for a minute. Card tells her to take all the time she needs, but he takes the file with him as he leaves.
Everyone's ready for Card's arrival and Michael and Brady end up standing next to each other alone. Michael tries to tell Brady he doesn't have to be involved, but Brady says he wants to be because it was his operation that went south and got Nate killed. Brady shares a story of how his dad, an Army Ranger, died when he was young and that was why he went into the Army at 18. He could avenge his father's killing, but he wants to help Michael settle things for his brother.
Gray's two cars show up and the operation commences, but Gray thinks quickly, holds one of his own men over one of the explosives and tells his driver to drive away.
Sam, Michael and Brady chase him in a minivan and find the Hummer abandoned. Soon enough, shots fire out and Brady is hit in the leg. Michael and Sam duck behind the Hummer and Michael tries to put pressure on Brady's leg with his belt. Brady encourages them to go after Gray and Michael vows he'll get him.
Michael calls Card and tells him they're going into the building where Gray is hiding, but Card orders them to stand down. That's not going to happen. He tells them to wait for backup, which is already on its way. Michael said he has a plan and he's going in. Jesse and Fi head over to the west side of the building to focus Gray's attention in that direction. He fires at them and nicks Jesse on the foot. Gray also shoots a hole into a barrel filled with gasoline, and continues firing bullets at the puddle of fuel trying to spark a conflagration. Meanwhile, Michael and Sam try to sneak around to another part of the building.
Michael and Sam are on the roof right above the window where Gray is perched. Michael sets up some rope and with Sam as the anchor rapells off the roof and into the window, kicking Gray down to the ground. He smacks Gray with the butt of his gun a couple of times and then cuffs him with plastic ties. But not everything is as it seemed.
Gray tells Michael that he was actually sent by Card and that this was supposed to be a suicide mission for Michael. Gray was supposed to kill him. Gray tells Michael to call Card and claim that Gray got away. Gray says Card will tell Michael to stay put and wait for help. Michael decides to play Gray's game and calls Card, who says exactly what Gray said he would. Card tells Michael to stay put and even goes so far as to tell Michael that the CIA is tracking Gray and just saw him duck into an alley all while Gray is actually sitting on the floor staring down the barrel of Michael's gun. Michael plays along with Card and hangs up the phone. Card tells Michael, "I'm proud of you."
Gray asks Michael if Card told him he was "proud" of him, and says that Card had told him Michael would like to hear that "right before he told me to go for the head shot."
Michael cocks the gun and points it at Gray's head, but suddenly screams and swings another backhand to Grays' face.
Card says goodbye to Maddy and tells her with great sincerity that he hopes her visit has helped. She tells him he might have opened up her eyes a bit. Card tells her that some of what he said wasn't easy to hear, "but that's the one thing you'll always get from me, Mrs. Westen, is the truth."
Michael and Sam pack Gray into the minivan and tells everyone about Card's plot. As they drive away they hear an F-18 fighter jet and see that Card has ordered an airstrike. Michael says Card can spin any story he wants to justify it.
Card goes on to tell Maddy how much he cares about Michael and how he was like his own family.
Back in Panama, they decide to stop the van and all get out together before the F-18 comes back around. Brady calls out, "Alright, let's do this." They stop, every gets out, but Brady stays in and drives away while Michael shouts at him. Seconds later, the F-18 swoops down once more and fires a missile directly at the van, which goes up in flames.
Card continues talking to Maddy, telling her he knows the agency has cost her a lot, "so, for what it's worth, I am deeply, deeply sorry." She thanks him and tells him she's glad Michael has him. Card watches her walk away, then turns to make a call.
"Please tell me it's done," he says. Then hangs up the phone.
Back in Panama, as they all stare at the burning van, Sam asks, "So, what the hell do we do now?"
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content