Burn Notice: Difference between revisions

[[File:BurnNotice.jpg|frame|I'll need a few cell phones, some C4 and my sunglasses.]]

 

 

 

Michael doesn't have any money or income, and he can't exactly get a job recommendation from his former employers -- to make ends meet, he reluctantly accepts clients from around the Miami area and works to help them with their problems under the table. These problems usually involve saving said clients from various life-threatening situations, mostly of the "good guy gets deep in debt to bad guys" variety. While these tasks take up the majority of an episode, time is also spent on Michael's various attempts to figure out who in the government burned him (and why), as well as his interpersonal relationships with his friends and family.

Michael relies on Fiona Glenanne (his girlfriend and a former [[Western Terrorists|IRA]] operative) and Sam Axe (a retired spy/ex-Navy SEAL who Michael worked with in the past) to watch his back as he takes on con artists, mobsters, gang leaders, and various other underworld riff-raff. From Season Four onwards, the team is joined by Jesse Porter, another former spy {{spoiler|who was burned -- accidentally -- by Michael}}. All of the members of this team are very good at crafting primitive explosive devices and homemade spy gear out of household items. Unconventional warfare is something of a theme; at one point, Michael says, "Guns make you dumb. It's better to fight your wars with duct tape; duct tape makes you smart." The other theme is crafting ''identities'' out of nothing; when dealing with the bad guys, Michael and company often pretend to be criminals (be they rivals or friends) or even innocent civilians, but they never show their true colors unless their hand is forced.

 

 

Michael is the show's [[Narrator]], explaining to the viewer why he chooses a particular course of action -- but instead of being done as a real time [[Inner Monologue]], the voiceover is done as if he's giving a lecture to a class of students. Viewers can think of Michael the Narrator as a slightly different character from Michael Westen. Through this method, the show addresses a large number of tropes (most of them spy-related) and [[Playing with a Trope|plays with them in a variety of ways.]] The writing is surprisingly aggressive in avoiding the typical action movie clichés: cars don't [[Every Car Is a Pinto|explode unless someone plants a bomb on it]], characters get hurt and are forced to spend [[Walk It Off|several episodes limping around]], and making escapes involve either [[Try and Follow|dangerous stunts]] or being small enough to squeeze [[Air Vent Passageway|through an air vent]].

 

 

A prequel movie, ''[[Burn Notice: the Fall of Sam Axe]]'', premiered on USA in 2011. Campbell, of course, starred in the film -- and Jeffrey Donovan served as director.

 

 

== Tropes A-H ==

* [[Abusive Parents]]: While there was some family love, Michael's father was not a good guy at all (a little scar next to Michael's eye is his biggest memory of him). It's mentioned that Frank Westen was the main reason Michael left for the army at 17, and why he rarely came home to visit before he got burned. While Michael loves his Mom, Madeline was also abused (while insisting they still had a decent household). These are some of the primary reasons behind all of their present day issues with each other.

* [[A-Team Montage]]: With some helpful tips on how and why the [[MacGyvering]] is being done.

* [[Affably Evil]]: Pretty much all of Michael's long-term enemies mockingly act like this. Michael himself comes off as this towards any civilians and security guards who get in his way - he often compliments or critiques their fighting techniques as he knocks them out. Other times, he just seems exasperated and simply tells them to stop fighting/resisting... while he's choking them unconscious.

** Many of the things he recommends in the web-based "Ask A Spy" segments fall into this category. For example, he recommends keeping your valuables stored in the walls, because robbers and thieves don't have the time to look there. Unfortunately, it means that getting to your stuff means breaking down the walls.

*** In fact, the hiding in the wall part ends up getting used in season four by {{spoiler|Kendra.}}

* [[Awesome Yet Practical]]: Because he knows what works, Michael doesn't waste energy in unnecessary endeavors. This is not the same as "guaranteed", mind you.

** Tying into the previous trope, he'll usually point out when something is impractical and then proceed to explain how to make it practical. For instance, he hid something important inside the frame of his door behind a hinge panel.

** Mr. Slippery in 4x06 uses one on Michael and team.

** Michael and {{spoiler|Larry}} turn one into [[Ham-to-Ham Combat]] in "Out of the Fire".

* [[Beauty, Brains, and Brawn]]: Michael's the brainy one, with Fiona as a beauty of the "[[She Cleans Up Nicely]]" school. Sam, of course, is the muscle.

* [[Be Careful What You Wish For]]: Madeline did not like Michael's secrecy and vague explanations why she needed to leave town in the first two seasons and by the third season Michael started being more open to her. As Madeline is better informed on the situation, as well as participating in the missions herself on occasion, she is learning that Michael was trying to protect her from knowing the hard decisions he sometimes has to make.

* [[Berserk Button]]: Michael frequently talks about the need to stay emotionally detached, but frequently he takes clients solely because kids are involved. It's a sore spot for him. It's happened no less than 8 times.

{{quote|'''Madeline''': For two little kids getting smacked around by their father? Michael would take on the entire Chinese army.}}

** In the season four finale, {{spoiler|Brennen. [[Catch Phrase|Oops, sorry, kid.]] It's actually Larry and Vaughn.}}

** In season five it's {{spoiler|Anson, furthermore we learn that he was the man who burnt Michael which arguably makes him the [[Big Bad]] of the entire series}}

*** The same episode gives a series-long arc about Michael's Father something of a bittersweet ending ({{spoiler|When Anson reveals that he'd spoken extensively with Michael's father, and that the man felt remorse for what he'd done, and wanted to apologize. He was never given a chance, after he was cut down by a heart attack. Sad. Oh, and Anson "arranged" the heart attack}})

* [[Blinded by the Light]]: Team Westen has done this twice, first with a flashbang grenade and once with a car's highbeams. Michael says it best during the second one:

{{quote|'''Michael:''' Hiding doesn't always involve staying in the shadows. If your enemies eyes are adjusted to the darkness, then the best hiding place is behind the brightest light you can find.}}

* [[The Book Cipher]]: Used repeatedly, especially in the {{spoiler|fourth season}}, where it becomes part of the season-long plot when Michael Westen steals a {{spoiler|Bible from a safe deposit box that is the code book of Simon.}}

* [[Borrowed Biometric Bypass]]: in the season 4 finale, {{spoiler|Brennan}} mistakenly assumes his biometrically-locked safe will keep his associates from turning on him. {{spoiler|[[Axe Crazy|Dead Larry]]}} proves him wrong, relying on this trope to get the safe's contents.

* [[Bruce Wayne Held Hostage]]: Played straight and then in season 4, inverted - Michael and Sam end up being the hostage takers.

** When kidnappers show up at a party, Fiona plays out being wealthy socialite "Charlotte Finley" alongside the primary kidnapping victim. She worked to undermine their plans from the inside with a healthy dose of [[Obfuscating Stupidity]].

* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: Barry.

** Seymour, who despite being unstable and eccentric is apparently a very successful arms dealer.

** Done earlier with Larry, when he's trying to kill a gagged Jack Yablonski. His hand gets injured as well.

* [[Butt Monkey]]: Everyone loves the Charger, in and out of the show, but it really does go through hell. The main trio only gets dinged up every so often, but the Charger really gets pounded. Perhaps the worst is when it gets totaled at the end of the fourth season.

** In reference to "Friendly Fire", where Michael convinces some street runners that he's the devil by blowing stuff up whenever he snaps his fingers.

{{quote|David: ''"So what? You just snap your fingers and the dealers disappear?"''

{{quote|'''Michael''': Where am I?

'''Fiona''': Miami. }}

** In the opening to the pilot, Michael tells the Nigerians taking him to the meeting that BMW makes an SUV now, very roomy. In the opening episode of the third season, he gets into a rolling meeting with a bad guy and says, "I like the SUV; it's roomy."

** Sam does a particularly awesome bit of it in the season 4 opener.

* [[The Cavalry]] : Done [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|epically]] at the end of " Last Stand" {{spoiler|Vaughn's troops are closing in on Michael, Fiona, and Jesse, and have Madeline hostage. It appears the only way anyone will leave alive is if Michael sacrifices himself by going into a nearby shed and [[Taking You with Me|detonating an explosive]]. Fiona decides to join him so he won't die alone. Right before they get the chance to detonate it, Vaughn's forces are hit with tear gas from [[Big Damn Heroes|Sam and a good platoon of soldiers]], who easily subdue Vaughn and his men}}

* [[Cell Phone]]: Hoo boy. Michael goes through these like toilet paper. Not just his own, but any he can grab from other people at need. Sam and Fiona probably don't get a lot of mileage out of their caller ID!

** [[Word of God]] jokingly mentions that spies did not exist before cell phones - that cell phone companies invented spies. Same commentary then explains why they use cellphones a lot: "It's not that we're in love with cell phones - though we are - ..."

* [[Cerebus Syndrome]]: As time has gone on, the series has become darker, and this has become much more apparent in season 5, what with major recurring villains dying, allies nearly dying, and [[Bittersweet Ending|Bittersweet Endings]] becoming much more common.

* [[Characterization Marches On]]: Fiona had a very thick Irish accent in the first episode. This was handwaved away when she said she was trying to blend in better in Miami. The reasons were... let's just say Gabrielle Anwar can better fake an American Accent. Her brother notices when he visits, and there's some [[Lampshade Hanging]].

** In a few episodes, her accent rears its head again, mainly when she's extremely concerned about Michael. Presumably, Fiona is distracted and forgetting her American accent.

** The congressman Maddie blackmailed in "Past and Future Tense".

* [[Choke Holds]]: Michael Westen is adept at the blood choke. His victims rarely cry out, but they rarely have time. It's almost his signature move for taking out people who don't deserve injury.

* [[Clear My Name]]: The new plot since {{spoiler|Michael's [[Artifact Title|Burn Notice]] was lifted}}.

* [[Cliff Hanger]]: The focus is on the [[Myth Arc]], with only one two-part [[Villain of the Week]] episode.

* [[City of Spies]]

* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: Several examples:

** Also Spencer, who is [[The Schizophrenia Conspiracy|legitimately mentally ill]].

* [[Cloak and Dagger]]

* [[Companion Cube]]: In the S3 summer finale, anyone else feel a stab of fear when {{spoiler|Mike asks Sam for the keys to the Buick?}}

* [[Confusion Fu]]: Frequently used by Michael to get that split second advantage when someone has a gun on him or is otherwise threatening someone. Telling someone the safety is still on, that his (not-)girlfriend is pregnant or starting to talk about cat magazines are good ways to temporarily sow confusion.

* [[Con Men Hate Guns]]: Sometimes played straight (with white-collar crooks who often have hired muscle to do such unsavory deeds for them), but averted with others, as one con-man had a customized gun and was very willing to use it.

* [[Conspiracy Theorist]]: Spencer in "Signals and Codes". He's also [[The Schizophrenia Conspiracy|legitimately mentally ill]].

* [[Continuity Nod]]: Common in later seasons:

** Fi's biker friends mentioned in 3x15 get another mention in 4x01 as one of the plans she and Sam considered when dealing with another biker gang.

* [[Conveniently Interrupted Document]]: The government documents that Michael ''does'' manage to get his hands on are these.

* [[Conveniently Timed Guard]]

* [[Cool Car]]: Michael's Charger, which used to be his Dad's.

** Started out as [[The Alleged Car]], because his father's approach to machinery was pretty much [[Abusive Parents|the same as his approach to family]]:

** When it {{spoiler|gets blown up}} in Season 4's finale, {{spoiler|it comes back after four episodes.}} Apparently it was Jesse's idea.

** Fiona drives pretty cool [[Product Placement|Product Placements]] throughout the series, starting from the Saab 9-3 convertible she got from a client in Season 2, to blue Hyundai Genesis Coupe in Seasons 4 and 5.

** In a meta-example, [[Word of God]] says that when Coby Bell (Jesse) joined the cast, on the second day, Bruce Campbell (Sam) gave him a bike as a surprise gift. This combined with Bruce's charm has Coby Bell talking about how great Bruce is during one interview.

** Paul Anderson, still badass after twenty years on the shelf.

* [[Cool Shades]]: Lampshaded, even. Michael apparently got them from a guy he killed. Despite seeing them clearly broken at the start of "Do No Harm", he puts on an identical pair later in the episode. Or maybe a lens just got popped loose.

** At the end of season two, {{spoiler|he leaves them in the helicopter when he jumps out. Upon swimming out of the ocean}} in 3x01, the first thing he grabs is a t-shirt and shades. "Management" is considerate enough to send his originals around to the loft.

* [[The Coroner Doth Protest Too Much]]: Gilroy's explanation of Claude's death. Evidently, he didn't survive the complications... of breaking his ankle.

* [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]]: John Barrett.

* [[Cover-Blowing Superpower]]: Michael can't always be an unstoppable badass because the situation may require someone to "[[Obfuscating Stupidity|outsmart]]" him to get to the [[Batman Gambit|next part of the plan]]. In one instance, he got a dislocated shoulder for his troubles and another time, the voiceover explained how to properly hold a hostage while Michael did the exact opposite. It makes for another [[Running Gag]] where Michael is trying to get someone to give a decent fight and has an almost bored look on his face.

** In ''Truth and Reconciliation'', all of Michael's plans fail, so he simply gets Fi to lure the baddie into a hotel room, knock him out, and then he climbs down from the floor above to dump him into a truck waiting below.

** In the third season's midseason finale, {{spoiler|Michael had everything good to go but was ratted out to the [[Villain of the Week]] by Strickler, and Fiona was taken. Michael showed that when [[Berserk Button|sufficiently motivated]], he will shoot to kill and go in guns blazing.}}

** Brennen in particular tends to be able to predict Michael's actions very well, because he can think along those lines. Of course, in the Season 4 finale, {{spoiler|his skills don't help much when he tries to work with [[Ax Crazy|Dead Larry]], with [[Eviler Than Thou|predictable]] [[Killed Off for Real|results]]}}.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Michael and Sam, most of the time, though Madeline's getting in on the act in season three.

** Also happens at the end of the second season with {{spoiler|Victor}}.

** Sugar also counts as his third appearance on the show has him as an eager ally. Highlighting again Michael's statement about not holding grudges or such.

* [[Depraved Homosexual]]: Psychopathic, lying killer Gilroy might have been heading in this direction. Hard to tell with him, what with the psychopathy and the lying making the line between this and [[Terms of Endangerment]] hard to see. Sadly, we will never know - {{spoiler|What with him being blown up and all.}}

* [[Designated Girl Fight]]: Fiona and Mike meet a female mark at a pool, and Mike is wearing a swimsuit while the women are wearing bikinis. After the meeting, the mark accidentally pushes Fi's [[Berserk Button]]. Catfight ensues.

* [[Destructo-Nookie]]

** ''Die Hard'' in a Bank: Michael and a rival find themselves in the middle of a [[Bank Robbery]]. [[Hilarity Ensues|Asskicking ensues.]]

** ''Die Hard'' at an Executive Airport: Michael convinces the bad guys he is undercover with in another episode that the airport they locked down has a former Army Ranger maintenance worker engaged in one of these.

* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]: The second time we see Simon, he's wearing loose white clothing, walking around on a beach barefoot, has grown a beard, and makes lots of Biblical references. Simon being Simon, the [[Jesus]] impression may be deliberate.

* [[Don't Tell Mama]]: Michael tried to keep his mother in the dark about his life as a spy for awhile, but he eventually had to give that up.

* [[Double Agent]]: Sam, who was supposed to inform the FBI on Michael, but instead only tells them what Michael wants him to tell them. The agents involved got reassigned about halfway through the first season, letting Sam off the hook.

** Michael blackmailed a [[Mook]] into being a double agent, explaining the "management" skills needed to maintain such operatives. He did say that suicide rates were unfortunately high in this demographic.

* [[Dress Hits Floor]]: Fiona at the end of "Friendly Fire".

* [[Driving Question]]: Who burned Michael?

* [[Dropped a Bridge on Him]]: {{spoiler|Gilroy, after being built up over season 3.5 as an [[Evil Counterpart]] to Michael, gets shot and then blown up by the prisoner he was hired to free.}}

** Also, {{spoiler|Max, Michael's CIA contact. A number of fans thought he was a better addition to the cast than Coby Bell, but unfortunately, Max turns up dead and Michael's framed for it.}}

* [[Espionage Tropes]]: Plays with just about all of them at some point or other.

* [[Establishing Shot]]: Generally done in a hyperkinetic way with stock Florida footage cut rapidly together, often with the show's trademark freezeframe.

** Fiona shows up by kicking Michael awake and being someone Michael trusts enough to distract some FBI agents.

** Sam's first line has him explaining that he is already known as a drunk womanizer so he had nothing to lose by talking to a burned spy, highlighting his [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]] tendencies and his friendship with Michael.

* [[Evil Mentor]]: (Dead) Larry Sizemore, Michael's former mentor, who faked his own death in Bosnia and is now a [[Psycho for Hire]] [[Professional Killer]] whose solution to ''everything'' is [[Kill'Em All]]. Larry also likes to invoke [[Not So Different]] in regards to himself and Michael. Particularly notable in the season 4 finale when Larry wonders where all the darkness and anger Michael had went. On par for being the evil mentor, Larry also laments that Michael is losing those things that made him do bad things with a smile and so good at his job.

* [[Executive Meddling]]: A rare positive instance; [[Word of God]] has that some moments like the driving into the truck finale scene were a result of the USA network head challenging them to do something cool or different and subsequently having a back and forth exchange of ideas.

* [[Expository Hairstyle Change]]: Whenever Madeline's hair is down, so is she.

* [[Failure Is the Only Option]]: The burn notice is the only thing that keeps Michael in Miami. [[Word of God]] is that because of the way the shows production process is set up, shooting outside of the Miami area is inconvenient to the point of impossibility (though they have shot in the Bahamas for a couple of scenes in season four, involving Fiona and Jesse, but not Michael). Therefore, it is doubtful the burn notice will ever be taken out of play.

** At one point, Michael was willing to risk it and got a cover ID from an old friend (a former contact who only showed up in two episodes, the first and hers as a client) to go to Washington; story contrivances had the people Michael wanted to see come to him right before he was going to get on the plane, thereby keeping him in Miami.

** He got out of Miami for the Season 4 premiere, but it's rather obviously still filmed in South Florida. In any case, after one trip to an undisclosed private holding facility and a generic jungle location, it's back to Miami in time for the first commercial break.

* [[Fake Buzz]]: Pretending to get drunk is one of the spy skills Michael has cultivated. Sam also pulls out the trick on occasion.

* [[Fake Crossover]]: A [[USA Network]] staple. In a commercial, Michael sends a care package to Hank from ''[[Royal Pains]].'' A care package that contained sunglasses, suntan lotion, and ''C4 plastic explosives''. Because "you never know when you might need a stable plastic explosive." ''To a concierge doctor!'' Hilarity ensues.

* [[Faux Affably Evil]]: Brennen is the embodiment of this.

* [[Feed the Mole]]

* [[Fire-Forged Friends]]: How things get worked out between Michael and {{spoiler|Agent Bly}} after the latter shows up a second time. They're preparing to ruin one anothers' lives when they wind up in the midst of {{spoiler|a bank heist}}. After that they part ways amicably.

* [[First-Person Smartass]]: Michael, occasionally in his voiceovers.

** Michael refusing to leave Sam in the hostage situation in "Breach of Faith" - "I leave when you leave."

*** Echoed in "Where There's Smoke" when Maddie says "I go home when Fi goes home."

** In 4x10, "Hard Time", Michael goes to prison to protect a friend of Sam's for no other reason than to help Sam.

** In 4x16, "Last Stand", Michael, Jesse, and Fiona refusing to leave one another, and Michael ''finally'' {{spoiler|apologizing to Jesse for lying about the burn notice}}.

** Omar and his gang in "Friendly Fire".

* [[Fruit Cart]]

* [[Fun with Subtitles]]: Every episode has a subtitle of any person of note, the current villain, client or a new ally. Usually it is used to punctuate Michael picking up a new client. Once it was used to describe how many different job titles a one-off character had. And once it was used to help clarify when a supposed client turned into an assassin. (See [[Batman Gambit]].)

** One particularly notable example had a character identified with one subtitle when first spotted, then switched to another subtitle when Fi explained a few things, then added ''another'' subtitle when he was observed to be a real jackass. ''All in the same three minute scene''.

** In one episode, they even gave ''one of Michael's [[MacGyver]] contraptions'' a witty subtitle.

** Perhaps the most common is when the subtitle is taken directly from the dialogue, often contradicting it (for instance, when in season 3's half-season finale Fiona says "I'm not one of your damn clients" the subtitle reads "Fiona-The Client").

** Management's title only states "Management", with no clarifying subtitle.

** "Guilty as Charged": {{spoiler|Michael, Sam, and Fiona (who are trying to clear Jesse's name and bring down Barrett) versus Jesse (who wants revenge against Michael for burning him) versus Vaughn (who thinks Michael's on his side and wants to eliminate Jesse) versus Barrett (who is a merchant of death with his hands in Michael and Jesse's burn notices)}}.

* [[Gambit Roulette]]: Pops up in Season 4 episode "Breach of Faith" - while Michael was doing the best he could with what he had, his entire escape plan could've been utterly derailed by only one of any number of variables such as {{spoiler|the incriminating cash not being in a safe right in the building they were in, the safe in question not being a '''floor''' safe (and thus having weak sides), the SWAT team trying and successfully getting audio and/or visual feeds inside the office, the [[Villain of the Week]] not having a gun pointed at Team Westen and Friends as the SWAT team breached the office, or the [[Villain of the Week]]'s assistant not finiding her conscience and turning against her former boss. He, in narration, is fully aware of how lucky he is}}.

* [[Gang-Bangers]]: Omar is a surprisingly sympathetic one in "Friendly Fire" who wants to protect his people. Vega, on the other hand...

* [[Gaslighting]]: Michael does this sometimes, but an early episode in Season One deconstructs it by pointing out the potential dangers:

{{quote|'''Michael:''' One of the dangers of psychological warfare is that it can be too effective and send your target into a paranoid tailspin. That paranoia can be useful...or deadly.}}

* [[The Ghost]]: Sam's ladies are mostly off screen. In season two, the viewers actually meet Veronica, Sam's big squeeze.

* [[Give Me Back My Wallet]]

** In the fifth season premier, he wants to use "Chuck Finley," but the CIA makes him use an alias they cooked up instead.

* [[Got the Call on Speed Dial]]: The entire premise of the series.

* [[Groin Attack]]: Fiona shoots a thug in the crotch with a shotgun (It was only a [[Incredibly Lame Pun|beanbag]]) in episode 5x04 "No Good Deed" after he had been tossing Sam and Jesse around.

* [[Guile Hero]]: Three of them, actually, but Michael most of all.

{{quote|''"I think we should call him Dennis Wayne Barfield for that extra serial-killer flavor."''}}

* [[Hand Wave]]: Arguably, the finale of Season 2/the beginning of season 3 handwaves the [[Fridge Logic]] of "Why doesn't Michael get the cops on him for doing crazy stuff constantly" and "Why don't more of his old enemies show up" by saying {{spoiler|[[Big Bad|The Management]] was "working some magic" to keep him off the radar; the moment he returns from meeting with them, he is set on by the police, and his bail is paid by someone else who's now able to locate him}}.

* [[Hannibal Lecture]]: Usually averted at least in the case of Team Westen; they almost never answer any questions their prisoner may ask. The few cases it happens is when it's untrained interrogators or when Team Westen is playing a [[Batman Gambit]] and allowing the lecture to happen. The most overt (and well written) example would be when Jesse interrogates Kendra. He starts off doing things properly and refuses to answer questions. Over time, he allows her to get the upper hand until she's talking and he's reluctant to answer. Of course, this is what they want and so it becomes reverse-interrogation, resulting in the new 'interrogator' (Kendra) slipping up and giving them information.

* [[Happy Place]]: Subverted beautifully, in a standard psychologist joke.

'''Michael''': Fi! }}

* [[Hard Work Montage]]: In preparation for bringing down the [[Monster of the Week|Villain Of The Week]], usually involving the construction of explosives.

* [[Hero Stole My Bike|Hero Stole My Car]]: Michael does this so often, he sets "rules" for himself: he will always try to return the car "reasonably intact," and if stolen from a workplace during working hours, the car will be returned by 5:00 PM if at all possible.

* [[Hero-Tracking Failure]]: Invoked in 3x07, "Shot In The Dark" to scare the target silly.

* [[Hidden Supplies]]: Whenever things get a little tough Michael and co. have random supply spots with guns, explosives and other spy gear. Almost goes sour when Detective Paxson gains wind of where one of these spots are.

{{quote|"Spies hide guns like squirrels hide acorns."}}

* [[Hot Men At Work]]: one of Fiona's undercover acts has her introducing herself as an agent for a company that makes calendars specializing in this trope.

* [[Hyper Awareness]]: Played straight in the pilot. In season 5, it's played with hard - Michael spends the first couple of episodes suffering from what he calls post-operation paranoia; he starts seeing things everywhere.

 

== Tropes I-P ==

** Also invoked by Sam on occasion, usually when he wants to avoid talking to Fiona and usually involving buying Mike some yogurt.

* [[Inspector Javert]]: Michelle Paxson.

* [[Investigator Impersonation]]: Michael's favorite trick.

** Another variation in the fourth season finale, as {{spoiler|Michael was ready to engage in a suicide mission to give Jesse and Fiona time to get the NOC list into the proper hands. He gives Jesse the list and said in a very formal way, "Agent Porter, for what it's worth, I am sorry I got you burned." Jesse knew exactly what Michael was [[Last Words|implying]], and was noticeably distraught over it.}}

* [[I Was Told There Would Be Cake]]: Sam's [[Magnificent Bastard|bastardly]] method of luring some cubicle monkeys away from their office.

* [[Idiot Ball]]: In the season 3 finale, {{spoiler|Management grabs onto it with both hands-- landing his helicopter on what he knows to be the only helipad in the area when he also knows that a revenge-hungry psychotic killer ex-agent has had ample opportunity to set up an ambush. The fact that this comes out right before an "I'm tougher than I look" speech only serves to heighten the effect.}}

** Occasionally occurs to some of the crew. [[Word of God]] mentions one story where a police officer who was supposed to prevent anyone from crossing the fake bridge that gets blown up (it was basically a little concrete on either bank with thin wood and such to create the middle - in no way a safe support structure for cars or such) decides that he'd like to guard the bridge from the other side... and decides to drive his patrol car over the bridge.

** When Sam asks Fiona why she doesn't charge Michael for her help, she responds that she expects "other things" from Michael. Sam, ironically, looks disturbed.

* [[Lampshade Hanging]]: Nate Westen suggests that Ma Westen move to Vegas with him. He outright says that he gets worried for her because "...spies and murderers keep crawling out of the woodwork every week." Which is ironic, because in the ''Covert Ops: Vegas Heist'' web tie in, you have to help Nate deal with kidnappers, murderers, and thieves.

* [[Large Ham]]: Michael himself can becomes one depending on the episode. In one he has to pretend to be a psycho. Among other things, he ends up jumping up and down on a car screaming "THIS NEIGHBORHOOD IS MINE!" repeatedly.

** Fiona has an amusing moment where she has to stop a pair of hitmen from breaking into a house ''without'' revealing that the house is guarded. She accomplishes this by driving her car onto the front lawn, ranting and screaming about what a no-good cheating bastard the house's occupant allegedly is, and wrapping up by ''throwing a cinderblock through the front window''. The hitmen lurking in the bushes take one look at the target's "crazy ex-girlfriend" and all the noise she's making, realize that she's almost certainly set off the silent alarm by breaking the window, and decide to just leave and come back tomorrow.

** Victor played by Michael Shanks, full stop.

** Michael and {{spoiler|Larry}} have a full-blown [[Ham-to-Ham Combat]] while talking their way into a federal file warehouse.

* [[Laser Sight]]: Used by Sam specifically with a sniper rifle so he could inform the target that they were in his crosshairs.

* [[Laughing Mad]]: Victor. And the villain of the week in "Bad Breaks", eventually.

* [[Le Parkour]]: {{spoiler|Victor}} pulls this in the storage lot.

* [[A Lighter Shade of Gray]]

** Not to mention Sam's Hawaiian shirts and khakis.

*** Mentioned in episode commentary by [[Word of God]] as one of his weaknesses.

* [[Lost in Translation]]: The subtitles in "The Hunter" don't always match up with the Russian dialogue.

* [[Love Triangle]]: From Jesse's perspective, he was in one with Michael and Fiona for some of season 4. It's really more a case of unrequited love on Jesse's part, as Maddie gently points out. Though Fi does acknowledge the tension between the two of them in the season 4 finale.

* [[MacGyvering]]: One of the two main gimmicks of the series. An online game is actually all about mixing and matching various items to Macgyver into a useful tool.

** Also played with in 3x15. Michael asks Fi what's in her purse. She replies her phone, duct tape, and lipstick. Michael says they can use that. But rather than the phone or the duct tape (both a [[Running Gag]] in the series), they use the lipstick.

* [[Magnificent Bastard]]: Actually invoked in the show, where Michael takes Sam's frequent cover ID "Chuck Finley" and hams it up to the bad guys that this guy is something akin to Keyser Soze from ''[[The Usual Suspects]]''. {{Spoiler| [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|Michael himself is actually that role]].}}

** Michael's one-time cover of Luis certainly falls within this trope as well. He's the "devil-in-a-suit" type who speaks in a low, deliberate, almost monotone voice. And [[Stuff Blowing Up|bad stuff]] tends to happen when he snaps his fingers.

* [[Malaproper]]: Michael's cover, Trey, in ''Mind Games'' does this at least five times over the course of the episode.

{{quote|'''Michael''': Don't look a gift horse in the teeth.

* [[Monster of the Week]]: Or, perhaps more accurately, Criminal Of The Week.

* [[Mood Dissonance]]: Despite the darker-than-usual tone, "End Run" is one of the funnier episodes of the series.

{{quote|Mike: "There's Chechik"

Beck: "Damn! Is there a Russian word for "hardass"?" }}

* [[Never Trust a Trailer]]: For the most part the series is about cloak and dagger with most everything being on a small scale in terms of [[Sliding Scale of Villain Threat|villain threat]]. The trailers tend to hype it up into something much bigger than it really is and trying to make almost every episode look like it will become a [[Wham! Episode]].

** Notably, the trailer for 4x2 packs in explosions, dramatic dialogue/narration, and what have you. Even the least [[Genre Savvy]] viewer should realize that the second episode after the season premiere will hardly be anywhere close to Wham.

** Great work, Michael, with saving Management and trying to bring them down from the inside. Shame your first assignment was {{spoiler|''burning a fellow spy''}}.

** Great work, Michael, with keeping Jesse in the dark. {{spoiler|Formerly cheerly and nice Jesse as of "Eyes Open" is a heck of a lot darker, angrier, and perhaps even much more willing to cross certain moral lines.}}

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: Jeffrey Donovan modeled his character's cover ID in "Fast Friends" on Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

* [[No Name Given]]: "Management". Even his collegue {{spoiler|Anson}} calls him Management despite the two knowing each other for several decades and having worked together prior to {{spoiler|going rogue from the CIA.}}

** There's also whatever happened between Sam and Fiona a few years ago involving some firearms and the federal government.

** A particularly hilarious example is when Sam's impersonating a criminal defense lawyer in "Hard Time":

'''Lawyer''': Um, Bennigan? Let me think . . . oh, hey, wasn't that the guy who got murdered over the parrot?

'''Sam''': (making a swift getaway) Uh, no, but boy that sounds like an interesting case. }}

** It's a pretty typical bit of dialogue between Sam and Michael. Michael will think of a plan, remind Sam of it with "Remember [City], [Year]?" Sam will wonder if that'll work and/or mention how they had more time, manpower, etc. the last time. Michael will say they'll have to make it work, and ''viola.'' Considering how many of these end with [[Stuff Blowing Up]] or gunfire, you have to wonder just how much of a footprint Michael's left on the world.

** [[Lampshaded]] in the third season summer finale, where {{spoiler|Fiona's brother}} remarks that [[Your Costume Needs Work|Michael's American accent is a bit dodgy]].

** In "Breach of Faith", the episode starts with Fi and Jesse in the Bahamas. Strangely, ''everyone'' seems to have Jamaican accents.

* [[Not So Different]]: They make a point to mention that near everyone involved with the "Burn Notice Club" were once much like Michael. It is evident in the show that without Fiona, Sam and Madeline (and Nate) grounding him Michael could very easily become like Victor, Carla or Simon.

** Or Larry, as the not-so-dead Larry points out to Fi, and Michael acknowledges later in the same episode. Michael also points out in 3x15 how spies are basically just criminals with a cause. In short, Michael's most notable, most difficult, and most dangerous opponents are more or less just as talented and skilled as he is. Often times, he will determine his counter-plan based around what he would do if he were the bad guy. Given how often he's right, this is another piece of evidence as to the fine (and difficult) line he walks between doing the right thing and [[Evil Is Easy|doing the easy thing]].

* [[Once a Season]]: All of the season finales leave big question marks hanging on what is going to happen to Michael. Larry also shows up once a year, as well as Brennen ( {{spoiler|Before both were killed off}}). Michael's brother Nate also shows up at least once, and the crew has stated that they love Nate (and the actor) and would love him to be a regular but felt giving him a yearly episode does more justice to the character.

* [[One of Us]]: Matt Nix talks about Sith Lords and even calls one scene the Sith Lord scene in the Enemies Closer commentary. This includes referring to dead Larry as Michael's Emperor/Sith Lord and Larry trying to lure Michael to the dark side.

* [[One Steve Limit]]: Michael's ex-flame Sam (Samantha) comes to visit, which resulted in plenty of confusion between her and the regular Sam. "Call me Finley. It'll be easier that way, I promise." is our Sam's response.

** In "Blind Spot", the mark is named "Charles". When Sam says "Time for some [[Running Gag|Chuck Finley]] action," Fi points out this trope. Sam insists that "Chuck is forever."

*** Additionally, he starts calling the mark "Chaz."

** {{spoiler|Likewise, Jesse in the season 4 finale when he gets rebar through the leg. Fi states outright that Jesse is lucky his femoral artery wasn't nicked and the very first thing they do - even before setting up defenses - is tend to his wound and state right out that it is a shakey temporary fix.}}

* [[Only in Miami]]: Well, yeah.

* [[Only One Name]]: [[Those Two Guys|Harris, Lane]], Vaughn, and basically all of the job-of-the-week villains.

** You know things have taken a sharp swerve down Serious Street for Sam when he refuses a drink

{{quote|'''Sam's Buddy from Texas''': "Sam's always drinking."

'''Madeline''': "He hasn't been since you showed up!" }}

** Done again in "Dead or Alive". The waitress at their local hangout brings Sam his regular mojito without any prompting. He declines and says he'll just have water.

* [[Orphaned Punchline]]: Sam in his Chuck Finley persona, in "Blind Spot": "... so I said, 'not if that's your idea of a haircut!'"

* [[Out-Gambitted]]: {{spoiler|At the end of season four, Brennen and Michael are trying to keep each other in check. Larry uses this in an attempt to try and get the NOC list and force Michael to work with him again}}.

* [[Overt Operative]]: When Michael wants to cut to the chase, he'll drop his real name and occupation. This usually happens dealing with people who have ties to the Intelligence Industry or he knows [[Shrouded in Myth|his real name will scare people even more]].

** Fiona does it, too, to make various arms dealers and gangbangers take her seriously.

** Lampshaded by Cowley in "Last Stand", where he says Sam looks like he "never learned to use a razor correctly".

* [[Pec Flex]]: In Season Five episode "Mind Games", Michael is undercover as a not very bright man with a penchant for loud, tight T-shirts and is shown bouncing his pecs while he is waiting to meet someone.

* [[Pet the Dog]]: The first episode had Michael give pointers to a kid on how to fight and stand up to a bully, using the same tactics he used to take down terrorist cells. See [[We Help the Helpless]].

** And in season two, Fiona makes friends with the child of Michael's client. "This one has a Browning. He'll need the high ground..."

{{quote|(Multiple times during the episode, paraphased) "Let's assault the bad guys! You can do something with duct tape!"

"Oh so ''now'' you bring out the duct tape!" (After Sugar gets himself shot and Michael has to rescue him.) }}

** One gambit was used against [[Dangerously Genre Savvy|Brennen]], using an [[Indy Ploy]]. Brennen had some government property he wanted to sell on the black market and Michael worked to get into his inner circle, but details kept being changed around. [[Xanatos Speed Chess|Improvising at the last moment]] Sam screwed up the exchange with the buyers and those guys now wanted Brennen dead. He realized that if he kept the merchandise, both the government and the black market would be looking for him. So to at least keep the FBI off his trail, he got Michael to return it. This was Michael's plan at this point and even though Brennen realizes that's probably what's going on, Michael points out that regardless of what he believes is going on, it's the only possible move he can make.

* [[Playing Drunk]]: This is one of the spy skills that Michael and Sam have cultivated.

** Fiona has also done this on occasion. Though of the group, Sam seems to be the master of this, for the obvious reason of far more experience and the liver-damage and bar tabs to prove it.

* [[Poisonous Friend]]: It was [[Foreshadowing|never really a secret]] that Strickler was one of these. The only surprise was just how far it went: {{spoiler|setting up Fiona to be killed because associating with someone like her was bad for Michael's image.}}

* [[Power of Friendship]]: Michael, Sam, and Fiona regularly help each other out on their various jobs, and occasionally save each other's lives. And they're not the only ones -- Michael has racked up a fairly high number of debtors.

== Tropes Q-Z ==

* [[Quip to Black]]: Sam does it twice as part of a CSI parody, posing as a crime scene investigator at a crime scene (a fashion house). The first time, he dramatically slips on his sunglasses and says, "It looks like murder...is in style this year." The second time, he dramatically slips on his sunglasses and intones, "It looks like our killer's plan... is coming apart at the seams."

** Later in season two, they manage to get two subordinates of the episode's [[Big Bad]] in a room together. Cut to Sam sitting right outside the door with a notepad and listening device.

* [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]]: In the Season 4 finale, Michael gives Larry an epic reason why [[Not So Different]] doesn't apply to them.

** Michael and Sam when {{spoiler|Fiona is taken by O'Neill}} in "Long Way Back".

** Jesse says he's going to do this whenever he finds out who burned him. For bonus points, he says this to the person in question: {{spoiler|Michael}}.

* [[Rule of Perception]]: Frequently subverted.

* [[Running Gag]]: Whenever Michael's cover is about to be blown and if he manages to defuse the situation, as soon as the bad guy turns around Michael often gives some sort of exasperated expression, either a "whew" or an "[[Oh Crap]]."

** Mama Westen's relative ignorance of actual domestic chores like cooking, although subverted when she rewired her car by herself.

** Sam's frequent cover-id "Chuck Finley." This one is frequently [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]].

** Funny. One British spy in Russia during the revolution actually did that.

* [[Satan|El Diablo]]: Michael dresses the part in "Friendly Fire".

* [[Seen It All]]: Incidentally, you ''know'' the excrement's hit the cooling-device when something comes up that neither Michael, Sam, nor Fiona have ever encountered in some form.

** Lampshaded by a client, Emily, when the crew came up with their third improvised plan against the bad guy and she wondered, "Do you guys have a manual on this stuff?"

* [[Selective Obliviousness]]: Voiceover Michael calls Madeline out on this in an early episode. Her knowledge of what he did for a living was said to vary depending on what she needed from him at any given time: at one moment she thinks he works for the post office, another she can name all the members of the National Security Council.

* [[Shaggy Dog Story]]: Done intentionally, Michael spends a good three episodes tracking down who Carla is only to have been played with. Michael is just as frustrated as we are.

** The details of what exactly Carla's operation in the second season mid-finale was turned out to be irrelevant.

** You don't know he was being played with per se; he almost made it into the building the first time, but was called back by his client of the week. When he finally gets in, the building is empty of everything, the theory being they picked up on Michael's first attempt (they even left pictures), cleared the building, and kept the outside rotations just to screw with him afterward.

* [[Sherlock Scan]]: The main three can decipher things out with just a quick lookover, but they are also aware of the need for more concrete information like FBI reports.

* [[Shown Their Work]]: While it is hard to tell if they are portraying the spy experience accurately (as it is likely many of the exact details are not known to the public), every episode features at least one very deliberate [[Subverted Trope|subversion]] of a variety of common tropes, which would actually be [[Averted Trope|aversions]] if it wasn't for the voice-over narration. And the narration also makes this show a goldmine of clever and effective quotes to describe tropes on this site.

** Though probably prettied up for TV, the production actually does have a retired spy on staff as a consulting producer. They'll usually come up with something and then ask him how he might do it.

** [[Show Runner]] Matt Nix films short commentaries for each episode online. He frequently mentions how each episode they usually call up Michael Wilson (Retired espionage advisor) or another specialist (ie an X Ray technician for the trunk x ray machine) so they can get things right.

* [[Sibling Rivalry]]: Michael and Nate ''constantly''.

* [[Sibling Team]]: Michael and Nate, ''occasionally''.

** There is also [[Xena: Warrior Princess|Lucy Lawless]] and [[Stargate SG-1|Michael Shanks]] playing rival agents.

** In season 3, [[Cagney and Lacey|Tyne Daly]] guest stars (and fans get an unofficial "Cagney and Lacey" Reunion).

** Robert Patrick played a very powerful businessman.

* [[Spiritual Successor]]: It's pretty much a modern day ''A Team'' or ''[[MacGyver]]''. It bears the most resemblance to ''[[The Equalizer]]'', except that Mike was kicked out instead of retiring.

* [[Spoiler Opening|Spoiler Recap]]: The "[["Previously On..."]] ''Burn Notice''" recap at the beginning of the Season 3 finale {{spoiler|shows clips of Management from the end of Season 2,}} thus spoiling the surprise when, {{spoiler|after an entire season of not being mentioned at all, Management suddenly pops up again later in the episode.}}

** The one occasion when Michael didn't intend to destroy the car, he had wanted Fiona to set up the spark plugs to be remotely disabled, in order to immobilize him. When triggered, the device ''blew up the car''. (In hindsight, Michael should have been much more specific when he told Fiona to disable it.)

*** And in a later episode, he was dealing with a [[Genre Savvy]] South American drug dealer. When the dealers car didn't start, he immediately got out, since, as the narration pointed out, he was [[Genre Savvy]] enough to know that in his line of work, a car acting up may mean a bomb. There wasn't; [[Call Back|Michael had removed the spark plugs.]]

* [[Suspiciously Specific Denial]]: Inverted many times. When Michael is caught in a lie, he'll usually just keep playing his lie with specific made up details and sometimes hamming it up in the process. 4x06 has him walking quickly away from a crime scene carrying a lead in a metal basket, shouting very specifically about radiation and getting to a lab. Where he'll be. The lab.

* [[Swiss Bank Account]]: In the episode "Friends and Enemies":

** Sam also subverts this intentionally. In 4x05, he uses the fact that you can't do a tap on the head to disable an opponent by smashing a beer bottle across the guys shin.

* [[Tattoo as Character Type]]: Various thugs and gang leaders have the appropriately identifying markers, the show also carries a heavy military undertone as Sam and others have military tattoos.

** On the other hand, Michael is more than happy to set someone up for a [[Karmic Death]]. He just doesn't want to get '''his''' hands dirty.

** The fact that {{spoiler|Jesse}} has no problem causing a bomb to detonate early, killing the person who set it, shows a completely different kind of agent.

** Michael isn't up to date with the latest spy gadgets largely because he doesn't have the money for it, but before he was burned he spent a lot of time in places where smartphones and computers are luxuries. Once he asked a client for their yellow pages to look up the nearest [[MacGyvering|hardware store]] and the guy responds, "Bro! I've got a computer!"

* [[Tempting Fate]]: You would think that a group as [[Genre Savvy]] as Michael and friends would eventually learn to stop telling each other how easy the latest job of the week is going to be, but no, they never do.

** Gilroy would hit on Mike and others even when he had no need for a psychological advantage.

*** Which only got [[Yaoi Fangirl|some fans]] thinking [[Mind Game Ship|very,]] [[Foe Yay|very]] [[Ho Yay|hard]] [[Depraved Homosexual|about all their interactions.]]

{{quote|'''Henry:''' [[Lampshade Hanging|How many times do I have to get myself shot before I start listening to you?]]}}

** Jack Yablonski, in "Enemies Closer", is so annoyingly befuddled as to almost make Mike regret saving his life. [[Word of God]] mentions that this was intentional; they wanted to try out a situation where in order to save someone's life, one has to deceive and manipulate that person.

{{quote|'''Sam''': I need your help to kidnap a congressman.

'''Madeline''': [[Deadpan Snarker|I'll be there in a half hour]]. }}

** And now Jesse. The trio seems to treat him like a younger brother while Maddie seems to treat him as a son. Jesse for his part seems to return the feelings; he looks up to Sam, has brotherly arguments with Michael, is protective of Fi, and treats Maddie like a [[Parental Substitute]] for his dead mother. [[Word of God]] mentions this; Jesse, being a counter-intelligence agent and thus trained to be suspicious of everyone, is not use to being close to people and working in a team. Thus the whole emerging relationships with everyone is something he isn't really prepared for. Then [[Murphy's Law|of course]], he found out who really got him burned.

** In 4x14, Maddie basically says this trope aloud, referring obliquely to them all as "family" when giving two of her boys a verbal chewing out.

* [[Try and Follow]]

** In 3x15, she threats a bomb maker by mentioning that he's working in her turf and she could get him killed by contacting the bikers he worked with and having them drag him from Florida to Jersey. It's impossible to tell what, if any, is the truth and what is a bluff.

* [[Tuckerization]]: Some characters are named after the production crew: Dan Siebels, Michael's former [[Handler]] is named after producer Craig Siebels, Ukrainian hardass Piotr Chechik is named after director Jeremiah Chechik and one of Michael's cover IDs is named after composer John Dickson. Fiona's then-boyfriend Campbell may be a shout out to [[Bruce Campbell]], giving the scene where Fiona tells Sam "You're no Campbell", followed by his surprised reaction hints of a deliberate [[Shout-Out]].

** [[Mark Sheppard|Prescott]] the bank robber has a fairly spectacular one when Michael and Jason Bly foil his plan and kill off nearly all his mooks.

** Done ''epically'' with Larry. {{spoiler|After god-knows-how-many [[Plans]] and [[Manipulative Bastard|manipulations]], he gets caught in a firing sight by Sam and unable to do ''anything'' except wait for the cops or shoot Michael...and shooting Mike would mean he would die, something he could never do. [[The Khan|He takes this about as well as you would expect]].}}

* [[War for Fun and Profit]]: The organization that {{spoiler|hired Simon and which Jesse was investigating before he got burned}}.

** Brennen finances private wars in his ''free time''.

** And then played with in the season 4 summer finale. Fi provides the distraction precisely because she is an attractive female and needs the attention on her.

** '''Michael:''' A good trap makes people curious.

* [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]: Gabriel in the third season episode "Good Intentions," who is a thinly-disguised [[Che Guevara]]: he's from Argentina, used to be a physician, and he joined a group of [[La Résistance|guerilla fighters]] as part of a plan to get revenge on the [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]]s who {{spoiler|dumped toxic waste in his hometown, poisoning the locals and causing the death of his daughter.}}

* [[Western Terrorists]]: Fiona used to be one.

** The second half of the Fourth Season finale. Hey Michael, take this jacket. You're going to need it, as it is pretty cold in {{spoiler|Washington DC.}}

** The Fifth Season summer finale, where Michael finally finds the man who burned him, {{spoiler|and is blackmailed into working for him}}.

{{quote|'''Anson''': You're welcome, Michael. }}

** In the Fifth Season finale, {{spoiler|in order to prevent Michael from basically selling his soul to Anson, Fiona turns herself in to the FBI for the British consulate bombing}}.

* [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic]]: Carla, meet [[John Le Carre|Karla]].

* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: In the pilot episode, Mama Westen is portrayed as a long-suffering hypochondriac who has been treated for "every disease known to man" (with Michael footing the medical bills). This is treated as a defining trait for the character, ''i.e.'' on learning her prodigal son had returned after years away, she immediately demanded he drive her to the doctor. However, after the pilot episode, this hypochondria largely vanishes and is rarely alluded to again (save for one mention in a voiceover later in the series, and pill bottles seen in the background around the house). Chalk it up to [[Early Installment Weirdness]], or [[Characterization Marches On]], or perhaps just Michael spending more time with her.

** Oleg, the landlord of Michael's loft, appears in the pilot, then in the third episode to point him to the Client of the Week, then ''never again''.

*** His club, located RIGHT BELOW Michael's loft, disappears too.

** Even though it's heavily implied that Management was arrested or killed when his organization is dismantled, we still have no idea what exactly happened to him.

* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: In 3x10, "A Dark Road", Mike gets his mother to trick a government employee, Tina, into giving her some records illegally. And then Maddie ends up making friends with the employee, which causes some friction when Mike is forced to ask his mum to blackmail Tina for an even larger amount of records that would doubtless get her fired. Her angry conversation with the stonefaced Mike--who had been beating himself up about it already--mirrors the stonefaced one she has with the tearful Tina in the next scene.

** But he {{spoiler|did set things up later so that she wouldn't get fired.}}

*** And now it seems that Michael was at least somewhat right on the subject, as Jesse found out for himself and began a [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]. It might have been softened if Michael and company told it to him outright, but probably not all that much since he's basically Guy-Fi. Or Michael and Fiona's kid.

** A small one {{spoiler|from Jesse when Michael tells him he needs to lie about Marv's murder. "So I have to lie to the people who are just trying to find out the truth. Sounds like a Michael plan to me." }}

* [[What Were You Thinking?]]: Michael's mom wins an award for vigilantly calling the police about stolen cars ''that Michael stole''!

{{quote|'''Mom''': I won it for, you know, reporting three stolen cars in the last two weeks.

'''Mom''': Anyway, dress nice and wear a tie, the chief of police will be there.

'''Michael''': Mom, I can't show up to a ceremony surrounded by ''police officers'' when you got the reward for reporting crimes ''I committed!'' }}

** One of the most hilarious examples was the episode when the client worked for a rap mogul and had been accused of stealing from him. Client had been given a time limit to 'find' the money, and about halfway through the time period, the mogul calls his entire staff into his office and starts talking about "loyalty" and "respect". While Michael and Fi listen in outside on their client's cell phone, she pulls a shotgun [[Hammerspace|out of nowhere]], and starts loading and priming it while Michael tries to stop her ''and'' listen to the meeting. She had gotten out of the car and was halfway across the street, with the gun in a bag, before the situation stabilized.

** Also, see [[Stuff Blowing Up]].

* [[Wire Dilemma]]: Averted. "On a well-made bomb, you can forget about cutting wires. Any decent bomb maker will make sure the important wires are impossible to reach. Freeze the detonator, though, and you can usually remove it safely. Of course, 'usually' is not a word you want to hear when you're working with explosives."

** This is followed by a classic [[Delayed Explosion|Gag Delayed Explosion]] as they chuck the detonator behind some water bottles and it goes off only ''after'' they visibly relax that it's not going to.

* [[Women Drivers]]: Lampshaded by Fiona in "Rough Seas".

* [[Working with the Ex]]: One of Michael's ex-girlfriends once showed up on to ask for his help, and ended up working closely with the team throughout the episode.

{{quote|Fiona: ''"You know, you were captivating over there."''}}

* [[You Are Not Alone]]: Nate does this for Michael in "Enemies Closer".

* [[You Have Got to Be Kidding Me!]]: In "Army of One", when bad guy Holcombe sees that not only is Michael working with the cops, but that he's [[It Makes Sense in Context|not dead.]]

* [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]]: {{spoiler|Gilroy's}} fate in the penultimate episode of season 3.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Notable Quotables]]

[[Category:American Series]]

[[Category:Dramedy]]

[[Category:Crime and Punishment Series]]

[[Category:TV Series]]