Burn Notice (season 4)

Burn Notice (season 4)
DVD cover art
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	18
Release
Original network	USA Network
Original release	June 3, 2010 – December 16, 2010

The fourth season of the American television spy drama Burn Notice premiered on June 3, 2010 on the cable television channel USA Network. Coby Bell joined the main cast as Jesse Porter, a counter-intelligence agent Michael unwittingly burns.^[1]

Season overview

As the fourth season opens, Michael sits alone in a well furnished room, where he meets his new handler, Vaughn (Robert Wisdom). Vaughn attempts to lure Michael into the organization by attempting to befriend him, and tells Michael the organization is now on the hunt for a terrorist mastermind. Michael agrees to work with Vaughn on the condition Vaughn does not interfere or question his methods. Vaughn agrees, but as they begin their search, Michael is duped into burning another domestic spy, a counter-intelligence agent named Jesse Porter (Coby Bell). Jesse, unaware of who burned him, seeks out Michael for assistance. Michael brings Jesse into his team in an effort to restore Jesse to his previous position, but soon learns Jesse plans to kill whoever burned him.

The trail of the terrorist mastermind leads back to Simon (Garret Dillahunt), who informs Michael that a powerful international telecommunications businessman, John Barrett (Robert Patrick), has what Michael needs to dismantle the organization. Simon gives Michael a tape proving Vaughn helped burn him, and a Bible that can be used to decode an as yet unknown document. Using the Bible as bait, Michael lures Barrett to Miami to discuss what it decodes. At the same time Barrett arrives in Miami, Jesse learns it was Michael who burned him. Michael goes ahead with the meeting, unsure of Jesse's willingness to come to his aid.

In the mid-season finale, Barrett reveals that the Bible decodes a Non-official cover (NOC) list naming the members of the organization. Vaughn, however, spoils Michael's plan by showing up with guns blazing at the meeting. Thanks to some timely but painful assistance from Jesse (shooting Michael through the shoulder to free him from a chokehold), Michael and Barrett flee the scene and crash, and Michael is seen bleeding out as someone wearing military boots takes the briefcase containing the Bible. Barrett is killed in the crash.

As it turns out, the mystery man was ID'd by Fiona and Sam to be one of Barrett's men named Sweeney. Apparently, Sweeney had a hidden agenda and attempted to use an outside source to decode the bible. However, Jesse and Michael find Sweeney dead and Sweeney's partner/killer on the run. The four track him through to the Dominican Republic and take back the list, which is stored on a thumb drive and already decoded by Sweeney's partner. Afterward, they ponder the possibilities on how to properly flush out those whose names are in the bible.

After much consideration, Michael decides to hand the list to Marv (Richard Kind), Jesse's old handler whom Jesse trusts fully. Despite much difficulty in convincing Marv, they finally meet to hand over the list, but the plan unravels when Michael's old nemesis Tyler Brennen (Jay Karnes) hears of the transaction, and holds Marv's wife hostage. The meet ends with Brennen in possession of the list and Marv dead. Threatening to send Vaughn the audio recordings of Michael's conversations with Marv, Brennen blackmails Michael into identifying and killing people on the list, hiring Larry Sizemore (Tim Matheson) to assist and monitor Michael. Instead, after Michael learns the location of the list, Larry double-crosses and kills Brennen in hopes of retrieving the list himself. But Larry finds that Fiona, Sam and Jesse had already recovered it, and he is forced to wait for the police to arrest him after Sam trains a laser-sighted rifle at him.

After Vaughn learns of Michael's betrayal and possession of the list, he mobilizes a large force to kill Michael and retrieve it. He uses the organization's "bought off" agents in government and law enforcement to deny Michael, Fiona and Jesse any help. While this is going on, Sam and Madeline contact a United States Congressman (John Doman), whom they had met in a previous episode, for help. While he is initially skeptical, given their history, he is eventually convinced and sends a military team to save Michael and Fiona. The season ends with Michael being whisked away to Washington, D.C. to meet a man identified as Raines (Dylan Baker), who tells him, "Welcome back."

Cast

Main Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona Glenanne Coby Bell as Jesse Porter Bruce Campbell as Sam Axe Sharon Gless as Madeline Westen

Recurring Robert Wisdom as Vaughn Anderson Richard Kind as Marvin "Marv" Peterson Navi Rawat as Kendra Paul Tei as Barry Burkowski Marc Macaulay as Agent Harris Brandon Morris as Agent Lane Jay Karnes as Tyler Brennen John Doman as Bill Cowley Robert Patrick as John Barrett Danny Pino as Adam Scott Tommy Groth as Rudy Arturo Rossi as Sugar Garret Dillahunt as Simon Escher Callie Thorne as Natalie Rice Seth Peterson as Nate Westen Adam Clark as Tony Soto Tim Matheson as "Dead" Larry Sizemore Dylan Baker as Raines

The main cast from the previous three seasons returned, with one addition. Jeffrey Donovan returned as Michael Westen, Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona Glenanne, Bruce Campbell as Sam Axe, and Sharon Gless as Madeline Westen. Coby Bell joined the cast as a counter-intelligence expert, Jesse Porter, whom Michael unwittingly burns.

Like the first three seasons, the fourth included several recurring guests. Robert Wisdom made several appearances as Vaughn, Michael's point of contact with Management.^[2] Garret Dillahunt returned as Simon Escher, the man who committed the crimes used to burn Michael. Navi Rawat portrayed Kendra, an assassin. Seth Peterson reprised his role as Michael's brother, Nate, while Paul Tei returned as money-launderer Barry Burkowski. Arturo Fernandez returned for one episode as Sugar, Michael's former neighbor and a drug dealer. Marc Macaulay and Brandon Morris returned for multiple appearances as Agents Harris and Lane. The character of John Barrett, played by Robert Patrick, was introduced as a part of the conspiracy behind Michael's burn. Tim Matheson and Jay Karnes returned, in the same episode, as villains "Dead" Larry Sizemore and Tyler Brennen.^[3] Richard Kind guest starred in three episodes as Marv, Jesse's old handler. John Doman appeared as Congressman Bill Cowley in two episodes. Other notable one-time guests included Adam Clark, Alan Dale, Benito Martinez, Burt Reynolds, Michael Rooker, Callie Thorne, and Frank Whaley. Dylan Baker can be seen in the last few moments of the final episode as Raines, the man who welcomes Michael back into the agency.

Episodes

In the following table, "U.S. viewers in millions" refers to the number of Americans who viewed the episode on the day of original broadcast.

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code	U.S. viewers (millions)
45	1	"Friends and Enemies"	Tim Matheson	Matt Nix	June 3, 2010	BN401	6.62[4]
The season picks up exactly where the last season ended. A man named Vaughn (Robert Wisdom) reveals that he arranged for Michael's kidnapping and asks for Michael to help him take down the people responsible for releasing Simon Escher into Miami. Michael accepts Vaughn's request with caution. Michael then returns to find Fiona and Sam mixed up in a case; they desperately need Michael's help to protect a lawyer from a group of bikers. After he successfully completes the job, Michael, under Vaughn's orders, unwittingly burns a DIA (CIFA) Counter Intelligence Officer named Jesse Porter.
46	2	"Fast Friends"	Dennie Gordon	Rashad Raisani	June 10, 2010	BN402	5.67[5]
Jesse, a recently burned spy, seeks Michael's help to escape a drug trafficker out for revenge for supposedly stealing money from him. He quickly becomes friends with Michael and Fiona. However, Jesse does not know that Michael was the one who stole the files which led to Jesse being burned.
47	3	"Made Man"	Jeffrey Donovan	Alfredo Barrios, Jr.	June 17, 2010	BN403	5.31[6]
When a port worker is threatened by dangerous mobsters, Michael and Jesse must give him a hand, manipulating and taking down a Florida mob boss with connections to New York. But when Michael's cover ID is blown, Sam steps in to salvage the mission, using his alter-ego "Chuck Finley" to get close to the mob boss. Also, Jesse and Michael begin investigating the mysterious shipping orders and patterns that Jesse was investigating when he was burned, directly linked to Michael's mission for the organization that had burned him.
48	4	"Breach of Faith"	Jeremiah S. Chechik	Ben Watkins	June 24, 2010	BN404	5.33[7]
Fiona and Jesse seek information on a gun runner, while Sam and Michael get into a hostage standoff at a private accounting firm.
49	5	"Neighborhood Watch"	Kevin Bray	Michael Horowitz	July 1, 2010	BN405	5.21[8]
A doctor reluctantly turns to Michael for help when a group of vicious drug dealers terrorize his neighborhood clinic. Along the way, Michael is drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse with Kendra, a sadistic killer.
50	6	"Entry Point"	Jeffrey Hunt	Craig O'Neill	July 15, 2010	BN406	5.65[9]
Sam and Jesse interrogate Kendra in order to find out who ordered a recent assassination. Meanwhile, Michael and Fiona pose as security consultants to stop a notorious antiquities thief from stealing a priceless artifact. Jesse manages to trick Kendra into giving him $300,000 (which Jesse says they could use for future jobs) before turning her into the authorities for her previous murders.
51	7	"Past & Future Tense"	Jeremiah S. Chechik	Jason Tracey	July 22, 2010	BN407	5.87[10]
While Jesse and Fiona try to reach out to Jesse's old boss Marv (Richard Kind) for intel, Michael and Sam protect an aging former spy (Burt Reynolds) from a Russian black ops team.
52	8	"Where There's Smoke"	Kevin Bray	Lisa Joy	July 29, 2010	BN408	5.38[11]
Sam and Fiona agree to provide security for a valuable company asset during a house party, but the owner's wife turns out to be a kidnap target. Fiona must allow herself to also be kidnapped in order to protect her. At the end of the episode Michael and Jesse recover a bible with codes inside it. Michael realizes that the codes were provided by Simon, but decides to withhold the information from Jesse.
53	9	"Center of the Storm"	Colin Bucksey	Ryan Johnson & Peter Lalayanis	August 5, 2010	BN409	5.69[12]
In the aftermath of a hurricane, FBI Agents Harris and Lane ask Michael to locate a missing witness being targeted by assassins. Michael successfully convinces Vaughn to let Michael have a meeting with Simon.
54	10	"Hard Time"	Dennie Gordon	Alfredo Barrios, Jr.	August 12, 2010	BN410	5.57[13]
Michael goes behind bars to protect a friend of Sam's being targeted by a ruthless gang leader. Meanwhile, Simon (Garret Dillahunt) tries to convince Michael to work with him against Vaughn and his employers, and reveals that a man named John Barrett is an enemy of Vaughn, and could lead to Vaughn's downfall. Michael proceeds to tell Vaughn this information.
55	11	"Blind Spot"	Michael Smith	Michael Horowitz	August 19, 2010	BN411	5.50[14]
Sam and Fiona are hired to take down a sleazy womanizer who stole the life savings of one of Fiona's friends. Meanwhile, Michael and Jesse track down the man who wants Simon's Bible, but in the process, Jesse learns that Michael is the one responsible for getting him burned and temporarily holds Fiona at gunpoint. Fiona states that Jesse will probably want revenge.
56	12	"Guilty as Charged"	Jeremiah S. Chechik	Matt Nix	August 26, 2010	BN412	6.29[15]
Fiona finds Jesse and convinces him to meet with Michael. At the meeting Jesse refuses Michael's request to attend their meeting with Barrett (Robert Patrick) to exchange Simon's bible. Meanwhile, Michael helps a criminal defense attorney rescue his daughter after she is kidnapped by one of his clients. Vaughn promises Michael he will not show up at the meeting with Barrett, but he goes back on his word and ruins everything by initiating a gun-battle. Michael is taken at gunpoint by one of Barrett's mercenaries, Jesse (who was staking out the meeting) shoots Michael through & through the upper left chest to kill his hostage-taker. The "trick shot" leaves a weakened Michael vulnerable to Barrett, who takes a bleeding and barely conscious Michael into an SUV and plows through the warzone. Michael makes a last-ditch effort to save himself and forces the steering-wheel to the side, flipping the vehicle. Barrett is killed by the impact of the crash. Michael crawls out of the vehicle, while someone takes the briefcase containing Simon's bible. Michael then passes out on the road.
57	13	"Eyes Open"	Dennie Gordon	Jason Tracey	November 11, 2010	BN413	4.32[16]
The episode opens with Michael, Fiona, and Sam in a hospital room, with Michael lying unconscious in bed, intubated, and attached to several monitors. Michael wakes up and Fiona tells him that Drake Industries is being tried for their crimes. Their chat is cut short when they find out the lawyer from the previous episode (whose daughter was held hostage) arranged a bombing to get revenge. Vaughn tells Michael that he is fleeing the country. Jesse reluctantly agrees to continue working with Michael and the crew, and he and Michael set out to try to track down the highly sensitive document that's been stolen. They find out that a man named Walsh stole the information and murdered several people in the process.
58	14	"Hot Property"	Jonathan Frakes	Rashad Raisani	November 18, 2010	BN414	3.50[17]
Michael and the crew team with an old enemy (Callie Thorne) to retrieve a stolen chemical weapon from Venezuelan mobsters. Jesse meets once again with his old boss Marv for intel on an auction where the list of the people who burned Michael is up for bid. Madeline successfully stages a sitdown between Jesse and Michael so that they can settle their differences once and for all.
59	15	"Brotherly Love"	Terry Miller	Ben Watkins	December 2, 2010	BN415	3.70[18]
With Sam and Jesse in the Dominican Republic, Michael and Fiona help Michael's younger brother, Nate (Seth Peterson) when two friends of Nate's, two brothers who run a garage end up losing a car filled with drugs belonging to a drug kingpen.
60	16	"Dead or Alive"	Peter Markle	Lisa Joy	December 9, 2010	BN416	4.34[19]
Michael decides to give the flash drive containing the information on the people who burned him to the government. He meets with Jesse's old handler, Marv, who tells him that even though he does not trust him, he will make sure the information is kept safe by the government. When one of Sam's naval partners, a cop, is accused of crimes and then murdered, it is up to Michael and Sam to clear his name and find who's responsible. At the end of the episode, Michael and Jesse meet with Marv, who seems uncomfortable at the meeting, and gives him the flash drive. Marv apologizes before handing the flash drive over to men posing as Homeland Security Officers, saying they threatened to kill his wife if he didn't cooperate with them. The fake officers shoot and kill Marv, then escape in an SUV -- with Tyler Brennen (Jay Karnes) in the back seat, much to Michael's dismay.
61	17	"Out of the Fire"	Marc Roskin	Craig O'Neill	December 16, 2010	BN417	4.77[20]
Michael's enemy, the ruthless arms dealer Tyler Brennen (Jay Karnes) and Michael's former friend and mentor, "Dead Larry" Sizemore (Tim Matheson), team up to pressure Michael into killing the individuals on the stolen NOC list. Brennen has a voice recording of Michael revealing the details of Vaughn's organization to Marv; this evidence will automatically be emailed to Vaughn at 5 am, unless Michael complies, in which case Brennen will delay delivery by another 24 hours. Brennen tells Michael that if Vaughn receives the recording, he will most likely kill Michael and everyone close to him. Soon after Larry kills the first target, Larry kills Brennen and forces Michael to aid him, knowing the latter has little choice, now that the voice recording will be sent to Vaughn. Meanwhile, Sam, Jesse and Fiona successfully steal the NOC list from Brennen's safe. Michael and Larry soon show up to find the safe gone. A standoff between Michael and Larry ensues, with Sam stopping Larry with a laser-targeted sniper scope, allowing Michael to leave while causing Larry to stay put for the police. Michael tells the rest of the gang to prepare for an all-out assault from Vaughn.
62	18	"Last Stand"	Stephen Surjik	Matt Nix	December 16, 2010	BN418	5.11[20]
Vaughn tells Michael that he now considers him an enemy, and demands Michael turn over the NOC list. When Michael is trying to receive help, he is spotted by Vaughn's men and a car chase ensues, leading to Jesse suffering a compound fracture in his leg. Michael, Fiona and Jesse hide in an abandoned hotel which is surrounded by Vaughn's men. Vaughn promises no harm as long as Michael gives him the list. Meanwhile Sam and Madeline try to convince Congressman Cowley to pass the list higher up. Despite some stubbornness, Cowley gives in. Sam tries to get Madeline to leave Miami, but she is intercepted by Vaughn's men. Michael and Fiona are left to make a desperate suicide move by running into a nearby shed and blowing themselves up, while Jesse leaves with the thumb drive. As they run out of bullets and are prepared to detonate their bomb (which would kill them and Vaughn along with his men), a team of US Army soldiers, brought by Cowley and led by Sam, attack and arrest Vaughn and his men. As he is led away, a dismayed Vaughn tells Michael they could have done great things together. As Maddie and Jesse are attended to by paramedics, two men ask Michael to get in a limo, telling Michael only that they want to "ask some questions." After a lengthy drive, they hand an exhausted Michael an overcoat and drop him off. He stands on the sidewalk in the cold, watching an unnamed man (Dylan Baker) approach, who Michael appears to recognize. The man welcomes Michael back; as they walk into the building, it is revealed that the United States Capitol is nearby, showing that Michael is now in Washington, DC.

References

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3. MattNixTV. "Matt Nix (MattNixTV) on Twitter". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
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