- Title: Burn Notice – Down Range
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When Burke (Adrian Pasdar) suddenly needs an extra pair of men for a truck hijacking, Michael (Jeffrey Donovan) convinces his old friend to hire Sam (Bruce Campbell), and Jesse (Coby Bell), although it’s harder to convince Agent Strong (Jack Coleman) to let the pair into his undercover CIA operation over Strong’s own handpicked men. Although the team is able to complete the job, it’s not without casualties as Sam is forced to kill a guard to save Michael’s life. Against his better judgement, Strong allows Sam and Jesse to stay and watch Michael and his men take down Burke (thus completing the deal that keeps them all out of prison), but the pair get anxious when Strong’s trap to catch both Burke and the terrorist he’s meeting (Ricardo Chavira) falls through when Burke changes the rules of the game.
Burke kills the terrorist’s guards and takes him hostage, but becomes very itchy when his helicopter arrives and reports the entire area is surrounded with snipers. Sam’s quick thinking save their friends life, but Michael leaves with both terrorists leaving the CIA empty handed, without back-up, and with several questions about Burke’s mysterious bosses and what they are really after.
In the episode’s B-story Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) agrees to help Maddie (Sharon Gless) who is being pressured to pay the balance of Nate’s old gambling debt to his bookie (Paul Hipp), a not very nice man who isn’t above threatening Maddie’s grandson to get what he’s owed. Fi’s plan is to pay the bookie a down payment, trace it back to his safe in order to rob him, and then watch him have to flee Miami or face the consequences to those above him whose money he has lost. The plan works to perfection, and Fi lets Maddie help and even get her gloating moment of victory.
We’ll have to see how much Sam’s actions will weigh on him over the rest of the season as I don’t see the character shrugging off the like he took easily, even if it was necessary to save his friend. “Down Range” gives Maddie a chance to kick some butt, and keeps Fiona in the fold even if she’s no longer dating Michael and the rest of the team is off on their own CIA-sponsored adventure in the Dominican Republic.