Line #69 Recap/BurnNoticeS1E7BrokenRules


1	!!Client of the Week
2	Michael needs to put some cash together to help in his fight with Bly. A criminal syndicate is squeezing out merchants in a neighborhood in Little Havana and Michael is hired by a shop owner to take them out. Criminals have always been a problem, and extortion a constant, but now the extortion has reached untenable levels and the neighborhood is crumbling.
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4	It turns out that the organization is being run by a particularly ruthless criminal, a woman named Concha. Michael adopts the persona of an unstable, boisterous, AxCrazy criminal trying to take over control of the neighborhood, believing that doing enough damage to Concha's mooks (along with some to the stores being extorted) will convince them that the neighborhood isn't worth holding onto against such a foe. He destroys his client's store and violently attacks some of Concha's mooks.
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6	After a small delay that upsets the client (they always want immediate results), Michael continues his intimidation and is brought to meet boss-lady Concha, who wants him to continue ''her'' plan using his methods. It turns out that she's uninterested in old-fashioned control and has intentionally set her extortion too high for the neighborhood families and stores to meet because she wants to drive them out and make a killing by swooping in and purchasing the local real estate once the values plummet due to her reign of terror. [[VillainousGentrification Afterward, she can develop the neighborhood on a large scale, and the low value, crime-blighted area she picked up cheap will be worth millions]].
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8	Michael rolls with the changes and pretends to work for Concha. He starts dressing more "Spanish" and expands his attacks to include civilians (Fiona).
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10	Concha then asks Michael to kill his client, as eliminating that man will break the morale and resistance of the rest of the neighborhood. Michael convinces him to be elsewhere during the attack. Then he convinces Concha's second-in-command, Diego (a more old-school gangster who disagrees with Concha's brutal methods and long-term goals), that she has him marked for death. In desperation, Diego offers Michael a deal; he's willing to kill Concha, knows that a lot of her mooks will follow him because they're not really enthusiastic about her goals, and in return he'll turn over the neighborhood to Michael and they'll totally withdraw from it. Michael agrees and the hit goes forward.
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12	With Concha dead and Michael apparently in control of the neighborhood, the villains are out of the picture for the foreseeable future, and the neighborhood is safe. With his blackmail of Bly in place, Michael refuses most of the reward and walks away.
13
14	!!Burn Notice Arc
15	Michael has learned his new federal agent's name: Jason Bly. Michael outs him as an intelligence agent in a restaurant to make him angry. Bly responds that learning to live with having been fired is a process, and Michael should think about what could happen not just to himself, but to his friends and family as well. Fiona pulls up in a stolen car with illegal weapons in the trunk, just as sirens start to blare in the distance. Michael and Fiona have to flee.
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17	Bly and Michael have another chat, in which Michael presses for information about his burn notice, and Bly counters that Michael should get a new life. Bly offers him a complete package to that end with a job as a security guard--safe, boring, reliable, and with no opportunities to cause Westen-style trouble.
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19	Instead, Michael asks money-launderer Barry to set up a surprise business relationship between Michael and Bly. Barry agrees in return for a small amount of money and the promise of a future favor.
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21	Bly shows up at Michael's apartment, continuing the pressure on Michael to accept the lowly job of security job. Michael notes that Bly has a new, nicer rental car and Bly continues to threaten Michael's family, specifically his brother and Fiona. Michael appears to knuckle under to Bly's threats.
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23	Meanwhile, Michael uses the money fronted by the client of the week in partnership with the skills of money-launderer Barry to make it appear that Michael and Bly are in a close business relationship with more than $100,000 in cash. This and the events of the episode make it look like he and Michael are in a closer relationship than is actually the case (Michael was the one who upgraded Bly's car). This allows Michael to blackmail Bly to get him to back off and give Michael information.
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25	Using this blackmail, Michael successfully gets his hand on the dossier behind his burn notice and Bly leaves town. Meanwhile, Michael takes Bly's car.
26
27	!!Michael and Fiona
28	Michael and Fi have been dancing around their relationship for some time now. She's not willing to take no for an answer any more. Either Michael puts up or shuts up.
29
30	At the end of the episode, they spend some time in hand to hand combat before it upgrades to something more intimate.
31
32	!! Tropes include:
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34	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: A ''nonverbal'' version. When "trashing" Ernie's store, Michael takes a bat to the countertop, a donut display, and then very gently pushes over a rack of flowers. Later in the episode, during his confrontation with Bly, Michael frames him for corruption, blackmails him, and drives off in his rental car.
35	* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: The cutscene where Michael and Fi put together a bomb is surprisingly playful.
36	* AwesomeButImpractical: Military firebombs use chemicals that are ridiculously toxic, unstable, and explosive. Homemade firebombs are more reliable, if less effective.
37	* BadBadActing: Fiona's "terror". After screaming in "fear", she punches Michael a lot, gives him her purse, and drives away.
38	* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: It's Diego that plants the bomb that kills Concha, not Michael. Although it was Michael's idea.
39	* TheBaroness: Concha is a dark and dominant woman, darker than the show has seen so far, and the first to die by Team Westen's manipulation.
40	* BilingualBonus: After Michael mugs Fi, Diego says, "No tiene nada aquí" while tapping his head. That's Spanish for "You don't have anything up here."
41	* {{Blackmail}}: How Michael gets Bly to back off.
42	* BlatantLies: "Me, I get to be the psycho. Trust me, that's the hard part. RAAAAAGH!" The client is unimpressed.
43	* BrainBleach: Fiona seriously regrets asking...
44	-->'''Fi:''' A Cadillac? Seriously? What could you ''possibly'' be doing for these women?\
45	'''Sam:''' Wouldn't ''you'' like to know.
46	* CallBack: This week's client, Ernie, was referred to Michael by his first client, Javier.
47	* CatchPhrase: Michael's typical "I'll see what I can do" is attacked by a client who wants him to be more certain.
48	* ChekhovsGun: Many of the events of the episode, like Bly being in Michael's apartment without a warrant and the red convertible he's mysteriously upgraded to. These are all part of Michael's eventual blackmail.
49	* CombatPragmatist: Michael's crazy thief persona is perhaps quicker and brutal than he normally is, taking thugs down with a few quick punches and a baseball bat.
50	* CuteBruiser: Fiona. "All right, but if I'm not satisfied with your answers, I'm gonna kick your ass."
51	* DamselInDistress: Fiona objects to the notion that she might not have gotten away from the cops without Michael's help.
52	* TheDragon: Assistant crime boss Diego Cruz.
53	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Diego, TheDragon, is old school. He doesn't like Concha's technical plans or heavy-handed tactics. He used to be just a bookie, running numbers. Illegal, yes, but not robbing or murdering people. He was ''part of the neighborhood''.
54	-->'''Diego:''' She's killing people! ''Our'' people!
55	* EverybodyKnewAlready: Michael's identity is rapidly becoming this in certain circles. Javier, his first client, failed to keep quiet about Michael's role in his salvation.
56	* FabricatedBlackmail: Michael gets rid of Jason Bly by fabricating evidence (using the money he took from Ernie) that the two of them have secretly started a black market business together. He uses this to force Bly to hand over the full dossier behind his burn notice and then leave.
57	* {{Fanservice}}: The sex fight between Michael and Fi has both of them showing tons of skin, with Michael [[ShirtlessScene shirtless]] and sweaty and Fiona's ModestyBedsheet barely covering her goods.
58	* FamilyBusiness: The client's father built his store; most of the neighborhood businesses are the same.
59	* FemmeFatale: Concha is willing to use her feminine wile when recruiting Michael.
60	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Pointing out that it's bad business practice to demand more than your victims can pay. Concha's interested in real estate potential, not barrio businesses.
61	* HyperAwareness: Michael's aware that Bly is sitting on the stairs leading up to his apartment even before he opens the gate leading to his courtyard.
62	* IDidWhatIHadToDo: "As cover [=IDs=] go, I prefer 'rich businessman' or 'international playboy' to 'crazy thief'. But if the situation calls for it, you do what you have to do."
63	* IKnowYourTrueName
64	--> '''Michael:''' ''[narrating]'' For anyone working in covert ops, names have a special power.
65	* InterplayOfSexAndViolence: Their fight at the end of the episode clearly and completely mixes both for Mike and Fi. It's mostly fighting until it's mostly sex, but it's never not both.
66	* JustAGangster: Diego feels this way to a certain extent, he wants to stick with the old-fashioned gangster ways that have worked for him in the past instead of getting involved with Concha's new way of mixing the legit and criminal worlds.
67	* KarmicDeath: Concha was going to have Michael killed by her henchman, while also wanting to kill Michael's client, the man's family, and blow up his store. Instead, the henchman, upset by her ruthless tactics, blows ''her'' up.
68	* KeepTheReward: Michael gives back most of the shopkeep's money. Turns out he just needed some cash to run through a bank account a few dozen times so he could blackmail Bly by making it look like he'd given him a ''lot'' of money.
69	* KillItWithFire: How Michael ''really'' intimidates some of Concha's {{Mooks}}. He disables their car, drills some holes in the roof, douses them with turpentine, and threatens them with a horrible death.
70	* KissKissSlap: See SlapSlapKiss.
71	* LargeHam: Michael's cover for this op is an over-the-top psycho criminal.
72	* MacGyvering: A military expert can put together a homemade firebomb in a few hours. An IRA-trained guerilla can do it in twenty minutes, give or take.
73	* MadeOfIron:
74	** Ernie, the client, expects Michael to be this; Michael disabuses him and convinces him a more subtle approach is appropriate.
75	** Even so, Michael's able to roll with the punches and negotiate on the fly while being beaten by Concha's mooks.
76	* ManlyTears: This week's client is near tears when Michael saves the neighborhood and refuses payment.
77	* ModestyBedsheet: Fi and Michael are shown under one after sleeping together. Michael's sheets simultaneously cover more and less of him. It covers all the naughty bits, but he immediately puts on pants, and it only covers Fi's ''front'', so her right side is exposing a great deal of her [[ToplessnessFromTheBack back]], [[{{Sideboob}} side]] and legs.
78	* MyWayOrTheHighway: Michael pressures the man who hired him into accepting the former's plan, though it's not what he expected.
79	* NonActionGuy: Diego reveals at one point that prior to being forced to become Concha's dragon, the most he ever did in organized crime was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookmaker managing the odds at a bookie]] for his old boss. One can see why he's out of place in multiple ways in Concha's organization.
80	* OlderSidekick: Diego, Concha's TheDragon. He's in his sixties while she's in her thirties.
81	* OnlyInItForTheMoney:
82	** Diego explains he works for Concha solely because of this trope. She killed his old boss and took over, and he still needed a job.
83	** Subverted with Michael, as he notes he needs cash and gets a job. At the end of the episode, though, he returns the cash (minus some expenses), saying he just needed a stack of cash to deal with Bly.
84	--->'''Michael:''' I wasn't gonna take your life savings.
85	* OrSoIHeard: Sam is trying to make amends with Veronica, and unwittingly trips a confession out of Fiona, who is herself stewing about the status of her relationship with Michael (but trying not to show it):
86	-->'''Fi''': Did you send flowers?\
87	'''Sam''': Yes, I sent flowers! Why do you think I'm checking my phone?\
88	'''Fi''': Well, what did the card say?\
89	'''Sam''': It said, "I'm sorry, please call me."\
90	'''Fi''': She doesn't need to hear you're sorry! She needs to know who you are! She needs to know where she stands!\
91	''[{{Beat}}]''\
92	'''Fi''': ...I would imagine.
93	* PillowPistol: After sleeping together, Michael and Fiona are shown to be asleep in bed with no clothes on... but when disturbed, they ''both'' quickly produce guns that were hidden beneath their pillows.
94	* PinkMeansFeminine: When Michael meets Concha, she's wearing a pink pant suit.
95	* PoliceAreUseless: Usually, the cops are useless in a ''particular'' case because it's a frame job or the criminals are extra vile. In this case, Michael suggests the cops and... they're just kind of shrugged off. Ernie tried them before and nothing happened.
96	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: To show that Diego, Michael's eventual ally, isn't ''all'' good. He calls Concha "That crazy puta..." or "That crazy whore...". Diego states that he doesn't care about his boss's gender; at his age, working on the street isn't an option. Michael's persona, on the other hand... who knows?
97	* PutTheLaughterInSlaughter: Michael's minisidle really seems to enjoy his antics.
98	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Diego, TheDragon, surprisingly. He doesn't accept Michael's wild-child act, and demands he act like a sensible, regular criminal. He's also upset with Concha's heavy-handed, manipulative tactics.
99	* RelationshipUpgrade:
100	** Since Sam's connections got a mysterious government agent to back off, his relationship with Veronica gets an upgrade. He gets to keep a toothbrush at her villa, and she gives him a Cadillac. [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections Sam's got buddies.]]
101	** The episode also ends with a '''big''' talk between Michael and Fiona, ending with them sleeping together.
102	* SecretTestOfCharacter: Concha told Diego to kill Michael. He assumes this is the trope when he thinks she told Michael the same thing about him.
103	* SeriesContinuityError: Michael got a bundle of cash worth thousands of dollars in the previous episode. Perhaps tens of thousands, or even a full hundred grand. Yet in this episode, he's once again scrounging for cash.
104	%%* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend
105	* ShroudedInMyth: Michael, thanks to his career as a spy, doesn't have job references or anything like that.
106	* SlapSlapKiss: Michael and Fiona spend some time fighting before they start kissing. Then they start fighting again, then they start kissing again. Is [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend she his girlfriend]]? Who knows?!
107	* TheStarscream: Michael convinces Diego to turn on Concha.
108	* VillainousGentrification: It's at the heart of Concha's plan. First, up the crime level in the neighborhood so she can push out all the everyday people and businesses with her criminal activity. When they're gone and the value of the neighborhood plummets due to the crime wave and urban blight, buy it up cheap. After buying the land for pennies on the dollar, get paid by the government to redevelop it into a high-end, luxury part of the city. She can potentially make tens of millions doing this, far more than simple protection rackets would ever net her.
109	* VitriolicBestBuds: Sam and Fi are definitely making moves in this direction from HeadbuttingHeroes, with Sam asking Fi for relationship advice and the two working well together on the mission, despite ''very'' different styles.
110	* WalkingShirtlessScene: Michael at the end of the episode, freshly showered, bedewed, and extra ''lickable''. Fiona agrees.
111	* WhatTheHellHero: Diego attacks Michael for mugging a random civilian. That sort of crime will attract the cops. Fortunately, it's entirely in character for Michael both as a crazy crook and as a savvy operator, as random street crime will drive down real estate prices even faster and is something a typical {{mook\|s}} wouldn't do.
112	* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Fiona. Again. This is going to become quite a pattern...
113	* WickedCultured: Concha has a lot of nice artwork, liquor, shark jaws, and some plants. She also apparently owns a beach restaraunt.
114	* WouldHurtAChild: Concha killed Diego's former boss at his kid's birthday party, [[HarmfulToMinors in front of the kid]]. Then she tells Michael to go after Ernie (the client) and kill him and his whole family.
115	* WouldntHitAGirl: During their fight at the end of the episode, Michael socks Fi and ''immediately'' apologizes. Although that may be from the [[InterplayOfSexAndViolence look she was giving him:]] part DeathGlare, part arousal.
116	* YouDoNotWantToKnow: Fiona asks how Sam could ''possibly'' deserve such wonderful gifts from his lady friends. He replies, "Wouldn't you like to know?" but the implication is clearly the opposite.
117	* YouOweMe: Barry doesn't normally do so much work for trivial sums of money like $3,000, but Michael promises him a favor. Barry responds that it will be a ''big'' favor.
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Context Recap / BurnNoticeS1E7BrokenRules