Now we know how Jesse is going to fit in with our heroes. He has a compulsion to save the world because his mother was killed buy a thug in a convenience store robbery when he was a child. The urge prompts him to blow a surveillance to discover the whereabouts of an arms dealer codenamed Cobra in order to stop the Mafia from shaking down a dock worker named Hank. Jesse rationalizes they could use Hank as an insider.The con job involves turning Sam into a mob enforcer, then convincing the local Mafia boss Tony he is the only one Tony can trust on a $ 5 million dock heist by faking an attempt on his life.. It happens a little too well when Jesse reveals Sam used to be SEAL. Tony is so impressed with the story of the guy Sam used to be, he shows inconvenient loyalty which blows the chance to get the guy arrested. They have to remount and reload by faking a mob war in order to et rid of Tony.
Along the way, Madeleine figures out that Michael burned Jesse. Which does beg the question why a sharp counter intelligence agent like Jesse has not figured that out himself. Granted, it could have been anyone, anywhere who burned him, but really--should he not have suspicions?
The implausibility of Jesse not putting two and two together is the only real flaw I see so far with his storyline. Maybe it is corny that he ha the Bruce Wayne obsession with avenging a parent’s death that conveniently lets him slide right in with Michael, Sam, and Fiona, but at least it gives him some emotional cause to join in rather than having him go along for the ride just because he is there.
One thing I did like about “Made Man” was Michael taking a backseat yet again. After the first twenty minutes or so, he took a backseat to Sam. I like the character, but Burn Notice is not only an ensemble show, but with Michael having been gone for a month, Sam and Fiona have come into their own as white knights themselves. I certainly want Michael to still be The Man, but shining the spotlight on other characters is a refreshing change.
Rating: *** (Out of 5)
