I feel kind of like I should be having a party, or a cake, or some sort of celebration, because this is it, the last episode of the show. After this there is no more. I don't really know what the major cast members have done since, with the exception of the legend that is Bruce Campbell, who always seems to be doing something. Most recently an Evil Dead TV show, in which he reprises his character Ash Williams. However Burn Notice went for over 100 episodes and it did finish relatively recently, so I'm sure people like Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar and Coby Bell will pop up various places.
The episode begins where the last one left off, on the roof of a building, with the CIA converging and James choppering in. Sonya realises that Michael won't shoot Fiona, so aims her gun at the Irish girl. That decides Michael and he shoots Sonya dead. This of course means that all hell breaks loose. James turns the chopper around and puts out a message to all his people that Michael Westen and his people all die.
Michael and Fiona get away from both James' people and the CIA. He and his friends and family are all public enemy number 1 now. When they stop to get supplies at a convenience store, Sam and Jesse had guns pulled on them as there was a price on their heads. Michael now has a bit of a death wish and crashed the car that they'd just hot wired into the store to get Sam and Jesse out. He took a bullet in the shoulder, it bled a lot, but he claimed it was only a graze. The last time a Burn Notice character said that, it was Sam, and he'd been gut shot.
Michael says that he, Sam and Fiona will go after James and take him down, they're going to try and cripple his communications network. Jesse gets information from an old contact on that, then he goes to protect Maddy and Charlie, because Michael knows that James will go after them.
Strong's already told Michael that he's also number 1 on their shit list after failing to bring James in.
While Michael, Sam and Fiona try to take out James' communication network, which he has set up in an old abandoned news building, James rings Michael and tells him that he's going after Maddy and Charlie. He doesn't know Jesse is with them, but Jesse can't take out James' team all by himself, even if Maddy is loading for him.
Maddy knows that she won't get out of this alive, she can't do that and also protect Charlie, so she sets up an explosive device and tells Jesse to get Charlie out, she'll stay and hold off the team and take a few with her. Her revelation to Michael and that he knew there was no other option was heartbreaking. I even teared up, Maddy has come so far since that first episode.
Jesse hides Charlie in the bathtub, James' men storm the house and there's Madeline Westen in an armchair, smoking a cigarette. She smiles, and says that this is for her boys, then presses the trigger. The house goes up and takes most of James' men with it. Jesse grabs Charlie and shoots a path clear for him to get out.
Back at the comms building, they've got everything they need to take James down, but then he storms in with his people. Sam makes a break and Fiona and Michael cover him. They stand side by side, facing down the mercenaries. Fiona says to Michael 'Shall we shoot them?' echoing the comment we hear episode after episode in the opening credits. They grab their guns and start.
Eventually they get pinned down. Michael tries a desperation move to get James and Fiona shoots his men. Michael takes James down, and that's when he pulls out a deadman's switch trigger device and lets it go. Sam sees the entire building go up in flames. It's over. No one was getting out of that alive.
Strong cleans up the aftermath. Both Sam and Jesse were taken into custody (there's no mention of what happened to Charlie). Strong manages to get them both a release, because they provided valuable intelligence and Michael is now dead. Even so he says some wanted to keep them locked up forever, to which Sam replies, 'You know spies, bunch of bitchy little girls.' Which is another reference to the opening credits and the very first episode. Strong does however get Michael a star on the wall at Langley for agents who die in the line of duty, and a military funeral.
Sam and Jesse see the coffins for Fiona and Michael laid to rest beside Maddy and Nate. Barry shows up at the funeral, and that was a nice way to use him in the final episode, because he was a big part of the show, probably the most important recurring character left alive.
As the funeral happens, Michael monologues for one last time and we see he and Fiona at the end after James' drops the dead man's switch. They ran together, and they out ran the explosion, landing in the water at the edge of the building. A tad unbelievable true, but having them die would have been a really sucky ending.
Sam and Jesse talk about doing a job together. Sam's met someone who really needs their help. So they're going to continue Michael's work, and they wonder where Michael and Fiona are, they know that they got out alive.
The focus is on a cottage somewhere in Ireland. Fiona and Michael are curled up by the fire. Charlie asleep in Michael's lap (exactly how they got him out of the country and from Jesse is never explained). Michael asks Fiona how does he tell Charlie about everything, his Dad, his grandmother and even who he is. Fiona thinks about it and says 'Tell him the truth. You could start with my name is Michael Westen. I used to be spy.'
What a perfect ending.
It really is one of the best endings to a long running show that I've seen. We had some death (Maddy), all the storylines were neatly tied up, there was plenty of fan service (the 3 lines from the opening credits and Barry), but not too much, and they left it open if they ever want to return to it. I can see a show with Sam and Jesse would be fun, as would one with Michael and Fiona trying to escape their pasts and raise Charlie.
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