Table For Two: A look at Burn Notice

Arturo: the sad thing is, Jesse’s character has regressed over the course of the season. He came in with his own expertise but eventually became … shit, does Robin have a sidekick?

AJ: I mean, I love the banter –and love love love donovan — but i also noticed that glaring aspect.

Arturo: And the whole “crush on Fiona” thing is just weird.

AJ: I know right?

Arturo: He had more chemistry with the spygal in the empty house.

AJ: Again…it’s the white woman as The Sought-After One, and I don’t think Gabrielle Anwar’s that hot. But, like Sookie, that’s the set-up.

Arturo: As much as I’ve grown to like Donovan’s Bruce Wayne act, I think the starting point of these issues is him.

AJ: Homie, ::fist pump:: with the Donovan observation.

Arturo: I mean, if you had Donovan as Westin the White Knight, pursued by a POC woman, that’d look weird in and of itself.

AJ:true … but everyone eyeballing Fiona is snoozy.

Arturo: She’s a bit posh

AJ: Hee! At the same time, even Westen had some chemistry with the WoC assassin. I never quite got sparks with him and fiona.

arturo: I think I’ve gotten it thanks to the Sledgehammer of Flirtation Fiona throws at him every episode.

AJ: It’s like we’re constantly told that she cares for him and he has feelings for her. Yeah, they kiss, but it leaves me cold.

Arturo: It’s a weird tic for Michael as a character: he constantly says he doesn’t want to put her at risk or whatever, but at the same time, she’s already been shown to be his equal, so there’s little to no logical reason for them not to co-habitate.

AJ: I almost want to go up to Donovan and ask, “Are you kissing on this woman b/c this is what the racial narratives dictate that’s what White Knights do?”

Arturo: If Donovan can explain those narratives in his usual monologue style, I think it’d make more sense:

“When trying to pitch a show to Middle America, you need three things:

1. A white guy in the lead.

2. A skinny white woman behind him.

3. Somebody “funny” to come in and make a joke but not get ahead of the first two.

If you lack any of those, your show will die.

Just ask Joss Whedon.”

AJ: Oh SNAP! Well … it didn’t save Heroes, did it?

Srturo: Well, that show tried to blend daytime drama family imbroglios with sci-fi.

AJ: Or Flashforward.

Arturo: Following the rules laid out above, if the show had been about, say, Peter doing [x] it might have had a shot.

AJ: True …

Arturo: Because Peter then takes the heroic journey (which really should’ve been Hiro’s, but that’s a whole other chat). And, hey, FF won an Emmy.

[Note to readers: No, really, it did. We're just as shocked as you are]

Arturo: I was discussing this week’s Burn ep with a friend the other night. Our prediction: either Jesse dies, or Sam gets shot tomorrow.

AJ: Jesse dies. Killing off the poc is more convenient. Sam must come back for his own prequel.

arturo: I hope I’m proven wrong – exploring Jesse as an anti-Michael would be fun. To carry the Batman analogy a bit further, Simon is coming off as Michael’s Joker – the agent of chaos. So somebody just as organized as Michael, but on the other side of the coin, should be part of the rogues’ gallery. One would hope.

AJ: Right … but would the audience buy Simon if he was a POC doing the same thing?

arturo: I think an audience would.Whether it’s the “same one” USA is trying to attract is up for discussion.

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