We’re actually coming to the end of season 2 here. There’s a lot of action in the last two episodes, and we get a pretty interesting resolution to the whole Carla storyline. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a satisfying resolution, but it was interesting. In the meantime, we get a secret fiancee, an aborted trip to Disney World, and an erstwhile sitcom dad — all things you look for in a good season finale.
(Season 2, Episode 15 “Sins of Omission”)
How on earth does a dude like Michael Westen find time to get engaged? And, seriously … how long will this thing between him and Fiona last? These are questions brought up in this episode, where we learn crazy things about Michael’s personal life. Apparently, he had a fiancee (or “fiance” as the CG wrongly says when Sam shows up at his door) that he never told anyone about. But more importantly, they broke up a decade ago, because Michael met and fell in love with Fiona while he and Sam were engaged. A decade ago! I know love is confusing and all, especially when there are bombs and shit involved, but come on. If you guys can’t figure it out after a decade, then something needs to happen.
Anyway, the highlight for me was that girl Sam stole some sort of MacGuffin, and a grey-haired Dutch totally kidnapped her kid. He’s lost weight since The Shield, and looks pretty bad-ass. It was nice seeing him on this episode. Michael, of course, outsmarted him and Sam had to leave town, but it’s always fun to see a little bit of Michael’s past.
But in the present, Victor is still apparently trying to kill Michael. Well, kind of. He tells Michael that if he can get Carla off his back, he’ll keep him alive. But Michael, of course, wants answers: namely, “hey — why are you trying to kill me in the first place?” When Victor doesn’t answer, Michael kicks the shit out of him in the men’s room at city hall (which has neon lighting, because apparently south Florida is tacky everywhere, all the time) and wheels him out, probably to deliver him to Carla.
(Season 2, Episode 16 “Lesser Evil”)
OMG. All of our questions were answered! Okay, not really at all, but it turns out that Carla isn’t just some crazy bitch working all alone with the sole purpose of making Michael’s life miserable. Instead, she’s totally working for Frasier’s dad! And in addition to making Michael’s life miserable, they’re also protecting him — presumably from other ex-sitcom stars who want to make his life even worse. See, it just hurts because it’s working.
Before Michael found all of this out though, he had a pretty shitty day. Carla went after his mom (again), and Sam had to blow up her house in order to save her. Plus, once he realized that Victor wasn’t so much a bad guy, as just a dude who had been screwed by Carla way worse than he’s been, Michael decided to team up with him and get them both out from under her thumb. Of course, Carla ended up shooting Victor, and Michael totally had to kill him in order to make a clean break. Granted, it was a mercy killing, but Michael still isn’t big on the whole murder thing, so it clearly bummed him out.
So based on all of this, when Frasier’s dad put Michael up in a helicopter and said, “but we’re totally helping you out!” Michael wasn’t too inclined to give a shit, even if Frasier’s dad was protecting him from a very pissed off Carl Winslow, or Danny Tanner, or whatever. So he jumped out of a helicopter. Obviously. I hope he’s a strong swimmer, because while it was a very effective way to prove a point, he was a long-ass way from Miami.
One note though: Before Victor died, Michael asked him why he didn’t try to find out who burned him. Victor replied that it didn’t matter; it was just a name in a file that led to another name, and on and on. I get this, but if this show is totally going to use it as an excuse to never answer the central question of “who burned Michael?”, I am going to be very pissed.
Huh?
I thought there are more episodes coming in the Winter. Since a Season on USA starts during summer… ah whatever. I had this discussion about “The Closer” with Bob Sassone last year. Let’s call it Season 2.5 coming after X-Mas…
This is my Virgin Diary, not a review of the current episodes. The ones that just aired were the first half of season 3, with the second half returning in January.
Loved your summary of “lesser evil”! you made me laugh out loud! It was a great episode and is responsible for getting me hooked on BN. The song, “Time Bomb” that was played as he jumped from the helicopter was probably the best bit of music I’ve heard since some awesome Phil Collins was played in Miami Vice. what do you have to say about season 3??