More Burn Notice observations

Another Burn Notice deleted scene in the DVD extras that was full broadcast quality comes from the season five finale, Fail Safe and it’s lovely. Michael in his mother’s garage assembling and checking over a sniper rifle, and they have a moment of real connection when he explains that all the years he didn’t keep in touch, he was trying to protect them both from the scenario he’s trapped in now. She says she finally gets that, in a way she didn’t before.

And then, because she’s exactly that tuned in to her son, she says, ‘Next time you want to talk, you can just say so. You could do the gun thing at your place just as well as at mine.’ Madeleine being simultaneously sharp and sympathetic and snarky is gold 💗

I see why Matt Nix was so reluctant to drop it. It’s such a brilliant character moment that shows exactly how far their relationship has come since Michael returned to Miami. The streaming sites definitely have their issues, but the fact that each episode is allowed to be the length it should be and not constrained to exactly 42 minutes, regardless of what has to be lost along the way, that’s one of the big wins in how TV has changed.