I mean the operating budget. Nice suits are expensive, gas guzzling muscle cars are expensive, Semtex is expensive, Handguns are expensive, meeting clients in fancy hotel bars is expensive. He’s running a professional level mercenary operation (and yes he already is a mercenary and has been from the beginning of the show) and yet he turns down money more often than he accepts it. I like the little touches like how Fiona acquired her Saab, or that they were eating out of the antique Colombian bowls at the end of the episode before last, but there just isn’t enough recognition of where his money comes from.
He still had her listed (with the airline? in his wallet?) as the person to contact in an emergency.
…But then, that is according to Fi…:dubious:
I did notice that the “two” organizations really aren’t. It’s various semi-interlocking but mostly unrelated American spy agencies with a shadowy ring of (probable) government agents misusing assets for their own schemes. or that’s what I’ve gotten, anyhow. The ring of “leaders” isn’t really seperate.
Say what?
Well, for example, Management was being guarded by regular ol’ Army types when they came down in their helicopter. So it seems most likely that they’re either a parasite on the US intelligence organizations, or a higher agency. More likely the former. But they can get regular US government equipment and personnel at need, so they’ve definitely got some pretty strong ins.
Regular ol’ Army types? You mean mercenaries? They were unmarked and unranked wearing typical black on black fatigues and body armor like mercenaries tend to wear or spies tend to wear when on black ops.
It’s made quite clear through the dialogue that his old job was for the CIA and Management was some shadowy organization. They are most certainly NOT the same people, though the line is supposed to be blurry and murky because it’s you know, espionage.
The point is that they are separate and distinct entities that Michael Weston can clearly differentiate, but the appearances are deceiving and so the lay person cannot differentiate them, but they are clearly very different organizations.
You gotta wonder how they get away with wearing that in Miami. Of course, you also gotta wonder how Fi could carry that rifle around in Miami. 
Yes, but they had proper helmets on, lots of extra packs and equipment, long-sleeves, and didn’t stand up straight. Hollywood mercenaries (in general) don’t have helmets, dress light, and stand up straight.* Mercenaries also use smaller weapons (like PDWs, whereas military grunts use full rifles like the M16.
Certainly it’s not a slam dunk, but that is my seat-of-the-pants analysis.
- Heh, I wasn’t sure that the mercenaries in the most recent episode were short-sleeved, but checking the video, it appears that they were.
Just so. I remember thinking when Madeleine went in to the prisoner that the poor schmuck had never been in more danger in his life: he was alone with the one person in the world who would stop at absolutely nothing to save Michael.
“It’s not like you have to worry about cancer.” Did he know who she was?
I doubt it. Mike & Fi would not have given him any unnecessary information.
I was pleasantly surprised by the way that worked out. I thought Cagney would immediately go postal on the schmuck and did not foresee her quiet mindfuck.
That’s not at all clear. That might be the case, and then it might not be. The “organization” clearly has its top people into some very critical posts inside the U.S. government’s espionage apparatus, but just how closely they’re linked is unclear, and may never be clear. They may well all be drawing their regular government paychecks exvcept for the operatives they burn and enslave.
Well military would have rank insignias. Everything else can be purchased by mercenaries on the market, particularly mercenaries who work for an organization that is so deeply connected.
Well clearly one is the US Government and the other is clearly private. How much reading have you done on actual real world espionage? There is this amazing grey area of private contractors, which is unsurprisingly how it works in Washington too. For someone with sufficient connections and a sufficient budget they could quite easily wage their own private little wars. Of course they are connected throughout the spy industry, but that doesn’t make them the same. Agencies share information, that’s what they do. Just like Sam is always calling people for favors, their members can do so as well. Obviously they hire former employees of government agencies and have their very own Sam Axe’s as well. Management probably has friends at the top level of the agency even if he himself is not a part of it. It’s intentionally murky as to who is who, but they’ve gone to some great lengths to convince us that Michael sees a genuine difference.
Yes, but I’m not talking about reality. I’m talking about the habits of movie and TV producers.
The proof of the conjecture remains to be seen, but I’ll bet you that the shadow group, at the highest levels, can utilize US military supplies and personnel at need. Not as a subsection of the government (though that is a possibility), but rather by having some people within the organizational structure with enough clout to command such resources without question, and off the books.
And you’re quite simply incorrect. Your psychoanalysis of the Producers is something you are making up outside of the plot. In the plot they are clearly mercenaries, quite explicitly mercenaries in fact. And Movie and TV producers who actually care about their product don’t make such silly mistakes. Burn Notice has a pretty decent attention to detail so it seems to me like you are applying a SyFy original movie standard to Burn Notice.
It isn’t conjecture, it’s explicit. Michael sees a difference between the two organizations. It is also explicit that Management has connections all the way up in the CIA otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to burn Michael. So yes, you are right, they quite clearly do have people in the government to help them carry out their agenda.
Having just come from a visit to the Everglades, can I just question why Michael thought it would be a good idea to take someone who is bleeding from a gunshot wound into the frickin’ river? Jeez, Louise, they wouldn’t have made it across before the alligators came by.
That said, I noticed it was rather useful that Michael was burned in his own hometown, or at least where his mom is. And Michael made a new friend. 
I adore this show. And next week, where it appears Fee gets shot already has me antsy.
Yeah, I thought of the Alligator thing too when he took the bleeding guy into the river.
Mike had a knife - he would have come out on the other side with a nice wallet, some body armor and dinner on the side.
Jambalaya at that.
Mike doesn’t have to swim faster than the 'gators, just faster than Beck.
Perhaps the plan was that finding the remains would slow the bad guys down.
I liked seeing the Everglades, and I love the show so much I will let some of the stuff slide…like Michael and Beck hiding behind a thin shrub maybe 10 feet away from the Ukranians…who must have very poor eyesight. Plus, Beck was wearing a white suit! Kind of hard not to see against all the green.
Ah well, Madeline made up for it. My daughter pointed out that she must be very intelligent…she raised Michael to be what he is today, after all.