The Morning After: Burning for You

I enjoyed the episode itself - I would call it a standard Burn Notice episode. I thought the bad guys' plan was too ornate, but at least they didn't need a dry erase board to explain it like Law & Order did on Wednesday.
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My biggest worry with Burn Notice is the overall season arc for this season. The first season (Michael seeks information) was very well done. The second one (More annoying: Carla in Burn Notice or Darla in Angel?) seemed awkward.
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This season looked like it could have a nice arc with different sorts of stories (Michael forced to play defense now that no shadow agency is protecting him) but it looks more likely that it will again be focused on him trying to get information from the government.
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His motivation in the last 30 seconds of this episode (which sets up the larger arc) just seems unnatural. Maybe I'm reading too much into the end of the episode, but it looked like they didn't want to stray too far from the formula.

What NYC nycgeoff said.
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I was a little worried though last night when I found my mind straying back to my work at certain points in the epi. But... I've been found to be fiercely loyal to creative endeavors I believe in, so...

I thoroughly enjoyed the episode as usual. I always enjoy the pay off when the plan comes together at the end. I also liked how they spent time setting up the first plan just to have it completely scrapped. Nothing off the charts, but a good episode. I also liked how they were able to integrate the storylines instead of having the overarcing story running parallel to the job of the week like they were doing before.

Personally, I thought season two was better then season one. I am optimistic regarding the possibilities they are opening up in terms of where to go with the story. I think there's a lot of good opportunity with having him trying to find an intelligence service that will hire him. Also I've read a lot of interviews with Nix and am very excited about the stuff he says is coming up. I feel like they've been able to keep the show consistently fresh despite utilizing what could be considered tired tropes.

I tivoed royal pains, I'll watch it later.
I love Burn Notice. It's not the best thing out there but it does beautifully what every show what's to do. Balancing episodic story and big picture story. The voice-over monologue isn't cheesy or campy. It's just a plain fun show that delivers the action and wit when needed.

I thought it was a good episode overall. Considering how last season ended with Michael jumping out of the chopper I really wanted to see where they were going to go next. I think starting out feeding right into his run-in with the police was a good way to start off and demonstrate the new world Michael has to live in without Management protecting him. The double-cross was not that surprising considering how Harlan appeared out of the blue to bail him out. Overall, like many said it was not a ground-breaking episode, but I think it lays a good foundation for the big-picture of the season.

I did watch Royal Pains, and thought it was good. I loved Paulo Costanzo in Road Trip, and was equally pleased with his performance here. I think his presence is what will keep the show fresh and interesting as it moves forward. I will definitely watch next week. There are plenty of story components to flesh out, so it should be worth keeping track of for at least two seasons.