For those who don’t watch USA’s Burn Notice, the premise of it is the story of a CIA operative (a spy!) who has been “burned,” meaning the CIA has sent out a burn notice on the agent, claiming they are unreliable. The newly-burned spy is entirely off the grid, without work history, money, or any kind of support network—essentially a nonentity.
Burn Notice’s lead Michael Westen is stuck in Miami, with few allies. One being an ex-girlfriend, Fiona Glenanne. It’s obvious from the start, however, that their relationship isn’t quite finished.
Michael and Fiona are two of my favorite characters on television. Michael is a total badass, but aside from that, I might like him because he’s canon. Fiona, on the other hand, is how I wish every heroine (or heck, female character in every book) would be like: She’s smart, incredibly capable, and self-sufficient.
I think that’s why her determination to be with Michael is so believable, rendered even more so because their relationship has been rocky. We’re going into the season six, and Michael and Fiona only were really solidly in a relationship in season five.
There were a few times throughout the history of the show where Fiona was dating someone else. And good for her. Michael was unavailable, and she was living her life. (He obviously hated seeing her with other guys. That was also fun. :D) What makes it work too is that Fiona wasn’t dating to make Michael jealous. She’s mature and reasonable.
They’re both perfect and horrible for each other, and the show appears to be phasing out the “horrible” part. Both the characters are very complicated with a lot of baggage, so it’d make sense they have to work for a relationship. Thinking you’ve lost the love of your life is also a kick in the pants.
Burn Notice is how I wish more Romantic Suspense novels were written—maybe not how long it takes, but the natural progression, and manifestation of it. Michael and Fee have their tender moments, at times that make sense.
Both Michael and Fiona are great apart. But they’re even better together. They complement each other, and work well together. Fiona flies off the handle and has a bleeding heart, for certain things, whereas Michael has a more level head. But Fiona keeps Michael grounded, and from obsessing over his being burned.
My girl crush on Fiona is a big part of why I want Michael and Fiona to have their happily ever after. She deserves it. Fiona kicks ass. She is an equal and integral part to the team. And she’s scary. (No, really. She’s super gun happy. I would never want to be on her bad side. She’s also a whiz with explosives.) Fiona also doesn’t run off and get herself into scrapes where everyone else has to come and save her. (At least no more than the other characters on the show.)
Obviously the show itself isn’t billed as a romantic suspense. (Or any kind of romance. Gasp! The horror! All the boys would lose their man cards and the testosterone would leech right out of them!) But it’s there.
So do you watch Burn Notice? Will you? Do you watch any shows and root for the characters, hoping they’ll get together? Have any examples?
For more Michael/Fiona, don’t miss Rachel Hyland’s entry for them in her post “Will They or Won’t They?: Top 10 Tempestuous TV Couples”
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