Identity (Burn Notice)
Encyclopedia
Identity is the second episode of Burn Notice
, an American
television
drama
series created for the USA Network
.
Michael Westen
agrees to help his mother, Madeline Westen
recover the money of an elderly friend from a scammer in exchange for information about two mysterious men monitoring his mother's home.
, he found out two government agents were in her home, and after checking the wiring, he finds a bug. He tracks the bug down to an abandoned house only to see two guys taking off in a car and their equipment left in flames.
Madeline refuses to tell her son anything more about the two men that came to her house until Michael agrees to help one of her friends, Laura (Elayne Wilks), who got scammed and beaten by a con artist. Laura is able to provide only a weak description, but the fake certificate she has leads Michael to a copy shop, where he is able to eventually trace it back to the master criminal.
Sam Axe
finds that the con artist's name is Quinten (Mark Pellegrino
) and provides Michael with a brief background of Quinten's run-ins with the law. Michael decides to use this information to attempt to trick Quinten into thinking that Westen is a fellow con artist. After their first encounter goes poorly, Michael pushes Quinten harder. Sam sets up some fake papers to make it look like Quinten's partners are about to betray him. However, everything falls apart when a device meant to disable Quinten's car is set incorrectly by Fiona Glenanne
, and accidentally blows it up right before he steps inside.
Now that Quinten is scared, Michael is playing his cards carefully. He sends Sam and Fiona to play FBI agents and convinces Quinten's partners to leave town. Meanwhile, Michael takes advantage of Quinten's paranoia and convinces Quinten that he cannot go to the bank to withdraw his money because the police are watching him. Michael then cons Quinten into giving him full access to his bank accounts so he can withdraw the money in his place. Once he has the information, Michael proceeds to return all the money Quinten stole, along with providing his name to several "colourful" organizations.
After all of the money is returned, a thankful Madeline finally divulges all of the details about the two government agents. They came into the house and asked whether Michael had returned to Miami. She told them no because to her, "family comes first". She then gives Michael a number the agents had given her to contact them. Michael calls the number and speaks with an anonymous voice, who congratulates Michael for his hard work, but does not provide any helpful information.
had long been fascinated with con artists as well as spies. Although they behave similarly and have similar skills, they have different reasons for conning and spying. Nix wanted to demonstrate the difference between Michael and the average P.I. or cop, and put Michael up against a con artist to see if he could beat the guy at his own game. Michael's motivation is to get his client's money back, although it is harder and more interesting than simply getting the guy busted by the police. Nix's other favorite moment in the episode was the "accidental" explosion of Quinten's car. Bruce Campbell
(Sam) did not know how big the explosion would be. Just as he asked the crew on set if he would know when it blows up, the director called action and induced the explosion. In Nix's mind, Bruce's performance was so good in the scene because the huge explosion startled the actor enormously.
.
Burn notice
A burn notice is an official statement issued by one intelligence agency to other agencies. It states that an individual or a group is unreliable for one or more reasons...
, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
series created for the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
.
Michael Westen
Michael Westen
Michael Westen is a fictional character played by Jeffrey Donovan in the television series Burn Notice. Michael, a spy, was abruptly blacklisted while on an assignment. Forced to go back to his hometown of Miami, Florida, he finds himself cut off from the United States Intelligence Community...
agrees to help his mother, Madeline Westen
Madeline Westen
Madeline Westen is a fictional character in the television series Burn Notice portrayed by Sharon Gless. She is the main character Michael Westen's neurotic, chain-smoking, hypochondriac mother.-Overview:...
recover the money of an elderly friend from a scammer in exchange for information about two mysterious men monitoring his mother's home.
Plot
The episode opens with Michael trying to track down where the photographs that he found on his apartment floor were taken. After talking to his mother, Madeline WestenMadeline Westen
Madeline Westen is a fictional character in the television series Burn Notice portrayed by Sharon Gless. She is the main character Michael Westen's neurotic, chain-smoking, hypochondriac mother.-Overview:...
, he found out two government agents were in her home, and after checking the wiring, he finds a bug. He tracks the bug down to an abandoned house only to see two guys taking off in a car and their equipment left in flames.
Madeline refuses to tell her son anything more about the two men that came to her house until Michael agrees to help one of her friends, Laura (Elayne Wilks), who got scammed and beaten by a con artist. Laura is able to provide only a weak description, but the fake certificate she has leads Michael to a copy shop, where he is able to eventually trace it back to the master criminal.
Sam Axe
Sam Axe
Commander Samuel "Sam" Axe, USN is a fictional character in the television series Burn Notice and TV movie Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, played by Bruce Campbell. He is the best friend of Michael Westen, the main character in Burn Notice.-Overview:Sam served several years as a U.S...
finds that the con artist's name is Quinten (Mark Pellegrino
Mark Pellegrino
Mark Ross Pellegrino is an American actor of film and television. He is best known for his work on Lost as Jacob and for playing Lucifer on Supernatural.-Career:...
) and provides Michael with a brief background of Quinten's run-ins with the law. Michael decides to use this information to attempt to trick Quinten into thinking that Westen is a fellow con artist. After their first encounter goes poorly, Michael pushes Quinten harder. Sam sets up some fake papers to make it look like Quinten's partners are about to betray him. However, everything falls apart when a device meant to disable Quinten's car is set incorrectly by Fiona Glenanne
Fiona Glenanne
Fiona Glenanne is a fictional character in the television series Burn Notice, portrayed by Gabrielle Anwar. According to Fiona's biography from USA Network:...
, and accidentally blows it up right before he steps inside.
Now that Quinten is scared, Michael is playing his cards carefully. He sends Sam and Fiona to play FBI agents and convinces Quinten's partners to leave town. Meanwhile, Michael takes advantage of Quinten's paranoia and convinces Quinten that he cannot go to the bank to withdraw his money because the police are watching him. Michael then cons Quinten into giving him full access to his bank accounts so he can withdraw the money in his place. Once he has the information, Michael proceeds to return all the money Quinten stole, along with providing his name to several "colourful" organizations.
After all of the money is returned, a thankful Madeline finally divulges all of the details about the two government agents. They came into the house and asked whether Michael had returned to Miami. She told them no because to her, "family comes first". She then gives Michael a number the agents had given her to contact them. Michael calls the number and speaks with an anonymous voice, who congratulates Michael for his hard work, but does not provide any helpful information.
Production
Writer Matt NixMatt Nix
Matthew E. "Matt" Nix is an American writer, producer, and director. He is best known for creating the USA Network television series Burn Notice and the now defunct cult favorite Fox series The Good Guys.-Biography:...
had long been fascinated with con artists as well as spies. Although they behave similarly and have similar skills, they have different reasons for conning and spying. Nix wanted to demonstrate the difference between Michael and the average P.I. or cop, and put Michael up against a con artist to see if he could beat the guy at his own game. Michael's motivation is to get his client's money back, although it is harder and more interesting than simply getting the guy busted by the police. Nix's other favorite moment in the episode was the "accidental" explosion of Quinten's car. Bruce Campbell
Bruce Campbell
Bruce Lorne Campbell is an American film and television actor. As a cult movie actor, Campbell starred as Ashley J. "Ash" Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series of films and he has starred in many low-budget cult films such as Crimewave, Maniac Cop, Bubba Ho-tep, Escape From L.A. and Sundown:...
(Sam) did not know how big the explosion would be. Just as he asked the crew on set if he would know when it blows up, the director called action and induced the explosion. In Nix's mind, Bruce's performance was so good in the scene because the huge explosion startled the actor enormously.
Reception
According to Variety, Burn Notice pulled off a "rare feat" when this second episode matched the 4 million viewers that tuned in for the pilot. Helping the ratings was the fact that USA aired it after the hit movie National TreasureNational Treasure (film)
National Treasure is a 2004 mystery adventure heist film from the Walt Disney Studios under Walt Disney Pictures. It was written by Jim Kouf, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Cormac Wibberley, and Marianne Wibberley, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and directed by Jon Turteltaub...
.