Reckoning (Burn Notice)

13th episode of the 7th season of Burn Notice

"Reckoning"

Burn Notice episode
Episode no.| Season 7
Episode 13
Directed by| Matt Nix
Written by| Matt Nix
Production code| BN713
Original air date| September 12, 2013 (2013-09-12)
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"Reckoning" is the final episode of Burn Notice, an American television drama series created for the USA Network.

Michael Westen and his friends are pursued by a group of assassins. Madeline sacrifices herself so the group can escape the hitmen.[1][2]

## Plot

[edit]

Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) and his team flee from both law enforcement and James' organization, when taking James out becomes their only viable option. The rest of the team kidnaps a communications engineer (Alan Ruck) who helped James receive and transmit encrypted information from a satellite dish on top of an abandoned building. Jesse hides with Charlie from James' hit squad when they are ordered to kill Madeline and Charlie. Madeline sacrifices herself when detonating a C-4 bomb, destroying the safe house and 3 assassins, giving Jesse time to kill another 2 assassins. Michael's team retrieves the hard drive for the CIA and takes out James and his squad despite running out of ammo. Mortally wounded, James destroys the entire building when he activates a dead-man device, presumably killing Michael and Fiona. Some time later, Sam and Jesse take the hard drive to Strong, and its information allows the capture of more than 100 dangerous terrorists. Strong declines to prosecute their crimes while rewarding Michael with his CIA star. Sam and Jesse decide to continue Michael's work of helping people with tough problems. In the final scene in an unspecified location, Michael asks Fiona what to tell Charlie when he asks future questions about their tumultuous life, she tells him to start at the beginning with: "My name is Michael Westen. I used to be a spy..."

## Production

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During production, Matt Nix and Sharon Gless were the only people who knew about Madeline's death.[3] The show was ended because the writer could not keep the plot going and felt they needed to wrap it up in season 7.[4]

## Reception

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Approximately five million viewers tuned into the series finale of Burn Notice.[5] The finale was praised by critics for being a fitting conclusion to the series.[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Keveney, Bill. "'Burn Notice' finale features ultimate sacrifice". USA TODAY. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
2. ^ "'Burn Notice' series finale: Creator Matt Nix talks about the death of [SPOILER]". EW.com. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
3. ^ Ng, Philiana (September 12, 2013). "'Burn Notice' Series Finale: Matt Nix, Sharon Gless on the Big Death". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
4. ^ Harris, Jeffrey (September 14, 2023). "How 'Burn Notice' Lost the Plot". Collider. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
5. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (September 13, 2013). "Thursday Cable Ratings 'Thursday Night Football' Wins Night 'Burn Notice' Finale, 'Project Runway', 'Pawn Stars', 'Graceland' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 15, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
6. ^ "Review: 'Burn Notice' served notice and, in the end, still roars". Los Angeles Times. September 12, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* USA Burn Notice: Reckoning Summary at USA.com

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Burn Notice

Seasons|

* 1
* "Pilot"
* 2
* 3
* 4
* 5
* 6
* 7
* "Reckoning"

Film|

Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe

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