Michael Westen

This article is about the fictional Burn Notice character. For the actor, see Michael Weston.

Michael Westen
Burn Notice character
First appearance	"Pilot"
Created by	Matt Nix
Portrayed by	Jeffrey Donovan
Information
Aliases	Michael McBride[1]
Gender	Male
Occupation	Freelance Independent Contractor, Private Investigator, CIA Civilian Intelligence Asset, Former: CIA Officer, Former: U.S. Army Ranger, Former: U.S. Army Delta Force Operator
Family	Frank Westen (father, deceased) Madeline Westen (mother) Nate Westen (brother/...) Ruth (sister-in-law)[2] Charlie Westen (nephew)[2]
Significant other(s)	Fiona Glenanne (girlfriend), Samantha (ex-fiancé)

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. While searching for answers on why he was burned, Michael becomes a freelance spy/private investigator to help those who have unique problems.

Fictional Biography

Michael Westen was born on January 6, 1967^[3] and raised in Miami, Florida, the first of two sons to Frank and Madeline Westen. His father was a violent man, who would physically and emotionally abuse his two sons as an obedience measure, and his mother did little to prevent it. His father would also take advantage of him, for example, he forced Michael to fake a seizure inside a Mr. Goodwrench store so his father could steal spark plugs. The last words his father said to him were "I'll see you in Hell, boy." Eight years prior to the beginning of the series, his father died. After persistent persuasion by his mother, Michael finally visited the gravesite of his father. Michael's younger brother, Nate, is a compulsive gambler who has a history of stealing from Michael to fund his addiction. However, after helping Michael and almost dying, he has turned his life around, which Michael seems to have difficulty believing. After a brief quarrel with his brother, Michael rightfully receives his father's black 1973 Dodge Charger.

Michael enlisted in the United States Army when he was 17 years old, and his mother forged his father's signature so he could enlist. Little is mentioned about his time in the Army but it is known he was in the Army's 3rd Ranger Battalion's Bravo Company.^[4] It is also implied in one episode that he served in Delta Force. It was implied in an episode that he served in San Pedro Laguna before he was recruited to work as a spy. He served for 15 years, working in Europe and the OPEC nations as a covert operative who did freelance work for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). While on a mission in Nigeria, he received a burn notice from CIA superiors. After managing to embark on an airplane in Nigeria, Michael is deserted in Miami, with Fiona Glenanne, his ex-girlfriend.

Per the conditions of Michael's burn notice, his assets are frozen, his line of credit is destroyed, and he has no career history with which to seek employment. He is free to travel within Miami, but any attempts to relocate outside of the city will result in immediate arrest. Michael now has to find work that suits his unusual skillset and knowledge. He counts on longtime friends like Sam Axe, who informed on him to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) until midway through the first season, and Fiona to perform such tasks, while fighting with his mother Madeline Westen and trying to find out who burned him and why.

Michael lives in a decrepit loft situated over a nightclub, with a bed, workbench, some barbells, a punching bag, no air conditioning, an oven, a few chairs, a mid-90's era computer, and a refrigerator filled with yogurt and alcohol. He obtained the loft in the pilot episode, when he assisted his Russian landlord and club owner by ridding a drug dealer who also lived on the premises. He also spends time at hotels in Miami, as well as his mother's house.

Upon returning to Miami, Michael was watched by the FBI. It was revealed that he was burned in order to be recruited by a mysterious organization and is contacted by a woman named Carla. After Carla was killed by Fiona, Michael received an offer to replace her by a man referred to as the organization's "management." He refused to take the job and lost the security detail and personal restrictions he had been under to protect him from the countless enemies he made as a CIA operative, choosing to be free from the organization's hold. It is later discovered that the organization was also protecting him from the rest of the world who were hunting the name Michael Westen.

Michael continued to work toward removing his burn notice and being reinstated in the CIA. Michael then approached CIA agent Diego Garza, who became his point of contact for the CIA. Michael was also approached himself and later threatened by Tom Strickler, an "agent to the spies" with powerful connections. Tom had tried to remove Fiona from Michael's life, and Micheal subsequently killed him. With Tom dead, the incident sparked a chain of events that lead Diego to be murdered by Mason Gilroy, a former MI6 spy and freelance black ops psychopath. Michael ended up working with Gilroy in order to find out his plan. Michael eventually found out that Gilroy was working on securing the release of a high risk fugitive named Simon Escher. Gilroy succeeded in freeing him but is later killed by Simon. In another revelation, Simon was the one responsible for the actions that got Michael burned. Simon's profile was transferred to Michael and earned him a burn notice. Simon forced Michael to bring management to Miami but ends up being recaptured again when Michael overtook him.

After initially being taken away by the authorities, Michael is kidnapped by Management. A high-level member of Management named Vaughn, convinced Michael about a group of people in the world who are plotting assassinations, political coups, funding terrorist organizations, genocide and are in control of every facet of the government. Michael agreed to help Management in order to stop the organization that broke Simon out of prison. During the process of investigating, Michael accidentally burned a spy named Jesse Porter.

Despite the objection from Fiona and his own mother, Michael kept secret to Jesse about his role in destroying his life. Later, Jesse discovered Michael's deception and vowed revenge. At the same time, Michael found a close link to the organization behind Simon and a mysterious book code contained within a Holy Bible, a power-broker and billionaire CEO of Drake Technologies, named John Barrett. Michael offered to trade him the stolen bible in exchange for shedding some light on who he's up against and the identities of the people who burned him. Management - the people who burned him - are hidden within the United States government, private-military corporations and various other powerful organizations. Barrett planned on recruiting Michael to help him eliminate them. During the exchange of the case, Michael was shot by Jesse during a confrontation of Vaughn's and John Barrett's team. Michael, bleeding, was taken by John Barrett. Michael then caused the car he was in to crash, leaving John Barrett dead. Michael survives the accident and manages to crawl out of the wreckage. With Michael bleeding out and unconscious, someone steals the case.

Michael eventually recovered from his injuries. With the help of Fiona, Sam, and Jesse, Michael was able to recover the information on Management. Michael planned to give the flash drive to Marv, Jesse's old CIA handler. Marv is killed by men posing as Homeland Security agents and the flash drive is stolen by Tyler Brennan, an enemy Michael makes during the second season and one of the most intelligent villains he has encountered. Brennan, threatening to expose Michael's betrayal to Vaughn, blackmailed Michael into killing the people who on the list who burned him. Brennan is murdered by Larry Sizemore who was recruited by Brennan to be Michael's partner for the killings. Michael was able to defeat Larry, but Vaughn found out of Michael's betrayal. Vaughn and his team goes after Michael and those around him but is arrested. Michael was then taken by two mysterious men to Washington, DC and was met by an unknown acquaintance. The unknown acquaintance turns out to be Raines, Michael's former recruiter, who helps Michael hunt down every member of Management in order to get Michael un-burned. After Michael has successfully eliminated every member, another spy he had been working with, Max, is murdered and Michael is framed for the murder. AGENT PEARCE , who's been sent by the CIA to investigate Max's murder and serve as Michael's new agency contact. Michael must do what he can to aid the CIA's investigation while keeping the evidence from leading to his own doorstep.It leads back to him and Pearce takes him in After he finds the killer is a russian named Tavian Korzha the CIA lets Michael go to talk to him where he throws himself off a 5 story building. Larry comes back and kidnaps Anson, holding his wife prisoner, forcing Michael to help him frame some British government people. Larry revels that he plans on killing Michael after Fi and Sam find Anson's wife had been blown up. Fiona plants a small explosive to kill Larry. The building suddenly explodes from the bottom, killing 2 security guards inside. It turns out that Anson planted the bomb and framed Fi and he is the founder of Management and he threatened to have the CIA and MI6 after Fi if Michael does not do his dirty work.

Characterization

LA Weekly described Michael as "Jim Rockford and MacGyver filtered through Carl Hiaasen."^[5] Bruce Campbell comments on Michael Westen: "Well, the idea is being a CIA agent, Michael Westen can take his skills, you know, MacGyver-ish type skills and make a shotgun out of a twig."

Michael's romantic relationships are a significant source of subplots in Burn Notice. It is revealed in the episode "Sins of Omission" that ten years previous, Michael was engaged to a professional thief named Samantha, but they never married and eventually separated. Around that time, Michael met Fiona Glenanne, an IRA bomb maker and weapons expert, while under cover in Ireland. Their relationship also ended when Michael was extracted, though Fiona became aware of Michael's real name and position as a US intelligence operative. Fiona now helps Michael with his various cases and his investigations in Miami, and they still have a close, if strained, relationship. While Fiona plays coy during most of Season 1, during Season 2 it is apparent to many that they are moving toward a reconciliation. When Fiona investigates a bomb makers home and a fire erupts that consumes the entire building, Michael believes that she had been killed in the fire, and discovers her alive and well at his apartment, albeit without a cellphone that was destroyed. Realizing that Michael was on the verge of a breakdown over her possible death, the two make love.

Michael's family is also a source of strain in the show. In the pilot episode, Michael once remarked that his mother "would have been a great intelligence analyst. She could find you if you were buried in the middle of the Gobi Desert and ask you why you didn't come home for Thanksgiving dinner." She is also a provider for some of Micheal's cases by suggesting friends who are in trouble. His mother in particular is at times demanding and a valuable asset, and has recently been used to conduct initial surveillance. She's also revealed to have a deep understanding of psychology and interrogation, after she manages to coerce information out of a smuggler within minutes of Fiona and Sam having given up. Despite being left in the dark for much of the series, she is now much more involved and aware of Michael's operations, though she seems to accept this as a matter of course.

While Michael begins working harder towards being recalled to active service and working for a mercenary, Fiona grows more and more distant. Michael strikes Fiona as part of maintaining a cover identity. Fiona claims that doing this work is changing Michael, and that she can't stay and watch it happen, and plans to move back to Ireland. These plans are curtailed when both Fiona's brother and an exiled Irish mercenary arrive. The exiled Irish mercenary kidnaps Fiona, and Michael's original Irish cover is blown. When Michael and Sam attempt a rescue, Fiona is shot in the arm when she jumps off the pier to escape the gunfire. Michael panics when he sees Fiona float to the surface unconscious and quickly pulls her out and is relieved when she comes to. Fiona's brother tells Michael that Fiona, now associated with a foreign intelligence operative, will almost certainly be killed if she returns to Ireland, though he tells Michael that he is proud to know his sister chose well. This incident strengthens their bond again, and soon thereafter they make love at a hotel. Michael and Fiona experiences tensions afterwards while he continues to focus on his burn notice with the CIA.

As a covert operative, Michael is incredibly resourceful and holds a shocking knowledge of topics ranging from combat survival, Posttraumatic stress disorder, escapology, chemistry, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, medicine, surgery, and criminal psychology, despite a remark by a client and former friend that he "vanished before high school graduation". During the second season finale in a car chase, Micheal is able to fashion a quick explosive out of chemicals found in his glove compartment. As a covert operative, Michael is also a keen bluffer, once being able to bluff a con artist to believe that he transferred $200 000 into his account (a ruse that would have been found out by a bank manager in Zurich in a few minutes) or making a bank robber believe that he was a doctor. Known by his professional reputation, Michael is regarded with fear by people associated with the intelligence community and once remarked by a Spetsnaz wet work operative that "everyone in Russian Special Forces has heard of the name Michael Westen. He is a myth like the boogymen." and once being told by the Head of the Libyan Secret Police, that their intelligence services were not known for being gentle and that if he ever wanted a job to contact him personally. In one episode, Larry once stated as a quip "Where is the old Michael Westen I knew? The one who would have left behind a bloodbath with a smile on his face?" Despite being professionally regarded as a cold killer, Michael is hesitant to kill anyone unless he had to, once needing Victor to tell him that he had to do it in order to sell the story to Management. That is not to say that Michael would not kill, where during the third season finale he might have killed Simon and only stopped when Management asked him not to.

As a character, Michael is seen to have several 'trademark' characteristics. He wears expensive suits (during one episode he reveals the label showing the suit to be Armani, and always wears the same pair of sunglasses, which he at one points states to have been a gift from an old associate. At the beginning of Season 3, having jumped out of a helicopter into the ocean and losing most of his clothes, Management sends him back his supposedly lost sunglasses. Furthermore, Michael's food of choice appears to be yogurt, and his fridge always appears to be stocked with them.

Ask A Spy

The official website for the show has a collection of short videos in which Michael dispenses advice for certain problems people have, such as how to evade an ex who's been following them or how to get a table at a restaurant that's booked solid. Michael even explains how to break out of a prison in Turkmenistan, although he gives the camera a look before starting. In general, the "advice" is theoretically possible but nevertheless impractical for most people. For instance, the explanation on how to break out of a prison in Turkmenistan ends with Michael telling the person to swim across the Caspian Sea.

References

1. ^ "Hot Spot". Burn Notice. USA. January 29, 2009. No. 2-11, season 2.
2. ^ ^{a b} episode "Mind Games"
3. ^ episode "Past and Future Tense"
4. ^ episode "Besieged
5. ^ "Burn Notice: Tune In, Zone Out" by Robert Abele, LA Weekly July 3, 2007

External links

• USA Burn Notice: Michael Westen Character Bio at USA.com