Michael Westen

Burn Notice

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Played by:

Jeffrey Donovan

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Michael Westen Quotes

	Season 3 / Episode 9: - Long Way Back Michael Westen: [narrative] When you work as a covert operative, there's no line between who you are and what you do. You are who you need to be for the operation. It makes you effective, it keeps things simple. But when you spend so much time living with someone else, sometimes the people you care about most, begin to wonder who you really are.
	Season 3 / Episode 9: - Long Way Back Sean Glenanne: You can't just walk right up to him. I mean as soon as you open your mouth and he hears you're Irish... Michael Westen: [in an Irish accent] I'll approach him as an American, with a deal. Sean Glenanne: Really. So you can pull off? Michael Westen: [in his normal American accent] I've gone undercover as an American before. I'll be fine. Sean Glenanne: Dunno. Your accent's a bit - dodgy.
	Season 3 / Episode 9: - Long Way Back Michael Westen: [narration] Bombs makers, like master chefs, tend to have a signature dish. If you can duplicate it, you can leave their fingerprint wherever you want. Some bombs a designed to remove an obstacle, some bombs are designed to be loud and scary, while other bombs a just designed to kill and maim.
	Season 3 / Episode 9: - Long Way Back Michael Westen: When you work in intelligence, the worst feeling in the world is knowing nothing. Being caught up in something you don't begin to understand. Because it's not the enemy you see that gets you, it's the one you don't.
	Season 3 / Episode 9: - Long Way Back Fiona Glenanne: You're too worried about your own future for there to be one with us. Michael Westen: I'm not doing this for me, Fiona, I'm out in the cold, and the longer I stay there the more I endanger everyone in my life. Fiona Glenanne: [yelling] Don't you pretend this is about us, it's about you! Which is fine, its just, its just time I do what I need to do too.
	Season 3 / Episode 9: - Long Way Back Fiona Glenanne: I can't believe in a few days I'm gonna wake up back home Michael Westen: And you'll be you again Fi. Fiona Glenanne: I wonder what it'll be like. Michael Westen: You'll have your friends there and your family. Fiona Glenanne: They don't know me anymore. Michael Westen: You're still the same person. Fiona Glenanne: No, I'm not. Who I am now has so much to do with what I've done here, what I've done with you. Michael Westen: [looks at Fiona lovingly and whispers] Fi... I... Fiona Glenanne: It's OK Michael, we're so not good at this.
	Season 3 / Episode 9: - Long Way Back Michael Westen: [after Fiona's been kidnapped and Michael realizes Strickler's behind it, Michael walks into Strickler's home and he's on the phone but Michael yells anyway] Where's Fiona? [Strickler holds up his hand like he'll be with Michael in a minute, so Michael pushes over Strickler's glass cases and screams] YOU TELL ME WHERE FIONA IS NOW! Tom Strickler: [Rolls his eyes says to whomever he's on the phone with] I'll call you back. Now how would I know that? Michael Westen: Thomas O'Neill stopped one of his men from executing me, it sounded like he made a deal with someone to keep me alive, I thought of you. Tom Strickler: Bravo. Put that all together yourself did 'ya? No point in denying it, you would've figured it out eventually. Michael Westen: You sent Fiona to her death. Tom Strickler: I sent her home, like she wanted. What happens to her after she gets there? Well she's a big girl. Michael Westen: Strickler you have no... Tom Strickler: Hey! I did this the cleanest way possible, sure the brother got clipped but you were spared, I'm your God-damn white knight Michael Michael Westen: [going towards Strickler] you tell me where... Tom Strickler: [draws his gun and point it at Michael] Hey! Get back! Get the hell back right now! [Michael backs up] I'm getting a little sick of your ingratitude. I'm the one trying to help you out, you wanted back it, well guess what? A gun-dealing, bomb-making girlfriend wasn't helping your case, she had to go and it was clear you were too attached to do what needed to be done, so like a good partner, I did it for you. [Presses a button on the wall] Michael Westen: What the hell are you doing? Tom Strickler: Staying put for the next hour, by then the cargo company I hired will have Miss Glenanne and her fan club in international waters and heroic rescue attempts will be impossible and you can MOVE on knowing there wasn't a damn thing you could do, I'll be the bad guy, you're welcome. Michael Westen: Tell me where she is. [Strickler shakes his head no] Get outta my way. Tom Strickler: You don't get to have the girl and the job. She doesn't fit into your future, our future, so why don't you do yourself a favor and just forget the past? Michael Westen: Fiona is not my past. [Pulls out his gun and kills Strickler with two quick shots to his heart]
	Season 3 / Episode 8: - Friends Like These Michael Westen: [first lines - narration] In order to prepare for a mission, it's the little things that count. Firepower is great, but an operation is more likely to be saved by a fresh set of batteries than a gun.
	Season 3 / Episode 8: - Friends Like These Michael Westen: [narration] Heists are like a parties - the worst part is cleaning up. Someone has to stay behind to get rid of all the evidence. And of course, tidying after a heist calls for methods not suitable for parties. [massive explosion]
	Season 3 / Episode 8: - Friends Like These Michael Westen: Ya know, you could use some time at the gun range, pal.
	Season 3 / Episode 8: - Friends Like These Michael Westen: [narration] Like good poker players, spies know that it's impossible to hide the tells that come with a bloodstream full of adrenaline. If showing fear or concern jeopardizes a mission, you replace it with an emotion that won't. Michael Westen: [barking at a surprised Fiona] What the hell do you think you're doing? You think this is a tea party? Social hour is OVER! [clocks her right in the face]
	Season 3 / Episode 8: - Friends Like These Michael Westen: [narration] Nothing hurts worse than losing a friend to bullets, politics, or something personal.
	Season 3 / Episode 8: - Friends Like These Michael Westen: Yeah, about that, you should avoid your clients for a while. Barry: I'm known for my customer service. Don't you think they're going to get a little suspicious if I start dodging their calls? Sam Axe: Dodge calls now or dodge bullets later. Barry: Fair enough.
	Season 3 / Episode 7: - Shot In The Dark Michael Westen: [first lines - narration] Spies aren't much into nightclubs. In a career where hearing loss is a serious operational concern and crowds of strangers have to be constantly monitored, they just don't seem like much fun.
	Season 3 / Episode 7: - Shot In The Dark Michael Westen: [emphasizing each syllable with a knee kick] The customer is always right.
	Season 3 / Episode 7: - Shot In The Dark Michael Westen: [narration] The same things people are afraid of as kids, scare them when they're adults: fear of the dark, for example. Fear of being alone. And above all, fear of the unknown.
	Season 3 / Episode 7: - Shot In The Dark Michael Westen: Don't get caught. I don't want to have to explain why I let a 13 year old drive a car.
	Season 3 / Episode 7: - Shot In The Dark Michael Westen: I knew a kid once who had it rough growing up, almost as bad as you. Joey: What happened to him? Michael Westen: He got a job doing a lot of the same stuff that got him into trouble when he was a kid. And he turned out alright. Joey: So you're saying I should eat a lot of yogurt... Michael Westen: Can't hurt.
	Season 3 / Episode 7: - Shot In The Dark Michael Westen: [last lines - narration] When the devil himself is offering the thing you want most... sometimes you dance with the devil. Michael Westen: I'm in.
	Season 3 / Episode 6: - The Hunter Michael Westen: [narration] Meeting a new operative is a lot like going on a blind date. You're bound to be nervous the first couple of times you do it. But live through a few, and you get to be an expert. You should arrive early, prepare an exit strategy, and know you could be in for an ugly surprise.
	Season 3 / Episode 6: - The Hunter Michael Westen: [narration] A flashbang grenade temporarily impairs hearing and vision. It makes fighting back or attempting escape futile, and dangerous to civilians. So if you have to shoot blind, it's better to use a camera than a gun.
	Season 3 / Episode 6: - The Hunter Michael Westen: [narration] In a hostage situation, the same things that get you killed will extend your life.
	Season 3 / Episode 6: - The Hunter Michael Westen: [narration] After the adrenaline rush of an operation, comes a crash. Heightened reflexes and awareness don't last. Two boring hours of driving later, even the sharpest killing machine lets down his guard down.
	Season 3 / Episode 6: - The Hunter Michael Westen: [narration] Military units are a lot like marching bands. Take out the guy conducting the operation, and you'll throw everyone out of sync. Pretty soon all you have left is sound and fury.
	Season 3 / Episode 6: - The Hunter Michael Westen: [narration] When fighting in the wilderness, the biggest threats are often the ones you don't see: dehydration, exhaustion, and nerves.
	Season 3 / Episode 6: - The Hunter Michael Westen: [narration] In battle not even the best laid plans can survive contact with the enemy. If you want to survive, you have to be willing to improvise.
	Season 3 / Episode 6: - The Hunter Michael Westen: [narration] For a spy, there's no shame in retreat. When faced with a more powerful enemy you're trained to get out of the way and keep moving. It's not about running away or giving up. The goal of any retreat is to find the right place to marshal your resources and make a stand. Military history is filled with stories of small forces taking on larger ones. Whether it's David fighting Goliath or the French Resistance fighting the Nazis, the strategy is basically the same. You have to choose the right ground, deploy your resources carefully, and remember that the greatest weapon in any battle is surprise.
	Season 3 / Episode 6: - The Hunter Michael Westen: You hung your curtains by yourself? Madeline Westen: Actually no, some very nice people came over and did it. They were sent over by your friend Strickler. Michael Westen: [sarcastically] Wonderful. Madeline Westen: Try not to wrinkle them when you're sweeping them for bugs.
	Season 3 / Episode 6: - The Hunter Michael Westen: When on the run, subtle things like broken branches, flattened grass, and disturbed ground can give you away to an expert tracker. Michael Westen: An Inexperienced tracker requires a more obvious trail.
	Season 3 / Episode 6: - The Hunter Michael Westen: [narration - Fi attacking bag that he is holding] There are advantages to training with someone you're close to. Knowing each other's moods makes training more effective. Being involved in each other's personal lives Michael Westen: Can also make training a lot more painful. Fiona Glenanne: Oops.

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