The Big Picture
- The main cast of Burn Notice, anchored by Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen, delivers tremendous performances and has great chemistry. The characters are flawed, yet likable, rogues who strive to help others and do the right thing.
- Sharon Gless gives a wonderful performance as Michael Westen’s mother, Madeline. Gless balances comedic aspects with grounded sincerity, making the mother-and-son relationship believable.
- Madeline Westen is an inherently tragic character who endures more hardship than anyone else in the series. She sacrifices her own life to protect her family and never lets go of her love for them.
Revisiting the classic action spy-thriller series, Burn Notice, in the post-binging and streaming era is fascinating. Admittedly, Burn Notice is somewhat dated, with the utilization of a very formulaic style and the bait-and-switch plot twists that were heavily favored by the writers and producers. The spy subplots sometimes suffered from becoming too convoluted and overwrought. That said, what the show did have was infinitely charming, likable characters.
The main cast members of Burn Notice, anchored by Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen, delivered tremendous performances, and they all had great chemistry. Every week, fans got to see the likes of Donovan’s Michael Westen, Gabrielle Anwar‘s Fiona Glenanne, and the amazing Bruce Campbell‘s Sam Axe have fun, play, and work off of each other. The actors displayed electric chemistry in their portrayal of flawed, yet likable, rogues. The characters were all outcasts in their own way, but they always strived to help others and do the right thing. Those actors’ performances and their dynamic chemistry together still hold up to this day. However, for all the main cast members’ greatness, another important character, who has not yet been mentioned, was essential to the quality of the show: Michael Westen’s mother Madeline Westen, as portrayed in the series by the amazing Sharon Gless.
Michael and Madeline Have a Fragile Yet Repairable Relationship in ‘Burn Notice’
At the start of the series, Michael Westen finds himself stranded in Miami after being framed and given a burn notice by the CIA, blacklisting him from the agency. Michael is estranged from his mother Madeline and brother Nate (Seth Peterson), who has become a petty con artist and gambling addict. Michael resents his family due to growing up in a toxic and abusive home and suffering at the hands of his late, abusive father. Things are still rather complicated and raw between Michael and Madeline early on in the series. Madeline sometimes unfairly blames Michael for her husband’s abuse of their sons, which is the apparent source of much of Michael’s resentment of Madeline.
Eventually, the two reach a significant breakthrough in their relationship when they go to family therapy. What easily could’ve been a ridiculous, throwaway comedic subplot offers some rather profound character development for both characters. Michael was so desperate to get away from his family and leave home, that for years, he believed his father signed the enlistment papers so Michael could join the Army. Instead, it’s revealed that Madeline was the one who signed her son’s enlistment papers, knowing her husband would never allow it.
While the Westen family is broken and fractured at the beginning of the series, as the show progresses, they come to a better, compassionate understanding. Nate also becomes a bigger part of the series and becomes a semi-recurring help for the team. Rather than constantly complaining about Michael’s work, Madeline sometimes brings Michael cases involving her friends, realizing Michael’s unique skills and expertise can help people who have been scammed by con artists or gangsters. While Michael never forgives his father, he at least experiences a sense of acceptance and lets go of the negative feelings and anger of his past. Madeline and Michael go through some extraordinary growth together throughout the series, providing the show’s genuine heartfelt, emotional core.
Sharon Gless Gives a Wonderful Performance in ‘Burn Notice’
The Burn Notice producers found the perfect casting choice with Sharon Gless, a veteran thespian of film and TV, as Madeline. Gless was a trailblazing talent herself back in the 1980s, starring in the hit procedural police drama Cagney & Lacey. In many ways, her role as Madeline in Burn Notice is almost like her career coming full circle. The key to what makes Madeline so interesting is that the writers and Gless’ performance elevate the character beyond her initial appearances. The role of Madeline easily could’ve been a detriment to the show as Michael’s eccentric, overbearing, and neurotic mother. Thankfully, the series avoids those stereotypes and trappings with the character. Gless imbues Madeline with a very well-rounded personality. She certainly has her moments where she does come off as henpecking and overbearing, but Gless always makes sure to portray Madeline’s unconditional love for her sons, no matter what. Gless balances out the comedic aspects of Madeline with a grounded sincerity that makes her mother-and-son relationship with Donovan’s Michael very believable.
Early in the series, many of Madeline’s scenes with Michael act as the show’s comic relief. In later episodes, Madeline does become more actively involved with the show’s various cases of the week. Even though Madeline is not a highly trained spy and operative, she uses her worldly experience and wisdom to assist. It’s not often that Gless gets involved in the action, but when she does, she performs the scenes with fairly grounded realism. These moments are also among the more enjoyable moments of the show. Specifically, a Season 6 sequence finds Anson Fullerton (Jere Burns) the founder of “The Organization,” the group who framed Michael and caused his burn notice, sending a psychotic agent to Madeline’s home. But it’s Madeline who surprisingly saves the day, even rescuing Jesse Porter (Coby Bell), from the attacker in a tense scene.
As mentioned earlier, the incredible cast and their dynamic chemistry made Burn Notice a destination television viewing experience. Fortunately, Gless shares that same dynamic chemistry with all her co-stars. Even though Fiona and Michael are frequently in an on-again, off-again relationship throughout the show, Madeline becomes like a mother to Fiona, and she understands how deeply Michael and Fiona love one another. Gless brings a genuine, compassionate warmth to Madeline, which helps juxtapose her more comedic scenes where she acts as the chain-smoking, neurotic mother to the world’s greatest super-spy.
Madeline Westen Is an Inherently Tragic Character in ‘Burn Notice’
What also elevates the character of Madeline Westen, almost more than any other character in the show, is that she endures more hardship than anyone else in the series. The show’s main circle of characters are people who are outcasts or lost in some way. Michael came from a toxic, abusive home and left as a teenager to join the military, finding purpose and livelihood as a CIA operative. Sam was a Navy SEAL who was nearly punished and court-martialed for trying to do the right thing and attempting to expose a corrupt Colombian politician, who employed a ruthless, brutal militia leader (you can read more on that in Collider’s feature about Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe). Fiona was a member of the Irish Republican Army but ultimately left the organization when she could no longer justify their tactics. Jesse is a former spy whom Michael unintentionally burns, but he’s eventually brought onto the team and becomes a friend and surrogate family member as well. Meanwhile, Madeline was the wife of an alcoholic and abusive husband and had to deal with that through much of her adult life. Her oldest son left home at 17 to join the military, and her youngest son suffered from issues with gambling and became a petty criminal.
The biggest tragedy for Madeline’s character, however, comes about midway through Season 6. While Michael and Nate are in Atlantic City attempting to apprehend Anson Fullerton, who is still at large, a sniper takes out Anson. However, the bullet goes through Anson, hitting Nate and fatally wounding him. Seeing Gless perform the scene where Michael breaks the devastating news of Nate’s death to Madeline is one of the show’s most purely emotionally devastating and heartbreaking moments, and Gless performs the scene with believable sincerity.
Ultimately, Madeline becomes the most tragic character in the series when she meets a sad and depressing end in the show’s series finale, “Reckoning.” After Michael turns on the rogue operative James Kendrick (John Pyper-Ferguson), Kendrick sends his men to Madeline’s home to capture and/or kill her and Charlie. Madeline uses a C4 bomb to blow up her own home so Jesse and Charlie can escape. Burn Notice had its share of harsh and tragic moments, but Madeline’s death was definitely the biggest. Madeline is always willing to do anything to protect her family, and in the show’s final episode, she makes the ultimate sacrifice to do just that. Thankfully, her sacrifice is not in vain. Kendrick is killed, and Michael and Fiona escape with Charlie to the Irish countryside to live off the grid in peace. In spite of the show’s uplifting ending, Madeline’s death feels somewhat harsh, even for a series operating in the murky world of spies and covert operatives. Detonating a bomb to sacrifice herself in that situation doesn’t make much sense, considering this is a series where the main characters constantly get out of dire situations, especially explosions, by the skin of their teeth. Regardless of the inherent flaws in Madeline’s exit, Gless performed every scene she was in with exceptional grace.
Obviously, many fans who have experienced or watched Burn Notice probably have their own thoughts on their favorite characters. However, Gless, in many ways, was the unsung hero of the show. Despite all the trauma and hardships she experienced for her boys, she still never let go of the love she had for her family and her willingness to do whatever it takes to protect them, even at the cost of her own life. It is no wonder Gless received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her work on the series, as it was truly exceptional.
Burn Notice is available to stream now on Hulu.
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Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
