Before I get to the fall finale of Prison Break, let me quickly discuss another Fox series, Family Guy. I’m writing this column on Sunday night (six days after the finale aired), and while I’m not one who criticizes cartoons for not making sense or for violating continuity (longtime readers will remember I gave them a free pass with my Continuity Police feature), but how did the latest episode of Family Guy kick off with a July 4th parade, only to conclude with a Cinco de Mayo celebration? And while I’m at it, what the hell was with the non-conclusive ending to The Simpsons? Did the writers, like, suddenly forget that they had Comic Book Guy close his store to be replaced with a new store? Is Jack Black going to be a series regular? Because if not, it was a bit strange that they didn’t wrap up that particular story. This show is definitely getting too comfortable with simply making fun of the fact that things haven’t been explained. Simply having Bart “humorously” ask, “Didn’t this place close?” when he’s inexplicably shopping at the comic book store might not cut it. Perhaps the writers should focus on doing awesome movies instead of abysmal television episodes.
I also encourage everybody to check out my newswire, which lists how many new episodes are left of your favorite series.
With that said, Prison Break concluded their fall season, and will return in January with five episodes (and possibly more, depending on when the strike is resolved). I’m still very surprised by the negative feedback this season has received thus far, with some fans even stating that they don’t plan on returning in January. Honestly, I’ve found this season exhilarating, and I love how their escape employed “back to basics” methods, like using the sun as a blind spot, instead of the intricate steps used to get out of Fox River.
You know what this show does particularly well? They manage to get you emotionally engaged in their quest to escape, to the extent that you actively feel annoyed and frustrated when something goes wrong, but they manage to do it without turning you off. A lot of shows fall into the trap of avoiding a certain inevitability (whether it be a prison escape, a rescue, a relationship, or what have you) so many times that the viewer just gets aggravated and loses interest. So far, in my opinion, Prison Break has avoided this trap, and I think it’s because certain obstacles are resolved within the same episode, or by the next episode. While Plan A didn’t necessarily work, they very quickly place Plan B in motion, so to speak.
One thing that disappointed me a bit with this episode was the immediate judgment that Mahone is an addict. Yes, we as viewers know it’s the truth, but the characters on the show aren’t privy to the knowledge we have acquired, and therefore are in no position to label him as such. There are plenty of people out there legitimately medicated for anxiety, depression, or whatever other mental ailment. Abruptly coming off of that medication and being put in an exceptionally stressful and desperate environment can have severe repercussions, resulting in behavior very similar to the way Mahone was acting. It seemed strange to me that his fellow agents were so quick to determine that he was a drug addict. And unless this was all a setup in order to get Mahone to incriminate himself (I still don’t get if that was the case), it seemed especially unusual that his colleagues would go to such great lengths to NOT help his anxiety in order to ensure that he was a credible witness.
Those complaints aside, I really enjoyed how Mahone slowly regained his composure during his deposition, and I truly believe that his explanation redeemed many of the past sins he had committed. As he explained, his own government extorted him, and he had to do what he did in order to keep his family safe. In the end, you really felt bad that he was being sent back to Sona, with him believing that he had missed out on his only opportunity to escape.
I also appreciated the explicit explanation as to why Mahone had to execute all the escapees, instead of simply returning them to prison: Basically, The Company wasn’t sure how much Lincoln and Michael had told them, so they needed to be eliminated in case they knew too much. I also enjoyed how you never quite knew, even at the end, if Agent Lang was genuinely concerned for Mahone and was looking out for his well being, or if she was just playing the role of the trusted friend in order to get him to incriminate himself.
Some people have suggested that T-Bag and Bellick get written off of the show. While Bellick’s role is a bit curious (what exactly has he contributed to the season?), I completely disagree in regards to T-Bag. I think his character is wonderful and a great addition to the show. At worse, he’s blending into the background stirring the pot (whether he’s trying to create tension between Lechero and Sammy, or Michael and Whistler/Mahone, or any other two inmates), and at best you can see he’s plotting to usurp or replace Lechero as king of Sona. I can easily see the end of T-Bag’s character occurring at the conclusion of this season (the real finale), either with Michael escaping (and you know the show will follow wherever he goes), leaving T-Bag sitting on his Sona throne, or with T-Bag meeting his maker following an inmate mutiny just as he takes over Lechero’s position. What makes T-Bag’s eventual reign even more enjoyable is the fact that you can clearly see Sammy is trying to do the same, but he’s so much less smooth about it, which will ultimately lead to his failure (and probably his death).
The revelation that Whistler is in cahoots, to some extent, with The Company made this escape plan a lot of fun. When you compare this past week’s episode to the previous one, where you were under the impression that Michael and Whistler were working cohesively together, there was just an enjoyable added layer to the general intensity of the escape scenes. You didn’t know if/when Whistler was going to attempt to turn on Michael, or if/when somebody would walk into the tunnel, unknowingly saving Michael. While I was skeptical at first of Lechero’s addition to the escape team, I like the inside Intel he’s able to provide them, while simultaneously attempting to maintain the visage to his underlings that he has no association with Michael.
The rooftop battle between Michael and Whistler was also a nice culmination of their tumultuous relationship throughout the season. It was also fun seeing the government finally say “F it” and doing an all out assault in order to get Whistler out of Sona.
I also got a kick out of Michael frantically taking off his light gray long sleeved t-shirt as to avoid being recognized, only to replace it with a light blue long sleeved t-shirt. He couldn’t find something a little further on the color spectrum, like a red or black shirt? Or something a little different stylistically like a button down? I will say one thing, though: It must have felt like heaven finally getting into a fresh, clean t-shirt.
What becomes of Michael now? Is he being banished from Sona altogether, or is he being put in isolation in some sort of cage in no man’s land? I couldn’t quite tell, based on the final scene and the preview for what’s to come in the new episodes.
I liked seeing Susan (is her name really Susan B. Anthony? As in, the women’s suffrage lady?) receive her comeuppance. It’s always fun seeing a bully get bullied by an even bigger bully (Bully!) The teased confrontation between her and Michael, where Michael asks her if she was the one who killed Sara, is something I look forward to in January.
The stuff with Lincoln and Sofia was pretty negligible and harmless. Didn’t seem to really add much to the episode, but didn’t detract from it either. And it’s about time Lincoln gets a love interest in the show, as well.
