While I really enjoyed this week’s installment of Prison Break, I can’t help but to be slightly more critical than usual. For whatever reason, a few consistent flaws just jumped out on me. The first of which is the same dangerous realm that the final season of The O.C. fell into. When something tragic happens to a character — or to the cast as a whole — quite simply, it doesn’t make sense if that character (or the surrounding characters) doesn’t become dark and gloomy. It’s a double-edged sword, really. It’s important to maintain realism, especially when it comes to basic human emotions, and overcoming a mournful period is imperative to the character’s development. However, the problem is, for the most part people don’t want to see “fun” and “happy” characters acting all sad and mopey. That’s a big reason why the final season of The O.C. failed. People enjoyed seeing Seth and Summer behaving in their typical quirky, light hearted manner. Except they didn’t get that. Instead, they had Summer act emotionally distant. By the time the characters returned to “normal,” the final nail in the coffin had already been struck.
That’s what really jumped out at me this week with Sara.
Again, her dark and gloomy demeanor makes perfect sense. In the past few months her father was murdered, she’s been separated from the man she loves, she’s been terribly tortured, and a father-like figure was killed protecting her. And now she’s pretty much on the run and living in hiding, despite not really being a fugitive. So you can’t really fault the writers for making her so tormented this season. But for the people who had been waiting for Michael and Sara to finally get together, I can’t help but feel like this isn’t what they had hoped for. Everytime they’re together, one is reassuring the other, and they keep promising that things will be okay “one day.” As the cast and crew of The O.C. can attest, television fans can be notoriously impatient. They don’t want to see something good happen one day. They want to see it now.
Of course, I’m not suggesting that the writers succumb to every wish and desire that the fans demand, because television fans are infamous for being fickle and negative as well. My only point is that the show is ALREADY pretty heavy, and the characters are constantly in peril. Ideally, the relationship between Michael and Sara SHOULD be the light hearted escape from all of that. All of that being said, I thought the actress who portrays Sara did an absolutely wonderful job this episode. I might go as far as to say that this was her greatest performance yet.
Another thing that really had me scratching my head, which I touched upon last week, is what purpose does Bellick serve, exactly? Throughout the entire episode, it seemed like they were building him up to really come through in some way. But aside from him rescuing Lincoln — which I did enjoy — they really didn’t. In fact, the storyline that was tailor made for him — impersonating police officers — barely involved him. While Mahone may very easily be my favorite character, the “Eagles and Angels” explanation should have completely gone to Bellick. At the end of last season, I suggested that the character be written off completely. After all, at the end of the day, what did Bellick bring to the table other than walking around in his underwear? Would the season have been different in any significant way had Bellick not been there? I don’t think so.
That being said, it would have been nice if his expertise — whatever that may be, I assume SOMETHING — could have shined this episode. It just really, really felt like he was going to do something meaningful. At first I thought he was going to be the one who came up with the grand plan. Nope. Then I thought maybe he’d follow Sara into the bar and be the shoulder for her to cry on (if you recall, these two actually have quite a bit of history together). But that didn’t happen either. Bellick has basically become a potted plant in the background that only speaks when it’s to whine and complain about something.
As an extension to that criticism, I must wonder why they chose Michael, Lincoln, and Mahone to infiltrate the Eagles and Angels benefit. Lets see, they want to rub elbows with people within The Company, so lets send the guy they framed in a high profile murder, the guy they’ve been using to escape from a maximum security prison, and one of their former employees. Yeah, that’s a MUCH better idea than a former security guard that isn’t even a zit on The Company’s ass.
However, the silver lining in all of that is that I really did like the scene in which he rescued Lincoln. It may not have been all I had hoped for, but it did give his character some purpose. Along with that, it added a little depth to his character. He likely COULD have let Lincoln die without it causing a major stir in the overall plot. But he didn’t. I also enjoyed their brief interaction at the end, when Lincoln thanked him (he’s turning into a big softy, ain’t he?) And Bellick’s reaction to stabbing somebody was great. It showed that despite his machismo in season one, he had never actually taken a man’s life (even though, technically speaking, Lincoln did the deed).
Finally, the whole T-Bag thing has really bugged me, because I can see exactly where this is going. T-Bag will use the bird book to wiggle his way into the group, and will work side-by-side with Michael, Lincoln, and crew once again. As I’ve noted numerous times before, I enjoy this character as much as anybody — but after four seasons, this man DESPERATELY needs to get what’s coming to him. Like I’ve said before, this show works because the viewers become emotionally invested in the protagonists. However, it becomes hard to root for somebody who constantly rescues a serial killer and rapist out of legal jeopardy for his own advancement.
And I think this is the inherent problem with keeping T-Bag on the show. At what point do the ends no longer justify the means? The initial story arc of this series was to save Lincoln from the death penalty because he was falsely accused of murdering the Vice President’s brother. Hey, I’m all for rescuing somebody who isn’t guilty, but does the fact that one innocent man was saved negate the fact that a murdering rapist is now free? Not to mention all of the other prisoners that also escaped — including a mob boss — before being offed by Mahone. And should T-Bag join the crew, he’ll undoubtedly receive immunity as well. How is that a happy ending? It’s easy to excuse people like C-Note and Sucre, who legitimately seem like good people who wouldn’t commit another crime, but T-Bag? This guy needs to die or be put in prison for the rest of his life.
One complimentary thing I will say, though, is that I appreciate the humanity of these characters, particularly when Mahone confided in the computer geek about finding the man who killed his son. I like the idea of this team developing a bond, because I imagine the finale will see some casualties.
I will also admit that, despite these flaws, I still find the show absolutely thrilling. It really does keep me at the edge of my seat, and — despite the whole T-Bag thing — I do root for them to succeed. It’s not often you find an ensemble crew that you can get so emotionally invested in. Despite this more-negative-than-usual review, I still highly recommend this show to anybody. And season four is most definitely still a thumbs up.
Matt Basilo has been writing for Inside Pulse since April 2005, providing his insight into popular television shows such as Lost, Heroes, Prison Break, and Smallville. You can visit his blog at A Case of the Blog.
