If Mahone wasn’t my favorite character on Prison Break before (and I think he was), he definitely is now. At first I was a little surprised that the team had succeeded in getting the disk information so early in the episode, but in hindsight it was the best way to handle it. This allowed the story to focus around Mahone’s capture, and what the team would do about it. Considering that they really need to pace themselves with the team finding each card — and they can’t risk frustrating their audience with constant bait and switches — this was a nice departure from what we’ve already seen this season. I will also note that the season’s current formula, in which the team must overcome several small capers, is a winner so far. The viewers can enjoy the intricate planning and execution, without experiencing the frustration of some minor thing going wrong in order to ensure that the plan lasts the entire season. In a way, it’s like the best of both worlds.
Perhaps more than anything else, this episode secured that, above all else, Mahone is a pretty stand up guy. He sacrificed himself for the team (telling Michael that he’d handle the dangerous mission of retrieving the device), and when he was put in a situation that would benefit him but hurt his team, he refused. Even if that meant personally avenging his son’s death. Ultimately, Mahone decided to keep mum about everything — even when it became apparent that they weren’t going to come to his rescue — and simply requested to Michael that he get revenge for him.
Speaking of Michael, I was pleased with the way he reacted to the Mahone situation. These two have had a complex relationship, to say the least. And that’s part of the reason why their interactions are usually one of my favorite. While he was willing to essentially sacrifice Mahone, he clearly felt bad about it (would he have felt the same way if it was Bellick or the computer geek? I’m not so sure he would). And when Self insinuated that he could “take care of” (kill?) Mahone, Michael wouldn’t hear of it. Their phone conversation, in which Michael sincerely told Mahone how sorry he felt, was wonderful. The look on his face after Mahone confessed that he wouldn’t say anything and asked if Michael could kill Wyatt for him was great as well.
The fact that they rescued him, I believe, is the first indication that these guys really aren’t just a team. Deep down, they do care about each other’s well being. To a certain extent, anyway.
I’m also especially glad that they’ve allowed a character other than Michael to have a central story arc with one of the lead villains. It’s honestly very refreshing seeing somebody else have an emotionally invested interest in something other than simply wanting to be free from a prison. The way it is being set up now, it almost appears as if Mahone — and not Michael or Lincoln — is actually Wyatt’s primary target. While this might not seem significant, it’s actually new territory for this series. And that’s a good thing. The phone conversation between Mahone and Wyatt was downright chilling.
There was one thing about the Mahone debacle that upset me (and I’ll get to that in a moment), but for the most part I thought it was fantastic. I loved how Sucre of all people jumped to Mahone’s defense. I suppose “of all people” isn’t an entirely accurate way to phrase it, since I’m not terribly surprised. For all his faults, Sucre is probably the most morally centered of all the main characters. His subtle alliance with Bellick was also great, with the two standing strong in their stance that they should know all the risks of each mission if they’re going to just be left behind should things go awry. All of the characters involved did a wonderful job with the tension and hostility. It was genuine and powerful, but not over the top.
There was one part that really disappointed me, however. During the whole conversation in which Michael and Lincoln insisted that they can’t jeopardize the entire mission for the sake of one person, I was DYING for Sucre or Bellick (who sided with rescuing Mahone) to say, “Alright Michael, lets say it was Lincoln or Sara that was in danger. Would you still be gung-ho about putting the team ahead of the individual?” The fact of the matter is, Michael has CONSTANTLY put the team at risk in order to protect Lincoln — and to a lesser extent, Sara — and these men know that. This was really an issue that should have been addressed, given the tense nature of their debate. It also would have done a nice job of reminding everybody — both the viewers and the characters — that when push comes to shove, there’s still a defined pecking order among the team members. This would have also opened the door for some tense moments in the future.
And by the way, does Gretchen remind anybody of a dark-haired Beth Phoenix?
The stuff with T-Bag still comes across as completely tacked on and unnecessary. Again, it comes down to this: What exactly is he contributing to the story? If his scenes were removed, would it impact anything at all? Some might argue that it’s too early to make that judgment, and that’s a fair point. My counter, however, would be that it’s really, REALLY important that this guy gets his comeuppance (do I sound like a broken record yet?) As such, I think it would have been wiser to remove him from the series for the season, only to have him re-emerge near the end, making the revelation that he had been following the clues in the bird book (which is pretty much Michael’s tattoos, version 2.0) all along.
Essentially, all the stuff we’re seeing now would occur off-screen. I would even suggest that they devote an entire episode giving the backstory of what T-Bag had done all season. Condense all of these five minutes scenes he’s in now into one flashback episode. If they’re completely devoted to the notion of keeping T-Bag on the show, then I would suggest making him the lead villain next season. Distracted by the final battle with The Company, T-Bag alludes capture. And now with the evil conspiracy organization out of the picture, Michael, Lincoln, and their crew can take on their next mission: Finding T-Bag so that he can pay for all he had done. This allows them to keep their precious snaky character on the series, while also redeeming Michael and Lincoln for releasing a child killer and rapist for their own advancement.
Unfortunately, the preview for the next episode seems to indicate that T-Bag will finally join up with the rest of the team. Again, no matter the circumstances, I think this is an AWFUL idea. The show has been on for four years now, and every year they seem to create some odd scenario in which the “heroes” need to work side by side with T-Bag, who by all accounts should be the villain. Yes, I acknowledge that last year they left him out to dry, which is a good thing, but even so. I fear that if they continue pushing the envelope with this, not only will the audience say “well this is starting to get ridiculously contrived…” they’ll also lose some respect for the protagonists, who seem to repeatedly ignore the fact that this man is dangerous, psychotic, and evil.
And at its core, this series simply doesn’t work if the viewers aren’t emotionally invested in the characters.
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.
