While I really enjoyed this week’s installment of Prison Break, I can’t help but feel like it was one of the weaker episodes of the season (although that’s hardly an insult). This definitely felt a bit like a “stalling” episode, acting more as a catalyst of what’s to come than something that is to be appreciated on its own merits.
We learned that Mahone didn’t simply abandon the team. On the contrary, we discovered that he was sending feelers out to the FBI to see if they were interested in cutting a deal. Unfortunately, that didn’t work to his advantage. I’m really pleased to see that it appears that he manages to escape, because he’s definitely a character that still has some fuel in the tank. If they were to write him out, but continue to keep T-Bag, I would be pissed.
I know this isn’t exactly the most PC thing to say, but I just loved seeing Sucre beat the ever living crap out of Gretchen. I mean, it’s been made abundantly clear that Gretchen is a physical force to be reckoned with, so it’s not like we were watching this big hulking guy physically abuse a small defenseless woman. Instead, we were watching a terrorist who has made their lives miserable get what she had coming. And it was great.
There were a few aspects of this episode that suspended my disbelief a bit too much, though.
First and foremost, I had real issue with Gretchen shooting numerous Company men dead with a single pistol as she avoided being shot by countless people using machine guns. I mean, the “good guy” always seems to have some sort of force field surrounding them while being an improbably impressive shot, but this was a bit much.
And I do continue to wonder why they give the most crucial assignments to the guy who’s on death’s door, who they know shouldn’t be doing strenuous activities. I mean, he’s passed out countless times, so let’s have HIM retrieve the item that grants us our freedom. Is there any reason why he couldn’t have done the easy job (in this case, shooting a gas bomb into a room), and let Lincoln (ya’ know, the bad ass muscle) nab the device from Self?
Speaking of Self, the whole “I was a by the books guy for 16 years” thing is a bit of a stretch to me. I just have a hard time believing that he’s able to become this cold blooded killer, who’s perfectly willing to kill an innocent young girl and her surrogate mother (not to mention a Bible salesman who, for all he knew, was in the wrong place at the wrong time), solely due to greed. This is one of those rare instances where I actually would have preferred an unnecessary, convoluted explanation over an overly simplistic, throwaway line (I usually subscribe to the “less is more” philosophy).
And, of course, they’ve formulated YET ANOTHER scenario that will force Michael and crew to work alongside T-Bag. I also have qualms with Lincoln working with The Company. I know we’re supposed to root for the main character, but if you look at the scenario from a purely objective view, isn’t Self being an ass who unjustly gets rich a lesser evil than the treacherous organization retrieving its diabolical device?
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.
