So last week I compared Michael and Lincoln’s ruthless mother to Angela Petrelli. As it turns out, the Prison Break matron is named Christina Rose. And the actress who portrays Angela Petrelli? That would be Christine Rose. Deliberate? Coincidental? Who knows?
Speaking of Christina, while I have abundantly enjoyed her character, I also can’t help but sigh a bit at her long winded, metaphorical justifications for her actions. Practically every show I watch – Lost, Smallville, Heroes, and now Prison Break – features a lead villain that exhibits uncanny knowledge of mythology, religion, geology, astronomy, astrology, geography, world history, and pretty much everything else, and always has some obscure reference ready when it comes to explaining their actions. Don’t get me wrong, I love the complexities of the characters, and I genuinely appreciate their intelligence. But every now and then you just want one of those Joker characters that just say “hey, I’m just a psychotic asshole.”
I am enjoying this three way war, though, with Christina and her crew of “double agents” (working against the General), Lincoln, Mahone, Self and T-Bag (working with the General’s Company), and Michael and Sarah out there for themselves. At the same time, there’s a somewhat loose alliance between Michael and Lincoln – since going their separate ways, each has turned to the other in a time of need. And they’ve voluntarily protected the other. Likewise, both Michael and Lincoln feel a certain degree of compassion for their mother. Do they want to stop her? Yes, of course. But are they willing to go to the extreme lengths that they’ve had to go to countless times since this show has premiered? That remains to be seen. On that note, even though you could probably telegraph it a mile away, I did love how Lincoln and his crew saved Michael and Sarah from being executed in the final moments of the episode.
I’m not sure how I feel about this Sarah being pregnant thing – part of me is saying, “why don’t you focus on tying up this main story in the final few episodes before throwing in such a significant, yet unrelated, plot device?” – but I did like Sarah’s reflective look at the path not taken. It’s easy to forget that she gave up absolutely everything for Michael. She had a respectable career and was living a life where she wasn’t constantly on the run. Hell, even her father’s murder was indirectly connected to Michael. But when she visited the (suspiciously furnished) home of her med school friend, she got a glimpse into what her life might have been like if she had never met Michael, or, at the very least, if she hadn’t sacrificed her life in order to be with him. But when she discovered that she was pregnant, you couldn’t help but wonder if she felt a glimmer of hope that that future can now somehow become a reality. Especially with an unknowing Michael promising her as much.
By the way, is there any chance that this series ISN’T ending with Michael and Sarah sailing into the sunset?
And I guess that’s another question to ponder: How does this series close up with the remaining characters? I envision Self getting killed, T-Bag ending up back in jail (since I don’t think the writers have the cajones to have Michael, or even Lincoln, kill him), Mahone surviving and reuniting with his ex-wife, and Lincoln returning to his son and Whistler’s girlfriend. Does that all seem a bit too happy?
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.
