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Prison Break 3.11: "Under and Out" |
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Monday, 04 February 2008 |
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By John Keegan
Visit Critical Myth for an archive of John's TV Review archives, with more than 1100 entries.
| The most exciting episodes of “Prison Break” usually center on the moments just before and during each new escape attempt. The pressures increase dramatically, and the divisions between the members of each escape squad deepen as the zero hour approaches. In the first season, all efforts were bound by Lincoln’s impending execution date. In this case, the stakes are raised, with LJ and Sofia in the line of fire.
Relatively speaking, the escape from Fox River was a clean operation compared to the storm about to break over Sona. For one thing, the authorities will not (or rather, should not) hesitate to gun down anyone they find outside the prison, and Susan’s cadre within the Company is hardly going to let everyone go without a scratch once they get what they want. Susan’s methods have been too brutal to avoid similar tactics after the escape.
This brings up an important point. While the drama has centered entirely on the escape from Sona and Whistler’s connection to the Company, the writers have yet to establish any firm connections between the arc of the first two seasons and this latest situation. I, for one, would like the writers to bring it all into perspective, because Michael and Lincoln’s momentary victory over the Company at the end of season 2 was derailed by the Sona gambit. If they manage to survive until the end and win the day, that final victory will need to represent closure on everything since Michael’s initial walk through the doors of Fox River.
In terms of this particular escape attempt, there’s every reason to think that the members of Escape Squad Part Deux will end up betraying each other from the moment they breathe free air. At least one of them should get caught in no man’s land after those crucial 30 seconds, but it’s still unclear what Susan and her people will be willing to do and for whom. More than that, there’s Lincoln’s plan, still waiting in the wings, and that could be meaningful in the hours after the escape.
The odds favor Michael, Lincoln, and Whistler, or there wouldn’t be much of a plot for the rest of the season. After his seeming recovery from his withdrawal, Mahone is another good candidate, because he’s just as intelligent as Michael. Lechero had been evading capture for years, and he has a support system outside of Sona. That leaves T-Bag, Bellick, and Basketball Boy. Given T-Bag’s popularity and ingenuity, he will likely survive, so things are not looking good for Bellick and the red shirt right now.
Thankfully, it appears that the writers have been thinking ahead, and there’s enough story already waiting for the characters once they leave Sona. The writers’ strike has thrown off the timing quite a bit, but the writers usually have a nasty cliffhanger in mind for episode 13 of each season, so there’s no reason to expect anything different this time around. |
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