|
Prison Break 3.3: "Call Waiting" |
|
Thursday, 04 October 2007 |
By John Keegan
Visit Critical Myth for an archive of John's TV Review archives, with more than 1100 entries.
After Michael’s coup with the water in the previous episode, it would have been easy for the writers to give him a better relationship with Lechero. Thankfully, that wasn’t the path taken, as judged by this installment. Michael is still up against the ropes, facing a tight deadline and an endless array of complications.
With so few options for escape available (or so Michael has come to believe), his attention turns to more personal goals: finding and liberating Sara. This inevitably involves Lincoln, since he’s the one on the outside and he also wants to save LJ. The focus, however, is always Sara, despite the challenges on the production side. (Fake/phoned-in Sara is no substitute for the real thing.)
Within Sona, Whistler’s doubts about Michael will no doubt cause endless problems once a plan to escape finally comes along. Mahone’s growing desperation may have led to an attempt to undermine Michael, but the truth is the truth. Michael has a history of using others to achieve a goal, even when it cuts out a part of his soul in the process. In this case, however, Michael is justified; he has no reason to concern himself with what Whistler needs at this stage of the game.
On the outside, Lincoln does his best to rescue Sara and LJ. Logically speaking, the conspiracy should have been harder to dupe, but something had to keep the tension of the subplot going. And it kept the repercussions off the table until the very end. It would be very easy to assume that the object in the box is Sara’s head, considering the situation with the producers and the actress, but they could keep that plot point under wraps for a little while longer.
This episode finally gives T-Bag something interesting to do. I wouldn’t say that his goals were unusual or surprising, but it’s always fun to see him use that twisted mind of his. More interesting was Michael’s comment about T-Bag’s incompatibility with the religious side of Panama. That gives Michael something to hang over T-Bag’s head, even as the lunatic gains power within Sona.
Sooner or later, Sucre will come into the story in a more substantial fashion, but for now, it’s good to know that the writers have brought him into the main plot threads. Bellick, on the other hand, remains an annoying wild card. The writers are probably banking on that reaction, since his interventions will be loathed, but sometimes enough is enough. This is especially true when it becomes a lingering afterthought for every new episode.
|
