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Prison Break 3.6: "Photo Finish" |
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Tuesday, 06 November 2007 |
By John Keegan
Visit Critical Myth for an archive of John's TV Review archives, with more than 1100 entries.
(Note: This review only covers the first half of the two-episode event for 05 Nov 2007; a subsequent review will cover episode 3-7.)
This is generally the point in the typical season arc where the introductory phase ends and the complications begin. Considering the fact that the story was driving towards a supposed escape attempt, it’s natural enough for that plan to end badly. As the deadline approaches, things go wrong again and again, culminating in a moment that changes the landscape of the third season completely.
I mentioned in a previous review that Michael’s entire psychological state was centered on saving Sara, and knowledge of her death would send him into a spiral of anger and despair. The logical consequence would be a break between Michael and Lincoln, since LJ’s life would be left in the balance. In this episode, that’s exactly what seems to happen.
It’s always possible that the writers could be applying a liberal dose of misdirection, but enough has gone wrong in the escape plan to suggest otherwise. Besides, too many of the Sona-specific plot threads are still wide open, and that’s all this season has going for it. The conspiracy angle is slightly more interesting now, given what we know about Susan from her conversation with LJ, but it’s still not nearly as compelling as the writers seem to think it is.
While the situation in Sona is sliding into something more chaotic and thus more interesting and less predictable, the writers may have shot themselves in the foot yet again. Mahone’s presence in Sona, particularly as an uneasy ally for Michael, was one of the few draws for this season. This episode takes Mahone out of the prison, and that could be a major setback. This show needs a presence like William Fichtner to balance some of the less impressive cast members. All is not necessarily lost; he could find himself forced into working for the conspiracy with Lincoln, for example. But this only makes me more worried for the series and its future.
I also wonder how this series will handle the effects of the writers’ strike, especially if it protracted. Suddenly the late spring return date for the final nine episodes could be a major advantage, since it gives the production time to catch up, if the strike ends after a couple months. Barring that, “Prison Break” has always equipped the fall finale (episode 3-13, in this case) with a strong cliffhanger, and that could be used as an ersatz season finale if necessary.
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