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Prison Break 4.21: "Rate of Exchange" |
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Monday, 18 May 2009 |
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By John Keegan
Visit Critical Myth for an archive of John's TV Review archives, with more than 1100 entries.
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(Note: This review covers the first half of the series finale event. A subsequent review will cover the second half.)
This penultimate episode was all about moving the pieces into position for the final showdown over Scylla, and as one would expect from the end of the previous installment, it was focused on Michael's plan to save both Lincoln and Sara in the process.
There was little doubt that Michael would choose not to choose at all, so to speak, but I wasn't expecting him to fail to rescue Lincoln. His plan wasn't particularly clever, but under the circumstances, that made sense. The point was to demonstrate how Michael's options are quickly running out, and how it puts him at a disadvantage when dealing with his mother.
I was a bit worried about Mahone coming into the finale, but this episode was one of his shining moments. Not only did he keep pushing Michael, even if it was out of self-interest, but he risked his life to save Lincoln rather than abandon Michael entirely. Sure, it wasn't quite so cut and dry as that, but it was still the kind of moment that Mahone fans had wanted.
This is especially true in contrast to T-Bag and Don Self. Self in particular was willing to sell out Michael and Lincoln in the name of saving himself, and as such, he gained exactly the kind of reward he deserved. T-Bag, in comparison, got away lucky. Michael had every reason to shoot him in the face and smile while doing it, and it was only Sara that held him back. That shows the kind of regard that Sara has for Michael's psychological well-being. She knows better than to think that killing T-Bag in cold blood would be easy for him to reconcile, after the fact.
That said, Michael's rescue of Sara was far too easy, especially taking into account the kind of resources available to the Company in past seasons. If the Company is reduced to hiring guards that can't even think to look up, then how did they consolidate so much power going into the whole presidential gambit in earlier seasons? One might argue that the war between the General and Christina has slowly but surely driven the Company into foolish mistakes, since the General clearly cannot adjust to changes in fortune too well, but it's still a major plot convenience. (And I will admit that many others have pointed out the issues with the portrayal of the Company this season.)
Similarly, while I think that it's a great idea to bring back the surviving members of the original Escape Squad for the final victory over the Company, it comes a bit out of nowhere, which takes away from the point of the exercise. The concept is simple: Michael needed those people to escape in the past, and he'll need them again now. But why not thread their part of the story into previous episodes, so it doesn't seem so convenient? |
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