Tag: Prison Break blog (Page 4 of 4)

Prison Break 4.7: “Five the Hard Way”

October 7, 2008 /

Now that Gretchen is on the loose, it was just a matter of time before she hooked up with the gang. At the end of last week’s episode, we saw her confront T-Bag in the apartment, so in this installment we were treated to a little villain-on-villain action. For anyone who thought she might have softened up during her time in captivity…well, she didn’t. She is as big of a bitch as ever. I’d like to see what she’d do with Morpheus, but Mahone might get to him first.

Speaking of Mahone, he and Don had a nice little moment outside the warehouse. Don obviously respects Mahone to some degree, because he sought his advice about how to deal with the hitman. The respect is mutual, as evidenced by Mahone’s reaction when Don asked him, “What would you have done?” after Mahone was griping about Don’s decision to leave him in jail. Mahone’s silence spoke volumes. Anyway, that was a sly move to go straight to the general and deliver the “if anything happens to me” speech. It looks like it will buy Don some time, if nothing else.

Last week, I lamented over the departure of Trish Ann and her ample bosom, but they were back in full force this week as a part of T-Bag’s plan to capture Michael. I wonder how T-Bag made/convinced her to come with him, and did he ask her to put on a low-cut blouse to show off the girls? Was that their swan song, or will they make another appearance? These are the questions that try men’s souls.

The trip to Vegas was rather mundane, especially for a trip to Vegas, but Roland’s device did get snatched up by casino security. With the way he was going on about the city, you’d think that the gang would keep better track of him, especially after they shoehorned in that his device could be used to figure out which progressive slots are about to hit.

“I can’t believe those guys left me alone in Vegas after I totally foreshadowed that I was going to get into trouble.”

Of course, I have to mention my boy Sucre who was willing to bite the bullet and go up to the old man’s suite. Only instead of fending off the dude’s advances, he gets to have sex with the guy’s super-hot wife. AND he gets a thousand dollars for his trouble. Sucre hasn’t had a day like that since he last saw Maricruz.

Finally, Lincoln explained the nosebleeds to Sarah. Apparently, Michael’s mom had the same symptoms and she eventually died from a brain aneurism when she was 31. Now that Michael is the same age it’s time for everyone to get worried.

So are you worried? Good, that’s the whole point.

External TV, Prison Break, TV, TV Dramas

Prison Break 4.6: “Blow Out”

September 30, 2008 /

The whole bit at the racetrack was kind of fun, but it was a house of cards stacked on a house of cards. So many things had to go right for them to successfully copy the data from Cardholder #4. What if Bellick’s teller had agreed immediately to change his bet? What if the Operations Manager sent someone else (like security) to deal with him? What if the Cardholder had insisted that the manager come out to the track to deal with the sticky gate problem? It wasn’t like the Cardholder had a ton of personal security. The gang should have just saddled up nearby and copied the card that way. Oh well, the house of cards plan was a lot more fun.

“Michael, why are all of your plans so unnecessarily difficult?”

Morpheus continues to dig deeper into the gang’s plan and the scene with Don in the parking garage was pretty intense. Self knew that Morpheus was a killer, and Morpheus knew that he knew, so while nothing overtly menacing was actually said, there was a feeling of menace between them. I’ve liked Michael Rapaport since he played Paul Kirkwood in “Beautiful Girls,” the guy who brought a brown diamond engagement ring for a girl he wasn’t even dating. Rapaport always seems to play characters that are equal parts smartass and lovable loser, and Don Self is no exception. I’m giving 2 to 1 to any brave bettors that his wife is dead and that he listens to that voicemail every so often to remember her.

This week’s You Must Suspend Belief Moment goes not to the house of cards plan at the racetrack, but to the fact that Mahone had a court date so quickly in the city of Los Angeles. That whole scene was pretty hard to swallow. Both Sara and Mahone were able to leave the courtroom without Morpheus seeing them and Sara acquired the file that (apparently) had the only copy of Mahone’s fingerprints. Yeah, right. However, I have to admit that the moment between Mahone and Morpheus outside the courthouse was pretty cool. Mahone’s desire for revenge is one of the most compelling parts of this season’s storyline.

Meanwhile, the jig is up for T-Bag and watching him scramble to escape his new life was pretty funny. I thought last week that Trish Ann and her ample bosom were this season’s eye candy, but with the way T-Bag left the Gate Corporation offices, I’m not so sure we’ll be seeing her again. Who knows, maybe she’ll try to track him down at his apartment.

Speaking of his apartment – Gretchen is back in the fold! She’s cleaned herself up, has herself a new identity and some cash, and when last we saw her, she was standing on Theodore’s neck. Oh yeah, and she’s a mother, only she gave her kid away because she couldn’t take care of her. Anyone want to bet that that comes back around by the end of the season?

I’m still predicting that the gang will have to place their trust in her at some point this season.

Card #5 is next on the docket. See you next week.

External TV, Prison Break, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

Prison Break 4.5: “Safe and Sound”

September 23, 2008 /

This was a rather enjoyable episode that was pretty light on “You Must Suspend Disbelief” moments and featured both Michael and Mahone completely in their elements. In a few short hours, Michael had to plan a break-in into a federal building and figure out a crafty way to drill into a safe. I’m not sure what’s going to happen when Don’s new lunch partner sees the big hole in his wall, but one would think that it would quickly lead back to Don, who was rather obvious about his desire to eat out. My guess is that we don’t hear anything of it – the creators will just assume that we’ll forget about that hole. Oh well.

Meanwhile, it was great to see Mahone back in the law enforcement game. It all started with a powerful scene with Callie Thorne (who one of my favorites from her work on “Rescue Me”). “Prison Break” isn’t known for its strong acting, but Thorne and William Fichtner are top notch and that scene in the diner was one of the best of the entire series run. She’s obviously torn up about the murder of their son, and the one thing that drove her nuts about Mahone is the one thing she can count on right now. Mahone is going to find Morpheus and make him pay.

It’s clear that Trish Ann (the secretary at the Gate Corporation) is this season’s eye candy. She and her ample bosom have put the screws to T-Bag, and it’s always fun to watch him squirm. It doesn’t look like 3% of his future commissions is going to go very far, however. She would have been better off getting a piece of his bonus check.

We discovered that Michael had nosebleeds when he was 13, so his unknown illness is something that he’s had for some time. I’m not sure how this is going to fit within the season-long storyline, but it’s possible that it will be used at some point to throw the whole Michael-and-Sara-sail-off-together dream into major uncertainty.

“So will it be the red pill or the blue pill?”

Lastly, Gretchen busted out of prison! I’m going to make a wild prediction and say that she’s going to eventually become an ally to the Brothers. At a meeting at some point in the future, Linc will look at her suspiciously, but Michael will convince him that trusting her is the right thing to do.

I’m pleased with how this season is turning out. Instead of one long breakout, it’s a week-by-week set of challenges in diverse environments. Season One and Season Three were a bit claustrophobic at times since (pretty much) the entire cast was stuck in either Fox River or Sona. It’s especially compelling to watch Mahone in action (even more so considering his motivation), so let’s hope that he doesn’t find Morpheus too quickly. It would be a shame if that match flickered out before its time.

External Entertainment, External TV, Prison Break, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

Prison Break 4.4: “Eagles and Angels”

September 16, 2008 /

Given the number of times that Michael and Sara used the phrase, the name of this episode should have been “One Day,” but obviously the writers are trying to make a point about how the series should eventually end – the carrot on the proverbial stick, if you will. And in this scenario, the audience is the mule/horse. Sometimes being a fan of this show feels like being a beast of burden, but this episode was relatively headscratcher-free, aside from Sara’s ponderous decision to have her credit cards exposed for the skeezy barfly to conveniently swipe, which (apparently) is the only way that Morpheus would be able to find the gang. Sara gets a pass since she wasn’t thinking straight, mourning the death of her friend and all. Heck, I give her credit for not downing that double bourbon, though the bartender gets an assist. (That bar scene was a nice piece of acting by Sarah Wayne Callies, by the way. It’s good to have her back in the fold.)

I also question the convenience of Gretchen being held somewhere in L.A. That’s a little contrived. She’ll eventually escape and cause a ruckus, no doubt.

Speaking of obvious future plot twists, with the death of Don’s whistleblower, it’s clear that the gang will eventually need to enlist the aid of T-Bag, since he (ponderously) is risking life and limb to infiltrate the Gate Corporation posing as the company’s top salesman. Apparently, this is somehow a part of the Scylla puzzle; methinks that the corner office is important so that the gang can either drill up or down into an adjacent floor.

Back to T-Bag – I was really looking forward to his first meeting with his supervisor, but that was fairly anticlimactic. However, I’ll give you three to one that he’s sliding up next to that well-endowed secretary in the next episode or two.

There was a nice moment between Linc and Bellick after the two had clashed earlier in the episode over Bellick’s constant naysaying. Bellick stepped up and stabbed the Company henchman, effectively saving Linc’s life.

We had another taste of foreshadowing with Michael’s bloody nose. He’s clearly suffering from some illness and it will either come up later in this season or at the end, when they’re setting up Season Four. Whatever the plan, I hope Fox allows the series to end on its own terms, or at least gives the creators enough notice so that they can end the show properly. I know it’s premature to talk about this, as the show is considered a “hit,” but it has happened time and time again to other series, and the conclusion of “Prison Break” needs to be protected. We’ve invested too many goshdarn hours in this show only to have them pull the rug out from underneath us.

Anyway, two cards down, four to go, and Morpheus is hot on the gang’s trail.

External Entertainment, External TV, Prison Break, TV Action, TV Dramas

Prison Break 4.3: “Shut Down”

September 9, 2008 /

I couldn’t place it last week, but Wyatt (the company’s hitman who is trying to track down the Brothers) seems to be channeling Laurence Fishburne from “The Matrix” series. So, from now on, I’m going to refer to him as Morpheus.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s move on to the episode, which was actually a little bit of filler. As Don (the FBI agent) struggled to keep the operation alive, Michael had to break into an internet hub in Anaheim to retrieve a couple of emails (because Roland’s stealth data collector just happened to run out of hard disk space as it downloaded those emails). Anyway, with Sara in trouble at the front desk, Michael pulls the fire alarm to create a distraction. He returns to the server room, and he and Roland get trapped there when the room is locked down. The two almost die because all of the air is being sucked out of the room to prevent the servers from burning. Now it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense that the server room locked down after Michael returned, but hey, this is “Prison Break.” Lincoln does what he does; he grabs and axe and smashes the window, freeing his brother and the “douche.”

At the beginning of the episode we were treated to a shot of Don twiddling with his wedding ring and a later shot of him gazing at his wife’s photo, so count on his marriage coming up later on. (Maybe “The Company” killed his wife?)

Morpheus now knows that the Brothers are in Los Angeles. For some reason Bruce (R.I.P.) knew they were in L.A., but he didn’t know where. Other than a convenient plot device to get Morpheus to the City of Angels, why would Bruce know where they were? Doesn’t that knowledge only put them in danger?

T-Bag’s idiotic “blood feud” has brought him to Los Angeles and now he’s trying to get a bonus check from the Gate Corporation. God only knows what’s going on there.

This week’s “you must suspend disbelief” moment goes to Mahone, who somehow knew (before the team had even acquired the emails, mind you) that the meeting of the six Scylla cardholders would take place at a power plant in Newport Beach, so he asked his former partner to hide the files he requested within walking distance of the power plant. Either (a) Mahone knew where the meet would be or (b) it was a totally lazy (or overlooked) plot progression that the writers must have assumed that the audience wouldn’t notice. All they had to do was show him driving off in the stolen cab, and have the drop point at some location other than the powerplant/docks (that don’t exist in Newport Beach, by the way), and this would have been totally reasonable. Sometimes I wonder if the creators watch the episode before it airs or if they even think about these things as they’re shooting (or as they’re writing the script).

Anyway, the gang now has video of all six Scylla cardholders, so the operation is back on.

External TV, Prison Break, TV, TV Dramas

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