Four years ago, many of us thought that Prison Break would last only one season because once the guys break out, it's not "Prison Break" anymore. However, due to the show's success, FOX renewed it over and over again. This lead to the gang being on the run during season two, stuck in Sona and trying to break out again during season three and, this year, working together to gather Scylla, bring The Company down and get their freedom.Now that the OMG!WTF? mid-season finale aired, it's time to analyze the product we've been offered so far and make our predictions as to what will happen next.
If you haven't watched the mid-season finale, step away from this post right now as I'll dish the reveals after the jump... then again, if you've seen the way too spoilerish mid-season finale promos that aired on TV, you are pretty much in the know.
When I watch Prison Break, I have no expectations whatsoever. I've learned back in season one that the show is 90 % drama and 10 % sci-fi. Let's face it, PB is not the most realistic show around. Michael undergoes major brain surgery and yet, almost the next day -- if not THE next day -- he has no bandages, can hop around and even escape?!? Yeah, right! And that's just one of the oh so many WTF? unrealistic things that happen on the show. Once you accept that the show is not realistic and will sometimes stretch things a bit too much, you can appreciate it.
As spoilers started being leaked over the summer, I started to wonder if I would enjoy season four and if I should even give it a chance. The spoilers about The Company being central in the season's plot were really making me curious but the news that Michael Rapaport was joining as an agent and that Sarah Wayne Callies was returning did the exact opposite. Rapaport as an agent? Really? I didn't like him much in comedy roles, would he do better in a dramatic role? I had my doubts. As for SWC's return, I didn't miss her at all in the third season and was unsure about what she could bring to the table during season four.
Now that 16 episodes have aired, I must say that I was right about Rapaport and SWC. Agent Self has been instrumental in whatever happened this season. However, I found Rapaport's acting poor and almost annoying. I have yet to meet an FBI agent face to face but, if I just compare with the FBI agents on other TV series, Rapaport doesn't fit the role. I don't believe in him more now that he is a rogue agent. Self/Rapaport is annoying me so much that if it wasn't for me maybe missing an important detail, I would fast forward every scene he is in!
Before some of you throw bricks at me about Sarah Wayne Callies, I'll admit that I rooted for Sarah and Michael back in season one. However, the character served its purpose when the guys broke out. She was not that useful in season two and wasn't missed a bit in season three. Her presence on the show doesn't bother me this season but I think she should be added to the list of most useless characters on TV. Her role on the show can be summed up to: moping around, caring about Michael and, occasionally, going undercover to help out the guys -- and I'm sure they could have found ways to do without her. The network and show allowed Callies to come back mostly because the fans demanded it. Fans wanted Michael and Sarah together. Yes, the two of them are in the same vicinity but are they really "together"? They don't act like a real loving couple to me and I think that's what fans want and what will make Sarah a tad more relevant to the series.
As for the plot, I must say that I've been entertained a lot by everything Company related. I always like to uncover what the secret organizations in TV series are really up to (like Zzyzx on Kyle XY, Dharma on Lost and Massive Dynamic on Fringe). I also enjoyed the search for the Scylla cards as they gave the show a sort of Alias feel. Now that we know the brothers' mother is alive and has been working for The Company as well as the fact that somehow The Company may want to do some good, I'm even more intrigued. Is their ultimate goal really good? Even if it looks like their mother was somewhat brainwashed into working for The Company, was part of her willing to do so? As she been working against them while working for them? Will The Company recapture Michael and make him join their side? What will happen to Lincoln now that Michael has escaped? Will The Company try to recruit him too?
As for the boys' mother, is she really their mother or is it part of the brainwash? Okay, I'm stretching it a bit here but isn't it what Prison Break is all about? If she really is their mother, does she have their best interest at heart or not? Now that it's been revealed she was the buyer Self and Gretchen were trying to sell Scylla to, does The Company know she was trying to buy Scylla? Or maybe I'm right about her working against The Company while being in the inside and she wants Scylla for herself? Maybe start a Company 2.0? So many questions yet so many weeks to wait before getting any answers. Good thing spoilers exist!
What did you think of the first half of the season? Do you have answers to my many questions? What are your theories about The Company and the brothers' mother? Share your opinion, ideas and conspiracy theories below.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
12-23-2008 @ 3:49PM
erica said...
I used to be a fan of PB, but this crappy plot-hole ridden 4th season has proven that this should have been at most a 2-season show.
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12-23-2008 @ 3:41PM
Isabelle Carreau said...
There are loads of holes in the plot indeed, that's why you must watch the series not thinking too much about them and repeating to yourself that this is sci fi ;)
I must admit that even though I'm still watching the series, I think it should have been a one-year event.
12-23-2008 @ 7:24PM
Brian said...
PB has reached that strange point where they can do anything and I'll buy it. I was getting annoyed with Michael managing to always wear long sleeves in a 100 degree Panamanian prison, but they didn't want to invest the time in inking him up. And it got to be distracting. So when they just said, "hey we'll just go remove all this ink for you, you'll be up and walking around tomorrow" I was totally fine with it. They cracked his head open and did... something... to a tumor, and he's up running around a day later, remembering the cute poison trick and blowing up water heaters, and I'm fine with it. Cmon people, lets not forget TBag's arm was patched up by a vet, and somehow wasn't infected at all from axing to sewing.
Rapaport and Knepper (a tremendous actor) play such impossibly believable evil characters, it makes for loads of entertainment.
You can't apply logic to this show. Thats not what its about. You have to interpret the show in the correct context... don't take it so seriously. Like Chuck. Just sit back and enjoy the presentation.
12-24-2008 @ 3:15AM
Tim Dorr said...
I love when people say it should have been a one or two year thing. Back when the show was first being teased on TV over the summer, it was supposed to be a mini-series. So, 6 episodes and we're done. But something happened and it turned into a full season and eventually kept going beyond that.
And if you hate this season so far, you don't have much to worry about. Ratings have been dropping off year over year, so it's maybe got a 5th season left. I really don't predict a 6th, unless something magical happens.
12-24-2008 @ 8:32AM
dt3 said...
one thing i missed... where did "B"Ar""Ga""In" come from??
was that just something that came to Michael during his flashbacks??
Is that somethign that was mentioned in a previous episode I missed??
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12-24-2008 @ 8:36AM
Isabelle Carreau said...
I don't recall seeing "B"Ar""Ga""In" before. Then, again, I watched a few episodes while doing other things so it's possible it was on screen for a few seconds and I missed it. But if it was, they didn't make it to be a huge deal before last week.
If it's the first time we saw it, it was certainly not the first time Michael saw it since how else would it have popped up in his head? As I have said before, I know the show stretches things a bit and doesn't always make sense but if Michael didn't see "B"Ar""Ga""In" before and Westmorland's appearance is the one who planted it in his brain, that's way too far-fetched.
12-23-2008 @ 3:55PM
MERVE-THE-PERVE said...
I think they should have stuck to the original plan the showrunners kept talking about during season 1. They said the breakout would be 2 seasons and the final 2 seasons would be like The Fugitive. It looks like they changed those plans just a bit.
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12-23-2008 @ 3:56PM
erica said...
There are just too many things to ignore now. They're ret-conning the shows history, changing characters' personalities, and some of the twists are just too ridiculous.
There are hardly any good payoffs, and our "heroes" are always getting the short end. They're past the point where they can end the show in a satisfactory way.
The first half of the season was actually promising, but the Scylla storyline has worn out it's welcome.
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12-23-2008 @ 4:45PM
Ryan said...
It's not sci-fi, it's a soap opera with guns. I mean, come on: elaborate, high-tech, experimental brain surgery, dead girlfriends and mothers that are now alive, international conspiracies. All that's missing are steamy soft-light sex scenes in the shower (say that three times fast). When a show exists only for the next outlandish and scoff-inducing plot twist, it's jumped the shark. In fact, it did so sometime in season two.
That said, I don't miss an episode.
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12-23-2008 @ 5:58PM
McNulty said...
I hoped that this season would be a return to form for PB.Some episodes were good.However,i must say that this season is disappointing.Prison Break should have ended after the first or at least the second season.
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12-23-2008 @ 7:53PM
Aj said...
I loved Rappaport's line in the season finale "you're a whore....you're mother's a whore.......you're father's a whore...."
BTW hopefully the 2 extra episodes air, as after the show, it said the final 6 episodes air next Spring.
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12-23-2008 @ 10:37PM
Galley said...
Michael Rapaport was good in "The War at Home", but he's horrible in Prison Break.
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12-24-2008 @ 11:57PM
Zach said...
Also Beautiful Girls. Great movie, especially a young Natalie Portman.
But I agree as well, he is awful in Prison Break.
12-24-2008 @ 1:11AM
Benjy said...
You all think way too hard about Prison Break. It's just a high-octane action show. It's one of the shows I actually look forward to most each week. I like how they reinvented it into a caper show this year, and I can't wait to see how it all plays out. Every week there's a new twist or a WTF moment... and that works for me. I also like the cast dynamic a great deal (alhough Michael Rappaport is starting to wear on me).
Oh yeah... I DID miss SWC last season, and I'm glad she's back!
If I were to guess, I'd say that Michael's mother is working to undo The Company from the inside and will end up teaming up with Mike and Linc to bring The General and Company down (maybe with a little help from Lisa Tabak as well). I also predict that Sucre will be back in the fold prior to the finale.
As an aside, wasn't it great to see Charles (aka DB Cooper) again last week -- even if it was only in Michael's mind?
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12-24-2008 @ 8:26AM
Michael said...
Isabelle, I am so glad you are still reviewing PB. This is escapist television in as fine a form as CSI: Miami and I think this season has been as good as its first was. Michael Rappaport has been great the past couple of weeks and I have always thought Gretchen ruled the scenes she was in. Something tells me we haven't seen the last of her even though they guys left her shot and bleeding at the scene. How classic was her come on to Linc this episode??? Break out that school girl uniform again baby!!!
Seriously, all that is needed to enjoy this show is a healthy suspension of disbelief. The dialogue has been witty and one can easily grow to care about what happens to the characters - both good and bad. PB has shown that they aren't afraid to dispose of anyone, even if it means they have to resurrect them later on. Heck, even T-Bag has grown to be somewhat respectable lately. I half expect him to show up at Massive Dynamic and get a bionic arm before the end of next season! Awesome!
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12-24-2008 @ 2:05PM
MERVE-THE-PERVE said...
During Michaels surgery he was having those flashbacks. I think the bargain flashback was when they were stealing that scylla card from that safe from the office on the other side. Michael could hear the General and the other guy talking because they took part of the wall off to steal the card. But I don't think they showed the part of their conversation about bargain during that scene, only in the flashback.
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12-27-2008 @ 2:03AM
Rebecca said...
What the heck happened to Michael's tattoos?
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12-31-2008 @ 11:39AM
Jon said...
he had them laser removed .. sketchy yes , but it was in the show
12-30-2008 @ 8:35PM
Frank said...
I think season four is pushing the boundries a bit to much, I am determined to watch prison break to the end and I admit there are some entertaining parts to season four but its way to unrealstic what with spur of the moment rescues, and then Michael been rescued by the company for brain surgery then as stated above his quick recorvery to his brain surgery, it should have been left at 1 maybe 2 seasons but I guess these fucking rich hotshots just want to make more money. Anyway does anyone know when season four re-airs on Irish/Uk television cause Sky didn't bother saying it wasn't going to be on this week fucking cunts.
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12-31-2008 @ 11:44AM
Jon said...
Does anyone know if they have renewed it ? at the end of the promo they said " Only 4 Ep left" was that this year or for ever ?
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