WRITER: Zack Estrin DIRECTOR: Vincent Misiano
CAST: Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield), Dominic Purcell (Lincoln Burrows), William Fichtner (Agent Mahone), Sarah Wayne Callies (Dr Sara Tancredi), Rockmond Dunbar (C-Note), Amaury Nolasco (Sucre), Robert Knepper (T-Bag), Reggie Lee (Bill Kim), Wade Williams (Bellick), Jason Davis (Agent Wheeler), Barbara Eve Harris (Lang), Leon Russom (Pad Man), Helena Klevorn (Dede Franklin), Kim Coates (Richard Sullins) & Cynthia Kaye McWilliams (Kacee Franklin)
Michael and Linc head to Panama without Sara, T-Bag preys on a prostitute, C-Note is persuaded to snitch on Mahone and Sucre is forced to help Bellick steal T-Bag's millions...The final stretch begins with the brothers successfully making it to Panama, although Michael is upset Sara isn't with them and racked with guilt over all the death and upset their actions have caused. It's great to see the brothers clash and their scuffle in Panama is a the one oasis in the relative mundanity of their plot.
Far more interesting is Agent Wheeler's growing belief that Agent Mahone is a murderer and loose cannon in the FBI. This has been a slowly unfolding plot-point for ages now, carefully unspooling over time and looking set to reach a big conclusion. In related scenes, C-Note agrees to testify against Mahone's actions if he's granted freedom...
Unfortunately, Robert Knepper continues to be wasted as T-Bag. His character doesn't work in the context of the show beyond prison walls. at best you can hope for occassional perverse thrills, but Knepper's character is far less interesting than last year's psycho jailbird.
Sucre reluctantly partners Bellick, who is holding Maricruz hostage but will release her if he gets his hands on T-Bag's $5 million. It's another twist of convenience to reenergize two characters and it works well enough.
Michael's tattoo's make a return to the plot, being feverishly decrypted by Mahone to uncover the final part of his plan. As always, the sheer ridiculousness of the tattoo's is good fun -- quite why Michael needs elaborate tat's to remember the simplest facts is laughable. Complex prison schematics, sure... but a boat named after your own mother?
Overall, Panama is a decent enough episode that keeps you entertained. I'm more interested in Mahone's situation and Bill Kim's mysterious boss "Pad Man" these days, as the conspiracy against Lincoln has been stretched too long and the subplots often test credibility. But the trick Prison Break performs weekly is in making its haphazard subplots race by so skillfully that you don't register their collective silliness until after the episode ends.
