Writer: Karyn Usher
Director: Karen Gaviola
Cast: Danay Garcia (Sofia Lugo), Dominic Purcell (Lincoln Burrows), Wade Williams (Brad Bellick), William Fichtner (Alexander Mahone), Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield), Chris Vance (James Whistler), Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (Susan B. Anthony), Amaury Nolasco (Fernando Sucre), Robert Knepper (Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell), Robert Wisdom (Lechero), Laurence Mason (Sammy), Carlo Alban (McGrady), Crystal Mantecon (Sister Mary Francis), Dominic Keating (Andrew Tyge), Alex Fernandez (Hurtado), F.J Rio (Augusto), Curtis Wayne (Cheo), Davi Jay (Papo), Carlos Compean (Colonel Escamilla), Alan T. Coleman (Inmate), Tommy G. Kendrick (Dive Shop Owner), Joseph Melendez (Rafael) & Mo Deja (Captain Pamaies)
Director: Karen Gaviola
Cast: Danay Garcia (Sofia Lugo), Dominic Purcell (Lincoln Burrows), Wade Williams (Brad Bellick), William Fichtner (Alexander Mahone), Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield), Chris Vance (James Whistler), Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (Susan B. Anthony), Amaury Nolasco (Fernando Sucre), Robert Knepper (Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell), Robert Wisdom (Lechero), Laurence Mason (Sammy), Carlo Alban (McGrady), Crystal Mantecon (Sister Mary Francis), Dominic Keating (Andrew Tyge), Alex Fernandez (Hurtado), F.J Rio (Augusto), Curtis Wayne (Cheo), Davi Jay (Papo), Carlos Compean (Colonel Escamilla), Alan T. Coleman (Inmate), Tommy G. Kendrick (Dive Shop Owner), Joseph Melendez (Rafael) & Mo Deja (Captain Pamaies)
Michael and Whistler finalize their escape plan with a day till the deadline, Lincoln scouts for a getaway route, Sucre is paid to smuggle goods into the prison, and a new inmate arrives in Sona..."I'm guessing you always won the elementary science fair."
-- James Whistler (Chris Vance), to Michael (Wentworth Miller)
After a great start, I can sense Prison Break beginning to slow down with Interference – an episode that contains a lot of incident regarding the escape plan, but unexciting subplots for Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) and Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) on the outside.
The escape plan itself seems to be extremely tenuous and near-suicidal, as it essentially boils down to a mid-afternoon scurry through a fence when a watchtower guard is blinded by sunlight for a few minutes! Of course, given the fact there are 20-plus episodes of Prison Break, it's clear the initial escape isn't going to work, which undermines some of the excitement.
Michael (Wentworth Miller) hopes to distract another watchtower by interfering with the guard's portable TV, using an electro-magnetic pulse. So, as is typical for most episodes of Prison Break, a chunk of the episode is taken up with the search for a microwave oven to help transmit the EMP.
The episode's most interesting new element is the appearance of new inmate Andrew Tyge (Star Trek Enterprise's Dominic Keating), who recognizes Whistler (Chris Vance), but knows him by a different name. It's the first real hint Whistler is hiding something from Michael, and perhaps girlfriend Sophia, but why he's so important has yet to be determined...
While most things inside the prison are perfectly entertaining, the subplots outside exist only to nudge a few new ideas into the foreground. Lincoln and Sofia (Danay Garcia) plan tomorrow's getaway, by scouting for a decent escape route; and Sucre, as Sona's new gravedigger, is given $5,000 to smuggle goods into the prison for Lechero's cousin Augusto (F.J Rio).
I'm a little disappointed how hellhole Sona has softened up since the season premiere. I never expected it to stay as grueling as those opening scenes of wanton murder and violence, but it's lost the bite it once had. Maybe that's just because you grow accustomed to things, but the atmosphere is missing that pervasive threat of danger. It seems too easy to avoid trouble now, or steal inmates' property.
One standout sequence has the Sona guards storming inside Sona to find a rifle one of their guards spotted from a cell window (actually Michael's binoculars), but their presence inside is at odds with Sona's established history. The prisoners were supposed to have rioted so badly that they forced the guards outside to maintain a perimeter -- but if they can so easily swoop back in and takeover... why don't they? Does the Panamanian government care that they're paying these wardens a salary to sit around outside in towers and patrol fences all day?
Overall, Interference is modestly entertaining for its scenes with Michael and Whistler plotting their imminent departure, while the introduction of Tyge -- as a means to begin unraveling Whistler's mystery -- is a welcome plot device. However, sluggish subplots for Lincoln and Sucre, not to mention a dumb story for T-Bag (Robert Knepper) and Lechero's prostitute, undermine the episode and drag it down a few notches.
5 November 2007
Sky One, 10.00 pm
