PRISON BREAK 3.9 – "Boxed In"

Writer: Karyn Usher
Director: Craig Ross

Cast: Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield), Dominic Purcell (Lincoln Burrows), Wade Williams (Bellick), William Fichtner (Mahone), Amaury Nolasco (Sucre), Danay Garcia (Sofia Lugo), Robert Wisdom (Lechero), Robert Knepper (T-Bag), Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (Susan B. Anthony), Chris Vance (James Whistler), Barbara Eve Harris (FBI Agent Lang), Marshall Allman (LJ Burrows), Laurence Mason (Sammy), Michael Seal (Octave), F.J. Rio (Augusto), Rey Gallegos (Cristobel) & Castulo Guerra (General Zavala)

Michael is put into solitary confinement, Linc is reunited with LJ, Susan lures Sucre, Mahone returns to Sona, T-Bag tries to get on the escape team, and Bellick makes an enemy...

"Lincoln causes as many problems as he solves. He needs to
get out of his own way, and I think you can assist him.
I stay one step ahead, and you get 50 grand."

-- Susan B. Anthony (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe)

Prison Break's ability to fight its way out of dead-ends continues with Boxed In, an episode that unofficially acts as the beginning of season 3's "act two", with the escape plan thwarted and Michael (Wentworth Miller) enduring solitary confinement inside a "hot box" -- stuck in the sweltering heat to die, unless he spills the beans to General Zavala (Castulo Guerra).

Unexpectedly, that's exactly what he does, and it's not long before Zavala is trying to corroborate Michael's unlikely story about a nefarious "Company", his mission to get Whistler (Chris Vance) out of Sona, and the kidnapping of his nephew.

Outside, Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) suspects his usefulness to the Company is nearing an end after both attempts to get Whistler out of Sona met with failure, but is instead given fresh motivation to stay compliant, when Susan B. Anthony (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) allows him a minute with his son LJ (Marshall Allman).

Mahone (William Fichtner) is driven back to Sona after being laughed out of court, and there's a touching scene with his colleague Agent Lang (Barbara Eve Harris), who gives him a lucky coin that helped her father through bad times. Fichtner once again proves he's the best actor working on the show -- too good, actually; as Peter Stormare once was. I'm actually more invested in Mahone's situation than Michael's at times, as you genuinely feel for the tormented lawman.

The writers really enjoy using Bellick (Wade Williams) as an all-purpose punch-bag, and Boxed In again sees the gruff former warden annoying a prisoner called Octave (Michael Seal) – by refusing to clear up some vomit. The dreaded "chicken foot" is soon resting on Bellick's bed, meaning he must face a fight to the death in the prison yard. His complaint against Octave's challenge falls on deaf ears with Sammy (Laurence Mason), Lechero's right-hand man who's quickly becoming disenfranchised with the prison hierarchy and beginning to cause Lechero (Robert Wisdom) grief. A mutiny seems very likely...

Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) appears for a small subplot, still being asked to smuggle packages into Sona for a mysterious man, while helping Linc save Michael and rescue LJ. There's also some seed-sewing going on when Sucre and Linc fake an argument, which goes reported to Susan by a Company snoop, and she decides to try and get Sucre on her side with a $50,000 lure.

But it's Michael's situation that pushes the main plot, as General Zavala begins to believe his incredible story, particularly when Whistler grudgingly backs him up. After that, Whistler reveals the real name of Company stooge Susan B. Anthony – Gretchen Morgan – and Zavala's men orchestrate a capture, during her prearranged meeting with Linc...

With Susan in custody, it's uncharted waters for Michael and Whistler, who know they're playing a dangerous game getting the authorities involved in this underworld. Susan puts on a believable façade of innocence, but Zavala's ruthless streak is revealed when he tortures her with waterboarding, and her resilience to the technique just proves to him she's lying...

Now that Mahone is back inside, he begins suffering massive withdrawals – a weakness T-Bag (Robert Knepper) jumps on, by offering him free drugs in exchange for killing Sammy, thus gaining T-Bag a ticket onto the "escape team", promised by Whistler. Inspired by Agent Lang's belief in him, Mahone declines T-Bag's "help", and opts to go cold turkey instead – no matter how painful the process.

Bellick's fight goes surprisingly well, with a surprise victory over the physically superior Octave, although T-Bag correctly deduces that Bellick covered his hand-wraps in turpentine and some of his blows therefore rendered Octave delirious and weakened during the fight.

Zavala's interrogation finally makes Susan crack, and she admits to being involved, but merely as "the babysitter" for kidnapped LJ. In Zavala's fatally dumb move, he accompanies her with minimal support to the shack where LJ was being held – only to discover it's empty, just before Susan manages to free herself and kill her captors.

Boxed In eventually resets the situation – with Michael and Whistler back inside Sona, ready with a fresh escape plan (digging upwards through an old tunnel), Mahone is back inside (although it's clear the writers want him to beat his drug addiction, so Fichtner can bring Mahone back to the snakelike hitman he was in season 2), and the potential outside sympathy from Zavala is nipped in the bud.

Still, there are some signs of real development – with Sucre/Lincoln's secret plot against Susan, the faltering influence of Lechero, T-Bag suddenly having a decent plan to work with, and the final revelation that Sammy is the one receiving Sucre's smuggled packages -- and has just taken receipt of a gun...

As usual, a lot of what goes down in Prison Break has no ultimate affect on anything, and exists to sustain this episode and nudge another batch of subplots along. Regardless, Boxed In provides another solid hour of surprise, incident, two tortures (one quite grizzly), but little indication the writers know where they're going. Am I the only one who thinks the tunnel dig idea is mundane, and that Bellick serves no actual purpose on the show now?

I know Prison Break will get on-track, once a few episodes lay the groundwork for this new phase of season 3. Why? Well, because it's always proved so in the past. Sure, it'll strain to get there (remember the woolly days of season 2's third quarter?), but I'm sure it'll be fun, crazy, silly, entertaining and vigorously handled.


28 January 2008
Sky One, 10.00 pm