PRISON BREAK 3.11 – "Under & Out"

Writer: Zack Estrin
Director: Greg Yaitanes

Cast: Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield), Dominic Purcell (Lincoln Burrows), Robert Knepper (Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell), Chris Vance (James Whistler), Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (Susan B. Anthony), Danay Garcia (Sofia Lugo), Wade Williams (Brad Bellick), Amaury Nolasco (Fernando Sucre), Robert Wisdom (Lechero), William Fichtner (Alexander Mahone), Carlo Alban (McGrady), Joseph Melendez (Rafael) & Manuel Marrero (Auturo Monjares)

Michael makes last-minute preparations for the tunnel escape, forced to step up his plans because of torrential rain...

T-Bag: You know, I've been thinking. It doesn't have to be
every man for himself. You and I can help each other.
Lechero: If I need a hand, I'll find someone with a spare.

There are only 2 episodes left of this strike-shortened season (not including this one), and rumours suggest it's unlikely to return for a fourth year. I'm hoping they're going to continue with the planned 23 episodes for season 3, though – as not getting a proper conclusion would cause a fan riot even the inmates of Sona would shy away from!

It certainly seems like events are building to an imminent end, though -- as Michael (Wentworth Miller) announces to his escape team that they have 24-hours to dig up through their tunnel and flee across No Man's Land...

Heavy rain is the latest problem facing the wannabe-escapees, as a torrential downpour begins to seep through their excavated hole, creating a bubbling sinkhole on the surface. Unbeknownst to Michael, T-Bag (Robert Knepper) is busy trying to endear himself to Lechero (Robert Wisdom) and Whistler (Chris Vance), aiming to gain their support on the outside.

Likewise, Bellick (Wade Williams) cosies up to Mahone (William Fichtner) about them becoming the "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" of the escapees; rather pathetically hoping to ingratiate himself with Mahone's family, too! Strangely, Mahone doesn't give Bellick the hard brush-off – although he clearly doesn't think it's a good idea.

Outside, Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) meets Susan (Jodi Lynn O'Keefe) in a bar, where she hands him with the bomb he smuggled into her car last week. Clearly losing patience with him, she threatens the life of pregnant Maricruz back in Chicago, unless he complies with her demands to keep her informed of Lincoln and Michael's progress. I'm really enjoying O'Keefe recently, as she's particularly good at being detestable – with her stern, froggy beauty and quick temper.

Meanwhile, Michael still has his suspicions about Whistler's true identity, and writer Zack Estrin suddenly takes steps to make Whistler's bird book of cryptic coordinates more integral to the plot. The coordinates are clearly what the mysterious Company are interested in, although Whistler is having difficulty decrypting it...

Steps are also being taken to provide Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) with a love-interest now, in the lithe shape of Whistler's girlfriend Sofia (Danay Garcia). Unsubtle hints are dropped throughout, not least from Susan – who kidnaps Sofia and forces Linc to make a phone call to Whistler, enabling him to hear his girlfriend get tortured – spurring him on to decrypt his bird book.

Michael's escape plan also hinges on there being total darkness across No Man's Land when his team crawl up through their hole. To secure that cover, he has Sucre scout a nearby power generator to identify its make/model and customer support number. From inside Sona, Michael uses Lechero's phone to talk to the generator helpline – who inform him the generator will kick in 30-seconds after a power failure.

Sucre also takes the time to sabotage some jeeps that patrol Sona, giving Michael an improved chance of escape once they're over the fence. Unfortunately, he's coming under suspicion from fellow Sona workers, with one guard later informing him they've investigated his background more thoroughly and discovered he's an escaped US convict. Well, it was about time! It was always a bit of a stretch to believe a prison wouldn't realize one of its workers is an escaped felon!

With Sofia held hostage in a warehouse, Whistler has miraculously managed to decrypt the coordinates Susan wants – funny what pressure can do, eh? Of course, this begs the question why the Company didn't just threaten Sofia's life from the beginning in exchange for these enigmatic coordinate – instead of concocting an elaborate escape plan involving Michael and Linc!

Michael pleads with Whistler not to give Susan the coordinates -- as everyone will thus become expendable to the Company, and he fears for the lives of his brother and nephew. But Whistler feels he can't risk Sofia's life and has to take that chance.

As the tunnel dig reaches its conclusion underground, Michael, Whistler, Linc, Susan and Sofia all meet at the visitor's pen – with Whistler ready to handover the coordinates. However, he decides to only give Susan half the information, promising to give her the other half when he knows everyone is safe after their escape. Susan is impressed he's decided to show some mettle, and has no choice but to accept his conditions...

Later that night, the escape is moments away. The team are gathered in the tunnel, awaiting Sona's power failure – to be caused by Linc driving a hijacked bus into a power line. Inevitably, to Michael's great frustration, T-Bag and Lechero threaten Whistler's life, demanding to be first out the hole because of the short 30-second escape time. Michael is forced to agree to their demands. Linc hijacks the bus and drives it headfirst into an electrical pole, sparks flying as Sona is plunged to darkness, just as the patrolling prison jeeps simultaneously breakdown. The time is now. 30 seconds.

Under & Out is another relatively straight-forward story, with Prison Break clearly beginning to riff on its subplots, making quick developments that don’t always make sense (the bird book's sudden solve-all relevance), and falling back on kidnapping and torture when things grow stale.

This season hasn't been particularly good for character development – with only talented character actor William Fichtner managing to imbue his character with subtleties that aren't on the page. Everyone else is pretty much a puppet in service of the wayward plot – particularly T-Bag and Bellick – and even initially interesting characters like Lechero and Whistler are beginning to turn stale.

However, Under & Out gets by purely because it's another pivotal moment -- with the second escape attempt imminent. Ordinarily, knowing there are 23 episodes in a season, it wouldn't carry as much weight as it does... but I'm intrigued to see if the writers actually go ahead with the escape, and dedicate the last half of season 3 to another manhunt. Or will the escape simply go wrong and Linc will once again have to plead with Susan to give them another chance? Or perhaps only some of the characters will escape, and the show will divide into three distinct strands (the escaped, the imprisoned, and the jail-breakers)?

As usual, it's the unpredictable nature of Prison Break that keeps it alive. The writers may struggle to keep momentum going every week, but they generally succeed – despite the fact it results in dumb, if oddly compelling episodes. I don’t think there's any mileage left in Prison Break's concept after this season, so I'm just hoping there's a worthwhile resolution to Michael and Lincoln's torturous few years!


11 February 2008
Sky One, 10.00 pm