PRISON BREAK 3.13 – "The Art Of The Deal"

Writers: Matt Olmstead & Seth Hoffman
Director: Nelson McCormick

Cast: Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield), William Fichtner (Alexander Mahone), Wade Williams (Brad Bellick), Dominic Purcell (Lincoln Burrows), Robert Knepper (Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell), Chris Vance (James Whistler), Robert Wisdom (Lechero), Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (Susan B. Anthony), Danay Garcia (Sofia Lugo), Amaury Nolasco (Fernando Sucre), Carlo Alban (McGrady), Marshall Allman (LJ Burrows), Joseph Melendez (Rafael), Crystal Mantecon (Sister Mary Francis), Julio Cedillo (General Mestas), Gustavo Mellado (Alfonso Gallego), Rene Rivera (Police Officer at Checkpoint), Michael Fraguada (Cantinero), Carlos Sanchez (Guard #1), Armando L. Leduc (Menjavar), John Elliott (ND Agent #2/ Sniper), Christian Bowman (ND Agent), Lidia Porto (Mrs. Gallego), Maria Robles (Panamanian Woman), Marco Antonio Rodriguez (Policeman #1), Glenn Bradley (Policeman #2), Sam Medina (Knuckle Up Dude) & Gocha Chertkoev (Russian Dude)

Michael and Lincoln have no choice but to hand Whistler over in exchange for LJ and Sofia, Sucre faces harsh treatment, and Sona dissolves into anarchy...

Michael: When the exchange is over and LJ is safe,
you and I are gonna spend some quality time.
Susan: When the exchange is over, you better run for your life.

A casualty of the recent writers' strike, Prison Break's third season comes to a premature (but commendably unhurried) end with episode 13, as The Art Of The Deal masterminds another renewal of the series...

Having escaped from Sona, Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) and Michael (Wentworth Miller) arrived at a factory to exchange Whistler (Chris Vance) for LJ (Marshall Allman) and Sofia (Danay Garcia) -- only to watch helplessly as Whistler made a break for it, stealing a conveniently parked truck and heading for freedom.

Consequently, this last-minute disruption to Linc's plot to thwart Company bitch Susan (Jodi Lynn O'Keefe) is dealt a major blow, but fortunately Linc and Michael manage to give chase in their own car, pursuing Whistler through Panama streets – eventually culminating in a foot-chase, ending with Whistler's recapture.

Forced to think on their feet, with Susan having arrived at the factory expecting to make the exchange, it's up to Michael to concoct a scheme to ensure they get their loved ones back safely, without opening themselves up to assassination.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of Prison Break is the amusingly inexhaustible plans Michael can improvise. To think it took him months to pre-plan his escape from Fox River in season 1, whereas these days he's breaking out of foreign prisons in under a fortnight!

Michael arranges to meet Susan at a public marketplace to make the exchange, and the moment they meet outside prison walls is particularly tense – as Susan killed Michael's girlfriend Sara, isn't used to taking orders from "the brothers", and yet is quietly amazed Michael became the first person to breakout of Sona. She even suggests he take a job with the Company...

Susan has a sniper trained on Linc during their chit-chat, but Michael proves he's one step ahead by having Linc make a move once it's confirmed LJ and Sofia are alive – telling Susan that the real exchange will happen later, before making a veiled threat they have unfinished business regarding Sara's death...

Meanwhile, Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) has been uncovered as an escaped felon in league with the escapees, and is being beaten by Sona guards who demand to know where Michael is. Sucre has no information to give them, but nobody believes him -- later forcing him out into No Man's Land to dig his own grave, unless he starts being more cooperative.

Inside Sona, T-Bag (Robert Knepper) has returned to find the prison in chaos after the jailbreak, with a wounded Lechero (Robert Wisdom) being kicked to death on the yard floor. T-Bag goes to his aide and, with help from Bellick (Wade Williams), manages to get Lechero back to his trashed quarters. With Sona in the grip of anarchy, Lechero retrieves a hidden gun to protect himself, but doesn't look likely to last much longer without medical attention.

The exchange point is re-arranged for Susan, who arrives with her Company men at a public museum – irritated to find it has a front door metal detector, forcing her to go inside unarmed and position her team at the exterior exits.

Inside, Michael, Linc and Whistler congregate in a quiet room of antiquities, as Susan arrives with LJ and Sofia. The exchange is made smoothly, and Sofia implores her boyfriend to give Susan the coordinates to end this nightmare – perturbed when Susan laughs in her face, before revealing the "coordinates" were just a ruse. Sofia, unsettled by Whistler's deception all this time, decides she can't trust him, and instead sides with Linc's group...

Michael is once again ahead of Susan's plan to kill them when they step outside, so intentionally smashes an exhibit -- setting off the building's security alarm. As part of the mass crowd leaving the museum, Whistler is frisked by a security guard – prompting one of Susan's men to shoot at the guard. In the ensuing panic and commotion, more shots are fired and Sofia is hit by a stray bullet. Linc rushes to her aide with LJ, as Michael gets a gun from his car and aims it at Susan – hesitating and then distracted by a museum security guard who takes pot-shots at her himself. Susan manages to escape with Whistler, as LJ persuades his dad to leave Sofia before official arrives and start asking questions...

The episode's weakest moments come courtesy of McGrady (Carlo Alban), the basketball-loving Sona escapee, who's almost apprehended at a security checkpoint whilst stowing way in his father's truck. McGrady's storyline eventually leads to a happy ending for the Latino boy, but I doubt anyone has built up any interest or investment in McGrady's happiness. He was always just an underwritten distraction.

Inside Sona, T-Bag tells Lechero of his plan to get them out: by bribing a sympathetic guard he spoke to outside with $50,000. A dying Lechero is forced to agree to the last-chance escape plan, and his contact Sister Francis (Crystal Mantecon) smuggles in the cash– reminding T-Bag of her affection for him, since he protected her in a previous episode.

But let's not forget about Mahone (William Fichtner), who we find propping up a bar and ordering club soda, apparently waiting for someone, as he's "between jobs". That someone turns out to be Whistler, who offers Mahone a place on their team. Mahone accepts – but not before predicting Susan's the "weak link" in the chain and Michael won't rest until they're all dead.

Sucre is facing certain-death in No Man's Land, forced to lie inside the grave he's dug, muttering prayers as he's slowly buried alive. However, General Mestas (Julio Cedillo) puts an end to the horror, confident Sucre really doesn't have any information to give. At that moment, Michael calls Sucre's cell-phone, and the guard tells Sucre to get Michael's position during their conversation. Ever loyal, Sucre instead alleviates Michael's concerns for him, before crushing the phone underfoot...

At hospital, LJ informs Linc and Michael that Sofia is going to recover, and he passes on a message from her to look inside Whistler's metal briefcase she found at her home. LJ also gives Michael a gift from Sara before she was killed: the origami rose he made for her back in Fox River.

Later, Linc and Michael search Sofia's house and find Whistler's briefcase, opening it to find documents pertaining to a "James Leif". Linc isn't that keen to get involved, just relieved to have his brother and son back safe after everything. But it seems Michael can't let things rest...

Things aren't going well for Lechero, as T-Bag reveals the $50,000 he managed to secure for their bribe won't be used for that purpose –quickly smothering Lechero with a pillow. Later, in the middle of Sona's yard, T-Bag announces the death of Lechero and the end of his dictatorship, rousing the crowd with a speech about "convict equality", before gaining their trust by returning the cash Lechero extorted from them...

The Art Of The Deal ends on a mesmerising note, set to the strains of Rebekah Del Rio singing "Llorando" ("Crying"), in a montage that's quite effective, despite wobbling towards pretension: Mahone leaves with Whistler in a car, T-Bag is being heralded by his fellow inmates, Sucre is thrown inside Sona by guards, and Michael is seen driving along a Panama highway alone (with a gun and the origami rose by his side) seeking revenge for Sara's death...

It all makes for a very enjoyable and essential episode for fans, even if a few of the twists and revelations don't make sense – yet, anyway. Are we to believe Whistler's coordinates (and presumably the bird book itself) really were a ruse all this time? If so, why bother having T-Bag find the missing bird book last week? I think the writers just failed to come up with a plausible revelation for that item.

It seems Whistler is a high-ranking Company man at this stage – but one who can persuade Mahone to join his clique! Did they agree this inside Sona? Why wouldn't Mahone just go back to his family, instead of team-up with the Company again?

More believable is Linc's decision to put LJ's safety before his brother's simple-minded revenge, although obviously he'll change his mind in a future episode! Now that the series has shifted its chairs around, it looks like we'll be dealing with a string-pulling T-Bag in Sona, with Bellick as his right-hand man, lording it over Sucre. Clearly, Linc and Michael will have to rescue their friend from Sona soon – but are we really going to have to watch another prison break? We've already seen 3 play out in a mere 13 episodes! Oh well, I guess that's the title of the show...

So yes, more questions to rattle around your brain until the story resumes, but I can't deny I'm still under the show's spell: it's the most gleefully ridiculous, yet consistently compelling TV show of the past few years. I could scrutinize and critique it to pieces, but as an action-adventure thriller, it does its job effectively enough -- and season 3 has been consistently stronger than season 2, if never as tightly plotted as season 1.


25 February 2008
Sky One, 10.00 pm