Director: Bobby Roth
Prison Break is like a shark: if it stops moving, it dies. "The Price" finds the Scofield Six after their last Scylla data-card; but this one belongs to General Krans (Leon Russom) himself. After a slightly unnecessary flashback to a robbery Linc (Dominic Purcell) was involved with 7 years ago, he suggests using the same car-ramming technique on The General's limo as he's driven to work, then pose as paramedics to steal his card…As the episode builds towards the planned attack on The General, matters are complicated elsewhere when Roland (James Hiroyuki Liao), growing bitter about his dogsbody status within the team, decides to make contact with Company hitman Wyatt (Cress Williams) and turn traitor -- for a hefty price.
Over at the peculiarly empty GATE offices (is it a weekend?), Gretchen (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) reveals to T-Bag (Robert Knepper) that Scylla is worth $125 million and manages to reassure Mr. Feng that Scylla will be in his possession soon. An uneasy alliance is formed between Gretchen and Michael (Wentworth Miller), as the woman responsible for kidnapping and torturing his girlfriend Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) agrees to give Agent Self (Michael Rappaport) vital pages from Whistler's bird book, but only if she can eventually get to keep Scylla.
"The Price" is a strong example of Prison Break doing what it does best: entertaining with bruising efficiency, while cheekily expanding its concept. I'm always pleased by how well the show judges attention spans, and how quickly it realizes what's working and what isn't. Any backtracking and 180-degree turns aren't always smooth or plausible, but the writers get away with it because a certain ridiculousness has always been part of this show's DNA…
Here, the nature of Scylla as a "little black book" of Company contacts is called into question (first by Gretchen's amused snort at that inaccurate description, and then by The General's decision to move Scylla to a different location -- inferring it's something tangible.) My guess: some kind of experimental bomb, with the Scylla-cards as ignition keys and GATE as the secret control room?
We're also shown more explicitly what Sara went through at the hands of Gretchen in Panama, which again showcases Prison Break's sometimes unsavoury reliance on torture and violence to elicit easy gasps. And I'm not sure we really needed to have Sara and Gretchen's history raked up in such style. A later scene where Gretchen tries to "make amends", by offering Sara the chance to horsewhip her own already-scarred back, was disturbing and slightly childish. However, Callies copes well with this blunt material and I always enjoy O'Keefe's crazy-eyed expressions. I can't think of another female villain with a more punchable face on television right now -- and I mean that as a compliment!
Roland has never worked as a character; partly because he's a smart-ass computer hacker cliché, but also because none of the other characters ever liked him either. Not one. So it was always difficult to enjoy his presence, or even feel much sympathy for his situation. This episode ends his tenure on the show in a memorable way; not enough to have you reflect on his time more kindly, but enough to count.
Overall, "The Price" is something of a minor turning point for season 4 -- in how it repurposes Scylla, trims the cast, establishes some new dynamics, and ends with the surprise capture of a lead villain. Away from the mission to snatch The General's card, I was intrigued to learn that Linc wasn't sweetness and light before he was originally jailed (will we learn more about his criminal antics?), disappointed to see Don Self reduced to errand boy again, and saddened to hear a throwaway comment confirm Agent Kellerman was murdered at the end of season 2. My hopes for a surprise return are officially in tatters!
20 October 2008
Fox, 9/8c
Cast: Wentworth Miller (Michael), Amaury Nolasco (Sucre), William Fichtner (Mahone), Dominic Purcell (Lincoln), Sarah Wayne Callies (Sara), Robert Knepper (T-Bag), Wade Williams (Bellick), Michael Rapaport (Don Self), Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (Gretchen), James Hiroyuki Liao (Roland), Shannon Lucio (Trishanne), Leon Russom (General Krans) & Cress Williams (Wyatt)
