WRITER: Nick Santora DIRECTOR: Bobby Roth
CAST: Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield), Dominic Purcell (Lincoln Burrows), William Fichtner (Agent Mahone), Wade Williams (Bellick), Robert Knepper (T-Bag), Peter Stormare (Abruzzi), Sarah Wayne Callies (Dr Sarah Tancredi), Lane Garrison (Tweener), Paul Adelstein (Special Agent Paul Kellerman), Matt DeCaro (Roy Geary), Holly Valance (Nika Volek), Barbara Eve Harris (NA Group Sponsor), Kristin Malko (Debra Jean), Estella Perez (Recovering Addict #1), Larry Dotson (Recovering Addict #2), Danielle Divecchio (Sylvia Abruzzi), J.B Blanc (Jerry Curtin) & Demi Lovato (Danielle Curtin)
Michael, Lincoln and Nika are captured by Bellick, Abruzzi decides to exact his revenge on Fibonnaci, Tweener makes his way to Utah, and T-Bag preys on a young girl...US television certainly knows how to do break-neck pacing. If the giddy thrills of 24 aren't enough, there's always the continually revealing Heroes, and Prison Break also refuses to kick back and chill.
In First Down, pug-nosed Bellick captures Michael, Lincoln and Nika within the first ten minutes (against expectation) and stalls their escape plan with his own desire to find Westmoreland's stashed $5 million. Lad's mag favourite Holly Valance shines as hooker Nika, although a dodgy European accent and dodgy pink tracksuit tarnishes her pussycat sexuality.
The alternating sub-plots involve Tweener, T-Bag, Abruzzi and Sarah. Peter Stormare makes a welcome return as gangster Abruzzi, out to avenge his jailing by killing informant Fibonacci, with a memorable finale. Lane Garrison's wannabe white gangster Tweener is easily the silliest character, but believably played by the actor and proving to be unexpectedly entertaining.
Robert Knepper was magnificent as creepy paedophile T-Bag last year, but the jury is out on his effectiveness in the outside world. After reattaching his hand, he seems lost and pointless in the mix. First Down finds T-Bag getting close to an adolescent girl, in scenes that threaten to disturb, but ultimately lose their nerve.
The Sarah Tancredi subplot, with the disgraced doctor on a drug rehab course being spied on by Agent Kellerman (Adelstein), also seems contrived and unnecessary right now. A moment written to strengthen the Michael/Sarah love story signals the writers' intentions to take her character further, so I'm hopeful a believable story arc soon comes into play.
The cat-and-mouse spotlight is taken off Michael and Linc, instead focusing on Tweener and Abruzzi. William Fichtner's Agent Mahone gains some depth, too: he has an obvious history with a criminal called Oscar Shales, who seems to have untold parallels to Michael. Mahone is again seen popping pills, and watching the stern agent spiral into rage cracks his ice-cool veneer very nicely.
First Down offers a respite from non-stop action, as the meat of each sub-plot is contained in small locations (a shack, a car, a motel, etc.) The episode is nicely structured by writer Nick Santora, with events coming together for an expertly designed twist, all topped off with a not-so-fond farewell...
