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Whilst last week’s opening was a decidedly poor affair, the second offering of Prison Break’s limited-run fifth season was a colossal step in the right direction.
The sub-plot of Lincoln, C-Note and Sheba heading into ISIL-controlled territory to rescue an electrical engineer was perhaps the only poor element this week. I confess that, like a lot of Prison Break’s sub-plots, this went over my head. The writers often throw in some random threat in order to have action scenes, but let’s face it, we probably wouldn’t have it any other way.
Here I wasn’t overly sure why they were rescuing this man. It wasn’t until the close of the episode that things clicked into place. But, that said, the car chase and subsequent shootout were at least exciting to watch – even if we’ve seen it countless times before.
No, this week rightly belonged to Michael, or as he’s now known, Kaniel Outis. With only nine episodes this year, the writers have made a smart move in throwing us into the very climax of Michael’s escape plan. There simply isn’t time to go through the entire execution like we did in season one. And thankfully Michael DOES remember Lincoln, but he’s playing a confusing game here. Whilst he does remember his brother, he isn’t particularly shocked or pleased to see him. Likewise, he appears to be BFFs with one of the leaders of ISIL – seriously, WTF is going on?!
At least there’s one consistency with old school Prison Break – Michael is still whispering every. Single. Word. Sometimes Prison Break requires subtitles.
Michael has always been portrayed as a good guy so it may actually be interesting to see him convert into the baddie. It certainly appears that way so far. There is evidence that he killed a CIA official, and it appears as though Michael orchestrated the deletion of Michael Scofield. Michael now never existed, but Kaniel always has. All of this said, of course, you just know that Michael is going to be playing another long game. He’s gonna be good, naturally. It’s confusing as to why Michael has chosen now to get in contact with Sara. I can’t wait to see their reunion.
Sara’s husband Jacob isn’t as wet this week, and he actually seems like a decent guy. I no longer think he’s gonna turn out to be a baddie, but there’s no way he’s going to survive. Prison Break has always been about Michael and Sara – the fandom simply won’t accept it if Sara stays with Jacob.
T-Bag and Sucre are MIA this week, but in their place we welcome back Kellerman, and thankfully his appearance isn’t as forced as Sucre’s last week. Kellerman now works for the State, and it’s he who gives Sara all the information she requires about Michael. All of this begs the question as to why Kellerman never came forward and told the others that Michael was still actually alive – unless he’s working secretly with Michael. And, I didn’t quite understand why Sara was hating on Kellerman so much. Fair enough he tried to kill her way back when, but it’s down to Kellerman that all of the characters received their pardons in season four. It’s time to let go, Sara!
As a side note, I fully expected a better reaction from Sara about Michael being alive. She barely wept, and she barely seemed bothered…
I questioned last week as to whether there was any point in Prison Break returning, but I stand corrected this week. Creator Paul Scheuring is doing an excellent job of portraying three controversial topics on a mainstream American television: Islam, homosexuality within the Middle East, and terrorism. It’s particularly pertinent given the current political climate in America, and I am very interested in where these three strands are heading. And it’s also particularly relevant given how lead Wentworth Miller came out as gay – by denouncing Russia and its outdated laws and views on homosexuality.
There’s hope yet for this Prison Break revival. Fingers crossed now that we have the reintroductions out of the way the story can progress nicely.
