By Faith McQuinn
Last time on PRISON BREAK, Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) was slowly walking towards a bloody box in the basement.
This week, we found out what was in that box…
But it wasn’t until around ten minutes into the episode, and, of course, we had to see flashes of last week’s ender God knows how many times before we get a quick flash of the contents. It’s Sara’s head.
When the show’s producers said they were going to come up with creative ways to get around Sarah Wayne Callies not being on the show, I didn’t think they meant killing her. Alas, Michael (Wentworth Miller) has no one waiting for him on the outside, and his big brother Lincoln is extremely smart to keep this bit of information to himself. Michael has enough stress on the inside to worry about.
It’s time for him to get down to business with getting Whistler (Chris Vance) out of Sona. What’s the plan? We don’t really know yet, but it does involve a fake gold cross, a non-electric fence, and the help of a gravedigger.
Michael’s ever-thinking brain comes up with an idea to turn the power off in the prison. Lechero (Robert Wisdom) is so worried about not being able to charge his cell phone battery that he comes looking for the only engineer he knows--Michael. How Michael knew he’d come for him, I have not a clue, but obviously, it was in the script that way. Michael tells Lechero the only way to fix the power is to get outside the gates.
So what is this ditch that Michael is digging? It’s obviously not to fix the wiring. Is he going to tunnel his way out of Sona the same way he did at Fox River? I guess I’ll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, I’m going to keep wishing death upon Bellick (Wade Williams).
This week, Bellick is not just an annoying eavesdropper. He’s now a flat out snitch. After overhearing Michael and Mahone (William Fitchner) talk about escaping, Bellick runs to Lechero like he’s a toddler telling on his older brother. Just like when he told half the prison about the whereabouts of Whistler, he must spill the beans about Michael. Of course, Michael is far smarter than Bellick and has prepared for such a snag. For his snitching, Bellick gets a back full of scalding coffee. Is it bad that I smiled a bit during that scene?
Well, if it is bad for me to enjoy it. It’s OK for T-Bag (Robert Knepper) to relish in it. Even though I couldn’t see his face during the scene, I’m sure he took a little pleasure in it. Heck, he suffocated a man a few scenes before so he could get in good with Lechero. Plus, he gave Mahone some free drugs in the hopes of…what? Giving Mahone a chance to get back at Michael? I’m still working this one out.
Meanwhile, on the outside, Lincoln and Sofia (Danay Garcia) are trying to bribe the gravedigger to no avail. To move the process along, Susan (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe) just kills the man. Who’s there to take his place? Good ol’ Sucre (Amaury Nolasco). It looks like the old gang is getting back together!
As the last act ends, Michael and Whistler look out onto the grounds as Sucre covers a freshly dead inmate with some sort of liquid. Whistler wants to know what it is. Michael explains that it keeps the smell of decay away and, at a certain temperature, burns through metal. Close up of the fence as pieces dissolve. Hmm, does this mean that Michael has to keep killing prisoners so Sucre can inconspicuously spray the fence? I guess you do what you’ve got to do.
A satisfying episode to say the least, but there are still questions I’m pondering. What exactly is T-Bag’s deal? Does he just want to be comfortable during his prison time, or is he really hoping Lechero can get him out? Susan returns Whistler’s bird book. Why? How long before Susan and Lincoln end up in bed together? Seriously, it just a matter of time. And, I have to put it out there, was that really Sara’s head in that box?