Episode 20 - Cowboys and Indians
29 July 2009
Review
Synopsis: Michael and Lincoln hide in the hotel as the police close in. Mahone warns Sarah to stay put. Self heads into the hotel to help but is found by another Homeland Security Agent who he has to kill. Michael plans an escape but he and Lincoln are rescued by Becker. Once back together Krantz orders the execution of Self’s wife to show everyone how serious he is. Self leaps into the marina after taking a bullet to the leg. Christina makes a deal to sell Scylla to India. Michael works out where she will withdraw money to confirm the transfer. Mahone, Michael and Lincoln hold up the bank and steal Scylla but Lincoln gets pinned down in the shootout with Christina’s security. T-Bag works out where Sarah is and Krantz threatens to kill her unless Michael brings him Scylla. Then Christina calls and shoots Lincoln in the rib cage, if she doesn’t get Scylla he will die.
The Good: Now that’s a cliff hanger! If Prison Break were a different show this could be one of the greatest dilemmas a character has ever had to face. But as characters routinely evade capture and turn the tables on those pointing guns at them, we know this is unlikely to end in tragedy. But it still sets up the season finale nicely with the weight of his loved ones lives resting on Michael’s shoulders.
Mahone remains a man of his word. He owes Michael a lot and knows that the Company should be taken down. He sensibly warns Sarah not to head to the hotel. Then he doesn’t turn on Michael once they have Scylla, even though he easily could.
Don Self finally gets the characterisation that he needed a long time ago. The explanation for his wife’s absence from his life is good. He caused an accident which led to her becoming a vegetable. His plan to steal Scylla was a way to assuage his guilt and provide her with the type of care and lifestyle which the government didn’t offer her. If this information had been revealed when he betrayed Michael it could have made the second half of the season so much more rewarding and entertaining. Here it feels like an afterthought. But at least his dramatic balcony leap leaves him with the chance to seek further redemption in the final episodes. I also thought his showdown with Agent Hooks was much more authentic than the average Prison Break struggles. Self’s paralysis when his name was called out felt entirely real, he had no idea how to respond to being caught in his lie. Then their fight really felt like a life or death situation for Self. The desperation was well portrayed. His bullet wound was very gruesome too.
Similarly entertaining was T-Bag’s struggle with Sarah. This late in the game it definitely felt like it could have had some serious consequences.
Krantz’ decision to kill Self and his wife was a reminder of why the Company can’t be trusted. It was an important reminder of his brutality and efficiency. He was starting to sound like the voice of reason compared to Christina. It was interesting that Krantz began to fantasise about Michael working for him. He is not a great judge of people’s character. After what Christina has done, you would think he would be more wary of geniuses.
The Bad: The hotel escape was a pretty dull storyline. Again, this close to the finale there was zero chance that Michael and Lincoln would be caught. All the time it took the police to track them down felt very contrived. Quite why only two officers were very slowly checking each floor I don’t know.
Christina has still not been further characterised and so seems like a caricature movie villain at this stage. She raised Lincoln yet feels no affection for him at all which is a bit strange. She has made a fortune through a clever scheme and yet now wants to risk angering the Indian government by selling Scylla to the Chinese too. It doesn’t seem like a smart idea at all. To say that greed has consumed her just makes her look like more of an idiot. No money will protect her from the Indian government hunting her down, you would think a Company operative would understand the danger of that.
The way the Indian Prime Minister behaves is laughable. Anyone with any common sense or who has watched 24 or many a movie knows what to do if there is an assassination. You work out exactly who was responsible to see what their motives were. Perhaps it will turn out to be a splinter group and not a government hit. Perhaps it will be another government entirely. And so on, the Indian PM demanding vengeance because he heard it was the Chinese is ridiculous and simplistic. If Prison Break hadn’t already harpooned itself so many times in the last ten episodes I would complain more about this poor writing.
It seems T-Bag’s quest for redemption has been entirely forgotten as he tries to suck up to the General.
The Unknown: So much that won’t be answered adequately.
Best Moment: Self’s confusion over what to do when he has been recognised. It felt so much more real and tense than the litany of gun fights we have seen.
The Verdict: Despite all that the show has left on the table and done poorly, it is still possible to care about these characters. The cliff hanger really does make you want to see the finale and find a just and happy ending to this mess.
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