The writers included very obvious signposting in having Scofield spell out word for word as to how Lincoln (played by Dominic Purcell) could’ve made the mistake of thinking Sara was dead. This was definitely a piece of dialogue that was unnecessary and appeared contrived and too blatant. Writers don’t always have to show the audience what happened, they can sometimes resort to telling us. However, in this instance, the reason for the inclusion of this dialogue between the brothers was so glaring that there might as well have been fog horns and sirens signaling, “THIS is the reason why Sara is alive!” Subtlety is obviously a lost art form in writing for plot development for Prison Break’s scribes.
As with season three, Bellick, T-Bag, and Sucre are pushed to the periphery, with no real need or reason for them to be in these first couple of episodes. Providing neither depth to their characters nor movement to the plot, their existence seems questionable at this stage. At least in Mission Impossible, or Ocean's 11 or other such team escapade movies, everyone on the team has a purpose and a mission, unlike these secondary characters in this show.
As if having too many secondary characters already isn’t a problem, two more new characters are introduced. One of them is Wyatt (Cress Williams) and the other is Don Self (Michael Rapaport). Something seems to be off kilter with the casting department at FOX, as seen in their previous casting of the overacting, scenery-chewing Jodi Lyn O’Keefe as Gretchen/Susan. This time around, they have taken on Cress Williams who plays Wyatt as a monotonous, one-note, one-dimensional assassin, as well as Michael Rapaport, best known for his goofy roles in comedies such as My Name is Earl, and as Phoebe Buffay’s boyfriend Gary in Friends. Rapaport isn’t able to convince the audience that he’s a powerful agent capable of being in charge of this team of misfits. Instead, he delivers his lines in the same way he does when he plays goofy and dorky in his other television roles.
Even the way in which all these characters find themselves coming together to help bring down the Company is set up in such an overly evident manner, with all of them being caught conveniently within the same time frame, despite being at different locations, while attempting to carry out varying activities of their own. Such apparent manipulation of the story plot makes this episode seem weak and poorly written, and orchestrating such blatant coincidences into the plot only shows up this episode as thoroughly lacking in sophistication.
Article comments
1 - Ben
And...you get paid to write your reviews?
That's a drag.
2 - stacey
prison break is still really good and it is still about them breaking out of prison and alot of people wanted 2 see sara back in prison break
3 - dakineladat
as previous Prison Break season went by there were many twist and turns and storys of the past told...maybe the 3 escapees(T-bag,Sucre,and Bellic as well as Sara may have a chance to review their story of their excape to the audience in later episode....It's the not knowing what will happen next that is got the audience attention and made this show greatttttttttttttt......
4 - alexis
I agree that Miller and Callies did not bring the goods. How could you watch these two episodes though, and fail to mention the awesome William Fichtner as Mahone? He was the only thing worth paying attention to.
5 - janis
I was so disappointed in the scenes with Miller and Callies. What the heck. It was like, "Oh, Hi, how are you." The other thing was when the guy killed the son and wife. What was that all about? They seen to put unnecessary sadness in this show.
6 - Texie47
I thought they did pretty well considering they are cooped up with 5 or 6 other people all the time. You have to assume better things went on in that rumpled bed they showed with a crushed pillow next to the one Sara was lying on. The killing of Mahone's family just gave him impetus to hate the company and want them stopped as much as Michael and Linc do. He is a valuable member of the team since his mental abilities run parallel to Michael's.. all in all I am excited.. As for all the sadness.. I seriously doubt there is ever a situation involving prisons that doesn't have more than it's share of sadness.. that is why they call it Prisony Land not Disney Land. : )
7 - Kronos
I agree with Ben. You're take on the season premiere is totally wrong. This was a fantastic season opener. Big ups to the writers for redeeming the mess season 3 put them in. For all those who complain about the shows title "Prison Break" and how long they can use that, I heard an interested line from one of the many cast interviews. I do not remember exactly who said it (most likely Wenworth as he is the most articulate of the bunch), but they said that the "Prison Break" is now more internal for the characters. Each one of them has their own personal issues that they must break free from. These 2 episodes hit the ground running and from the first minute til the last I was on the edge of my seat. Yes there was a lot going on, but that only means they have some grandiose plan for the remainder of the season.
8 - Erin
Agreed, Alexis. Fichtner and his character are really the only reason I'm watching Prison Break now.
9 - Prison Broke
So far, this new season has been borrring and after watching the latest episode tonight, I am not sure if I will return for another. Rapaport is horrible (seriously, was he the best that they could find for that role or does he have pictures of one of the Fox execs?) and the new computer guy is so stereotyped, it is painful to watch. My biggest complaint is the main plot. Why is everyone sticking around to do this job? These are guys that would and could do anything to break out of prison (twice), yet a simple ankle lo-jack device is keeping them all around to settle a grudge? Some advice to Scofield: Stop at a Home Depot, buy some pruning shears, shed the lo-jacks, and make a run for the border with your honey. Wait a few days so that the other characters do the same, get caught and thrown in a Mexican prison, and voila - Season 3 comes back to life!
10 - Brian
SPOT ON!
I'm just hoping the writers will get back into the swing of things...once their "school year" is more underway. Much like the horrid book reports we've had to write just after summer when we were supposed to be spending our free time reading To Kill a Mockingbird.
You missed one thing in your review though...the cliched computer geek, they could have made that guy a little less pompous. I won't even go into how unrealistic the hacking scenes are. I can't even get my scanner to work with Windows Vista these days, yet he can hack into...ah forget it, I guess it's just become standard in suspense movies/shows. Just once though I'd like to see someone get the blue screen of death when trying to hack into something.
11 - Sara
I couldnt agree more.
Mahones the only good thing left.
12 - K
Brilliant review, Sharmila! You put into words exactly how I felt. I thought the only thing you missed out was how good William Fichtner is. He's the only actor to watch this season. Chris Vance was excellent too. Really a shame that they disposed of him so early. I would've loved watching more of him. The others are all utterly disappointing and forgettable.
13 - matta
i love prison break. i think robert knepper is one of the best character ever. he is amazing i role as "t-bag"