Prison Break 1.5: "English, Fitz or Percy"

Written by Zack Estrin
Directed by Randall Zisk

In which Michael stages a dry run of part of his escape plan, but things get complicated when the conspiracy tries to blackmail the warden into transferring Michael to another facility…


Michael’s plan takes a major step forward in this episode, as he determines which route to take once he and his allies are past the fences. From a certain point of view, this element of his plan is entirely logical; he must find a means and vantage point from which to observe response time to possible escape. Unfortunately, where the episode breaks down is in his alibi.

I mentioned in my review of the pilot that the most ludicrous element of the series thus far must be the relationship between Michael and Warden Pope. I don’t care how interested Pope might be in rehabilitation; there’s no way he’d let an inmate have that much free access to his office. I can only assume that the writing staff realized that there would be a huge plot hole in the story, and they somehow came to the conclusion that this Taj Mahal model was the way to solve it. (And this element is critical, because Michael’s tattoo plainly demonstrates that the Warden’s office was key to his plan.)

I’m just not buying it. At the very least, Michael’s activities would be scrutinized like crazy for weeks, if not months. As it is, his escape plan is too dependent on luck and random chance. But even if one takes Michael’s relationship with Pope at face value, there’s one other major sticking point. The removal of those concrete blocks, just behind his cell, should have been rather obvious to the guards running through the bowels of the prison, and since they knew they were looking for Michael Scofield, that alone should have been enough to implicate him in an escape plan.

Another thing that troubles me is the fact that Michael clearly has three street names incorporated into his tattoos, and yet not one official made the connection. It’s one thing when there’s a certain code involved; the “Cute Poison” thing was just obscure enough. But those street names are a huge tip-off to anyone suspicious of Michael and his motivations…which brings me to my final issue with this episode.

Even if I were to accept that the relationship between Michael and Pope was logical and that his activities were accepted to be as presented, then one thing is now on the table which should throw his presence into complete suspicion: his relationship to Lincoln is now public knowledge. Even if everything else were taken as coincidence and misunderstanding, that connection should be viewed with intense suspicion, especially since they interact so often.

Granted, this episode was filled with tension, especially during Michael’s initial recon of the escape route and Pope’s crisis of conscience. And I recognize that this is not “Lost”, where deep consideration of every plot and character arc is rewarded; this is all about suspending disbelief to the extreme and having fun in the process. I just worry that the writers are going to overcome my ability to do so.

Oddly enough, this time around, Veronica wasn’t a complete annoyance. Her scenes were actually rather interesting, touching on the current fascination for forensics and my desire for that plot thread to become as intricate as the main thread. Of course, it took her way too long to realize that her advocate was working for the wrong side, and unless there’s some kind of surveillance that we haven’t seen, he’s way too calm about her reaction.

Supposedly the next few episodes are going to make a few plot elements connect a bit more strongly, and all I can say is that I certainly hope so. It’s not as if I’m giving up on the series, or that this was a bad episode. It’s just that it relied way too much on contrived reactions to information and events, even for a series built on such entertaining ground.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10