Prison Break 1.20: "Tonight"

Written by Zack Estrin
Directed by Bobby Roth


This one was full of surprises right from the beginning. I never saw the attack on Bellick coming, and I certainly didn’t expect Westmoreland to be the one to take the shot. But it did serve to accelerate the timeline a bit, which takes an already tense situation to the next level. This also wipes clean the possibility that Michael was using Tweener. Michael’s psychology becomes his Achilles’ heel once again.

Michael lays it all on the line with Sarah, which is quite a gamble, considering the fact that she already feels used and abused. Since she’s not a complete idiot, she figures out that Michael really was, in effect, planning to involve her from the beginning. Appealing to her for Lincoln’s sake was a much smarter move, but his lack of people skills is frightfully apparent at this point. The worst part is, Michael has no idea what the consequence for Sarah might be.

Abruzzi’s actual plans are a lot more disturbing than initially apparent, especially since three seats would make it very easy for him to grab Michael and Lincoln for someone else. Like, for instance, The Company. The point is, all the foreshadowing of a bloody escape continues to come together right from the beginning. Westmoreland is only the first casualty.

The Vice President’s issues with The Company actually lead her to make a mistake, and it helps Michael is his bid to save Lincoln. The President himself gets in her way, and as already mentioned, Sarah is not stupid and can read between the lines. Her father did the rest. Other matters conspire in Michael’s favor, like Avacado’s imminent return.

It doesn’t take long for that to change, of course, once Bellick’s absence is noted at the worst possible moment. The end of the episode is a nice reminder of why everyone wants or needs to leave Fox River. It’s important to remember the stakes for each character, because that psychology is what will drive them to survive the escape and what lies beyond.

Finally, that silly Taj Mahal demonstrates its importance to the story. In fact, if there was ever a case where the advance planning of the writing staff was evident, this is it. It’s actually quite elegant in its own way, especially since it completely betrays the trust that Pope gave to Michael. And in essence, Michael becomes the kind of man that he pretended to be to help his brother regain freedom.

I didn’t watch the promos for the next episode, because there’s no way I would want this season finale to be ruined, and FOX has no integrity. This promises to be one of the best finales of the season, and I’m very happy that this series is coming back. It’s going to make for one very long summer!

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

Final Rating: 8/10