Prison Break 2.6: "Subdivision"

Well, here we are, about a third of the way into the season, and sure enough, the surviving inmates are having a reunion in Utah. Thus far, the twists and turns are still adding up to the expected outcome. Which is not to say that the episode disappoints. After all, anytime T-Bag gets to be all creepifying in nearly every single act, it works to everyone’s advantage.

The writers never let us forget that T-Bag is an incredibly dangerous individual, and it’s very interesting to watch Michael deal with the implications of that singular truth. He’s still not aware of what T-Bag did while on his own, but he’s still somewhat distracted by the desire to get the money and run. Everyone other than Lincoln is an unwanted complication, and he’s managing a crew full of people with differing agendas.

Even so, leaving the desperate lady with someone like T-Bag is hardly the best of ideas. And it was rather clear from the beginning that she wasn’t desperate enough to hit the sack with T-Bag, so things were just going to get nasty. All of that eventuality makes it rough on the viewer, because they played up the tension very nicely. Some of T-Bag’s facial expressions are illegal in 32 states, and that woman was leading him on with complete awareness, like it was the best sport she’d had in years.

It is a little bit contrived for Sucre and C-Note to cross paths, let alone end up in the right spot at the right time, but it fits the nature of the story. All of them need to be together so that Mahone can catch them there. That confrontation is necessary for the story to take its next step, whatever that might be. His intensity continues to fuel this season, as evidenced by his confrontation with the pitiful Tweener.

Was I the only one wondering, in the final scene, if Little Miss Desperate was more worried about the police than the Escape Squad? The look on her face wasn’t the look of someone who had called the cops, but someone who wasn’t all that happy to see them there. I think that wouldn’t been a more ironic and entertaining twist (and it still could be true, for that matter), but the writers were pointing to the situation that did occur all episode long, so it’s not particular shocking.

The conspiracy subplot is still far less impressive, but there is some movement on that front. The mechanism for dealing with the President’s lack of availability is a bit annoying, but it does place pressure on Kellerman to produce results. And that now puts him in conflict with Governor Tancredi, who has come to believe Sara’s claims. The governor may not be long for this life, especially since he’s going to be a threat to the President herself.

So far, this season, I’ve been happy enough with the story and how it’s progressed, but I agree that the intensity of the early first season is missing. The prison’s close quarters made it impossible to avoid conflict, and there was a discernable goal in mind, above and beyond the needs of an individual episode. Beyond getting the money, the future is a little too wide open right now. Hopefully the next couple of episodes will put the season arc on a definitive path, so the writers can add that layer and strength the overall quality.

(As a sidenote: I also have a new podcast associated with my various reviews called “Velocity TV”. Current episodes cover the “Prison Break”, so it might be something of interest. Go to http://entil2001.libsyn.com if you want to listen!)

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

Final Rating: 7/10