Prison Break 2.17: "Bad Blood"

The race to the season finale is on, and the writers are definitely stepping up to the plate. Though many of the developments are generally proceeding as predicted, the details continue to be surprising. Anything that promises to bring the disparate threads of the season together in a logical manner is welcome, after all, and this episode continues that process. In fact, like so much of last season, “Prison Break” is back to showing “24” how serialized storytelling should be done.

Pope’s return to the story was hardly shocking to anyone paying attention to press releases, but it made sense within the context of the story. Kellerman pointed out the fact that Michael and Sara were recognized faces, and sure enough, that became an issue. One might quibble over the idea that they would make such a mistake, but under the circumstances, they’re desperate enough to make it reasonable. Whatever the case, the subsequent plot developments feel natural.

I like the fact that Michael and Pope had a few moments to work out their issues, even if many of them were left unresolved. It closes the door for Pope’s time on the series far better than his original exit. More importantly, the conspiracy is becoming more unhinged and therefore more unpredictable. It made Michael’s victory worth the cost to see Lincoln beating the hell out of William Kim.

Now that Michael has the evidence needed to prove Lincoln’s innocence, the endgame has truly begun. It’s a question of getting that evidence into the right hands before the conspiracy can close the net. This is where the subplots seem to come into play. While Bellick had nothing to do with C-Note’s capture in this episode, his involvement with Mahone and his personal history with Michael makes him the perfect bloodhound.

C-Note’s story had been off in left field for too long, but now it comes together with the main story in a way that makes it easy to overlook earlier issues with the subplot. C-Note needed to be pushed into a corner with no other option but to cut a deal, and based on his personality and history, his family’s survival was the logical source of leverage. It’s unclear how C-Note’s knowledge of the website that Michael mentioned to Sucre will play into the overall resolution to the season, but clearly that’s the intent.

Speaking of Sucre, his subplot was amusing enough, but it’s still relatively isolated. Without the reminder of the website (europeangoldfinch.net) in the recap at the beginning of the episode, his entire story would seem like a needless distraction. Now, in conjunction with C-Note’s deal with Mahone, it emerges as a clever way for Sucre and C-Note to come back into the main plot thread. Kudos to the writers for planting that clue and paying it off!

T-Bag’s subplot is now the only one still dangling in the middle of nowhere, but now that the ridiculous hostage situation is resolved, there’s no telling where he’ll end up. He’s still the poster boy for everything bad that’s come of Michael’s good intentions, so it makes sense for him to be out and about for as long as possible. With nearly everyone else working for Mahone or serving as bait, T-Bag could make an effective wild card. He could see the death of his dreams in this episode as the consequence of meeting Michael Scofield, and dreams of revenge could ensue.

Dreams of revenge will surely be the order of the day for Kellerman. I always thought that Sara’s experience with Kellerman would lead to trouble when they were all working together to uncover the conspiracy, and sure enough, it finally comes to pass. Hasn’t Sara heard the saying “keep your friend close, and your enemies closer”? Kellerman is a lot more dangerous as a free agent, and they could have used someone with inside knowledge of the conspiracy.

Whatever the case, things are really beginning to come together as the season comes to a close, and I couldn’t be happier. That said, I still think that the series would be best served if it were to end with this season’s finale. The writers may have managed to pull out of the terminal dive this time around, but this is a concept that works better as a short-term event than an open-ended series. I would hate to see the series wear out its welcome.

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

Final Rating: 8/10