Prison Break 2.22: "Sona"

Much like the first season finale, it wasn’t particular hard to figure out where the story would lead. In this case, we knew that Kellerman would produce the evidence necessary to clear Sara, and that Michael’s confrontation with Mahone would probably lead to his arrest in Panama. (Both predictions were made in the review for the previous episode, based purely on the information available.)

However, unlike the current season of “24”, the writers work overtime to ensure that the predictable elements are mixed with stunning turns in the story. In the case of this finale, that pertains directly to Michael’s fellow inmates. Michael manages to double-cross Mahone, and the end result is that both of them end up in the same terrifying prison facility. The possibility of Michael Scofield and Alex Mahone working together to escape prison is more than enough to justify a third season.

They won’t be alone, however. T-Bag will likely end up in the same facility, after being tossed aside by the Company, and Bellick is already there. That makes for a wildly contentious core group within the Sona prison. Considering that Michael has no plan for escaping this time and plenty of uneasy allies (one would assume), the third season won’t feel like too much of a retread.

On the outside, Lincoln and Sara will no doubt try to help Michael however they can, while dodging the Company, who still seems to have an agenda above and beyond the Steadman debacle. Looking back on the series to date, the Company must have had some reason for supporting Caroline Reynolds, and they seem to be using Michael to facilitate their plans. My early suspicion is that they need to extract someone from the Sona facility, and they plan on using Michael as the means to that end.

Since Bellick is the only person who knows about Maricruz, Sucre would have a good reason for helping Lincoln and Sara. Lincoln could conceivably retrieve the money (if the authorities didn’t get their hand on it) and might be able to call on his father’s organization. The interesting twist is that Lincoln will now need to choose between being a free man and saving his brother. This would put pressure on Lincoln to act quickly, because Sucre doesn’t know if Maricruz is still alive.

As I said in previous reviews, the survival of this series into a third season was largely dependent on the writers’ ability to give the second season a solid conclusion and set up a compelling scenario for a continuation. Frankly, if Mahone had been killed or removed from the show, the loss would have been devastating. Now, the five best characters in the series will ultimately be front and center.

The structure of the episode is noteworthy, because the writers put together an installment that could have been a series finale, with a few minor changes along the way. That’s not always an easy thing to do. Sometimes, the effort is made to commit to a cliffhanger, and the series is never given a proper ending. Other shows bring the season to such a definitive close that the next season, when it comes, suffers as a result. This was about as well-balanced as one could desire, and as such, it made the final act that much more impressive.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 9/10

(Season 2 Final Average: 7.5)