Prison Break: A Show Worth Binge Watching on Netflix

The gang is back and with the season of this hit series over, it’s time to review the episodes that aired in the fifth, and possibly final, nine episode season of Fox’s Prison Break.

Writer’s Note: A review for the first episode of this season, “Ogygia”, was already done, but we will review what happened for those who are unaware.

In the first four seasons…

Several years ago, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) gets himself arrested in Fox River Penitentiary, where his brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell), was being wrongfully held the murder of Terrance Steadman, which is a crime Lincoln couldn’t have and ultimately didn’t commit. Scofield, along with the help of several others including: Fernando Sucre (Amaury Nolasco), Theodore “T-Bag” Bagwell (Robert Knepper), Benjamin “C-Note” Franklin (Rockmond Dunbar), John Abruzzi (Peter Stormare), Charles Westmoreland (Muse Watson), Tweener (Lane Garrison), and Charles “Haywire” Patoshik (Silas Weir Mitchell) band together to free Lincoln and escape the prison. Since then, Haywire, Abruzzi, Westmoreland, and Tweener have died. Michael eventually ends up with Sara Tancredi, who was the doctor at Fox River. In the events of “The Final Break”, Sara is broken out of prison after she is charged with murder and it appears as though Michael has been killed. Michael and Lincoln figure out the villainous organization known as “The Company” is behind Steadman’s alleged death (Steadman was in hiding before he actually did die by killing himself), which led them into tons of conflict with Paul Kellerman (Paul Adelstein) and Alexander Mahone (William Fichtner), the latter of the two was sadly excluded from this fifth season, although Kellerman is still present After being thrown in a prison, called “Sona” alongside his long time rival, Mahone and several others, including corrections officer from Fox River, Bradley Bellick (Wade Williams) and James Whistler, Mahone becomes an adversary to Scofield and they later band together and escape Sona. In the fourth season, the group comes together with agent Donald Self to locate cards for a device that could end The Company,. It is called “Scylla” and is divided up into cards. Following the betrayal of their tech analyst, the death of Brad Bellick, and the removal of Scylla from Company hands, Kellerman, now a good guy, has “The Scylla Team” sign an immunity deal. Shortly thereafter, Michael and Sara get married, but Sara is arrested for murder. Michael breaks out Sara, who is pregnant. In the process of doing so, it appears as though Michael dies by electrocution as Sara escapes.

Episode 1: “Ogygia”

Placed seven years after “The Final Break”, Michael Scofield is revealed to be alive and well… maybe not well as he is in a prison in Ogygia. Sarah has a son, named Michael, and a new significant other. The rest of the gang is scattered.

After a strange opening with Michael saying that “the dead talk” and some of them are real and others are stories, we see T-Bag, or Theodore Bagwell, in Fox River Penitentiary.
Just a recap, seven years ago, Michael Scofield, Lincoln Burrows, Fernando Sucre, Bradley Bellick, Alexander Mahone, and Sarah Tancredi all were looking for Scylla, something that could take an organization called “The Company” down. Scofield’s mother worked for The Company and his father worked to stop it. Upon finding Scylla, Paul Kellerman had the aforementioned characters, excluding the then deceased Bradley Bellick, but also including Benjamin “C-Note” Franklin in on these deals. The people above refused to let T-Bag get an immunity deal like they did and T-Bag was sent to Fox River. Here we are seven years later and it appears as though someone has paid to have Bagwell released. He takes a wallet, some gum, a laptop, and a folder out with him. When he opens the folder he finds paperwork inside and is surprised by it.

We now see that Lincoln has, according to one of the crooks chasing him, gone back to being what he was, “a crook who can’t pay his debts.”

Bagwell is on Lincoln’s deck, he offers up the file folder he had. Lincoln threatens to kill Bagwell, who seems interested in the photo of Michael Scofield inside the folder and says that they are still on the same road. Lincoln forces Bagwell out before keeping the file.

Lincoln heads to meet Sara Tancredi. Sara is now remarried, she has a son named after his biological father, Michael and they live in a new house. Sara greets Lincoln, stating that he never came to the wedding. Lincoln apologies for that, then he offers up a possible lead on Michael.

Lincoln leaves and is run off the road by some people. They attempt to kill him before they flee, having failed to do so.

Lincoln calls Sara, who sees the same truck arriving at her house and she takes her son into the bathroom and hides. Sara tells her husband about a gun she has hidden. The husband ends up being shot and before Sara and her son are killed, the shooter leaves.

Lincoln goes to Michael’s grave, he says that he slipped back into his old ways and looks at the paperwork before he notices something. Highlighted letters in a hidden message.

Sara takes her husband to the hospital and she and her son see Lincoln again. Lincoln wants to go to Ogygia, the highlighted letters in the hidden message. Lincoln asks Sara to go, but she refuses, saying she has a new life now and Lincoln offers to go, meeting up with C-Note and the two arrange to go. Fernando Sucre meets the two at the airport and Lincoln and C-Note both want Sucre to stay behind in case they need him.

Bagwell finds an email about a prosthetic limb research place, they want to schedule an appointment. Bagwell later figures out that despite what the researchers want, Bagwell was gifted their first prosthetic arm done by this process in exchange for funds. Bagwell gets the prosthetic and later asks who the anonymous benefactor was, the doctors tell him it was “Kaniel Outis.”

Upon landing in Yemen, Burrows and Franklin are both targeted and taken by a false guide who drops them off with the wrong people. C-Note speaks of Sheba, who is the person who will help them find Michael.

Burrows and Franklin realize they were set up and attack the men who were going to kill them. Sheba shows up and escorts the two men to her place. They then go to Ogygia prison to meet Michael.

Lincoln asks about Michael, and the guards pull out Michael, he speaks to Lincoln but is cryptic and leaves, saying he isn’t Michael Scofield.

Episodes 2-8

Michael and his group inside the Yemen prison escape. A&W and Van Gogh attack Jacob and shoot him while Sara and Mike stay hidden, Jacob is brought to the hospital. T-Bag approaches Paul Kellerman and starts asking questions about Poseidon, believing that Kellerman is Poseidon, but Kellerman denies the claim. Kellerman is later shot and killed by Van Gogh. Michael and the others escape with the help of Abu Ramal, who they later kill when he crosses them, causing a massive manhunt for them. Lincoln and Michael have a moment to reconnect, with Michael explaining that Jacob caused everything after they finished the Scilla Project, from getting Sara arrested to Michael faking his death. Michael has been a tool of sorts for Jacob and took on the alias “Kaniel Outis” in Yemen. One person he broke out was Whip, he used Whip as his right hand man for the very reason that Whip is the son of Theodore Bagwell and therefore would think like him.

While escaping, Michael and the others are chased by people as part of the manhunt, which, eventually “Cyclops” becomes a part of and he maintains a good coverage of them during their trip through the desert to a new destination. Michael and his people split up, with Michael diverting Cyclops away from Lincoln and the others. During a one on one fight, Cyclops is stabbed in his only good eye but he also managed to stab Michael with a bit of metal. Michael now needs medical help. They arrange to meet Sara and have her patch up Michael.

Eventually, Michael and his people take a boat ride with Sucre back to the US, when their boat is found and attacked, it sinks. Michael and the others take a plane back home and evade A&W while getting closer to finding Sara and Mike. Michael investigates Sara’s home, finding the paper swans he made for her, which Jacob threw down the grate nearby, knowing Michael sent them.

Michael closes the gap between him and his family, but hits a snag because he was set up. Knowing Michael thinks way too in depth on things, Jacob made a map to draw Michael directly into a trap. A&W, disguised as Sarah, was ready, while Van Gogh was waiting with Sarah as a hostage.

Episode 9: “Behind the Eyes”

Knowing full well that Michael Scofield will come for Sara Tancredi and their son, MIke, Jacob has sicked A&W and Van Gogh on Michael. As we saw last episode, A&W fired a single shot and spattered blood all over the door as Michael holds little MIke away from her.

The episode starts off with that single gunshot. Jacob is seen with Van Gogh and Sara, the latter is tied up in a chair. Sara reveals to Van Gogh that Jacob killed the CIA director, Harlan Gaines. The same one he framed MIchael for by having him move the body. Jacob hits her and this revelation along with the hit, start to make Van Gogh flip sides, like it was alluded to last episode. Van Gogh waits for Jacob to leave and bait Michael before he walks in on A&W, who is holding Michael and his son at gunpoint. Sara tips her chair over and she cuts herself loose. Van Gogh pleads with her to leave 21 Void, but she says “There is no leaving 21 Void” before she shoots him, creating the blood spatter on the door. Michael and his son escape and are pursued by A&W, Michael tells his son to run and not stop until he finds his uncle Lincoln. As A&W is about to kill Michael, she is hit by Sara over the head. Michael and Sara both run after Mike but they see him get in the car with Jacob, they both futily run after the car before they find Lincoln, shot up by John Abruzzi’s son, Luca, in the last episode. They rush Lincoln to a hospital and flee, meeting up with Bagwell and Whip.

Bagwell speaks to Whip about their relationship to each other, Bagwell shows Whip the documents he got that proved Scofield was alive. Whip starts to read it and mis-says the word “Progeny”, which T-Bag corrects him.

Later on, the group closes in on Jacob’s “base” and enters, unlocking it and freeing Mike Jr.

The gang finally takes the fight to Jacob as they prepare for the end. Michael, Whip, and T-Bag are present, but when Whip freaks out and panics, he gets himself killed by A&W, T-Bag, in a fit of rage over his son’s death, snaps A&W’s neck and kills her before he is taken away by authorities. Now, Michael and Jacob face off, as Michael is being chased by Jacob. Jacob shoots Michael in front of a camera and realizes that this is a recreation of the scene where Jacob killed a federal agent and had Michael dispose of the body. This time however, the bullets in the gun are blanks and Michael survived. After a little debate with officers who arrest him, Michael has Jacob arrested and turned in, on one condition. Inside of Fox River Penitentiary, the very place where the series and season began is where it’s about to end. Jacob is thrown into a cell and he is greeted by a very mad T-Bag and while the camera cuts away before we see what happens he is likely killed by T-Bag. I honestly believed that Jacob would be stuck in a cell with Avocado, who was known for his abusive nature and particularly towards “Tweener” early on in the series, but still, having T-Bag do the deed is just as nice to see.