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« The Blog of Frederic Germay
"Reunion and Dissolution..." [Prison Break]
Why is it that so many shows have such great episodes leading up to their respective season finales, but follow them with substandard finales? It often seems that many of these shows reach their peak in the penultimate episode, but when it comes to the 'moment of truth' finale -- it just reeks of disappointment. The freshman seasons of "Heroes" and "Prison Break" come to mind during these tragic ordeals.
First off, I know I can't get too hard on these writers, given the difficult hand that they were dealt concerning the writer's strike. Never-the-less, the writer's first mistake was having Michael not kill Gretchen. I believe that one of "Prison Break's" core plots from the beginning was “Can Michael be surrounded by darkness and not succumb to it?” From the moment he broke out of Fox River with T-bag, he was willing let a mass murderer out of prison if it meant saving his brother's life.
Yet he was then placed in Sona, where fighting to the death is ingrained in that community's strangely civilized tradition. After he orchestrated the death of Sammy, I would think that the writers might want to push that block further...and with Gretchen having brutally killed Sara... However, Michael's slow descent into the criminal style that he has been surrounded by since the beginning will have to wait until next season.
Concerning T-bag, his pathway was predictable since the beginning. It was clear that Michael wouldn't make the same mistake twice and let T-bag out again, but the method in which he planned that was genius. I have always mentioned how suspicious it was that T-bag rose quickly throughout the ranks, and to have him leave Sona so soon would somewhat defeat this season's development for him. I suspected from the start that he would take Lechero's place, but I didn't think that he would wait until his opponent was inches from death before he killed him anyways. However, I suppose that is T-bag's true style anyways.
One nice aspect of this episode is that it featured more than one happy ending. Basketball boy's return to his family without much interference is a nice, yet unexpected touch. Lincoln's long-awaited reunion with LJ finally occured, but the episode mildly downplayed that event. However, despite all the happy endings, there are many more sad ones. I like how the strange, yet beautifully, scored ending featured each of the characters at their end of the road for now. Sucre didn't deserve his fate, being loyal to Michael to the end. Bellick still doesn't seem know his purpose still (and neither do the writers). Mahone joined with Whistler and Gretchen, although I had hoped that the mystery man behind him would have ended up being Kellerman. Lastly, the dissolution of the brothers has to be the greatest mistake in "Prison Break" history. Hopefully it will be temporary.
Ultimately, many elements of this episode didn't work. Perhaps if this episode had aired as part of the season, but not as its ending... Anyways, I give this episode a 7/10
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Feb 19, 2008 3:03 PM
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Hi Frederic ~
I agree that it was a let down. But I also agree that the writers did a pretty good job considering.
I didn't really understand why Tbag killed Lechero ~ I guess he just didn't want to wait for him to die!
All I know is that if they continue this show ~ I will watch. The characters are great as well as the actors. I will kind of miss them.
When Linc got LJ back he just gave him a lackluster hug. I don't think Linc is as good of an actor as most of the others.
Hope you are feeling good as new.
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Feb 20, 2008 9:32 AM
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