[PRB] Sona

TV Programme: Prison Break
Season: 2
Episode: 22
Date I watched this episode: 07/06/2009
Time since I last watched this programme: 2 days.

This was a pretty satisfying end to a very good season. This season of Prison Break, while not quite up to the standard of season 1 (in terms of general structure) has worked very well, with many different threads, each with its own personality and general coolness.

One of the best threads was the story of Scofield meeting his intellectual equal in Alexander Mahone. This story really did continue right into this episode, with the opening scene of "no games, no bluffin', just two guys doing each other a favour". We'd reached the stage where these two men have really a great deal of respect for each other. However the amount of bluffing in this episode really surpassed all previous standards. Michael, Alex, and Bill Kim all have a "doublecross" plan in mind, and it's just a question of how these different bluffs meld together that made this such an enjoyable episode to watch. We really started to feel sorry for Mahone and Pam, and how it ended with "forget I ever existed".

This story then seamlessly merged with yet another story; that of Michael and Sara becoming reunited. Michael's plan to kill two birds with one stone (something he often likes to do) and get Sara back whilst also framing Mahone, was great. In the end, it was Sara who really was the one who pushed Michael over the edge, completely against her will. She has given up so much for him, and now she is getting some payback with his self-sacrifice. This also fulfilled the old things as mentioned earlier of The Company not being interested in Lincoln anymore, and "only one is needed" (said by Pad Man)/"only one will survive" (said by Bill Kim). It seems that Paul Scheuring has been weaving these threads together like some kind of giant tapestry.

There were a couple of other great side-stories in this episode too, which didn't feel out of place. Firstly Paul Kellerman's testimony; Paul Adelstein really showed what an amazing actor he is here, and it was believable that he knew he was living out the final hours of his life. It's a shame to see Kellerman go, but it was totally necessary from a storyline perspective.

The other main side-story was Sucre looking for Maricruz. It's heartbreaking that he's lost her, and I can't see how he will find her again now, in the next few days, with Bellick locked up in Sona.

We got a bit more of an insight into Pad Man in this episode; it seems he is a general and there were people saluting him, meaning that this organisation may be more closely tied in with the military than we previously thought. In addition, Paul Kellerman was saying "this was meant to be about country, about loyalty, about what's right", so there may be more to The Company than we know; as there is not much "right" about multinationals trying to protect their own interests. So we may find out in future that The Company is more good than they have been portrayed to be.

I won't be watching season 3 for quite some time, but we got a pretty good idea about what it's going to be like. First of all, the actual place of Sona prison looks to be a much darker and different environment from Fox River. I'd guess that within the prison system of Panama, it's not as well regulated and so on. Secondly, we know that Scofield, Mahone and Bellick are now locked up together - these three were previously enemies and so their interaction, especially Scofield and Mahone, will be interesting. Also, T-Bag looks soon to be in Sona, as he is currently being held on charges after Michael stabbed his arm. Thirdly, Lincoln is looking for Sara, and there seems to be some weird guy pursuing them too; I guess they will have to find something to keep those two occupied during season 3. Finally, the "General" (Pad Man) says that The Company actually wants Michael to break out, meaning we will see yet another prison break, but this time sponsored by The Company (their motives for this, however, are not yet clear).

In the final analysis, this season has been a brilliant season, and a shining example of one that I will remember for a long time. It really has been great to intersperse between shockingly bad episodes of 24 and Damages I've been watching recently. However it's also great to open the door to new things, which I'm looking forward to. I'll miss these characters, but I am comforted by the fact that I still have two seasons to go, and I'll look forward to those in the meantime.