Five the Hard Way

In this one some pretty interesting stuff happens with T-Bag. Also half the team goes to Vegas. Both plotlines actually have some pretty humorous results which is pretty unexpected in such a dark television series.

I was trying to decide what to choose for my 50th comment/review (the official term has changed back and forth around the time of writing), considering choosing one of my favorite movies. Then this episode came on and after having watched it I needed to vent my frustration.

Some may wonder why I torture myself watching episodes which I find bad. The answer is simple: I have a principle of finishing what I started and I also refuse to surrender to an episode / a movie by switching channel / walking out.

OK, this appears to be a fantastic episode because it's taut, full of good twists, action, suspense and laughs. Also, most of the actors bring their A game for their roles, the winner being Jodi Lyn O'Keefe as Gretchen: her character seemed so bland and unimaginative in the third season, but given a chance to portray someone willing to resort to anything to stay alive, she truly *rules* (not coming up with a fancy term would do her performance justice).

So what's the problem? Prison Break had me from the first episode of season 1. The problem is the *fact* that the show was supposed to last only 13 episodes with a pre-planned ending, but when the initial ones proved a bigger success than anticipated, Fox decided to throw the ending away and expand Prison Break to a full season. And then renew it. And renew it. Kinda like The X Files - it was also a Fox show that was dragged on for longer that it had material to sustain the narrative (and that's just the "mythology" episodes - some of the stand-alone ones were recycled). In the case of both series the decisions came to money: why kill a cash cow when you can underestimate your audience's intelligence and throw all credibility out of the window?

The problem is that this is no longer Prison Break. All the plot lines in the initial episodes were dropped because they had nowhere to go (remember, 13 episodes?) and replaced with a vague, sub-standard conspiracy plot line that was clearly made up as the show went on, with no pre-planned ending whatsoever. And now we are in the death rattle of the show. Seasons 2 and 3 at least dealt with a prison break - here there is none. Why the hell is this show still called Prison Break?

To go into the inconsistencies, illogicalities and contradictions of the show would take more time than I am willing to spend. Because of those things, there is no reason to care about the characters or where the plot is going. There is no reason to invest emotionally or intellectually in the show. This show should have stayed its planned course. The viewers disappeared during the fourth season, proving that Fox underestimated their intelligence. Ha!

The T-Bag and Gretchen storyline continues to be one of the most frustrating things about this season. The show insists on giving these two screen time as if there's still any doubt about their fate. T-Bag should've been taken out ages ago, but the plot keeps bouncing him from one ridiculous scam to another, and now, with Gretchen by his side, it's even more unbearable. They spend a good chunk of the episode trying to manipulate Michael and squeeze some kind of advantage out of the situation, but in the end, Michael and Mahone lock T-Bag in a closet and hand him over to Self. Great, right? That should've been a moment of relief-but of course, it gets completely undercut by the final twist: Gretchen offering to help take down the Company in exchange for T-Bag's freedom. Seriously? How much longer is this thorn in their side gonna keep rolling?

The plan to copy the Scylla card in Vegas almost falls apart due to sheer stupidity. Roland is one of the most annoying characters of the season because he tries to sell himself as some genius hacker, but his decisions prove he's just an idiot with a computer. He had already screwed up before, but here, he outdoes himself by deciding to rig a slot machine right in the middle of the mission. Naturally, security catches him, he loses the device, and jeopardizes the entire operation. And even after all that, he acts like it wasn't his fault! While the rest of the team is busting their asses to secure every bit of progress, this guy decides to sabotage everything out of pure greed. Lincoln and the others should've kicked him out right then and there.

The plan itself was actually creative. Sara's initial attempt to seduce Scuderi fails because-plot twist-he's into men. A small detail she finds out in the worst way possible. This forces the team to improvise and send Sucre in instead. The way this plays out is both hilarious and uncomfortable, because Scuderi basically hires Sucre to entertain his wife since, as a war veteran, he can't handle that job himself anymore. Thankfully, Roland does the only useful thing in the entire episode and manages to copy Scylla before things get any weirder.

The tension between Mahone and Wyatt keeps escalating, and this is where the episode really shines. Mahone is playing smart, bringing the fight to the Company the way Michael would, and it's already making Wyatt uneasy. The showdown between Mahone and Wyatt can't come soon enough... Wyatt is still one of the most hated villains this show has ever had, and seeing him finally being hunted for a change gives the feeling that revenge is coming, and it's gonna be epic.

The episode also builds up an interesting tension between Self and the Company. Wyatt already has orders to eliminate him, but Self isn't as naive as the villains expected. The scene where he faces off with the General is one of the episode's strongest moments because, unlike most people in this situation, he doesn't back down or get intimidated. He knows they've marked him for death, so he gets ahead of it, warning them that any assassination attempt will trigger a serious investigation. It might be a bluff, but it works-for now.

Overall, the episode had some strong moments, especially with Mahone playing mind games with Wyatt and Self proving to be a smarter player than he seemed. But it also had its fair share of frustrations, with Roland wrecking the mission out of sheer selfishness and T-Bag once again slipping out of a fate that should've been sealed long ago.