For a show whose entire premise is summarized in its two-word title, Prison Break, the show has a very complex story. It is like the old movie serials. Each week, you could watch Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) plan one element of the escape, up to a cliffhanger in which it looks like he’s been foiled–until he finds a way out of it next week.
But with the start of Season 4, Prison Break is no longer ABOUT breaking out of prison. Season 4 totally jumps the shark, as a government agent enlists the help of the sprung Scofield and all his prison buddies to help bring down the conspirators from the outside.
The central figure in the Sona prison break is killed, invalidating that whole storyline. Some folks left behind in Panama are never addressed, and the series regulars are just extradited easily. One character, who apparently died in a past episode, is brought back. And Michael has his elaborate tattoo lasered off in one sitting. Guess he doesn’t need body makeup anymore.
An elaborate reset would be acceptable if the plot were going to be awesome. Unfortunately, there’s no value to seeing this crew go on missions. There are already shows about gangs of bad-asses with different skills going on missions. This is supposed to be a show about a PRISON BREAK.
This is definitely not the time to join Prison Break and even longtime fans may be hard pressed to continue. There’s still a chance they could redeem themselves–such as getting thrown back in prison and return to what the show is actually about.
Grade: C-
