Thanks to Netflix, I have been watching a lot of crap lately. Prison Break is an example of this. I did not watch Prison Break when it was on the air because I thought it had a stupid premise which, even if it had potential, would be ruined by network jerks. When I make a decision like this, it is somewhat inevitable that I will watch the show after its cancellation and I will become fanatical about it. (Notable examples: The Practice and E.R.)
I have spent the last few weeks watching every season of Prison Break and today I watched an episode of Breakout Kings which featured the main character from Prison Break. I am now ready to give you my review.
Prison Break is the story of Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell, an inmate at Fox River State Penitentiary, and what happens when he befriends a new inmate who is planning to escape. Bagwell is a misunderstood genius who has been forced by circumstance into a life of crime (rape, pedophilia, etc.), but who sees an opportunity to make things right for himself and for the people he has wronged when he learns of the new inmate's escape plan. Bagwell is invited to join the escape plan when he makes himself invaluable to the new inmate. He works alongside a bunch of dangerous and worthless losers who can't be trusted and it quickly becomes apparent that although Bagwell did not come up with the escape plan, he is the driving force behind everything and he holds the group together.
Once the group has escaped, they turn against Bagwell and in an act of unbelievable betrayal and savage cruelty, they cut off his hand. Bagwell survives and spends the rest of the second season seeking revenge. The end of the second season shows us Bagwell's success, in that he has most of the turncoats incarcerated in a Panamanian prison, but his victory comes at the cost of his own freedom.
The third season focuses on Bagwell's rise to power inside the Panamanian prison.
The fourth season is the basic conclusion to Bagwell's story. Bagwell's services are sought out by a shadowy agency to fight against his former allies. Bagwell really shines in this season. He is like James Bond, only sexier.
Note: the fourth season also gives us this gem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZELaWIvAqg
There are a couple of epilogues to Bagwell's story. The first comes in a two-part episode which shows us how his enemies are destroyed. The second is an episode of Breakout Kings in which the heroic Bagwell escapes from prison so that he punish those who have hurt his ailing mother.
Overall, Prison Break is a tremendously satisfying tale about the triumph of the human spirit.
-Cary
Posts
