Episode Report Card Sobell: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Let Four Escaped Cons Bear Bellick …
By Sobell | Season 4 | Episode 10 | Aired on 11.10.2008
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Alas, poor Bellick. The remaining members of Team Scylla and T-Bag eulogize him throughout the episode which, while quite sweet, is also a little irritating because where was the love when the guy was alive? However, that is the only activity they have in common; this is one of those episodes where everyone gets scattered to the four winds.
In one direction: Michael has another seizure, so Dr. Sara bundles him off to the hospital for a quickie MRI. Dr. Sara sheepishly admits that she's posing as his wife, but since Michael doesn't run off screaming, it appears he's okay with deeper commitment. Also, it's unclear to me why she even thought this would be an issue. The man went to Sona for her, for God's sake. At this point, marriage would be a cakewalk for these two. Michael and Dr. Sara leave when a few cops arrive, despite some nice doctor being all, "Look, the cops aren't here for you, I know who you are, and all I really care about is treating you." We learn that Michael has a really rare kind of brain tumor, and he needs surgery tomorrow or else he could die. Too bad he needs two days to fix up this Scylla dilemma.
In another direction: Prior to Michael's collapse, he figured out that the creator of the Scylla complex/bunker inserted his initials into the blueprint. The guy's name is David Baker, and Mahone -- who is looking about 50% less crazy than in past episodes, so perhaps there is something to the cathartic nature of homicide -- tracks him down to his elegant modernist pad. Unfortunately, because the One World Conspiracy is having problems moving Scylla, they also decide to track down David Baker, so it gets a little awkward. Baker's grabbed, but Mahone escapes, courtesy of a little help from Mrs. Baker. He has a key to the schematic Michael's been using, so that errand was productive.
In yet another direction: Lincoln and Sucre now have to wend their way through the tunnels leading to Scylla, and Sucre ends up stepping on a pressure-sensitive explosive that's set to blow if he steps off it again. After Michael figures out that disarming the submerged mine will set off an alarm system, Mahone sprints to the trouble spot to warn Gretchen of this (she's trying to disarm the mine), and after some nail-biting, Sucre's eased off the mine in one piece.
Finally, this show throws us for a loop in a good way: we learn that dishy Trisha is, in fact, a Homeland Security agent who's been working with Don Self. I sort of feel bad for making fun of her nonstop now.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!We open at Team Scylla HQ. Everyone's sitting around the table, silently grieving. Or, in Sucre's case, flashing back to two episodes ago when Bellick so presciently requested that Sucre call Ma Bellick if anything should happen to her boy. So Sucre speaks up to ask Don Self where Bellick's body is. Amazingly, it was A) retrieved, B) without anyone tipping off the press as to the corpse circulating through the city's water supply, and C) promptly stashed away in a secret place, presumably next to the thousands upon thousands of Swiss Army knives that the TSA confiscates at airport security gates, and directly below the Ark of the Covenant.
The prospect of Bellick's mortal remains moldering next to the Swiss Army knives and the Ark of the Covenant sets everyone off. Mahone tartly reminds Don Self that he had promised they'd be returned to next-of-kin (why he's adamant about this, I don't know. Does he think Pam wants matching father-son urns on her mantel?) and Don Self replies that no, what he promised is that their remains would be given a decent funeral. He then gets huffy over how hard his job is right now, and then the job gets much harder because now he has to do it with the irate Sucre's hands wrapped around his throat. Mahone breaks it up, and Sucre gives vent to his full feelings at the top of his lungs, in Spanish. When Sucre calms down a little, he manages to remember his English and he says, "[Bellick's] got a mother, you know." Mahone is still blocking Don Self and Sucre from each other, and he says, "If you want Scylla -- and I assume you still do -- Brad Bellick's body goes home to his mother." Don Self finally promises to take care of the body. Then he adds, "You guys need to get out of mourning. We need to get back to work. And Fernando, my friend, let me tell you something. If you ever put your hands on me again, I promise you, there's going to be two bodies in the fridge." Michael finally cuts off the bluster by saying that he needs to see the missing pages Gretchen still has. And that is how he and Don Self end up driving to some parking garage.
Gretchen comes sashaying over with, "I heard you were dead." Michael wants to know who told her that, and she deadpans, "A little bird" as she hands over the missing bird book pages. Then she breaks the news that the One World Conspiracy will be moving Scylla to a bunker in Pennsylvania the very next day. Michael comments, "For an ex-employee, you sure seem to know about current [One World Conspiracy] business." Gretchen smoothly lies, "Don't get paranoid. I'm keeping one ear to the ground for your benefit, which is a really good reason to work with me, not against me." She does not add, "And I'm keeping the other ear pressed to the withered, Vicks-smelling chest of General Von Baldy." And for that I'm grateful -- nobody needs to see that ickiness.