Episode Report Card Sobell: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Teddy And His Telephone
By Sobell | Season 3 | Episode 3 | Aired on 09.30.2007
And now, we get the opening salvo in Sammy and T-Bag's feud. Sammy is regaling people with a tale of sweet sugarcane, sweet mango, and women whose qualities will go unrevealed because Sammy now has to razz T-Bag as he tries to go up the stairs. After a few kicks and buffets, T-Bag heads up with a murderous look. He heads into Lechero's office (interrupting his private time) and tries to quit Lechero's entourage. The resignation is a thing of beauty, as T-Bag makes it seem like he's quitting because he fears for his life, and indirectly alludes to Sammy's plot to overthrow Lechero. Lechero tells T-Bag, "I deny your request. You're going to stay on as my ears. You'll report back to me everything that you hear when I'm not around." Lechero squeezes T-Bag's shoulder; the smaller man grimaces.
Downstairs, Bellick limps into Pistachio's cell and begins searching for the missing shoe. (One of the episode's nice touches: the Spanish-language version of "We gotta get out of this place" that plays over this scene.) This puts him in a prime position to eavesdrop on a conversation between Michael and Mahone, wherein Mahone says, "Stop me when I'm wrong: [the One World Conspiracy] wanted you here in Panama, alive but framed for murder. And then, for some strange reason, you really seem to care about the fate of this Whistler guy. And I gotta tell you something: he's really curious about you too. Let's see...what special talents do you have that [the One World Conspiracy] might decide you're worth more to them alive than dead? Whaddya say there, Mike? Am I getting warm yet?" Michael dismissively tells Mahone to go take another pill. Mahone's all, "So you won't mind if I kill Whistler then?" Michael bluffs: "Ask yourself what [the One World Conspiracy] would do to you? To the ones you love? Be careful." The men huff off in opposite directions. Michael goes back to looking out a window.
We see a worker on the outside spraying down a body with something, and for some reason, this is what shakes Michael into the planning mode we all know and love. He begins staring at the burial process intently.
Meanwhile, on the outside...Sucre is passed out on the floor in front of Linc's hotel-room door. We see that Sucre pawned his gun, and then drank the proceeds. Linc sighs, and then heaves Sucre inside and lays him on the couch to sleep it off. His phone rings. Susan B. asks, "Busy day?" Linc goes to smack his hand against his forehead, and it slides off from the sweat that's collected from his exertions. He replies, "Not as busy as I'd hoped." Susan B. says, "Look, you had to try. I probably would have done the same thing myself if I were you. But let's be perfectly clear: you're never going to try anything like that again." Linc says he understands. Susan B. replies, "Just to make sure you do, I left you a little something in the corner of the garage. It's by the trash." She clicks off, and I'm left to wonder why her character just isn't working as a foil to Lincoln. I think it's because I don't know what makes Susan B. tick. Kellerman -- we knew he had some higher purpose he was serving, so that was what kept him going. And with Kim, we knew he was a power-hungry little martinet who got off on showing people how he out-manipulated them. Again -- we had an idea of what got him out of bed in the morning. With Susan B., I have no idea what she wants. And I have no idea what strengths she has -- she doesn't have Kellerman's casual efficiency or Kim's obvious canniness. So why is she there, and what does she bring, to either the organization or to the story?