Episode Report Card Sobell: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT The Fool Of The World And The Flying Ship
By Sobell | Season 3 | Episode 8 | Aired on 11.11.2007
Back in the prison, Michael's musing on the assorted ways they can effect this digging escape, and Whistler's getting increasingly more agitated. Michael sets up a future episode premise or four by musing that they'll need a support brace for their work or else the whole thing will collapse and bury them alive. Before we can all shudder in delicious horror at the prospect of some inmate inevitably taking a dirt nap by force, we switch to Sammy up in the suite, playing host to Cristobol and his posse. He bids them to relax, then heads down to get some rum right as Lechero, Whistler, and Michael come out of the super-secret tunnel area.
Whistler and Michael quickly hide, while Lechero heads up the steps to ambush Sammy. The subsequent conversation, wherein Lechero rips on Sammy for letting Cristobol bring his meaty thug buddies in the suite and then denies Sammy rum -- thereby setting Sammy up to lose face with the new recruits -- only brings home the point that it doesn't matter if you're in corporate America or a Panamanian prison: being in middle management sucks. Poor Sammy: all he wants to do is make sure he can continue to brutalize the rest of the prison population, and he's beset by a moody boss.
Once Lechero and Sammy head back upstairs -- and it just goes to show how this show twists viewer sympathies when I'm all, "Oh, good, Lechero will make sure Sammy doesn't look the fool" -- Michael springs back up and says, "Let's get to work." As he jogs to the door, Whistler decides to slide his knife between two cases of rum and leave it there. He points out that only Lechero's got the code, but ha ha ha, it turns out Michael's fixed the lock. The two men duck into the hall.
Meanwhile, on the outside...Susan B.'s just come from her fauxbian encounter to check in with the dozens of conspiracy stooges about to launch "bang and burn," and she snarls, "We've done our part. Now it's time for Whistler to step up and do his." Won't she be thrilled when Michael turns up alive?
We cut back to the tunnel, where Michael is estimating that the guys will have to burrow through three feet of concrete and rebar, then ten feet of dirt and sand. Whistler is looking around with an expression saying, "You will be digging. I will be elsewhere." Then he fakes an attack of claustrophobia. Michael is not what anyone would call "sympathetic," saying only, "I suggest you get yourself together." He does have a way with droll understatement. Whistler flees with, "I just need some air." Michael is soon hot on his heels, demanding to know what Whistler's problem is. Whistler maintains that he needs air. Michael grabs Whistler and says, "You walk in that door with Sammy on the other side, you'll never need air again." Whistler says urgently, "You don't understand: I need to get out of here now." Michael replies that he would really like to know what's really going on, asking, "Why do you keep looking at your watch? What are you really up to?"