Episode Report Card Sobell: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Out Of The Dust
By Sobell | Season 3 | Episode 10 | Aired on 01.20.2008
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Mahone is BACK, baby! And he's looking none the worse for wear, so I'm guessing T-Bag's predictions about oozing noxious effluvia from every orifice were not fulfilled. That's a relief. Anyway, Mahone's now in the escape and double-teaming with Michael to let Whistler know that he's not fooling anyone with the humble-fisherman act. Also, he counsels Michael a little after Michael sort-of kills for the first time. But I'm jumping ahead...
So Sammy takes the gun that was delivered in the prior episode and uses it to stage a little coup, declaring himself Sona's grand poobah and offering a crate of booze to the first person who brings him Scofield. He's temporarily distracted from the business of sitting around and glowering by Bellick, whom T-Bag has manipulated into throwing down a chicken foot. Bellick's doing it for the prospect of an escape. Also, he is under the impression there is an unlimited supply of acetone in the prison. Sadly, he is wrong on that count, and Sammy is busy beating him to a pulp when he gets distracted by the prospect of cornering Scofield in the escape tunnel.
Anyway, this leads to a tense confrontation between the would-be escapees and Sammy's crew, and Michael goads Sammy into checking out the tunnel, and that ends up burying Sammy under a lot of dirt. While Whistler's thinking that maybe the cave-in is a result of Michael's sub-par engineering skills, Mahone catches Michael playing with a bolt that had been holding things into place, realizes that Michael planned Sammy's death, and tells him, "It never gets any easier."
Well, things are easier for Lechero -- after throwing the bodies of his double-crossing former crew into the courtyard, he's back on top. But they're not easier for Michael -- not only is T-Bag on the escape, Splenda wants in, too. At this rate, the whole point to this show will be to see just how big a crowd Michael can keep breaking out of prisons.
Meanwhile, on the outside...Susan B. lets Sucre know she's onto his little scheme with Linc, and Linc lets Sofia know he'd gladly take her to Paris if Whistler doesn't. After this revelation, Sofia decides to wash her lying old boyfriend right out of her hair, and when cleaning out his half of the closet, discovers a sealed metal case. What's in it? We'll find out in two weeks. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
When we begin the episode, Sammy is imploring Lechero to go ahead and kill Scofield (AKA "Blanco") already. Since that would severely crimp Lechero's plans for escape, the big bossman tries to put Sammy off with "He survived the box." "So what?" queries an underimpressed underling. Lechero explains that Scofield's a "folk hero" among the inmates, so killing him would be bad for morale. He attempts to placate Sammy with, "Look, I want him dead as much as you, but not at the cost of an uprising." Sammy's look of skepticism is so brazen, it's a wonder it doesn't just leap off his face and begin sneering independently. At the end of that little scene, Lechero looks over and sees T-Bag just watching everything with an evaluative eye. T-Bag then wanders outside to ogle Whistler. And who can blame him?
We then move back inside where the Sona mailman has dropped off an envelope for Mahone. There's no return address. Mahone opens the envelope and sees his son's latest school picture. He's overcome by emotion -- by the way, I love how he always rocks back and forth whenever he's feeling out of control -- and then Whistler comes along to intrude on Mahone's private moment. He smoothly learns that Mahone's clutching a picture of his son, then says, "Bagwell gave the okay. The coast is clear. Let's go."
Michael will be along shortly. First he has to go shopping for a new long-sleeved shirt, and then he has to humor Splenda, who's overjoyed that Michael did not emerge from the box as poached as a trout en papillote. Splenda asks, "Were you really trying to escape?" Michael says, "I don't know what you're talking about and neither do you." Splenda gives him a look like Michael's just kicked his puppy. So a stormy Michael turns around...and ends up with Whistler in his face, saying, "Just so you know, Bagwell's coming with us." Michael gives him a Really? REALLY? look and Whistler says apologetically, "You were gone. He had something we needed. I didn't have a choice." Michael just rolls his eyes and says, "Fine." Cue Mahone popping into frame and asking, "So what's the new plan?" The new plan is, everyone is going to piss off Michael so much that his Blue Steel glare finally goes supernova and cuts through concrete and rebar like a hot knife through butter. By continually goading Michael, the team will use him as a tool of destruction, then step out of the rubble and into freedom, sweet terrible freedom!
Or maybe they'll all crowd into the entrance to the secret escape tunnel. T-Bag confirms that Whistler has told Michael of his new co-escapees, then trots alongside Michael, wagging a finger in his face and saying dramatically, "I am coming with you." Michael doesn't even break stride as he says flatly, "Okay by me." T-Bag looks back at Whistler as if to ask, Are you sure this is the right Michael? Did you think to check for tattoos? Then he shouts at Mahone, "Did you hear that? Did you hear that, lawman!" His high-volume confirmation is cut short by Michael. He puts T-Bag on sentry duty, explaining that the work in the tunnel needs workers who have two good hands. Lechero then rubs a little salt in that new wound, saying T-Bag will have to keep an eye out for Sammy.