Episode Report Card Sobell: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT It's All Over But the Monologuing
By Sobell | Season 4 | Episode 21 | Aired on 05.15.2009
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.The first 17 minutes of the episode are enough to make Michael's head explode from stress: he fails to blow up his mom, he scrambles to find a way to rescue Linc and Dr. Sara, and Lincoln (of all people) breaks the news that Michael's going to be a father. Michael copes with the pressure by verbally abusing Mahone for a while (boo!), then tells him, "If there's something you need to do to protect Pam, you should do it."
So Mahone leaves his mental mind mate ... and goes to call Christina with a deal: if she pulls General Von Baldy's goons off Pam Watch and gives him Lincoln, he'll deliver Scylla. And THEN, Michael finds him again and says some sweet nothings and it's a very touching scene. Nevertheless, Mahone heads off and meets with Christina, apparently with Scylla in tow. And later we flash back (which is a BS narrative trick) and find out that Michael and Mahone colluded to have him deal with Christina while Michael worked to save Dr. Sara. He figured, correctly, that Christina couldn't read Mahone's mind like she can Michael's.
Meanwhile, General Von Baldy hands Dr. Sara over to T-Bag for torture and threats and general evildoing. The good doctor gets inside T-Bag's head and points out that the One World Conspiracy's hiring standards tend to be even more rigorous than McKinsey and Co's, and asks him to think of his own hide -- and hers -- by am-scraying before the General gives the "kill Dr. Sara" order. Unfortunately, T-Bag is so addled by his Scofieldien vendetta that he immediately dismisses this option. And then there are many very, very uncomfortable scenes wherein T-Bag attempts to talk dirty to Dr. Sara. For a would-be rapist, he sure takes a while to get to the point. This, however, works in Dr. Sara's favor, as she is rescued in the nick of time by Michael. WHO INEXPLICABLY FAILS TO KILL THE PSYCHO PERVERT WHO WAS ABOUT TO RAPE THE MOTHER OF HIS CHILD. Mah Gawd. Michael has killed minor characters for much, much less. So why stop now?
Meanwhile, a federal agent tracks down Don Self in the hospital and applies some pressure to his broken leg in order to make Don give up Michael and Lincoln's location. Watching Don writhe in the hospital bed precipitates a moral crisis: I am opposed to torture. Yet I enjoy watching Don Self suffer. Therefore ... um. Uh. Oh, crap, I hate these ethical dilemmas. Anyway, Don demands that the agents interrogating him make him a deal in writing and signed by the attorney general. Don then calls Michael to try and help the Feds trace his location, but that's not too successful. And then, he's poisoned by Slick. Or is that DOCTOR Slick? Either way, Slick presents another ethical dilemma because I am opposed to medical malpractice, and yet … oh, crap. Fortunately, there's another hour to iron this all out.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!The episode begins with Michael and Mahone walking together. I half-expect to see a giant, shimmering penumbra radiating from their heads as their awesome intellects break free of their skulls and pool to form one massive SuperMind. Alas, we get only grim exposition: Michael is determined to save both Linc and Dr. Sara without handing over Scylla to either General Von Baldy or Christina. Mahone would like to know how, and Michael muses, "Maybe we can get them to bring Linc and Sara to the same place." Mahone serves Michael his reality check: "Your brother's bleeding to death. Right now, the only advantage we have is that neither party knows there's another player that has leverage on you. You bring them both together, you lose your tactical advantage."
Michael insists that he won't abandon Dr. Sara, and Mahone coolly points out that he's not asking Michael to do that; he's suggesting that Dr. Sara has the tactical advantage of not having to deal with a sucking chest wound. Michael glares at him because he's right.
And now, we have another scene wherein it's established that Christina: A) hates Linc, b) has no soul and C) loves monologuing more the late Spalding Gray did. As Linc lies bleeding on a table, Michael calls and begs for Christina to give Linc the medical treatment he needs. "Not until I get what I need." Michael spits out, "Edison shipping. B-dock. 45 minutes. And bring my brother." I am insanely curious to find out what sort of plan Michael can whip up in that time period.
Then we zip over to Von Baldy, who's having a getting-to-know-you chat with Dr. Sara: "Was it worth it? Do you ever go back to that night and wonder how things would have gone if you had just left that infirmary door locked? All those people whose lives would have been saved? Hell, your father would still be alive. You ever think about that? And now that Michael's returning Scylla to me, it's all for nothing." Dr. Sara keeps her cool and points out that Michael's not necessarily coming back with Scylla. The General postulates that, were the situation reversed, she'd come back for Michael because "your heart betrays your better judgment. So does Scofield's." Dr. Sara calmly says, "You're probably right. Because if Michael had used his better judgment the night he stole Scylla out from under your nose, he'd have killed you." Von Baldy decides that the time for small talk is over and huffs off. T-Bag slithers over, pulls out his pocket, and hisses, "Take it." Dr. Sara just rolls her eyes. Well, when you've been worked over by Kellerman and Gretchen, every other would-be torturer is sort of B-grade, aren't they?