Episode Report Card Sobell: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Some poor Mexican hooker -- dead!
By Sobell | Season 2 | Episode 20 | Aired on 03.18.2007
Wheeler can't meet Mahone's eyes, but he does interrupt with a tremulous gulp, "You don't want to do this, okay? Just take a moment --" Mahone leans in and screams, "If you're going to stab me in the back, Agent Wheeler, be smart enough to cover up the knife." His voice has fallen to a raspy rebuke: "You go and visit Franklin three times this week, called Sullins twice a day? Didn't you learn anything working for me? You gotta cover your tracks unless you... " The realization hits Mahone and he says softly, "Unless you want to get caught." Wheeler finally looks at Mahone and his face is a study in remorse. Mahone muses, "You wanted me to know it was you." Wheeler looks up and says, "You're a killer, Alex." Mahone whispers, "Is that so?" Wheeler forges on, "Soil samples taken from your yard in connection with the disappearance of Oscar Shales. Forensics is prepared to submit a report detailing the irregularities in the shooting of David 'Tweener' Apolskis. There's -- there's your blatant disregard for protocol in the death of Abruzzi --"
"And the escaped con who says I told him to kill himself," Mahone interrupts dryly. He adds mockingly, "You think his testimony is going to send you to the promised land?" Wheeler says, "You can erase me too. But it's not going to erase the very real fact that you're going to spend the rest of your life in prison." Mahone gives Wheeler an inscrutable look, then says, "You remind me of myself when I was a young agent." Wheeler speaks for all of us with: "What?" He then says bitterly, "I wish I could take that as a compliment." For the first time, Mahone's supercilious façade is cracked. He swallows hard, then says, "That's some real fine work, Wheeler. Good job." Then Mahone moves quickly, practically draping himself on Wheeler as he urgently implores him, "Don't you let anyone scare you into doing the wrong thing." He pulls back, gives Wheeler a flickering ghost of a smile. Wheeler draws back even further, falls back on a script: "Let me take you in. Whatever mess you're in, we can clean it up." Mahone tells him, "There's only one way out of this. " Then he melts into the background.
And now, if y'all excuse me, I have to go collect myself, because that was such an excellent scene. It seems like many of the show's scenes between father figures and the sons who go against them are. It's just too bad the actual scenes between father and sons earlier this year were so hammy by comparison.
We cut to the still-alive C-Note, who is just sitting on his bunk doing nothing. A guard comes over and tells him he's got a visitor. Because the guard is being all cute about who exactly is visiting, C-Note assumes the worst and sort of flips out, all "Tell me! I'm a-gonna walk down this hall, bellowing like a bull moose, because I'm all freaked out! And can you blame me? Look what I've been through lately?" But then -- oh, those prankster guards! It's Kacee and the newly recovered Dede. And surprisingly, Kacee does not slap C-note so hard his features end up on the back of his head, while shouting, "That is for your little performance during our last visit! And for landing my ass in jail! And for mismanaging our daughter's illness! And for lying about being in prison! There will be no more of that! Do you hear me?"