Is there anything better than being inside on a rainy day? If you're Michael, the answer is "yes," because "inside" is Sona, and "rainy day" means that the guards might see the sinkhole where the tunnel is. Because of these concerns, Michael decides to move the timetable of the escape up by twenty-four hours. None of the people involved in this escape are too thrilled about this -- not the truculent, backstabbing inmates on Team Escapara II; not Linc; not Sucre. Speaking of Michael's papi: he's sort of hosed coming and going: not only is Susan B. on to his bomb-planting scheme ("I read people. And you, my friend, are a coloring book"), she's pressuring him for inside information. And when he tries to leave his job at Sona, he's detained by his boss for having sketchy paperwork. Oh, I have a bad feeling about how this is going to turn out. On a different front: Lincoln's making progress with Sofia! She's all, "I am through dealing with my lying boyfriend who lies," which is good news for Lincoln's plan to live la vie en rose with her. However, Susan B. quickly nabs Sofia and burns her with cigars. This provides incentive for both Linc and Whistler. I can't help suspecting that Susan B. maybe burned Sofia a little extra because she's so jealous that two beefy he-men aren't wringing their hands over her well-being. Or maybe she's just a psychotic tool of the One World Conspiracy. Po-tay-to, po-tah-to. After Linc has to sit through Sofia being burned -- and the subsequent meeting at Sona with Whistler -- he steals a bus and rams it into a pole supporting the power that goes to the generator. Electricity's out, and the escape it on! And since the cons have stopped sniveling (Bellick), conspiring (T-Bag and Lechero) and moping (Whistler and Mahone), they queue up for escape. And guess who's coming with them? Splenda! Despite Michael's stark monologue about how very much it sucks to be a fugitive, Splenda's not deterred. Lechero, T-Bag, and Bellick bully their way to the front, the lights go down -- and it's go time.
The episode opens with the assorted members of Team Escarpara II bitching and moaning at Michael about the digging in the tunnel and whether or not they'll also die in an avalanche of ill will and topsoil. Mahone piles on with, "Mr. Whistler tells me you got stopped last time by a cloud --" "I'm still working on that!" Michael barks. I'm still working on answering the question, You know Scofield's a genius with a poker face and a ruthless streak -- why are you acting like you're the boss of him? Bellick, that answer goes double for you -- you're the jackass who landed IN HERE because of Michael and yet you're snapping, "I'd like to know if this girl is going to put out before I spend any more time buying her drinks!" It's so cute how he pretends the strip club didn't make the patrons buy overpriced drinks. Whistler needles Michael with "You know as well as I do what's riding on this." Michael snarls, "I'd say I know better." He does not add, "Your girlfriend's head is still attached to her neck." Lechero effectively tells them to shut up and resume digging.
We cut to the outside of the prison, where Linc is inquiring as to whether or not Sofia will be joining him at the visiting pen. Answer: No. As Sofia explains, "James and I have a lot of things to clear up, and I'm through trying to do it through a fence...you ever wish you could go back in time, just to remember how it was like when things made sense?" Linc is trying hard to look all sensitive and sound pensive, but you just know there's a big thought bubble above his head reading, "LINCOLN AM GETTING LUCKY IN MONTMARTRE!!!"
Lincoln heads out to talk to Michael. The latter promptly asks, "Is that Whistler's girlfriend? Why's she staying in the car?" Lincoln skillfully lies, "Guess she thinks she'll see him tomorrow." "You've been spending a lot of time, huh? You sure that's wise?" Michael fishes. "LINCOLN AM CHANGING SUBJECT," his brother replies. Way to be subtle, guy. Michael tells Linc they're behind schedule, but they "should" be out by mid-afternoon the day. Lincoln picks up on the "should" and Michael explains the problem: the tower, it is filled with guards and they all need to be looking the other way. Linc is like, "The middle of the day? Like, with light and everything?" and Michael explains that the guard complement is doubled at night, as are the jeep patrols. He then says, "Oh, and uh, there's something else. T-Bag's coming...and Mahone...and Bellick. Oh yeah -- there's a drug lord too." Lincoln fails to laugh out loud at the gallows humor. I guess I'm all alone with that then. He goes into a long lecture about how this is all about Whistler since L.J.'s life is in the well-manicured hands of the unbalanced Susan B., and Michael says, "I just wish there was another way to do this, to save L.J. without handing Whistler over." I just wish I could figure out why Michael's so soft-headed about Whistler, considering the latter tried to escape via helicopter, nephew be damned, then tried to play it off with, "At least I didn't kill you like I was supposed to!" At this point, Michael should be thinking of Whistler as a very large package (albeit one that probably would look better unwrapped) and delivering him accordingly.
Meanwhile, in the tunnel, Bellick is nervously telling everyone else to build those braces nice and tight. T-Bag comes down the ladder and attempts to sow discord with "we can work on this railroad all the livelong day and it dudden't matter if Scofield doesn't know what happens once we get off the train." Whistler derails T-Bag's metaphor by saying, "Once we get out of there, it's every man for himself. Scofield is not responsible for any of us." T-Bag says, "You obviously don't know him very well, Shakespeare. When we broke out of Fox River, he tried to screw every one of us." What T-Bag fails to add is that much of the original line-up on Team Escarpara had invited themselves along, so "screwing over" really means "didn't plan for at all." Anyway, T-Bag continues, "Half the men ended up dead, captured or [holds up prosthetic] worse." Mahone builds a brace as he adds his color commentary to Season Two's goings-on: "The guys who are easiest to catch are the ones who spend more time pissing and moaning than running." T-Bag ignores this and tells Whistler, "My only advice to you: Ecclesiastes 6:13 -- 'Separate thyself from thy enemies and take heed of thy friends.'" Speaking of someone who would like to be separated from T-Bag, it's Michael, come back to check on everyone's work.
We then get a brief montage of the men all working, and it's brought to an end when Lechero gets all huffy about Bellick sweating on him. Bellick protests that it's not him, it's the water seeping through the hatch above. Lechero commands, "Engineer, come." Michael trots on over, takes one look, and whispers, "Oh, no." He, Mahone, and Whistler all casually head over to a window to confirm that verily, a deluge is soaking Sona. Quick, guys! Go outside and wrestle in it! Sadly, they'd rather stand around and notice the sinkhole forming above the tunnel. Michael notes that the ground isn't going to hold 'til tomorrow. Whistler asks, "So what are we going to do?" Both Michael and Mahone fail to reply, "Call your friends with the helicopters." What Michael says instead: "We leave tonight." Or after the credits. Take your pick.
When we get back from credits (and, one assumes, commercials for those of you not watching via iTunes), Michael is in for round two of Everyone Doubts The Smart Guy With The Plan. Using small words, he explains that the guys can either leave at night, or they can hang around and wait for the tunnel to collapse under the weight of water and mud. Mahone is actually the one who rallies the troops: "We're not pulling this off tonight without all of us working around the clock. And none of us are ever making it out of here without his plan, so if you [Scofield] tell me that you can figure out a way how to do this at night, then I -- we -- can figure out a way how to get that tunnel dug in time." We cut to T-Bag seething over Mahone's successful motivation of his fellow escapees. Everyone heads out to dig.
Before Michael can get back to digging, he has to deal with Splenda, who attempts to guilt-trip Michael over how he's just like the U.S.A., all bullying and hypocritical and exploitative. Michael is like, Splenda, I own the guilty-conscience game. I am like the Michael Jordan of guilt-tripping martyrs. You are like a JV point guard. Don't even try it. Now go take off that McCready jersey and think about how out of your league you are.
Meanwhile, on the outside...Sucre is wrapping up a phone call in Spanish, and Linc is busy emphasizing how important it is for Sucre to eventually be somewhere because "if you don't, we're screwed." Sofia comes in, visibly upset. Sucre picks up on this, but Linc seems to take Sofia at her word when she murmurs, "I'm fine. I'm just going to grab my stuff." He replies, "It's probably best if you and James disappear." "I knooooow," Sofia sighs, clearly hoping Linc was going to tell her, "It's probably best if you hang with me." Anyway, the two make plans to meet up at Playa Blanca (incidentally, the name of my old apartment complex in Los Angeles -- say hello to all the feral hipsters who were too cool for things like "sleeping at night" and "volume knobs on their stereos," guys!) . Linc tells her they'll be on the 3:12.
And now, poor Sucre's been summoned to meet with Susan. Linc grouses about Michael's conscience and how he's having doubts about whether he should pull this thing off, and Sucre asks disbelievingly, "He's going to go through with it, right?" Linc shrugs as if to say, Who knows what goes on in that brain-crammed noggin on his? Sucre looks panicky.
Speaking of Michael, he's looking out the window and explaining to Whistler that he's trying to determine where the power lines connect to Sona's exterior lights. Whistler asks, "If cutting the power out there was an option, why didn't we do that in the first place?" Michael says, "One: the power out there isn't controlled from in here. And two: there's that [big object I'm looking at]. Every prison has a backup generator. Even if we cut the lights, they'd just come back on again immediately." Whistler understates the issue with, "That's a big bloody problem."
Meanwhile, on the outside...Michael has just called Linc to tell him, "Change of plans, Linc. We're doing this tonight." Linc asks, "What happened, Michael?" and Michael replies in perfect Lincolnese, "Rain. Dirt. Tunnel. Problem." (Either he's speaking Lincolnese or he's stumbled upon Elizabeth Gilbert's follow-up to Eat, Pray, Love.) Linc wants to know how long the tunnel can hold. Michael channels his irritating-little-brother act and snaps, "It depends." Irritation accomplished! Linc says, "Depends on what?" and Michael replies, "When the rain stops." We cut to Linc closing his eyes as if to say, LORD, GIVE LINCOLN PATIENCE. He eventually musters, "You said breaking out at night was impossible." Michael replies, "Yeah, well..." When Linc asks how Michael plans to pull it off, Michael replies, "For starters, I need to get a hold of Sucre."
This is assuming Sucre doesn't keel over from an anxiety attack first. He's waiting for Susan B. and clutching his beer as if it's a blankie. When Susan B. sits down, she asks sweetly, "Sucre, do you know what I do for a living?" He allows that he's got a pretty good idea. She continues, "I read people. And you, my friend, are a coloring book." Good one, Susan B.! She pulls out the bomb and says, "I think you left this in my car." Sucre's all, "Can't blame a guy for trying? Tee? Hee? Heh?" Susan B. says, "My fault -- guess I didn't make myself clear when I laid out the terms of our arrangement, so I'm going to try again, as simply as I know how. Anything happens -- anything at all that I wasn't expecting -- and there will be one less pregnant girl in Chicago." Sucre does not ask, "Because she'll have given birth? Heh? Heh?" Instead, he confirms for Susan B. that yes, the brothers are going to break Whistler out, then spills that Michael's having doubts about handing Whistler over. Just then, Linc calls to let Susan B. know that the escape timetable's been pushed up. Susan B. glares at Sucre as she asks, "Tonight? Should I be worried?" Sucre's looking surprised too, and Lincoln saves his bacon over the phone with, "I called you first thing. I'm being straight-up with you." Susan B. smiles as she says, "Awww. That's refreshing." Ah, Susan B., you get more delightful every episode. When she gets off the phone, Susan B. wants to know if Sucre knew about the accelerated timetable. No, he did not. Susan B. gives him a long, hard look, then tells him to scram. As Sucre does, he pushes his beer off the counter into some glassware in a big, angry noise. Susan B. smirks.
And then...it is broad daylight, Sucre's all sweaty and hot from being outside, and the sidewalks and walls are dry as a bone. He's telling Linc over the phone that Susan B. found the bomb. Linc, who is still watching the rain, is not too happy about this but whatever else is going on in the scene sort of fades because I am just way, way too distracted by this weird weather discrepancy. Exactly how far away is Sucre? Exactly how many microclimates exist between the bar and the hotel? If there were both sun and rain, would it have killed Sucre to look up and exclaim, "Look -- a rainbow!"?
Back at the prison, Michael is now watching the sun bake the new sinkhole. He tells Whistler that no, just because it stopped raining doesn't mean they can go back to the old escape plan. He then perches by the window and looks over at Whistler reading. Michael asks, "Anything interesting? Like some coordinates the One World Conspiracy might want to get their hands on?" Whistler sighs and replies, "If they didn't want me out of here, and your nephew was safe, would you still be doing this?" Michael says, "Breaking out? No." Whistler asks why Michael would choose to stay -- and I love how he has internalized the assumption that any prison tenure Scofield undertakes is entirely of his own choosing -- and Michael replies, "I guess that's the difference between us. I'm willing to pay for my sins." Whistler replies, "And I'm not?" Michael says thoughtfully, "That's a good question."
Meanwhile, T-Bag and Lechero are working on the tunnel. T-Bag is lobbying hard to stick close to Lechero post-escape, saying he'll be quite helpful. Lechero tells him, "If I need a hand, I'll find someone with a spare." T-Bag and I both laugh, although I suspect only one of us is genuinely amused. He continues making his sales pitch: "Think about it! Scofield's got us down here doing manual labor. Suh-lave labor." This has the intended effect of pissing Lechero off. T-Bag pounces, continuing to drive home the point that Michael is a scheming schemer who schemes. Lechero cuts that dead with, "Who among us isn't?"
Everyone is distracted by the assorted prison trucks that roll into the muddy no-man's land just then, and Michael's eyes bug with panic over the idea of someone driving right into the sinkhole -- and, by extension, into the tunnel. There's a tense few moments when a truck gets stuck in the mud right near the sinkhole, but it's all for nothing. The guards are there to dump out their food supplies; then they push the truck out of the mud -- mere feet from the sinkhole -- and take off again.
Meanwhile, on the outside...Sofia is kidnapped right outside an ATM.
A minute later, Susan B. rings Lincoln. By the way, she's looking fabulous in a classic black wrap dress. (I love those dresses, but I work right along the San Francisco waterfront and, alas, it is windy. So I'll just covet Susan B.'s.) Anyway, Susan B.'s making a date to chat with Linc, live and in person, in 30 minutes. Anyone who doesn't think Sofia will be there, raise your hand. You? You? Now go and re-watch all of Season Three because clearly nothing Susan B. has done up to this point has sunk in.
Back at Sona, Sucre's showing up for work. He has another nervous moment when he misses his boss calling his "name" (Jorge), and the boss is all, "It's payday -- don't forget to pick up your check." Sucre does not point out that he's rolling in filthy cash based on his extracurricular activities. What he does do is decide to pick up his check later. Right now, he has a hot phone date with Michael. I just love how he says, "Hey, Papi, it's me," when he calls. Such a great pal!
Back at the tunnel, Mahone's busy making a mud-caked manhole cover so the escapees can cover the tunnel on their way out and delay discovery of their escape. As Mahone works with Bellick -- he is pouring honey onto what looks like a barrel lid while Bellick spreads dirt on it -- Bellick tries pitch Mahone on a post-escape partnership. He says, "We could be a team, like Butch and Sundance." Mahone reminds him that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid died. ["Great line delivery on that by Fichtner, too. Too bad he's spent most of the season in junked-out acting-tic hell." -- Sars] Bellick replies, "I mean in the other parts." Bellick, no matter how you spin it, you're not going to get to nail Katherine Ross. He natters on pathetically for a while, just long enough for us to see the very real panic that Bellick's feeling since he knows he has no useful survival skills. Mahone cuts him down, but gently: "Let's just let Scofield get us out of here, and then we'll worry about everything else, all right?" Bellick mutters, "All right." Mahone coaxes him along with, "Come on -- a little more dirt."
Michael, meanwhile, is walking Sucre through a chore: he has Sucre read him the manufacturer's label on the backup generator so he can get the name and model number. Once Sucre's able to tell him about the Prana Industrial, model number 3210, Michael's a happy man. Relatively speaking, of course. Sucre then asks Michael if it's going to go well that night, and Michael asks if Sucre really wants an answer to that. Sucre replies, "I just want everyone to get what they want." This moves Michael to give Sucre a little peace of mind with "Yeah, I do [think it'll work out]." Awww! Scofield and Sucre! I dig their friendship -- especially since it just inspired Sucre to figure out how to monkey with the vehicles on Jeep patrol.
Meanwhile, on the outside...Linc has walked into his meeting with Susan B. at a local, conveniently deserted warehouse. He notices Sofia sitting at the table with Susan B., and immediately asks if she's okay. Sofia bravely lies that she is. Susan B. merrily plays hostess, but Lincoln declines her offer of a seat and a drink. Susan B. innocently claims, "I just wanted to get everyone together so we can discuss tonight's agenda, maybe nail down a few guidelines." And she plans on doing so with Michael and Whistler as well. I had no idea Sona had WebEx!
Back in Lechero's old digs, Whister's chilling as Michael comes in. Because Sucre also got Michael the customer service number for the Prana model #3210, Michael's able to call the company and inquire as to the following: "I'm a sub working down here on a site in Panama. I have a client here asking questions about the 3210 generator we're installing. [pause] [chortle] Yeah, exactly. Um, anyway, they want to know...if the main power shuts down, how long are they going to be in the dark before the generator kicks in? Yeah, thanks. I'll hold." Whistler sharply observes, "You're a very good liar." Michael turns around and gives Whistler a look we can't see. Then he turns back and falls back into character: "That's the timing? That's it. Appreciate it." Michael then tells Whistler, "We should have just enough dark to make it."
Then the mobile phone rings again. It's Linc -- he wants to make sure Susan can talk to Whistler. Michael hands over the phone with, "It's for you." When Whistler picks up, Linc looks to Susan B. and she says coldly, "Tell him I want him to listen very carefully to the following instructions." Whistler's listening. Sofia says, "James?" and Whistler's whole demeanor goes softer as he asks, "Was that Sofia? Is she there?" Linc replies in the affirmative. Then he passes on, "[Whistler] wants to know what this is about." Susan B. says, "All right. I'll tell him." Then she grind something -- it looks like a cigar -- into Sofia's back. We see smoke rising and Sofia screams in pain. Linc rushes forward, yelling, "No!" and some nearby goons pull their guns. Susan B. walks forward. On the other end, Michael sits down, sickened and shaken. Whistler asks desperately, "Is that Sofia? Is that Sofia?" Susan B. picks up the phone and asks, "Have you figured out the coordinates yet, James?" On the other end, a teary Whistler replies, "Almost." Susan B. replies, "Wrong answer," and as Whistler yells over the phone, Sofia does too, sobbing. Whistler sobs, "I'll get them for you when we get out of here, I swear!" Susan B. tells him, "All your promises, your guarantees...they mean nothing. I'm pretty sick of waiting around for you boys to screw me over. I'm going to need those coordinates by the end of the day." She pushes the cigar into Sofia's back one more time and clicks off the phone with that.
Whistler hangs up the phone and has himself a little crying fit, then turns back to his little book. Michael tells him, "We both know you can't just hand over that information...once they get what they want, they'll have no reason to keep your girlfriend or my nephew alive." T-Bag has been eavesdropping, and he takes off before he hears Michael promise, "We'll work something out. We'll think it through."
We then cut to T-Bag fuming at Mahone, "Whistler, Whistler...why is he so special anyway? Do you think he has anything to do with why those people wanted Scofield down here in the first place?" Mahone finally asks, "Is there something on your mind?" T-Bag reasons, "If we needed a bargaining chip, do you think a sharp stick in that dour limey would help us out?" Nice call back to British seafaring history, T-Bag! Mahone points out that "there is no 'us,'" but T-Bag begs to disagree. "We both know how it feels to lose a great love, how it feels to kill a man, and we both ended up in here because of Michael Scofield," he says. I guess it's easier to blame Michael than yourself. T-Bag asks, "Wouldn't it be poetic justice if we could just return the favor?" Mahone replies," Justice? If there was an ounce of it left in this world, you'd be lying facedown in the same unmarked grave as the rest of your inbred family." Oh, that does not go over well with T-Bag, who makes assorted dire threats about the necessity of watching one's back. I personally love how all you have to do to get to T-Bag is to allude to how his family tree is really more of a straight-up log.
Meanwhile, on the outside...Linc is tending to Sofia's wounds while Susan B. idly speculates as to whether or not Whistler really loves Sofia like he says he does. "You and your white knight can ride off into the sunset," she purrs. Then she looks at Linc and adds, "Unless you're already with him." Lincoln does not dignify that speculation with a reply. He then asks if Susan's scared or desperate, reasoning that she tends to get bloody when she's frustrated. She replies, "You need to stop fighting me. If you understood what was going on, you'd know we were the good guys." Linc finds this implausible. Susan B. presses on, "Haven't you ever done the wrong things for the right reasons?" Linc asks, "What are the right reasons, Susan? What is it about Whistler that's so important?" Sofia would like to know too. Susan B. whips out the "I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you" cliché and Linc replies, "You're going to do that anyway." Oh, Susan B. You're losing your touch.
We cut to Whistler telling Michael that he's figured out the coordinates and he's going to hand them over. Michael asks, "What if you gave them the wrong coordinates? It might buy us more time. Maybe Linc can get Sofia to safety." Whistler shuts Scofield right the hell up with "Like he did with Sara?" Oh, why did he have to go there? Was that necessary? Whistler promptly apologizes for overstepping. Then there's some more back-and-forth about what Whistler's about to do: Whistler reasons there's honor in protecting whom you love, while Michael points out, "Honor's a luxury men like us can't afford." And then there's more back-and-forth, and as much as I like Whistler, he is like the Sona version of Hamlet with the dithering and angst and fulminating.
Immediately outside the walls, Sucre creates a diversion so he can get at the guts of one of the trucks without anyone noticing. He then tries to get out of Sona unnoticed, but the same officer as before -- for sake of brevity, let's call him Officer Mullet -- stalls him. Oh, I have a bad feeling about this. Never go to a second location with a guy who has a mullet.
Michael and Whistler are both summoned to the visiting pen. On the other side of the fence: Susan B., Sofia and Lincoln. Susan B. launches the festivities with "I suppose introductions are unnecessary at this point." Michael asks what they're doing, and Susan B. tells them, "We're here to say goodbye." Whistler vows, "I promise you, sweetheart, they're not going to hurt you anymore." Susan B. asks for the coordinates. Sofia interrupts, apologizing for getting kidnapped, and Whistler tells her it's not her fault. He says, "When I took this job, I knew they weren't good people. I just didn't know how bad they were. Everything that's happened...it's all because of me. For that, I'm truly sorry." Susan B. couldn't care less about apologies. She just wants the coordinates. Whistler rips the paper in half and passes one part over, explaining that he's buying goodwill, but Susan B. doesn't get the second half until he knows that Sofia's not being employed in any flame-retardant capacities, and that L.J., Linc, and Michael are all safe. Susan B. coolly says, "I'm impressed. It seems our fisherman grew himself a set of oysters." And then she steams everyone's oysters by setting a stopwatch to go off in 24 hours and threatening, "If I don't have the coordinates [when the timer goes off], L.J. and the senorita stop breathing." She somehow hands over the timer without getting caught, then drags off Sofia. Tellingly, Sofia first calls for Lincoln to help her. Argue all you want that it makes sense to shout for the guy who's on the same side of the fence; I think it's another sign that Sofia counts on Linc in a way she never counted on Whistler. After the two women take off, Whistler looks at Michael and says, "I've helped you. Now you help me. Please. Just get us out of here." Michael actually looks sorry. This is when I really wish the TV show were a comic book instead, because I would love to see what his thought bubble in re: Whistler reads from moment to moment.
After Whistler takes off, Lincoln and Michael talk electricity: Michael needs someone to cut the power supply outside the prison so that the electricity can go down. Linc asks, "How are you going to do that?" Michael replies, "I can't." Linc sighs before asking, "How much time do I have?" Haaaaaaa. Well, if Lincoln was carrying around an indebted feeling over Michael getting himself into prison to get Lincoln out, you know he's not carrying it anymore. I can even see him pointing out, "You know, in the prison-escape racket, we're tied at one-one." In any event, the two brothers make plans to meet at the beach around 5:15 in the morning. Lincoln then asks about Whistler, saying, "He manned up. He could have handed over the information, but he didn't. You still concerned about handing him over?" Michael replies, "I've got my concerns about everybody, Linc. You know what I mean?" I've got my concerns about the cameraman. Why is there this weird, film-the-man-from-below action going on? Is the cameraman okay? Did he faint, and the footage is what was reeling while he was out? I just don't know. Michael sighs, "Mostly, I'm just tired. Tired of choices and consequences." And I would expect that he's still processing the shock of finding out that his girlfriend's got something in common with Marie Antoinette now, and it's not a weakness for sweets. After all, he found out about that what, like, three days ago? Four?
Then Michael goes inside to deal with Splenda. He sits down to the sulky youth and says, "When you're on the run, you're always looking over your shoulder, listening for the sirens, wondering if that pretty girl across the street is staring at you because she wants you, or because you're wanted. You change your name, the way you look, and leave everything you knew behind. And the ones you love -- they're the ones who have to pay. That's what's waiting for you on the outside, that's why I couldn't bring you on. Because nothing good can come of this." Splenda fails to be impressed by this monologue. He'd still like out, thank you very much. Michael struggles to say something, finally settling on, "It has to be your decision. I cannot be responsible for you." Splenda's like, "Have you not been listening, fool? I have decided yes." Michael tells Splenda that he should tell his dad to call Lincoln and coordinate the pick-up time tomorrow. He walks off, leaving Splenda to reassess his earlier comments about whether or not individual Americans reflect the U.S.A.'s global reputation as a blowhard hypocrite.
Night falls, and Michael heads in to check the tunnel. T-Bag comments, "She's a little wet, but she's ready. It makes me think of the first thing I'm going to do when we get out." I realize he's going for a double entendre here, but I'm thinking of the last time T-Bag got out and I'm like, "What does 'wet and ready' have to do with 'one-armed killing spree'?" Bellick says anxiously, "Does anyone know what's Spanish for 'Don't shoot?'" Lechero replies, "No despare." Bellick frantically asks him to repeat that. Wade Williams does such a great job with this character. I should say that more often, but seriously, this has been a great episode for Bellick. Mahone tells him to relax: "Nobody's going to get shot. Just don't panic." Michael assures them all that the Jeep patrol's been taken care of, Linc will cut the power, and the 30-second lag between the power outage and the backup generator will work out to everyone's advantage. Lechero sneers, "You expect us to run in 30 seconds?" and Michael shrugs, "As soon as the lights go out, I'm gone -- with or without you." He walks off to let Mahone, Bellick, Lechero, and T-Bag stew on that.
Meanwhile, on the outside...Lincoln checks out the power line he's supposed to knock over. He's staring up at it when it hits him: there's a bus stop right nearby.
Back at the prison, the Jeep patrol is preparing to go out for the night. Sucre is still trying to get out of the office, but Officer Mullet isn't letting him go. It turns out that his papers...belong to guy with an outstanding arrest warrant. Only Sucre would end up with forged papers that make him a wanted man. O, the irony! And it's not like Sucre can say, "No, no -- there are only outstanding arrest warrants for me in the States, not here." The one bright spot in all this: those cars he worked on are shutting down. We see him smile when nobody's looking. (Awwww! We need to see Sucre smile more often. Please give him a Season Four where all he has to do is pet puppies and wear wet t-shirts. Thank you.)
And back on the outside...Lincoln has hailed a bus, and he promptly carjacks (busjacks?) it with something that looks like a stumpy little oyster knife. Frankly, I'm surprised the driver wasn't equipped with a machete for precisely this rural-passenger-tries-to-abscond-with-bus scenario.
Anyway, we get a cool sequence where Michael walks down the halls of Sona, grabbing Splenda with a curt "Now" and arousing a sleepy Whistler with a smack on the arm and a "Let's go." The three stride down the hall looking all bad-ass (Splenda looks bad-ass by proxy). Then they head into the tower. Michael attempts to rally everyone to move once the lights go down, but there's a simmering revolt over Splenda's presence. It provides a nice cover for Lechero to pull out a shiv and press it to Whistler's throat. Michael rolls his eyes and says, "Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Haaaaaaaa. I love that he's so jaded at this point. Waving his own shiv around, T-Bag informs everyone that he and Lechero plan to go first. Michael replies, "What are you going to do, kill me?" No -- they plan on killing Whistler if they don't get their way.
Michael finally makes a big show of telling the conniving cons to go ahead, and Bellick's all, "Yeah, I think I'll go third." As Bellick's climbing the ladder, Michael asks Mahone, "You want to move up in line too?" Mahone replies, "I think I'm going to stay back here. I just don't want to turn my back on anybody." Michael silently ascends the ladder.
We see Linc driving the bus, and a few yards away from the pole he has to take out, he tucks and rolls out of the bus. The bus keeps going.
In the tunnel, the men are lined up, squatting in wait. Lechero lifts the lid on the tunnel and gets a face full of mud for his trouble, but he's shaking it off.
The bus takes out the power pole. Linc shields his eyes against the shower of sparks...
...and Lechero shields his eyes against the shower of water leaking through the top of the tunnel hatch. The lights go out, and he looks at Michael. Michael looks up and says, "Thirty seconds. Go!" And we're out! We'll see who makes it week.