Episode Report Card Sobell: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT …And Now Miguel
By Sobell | Season 3 | Episode 2 | Aired on 09.23.2007
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Oh, Lord, where to start with this episode?
So...there's a water shortage at Sona and things are looking bad for Lechero. The entire prison's in a bad mood, made worse only by the guy who's fomenting dissent. So Lechero's in a bad mood, and T-Bag is totally taking advantage of it.
Meanwhile, Michael and Mahone are in a race to extract Whistler. Michael's motive is to save Dr. Sara and Linc. Mahone wants to do it because he's found out that whoever kills Whistler will get a free pass out of jail. Unfortunately for Michael, Mahone gets to Whistler first.
On the plus side, Michael has a new Sucre: his new sidekick, who was tossed into Sona as a mere stripling and sees Michael as his ticket to the gold-paved streets of los Estados Unidos. Seeing as how the old Sucre is alive and kicking, this should be interesting when Sucre and Sucre Jr. inevitably meet up.
(And they will -- Sucre's alive, and evidently none the worse for wear despite bleeding all over Panama. He goes to kill Bellick, but Bellick tells him that he was lying about kidnapping Maricruz, and somehow, that makes it all okay. Sucre goes skipping off to find his ladylove. A chance encounter with Linc leads to a reality-check conversation, and in the end, Sucre breaks up with Maricruz because there's no realistic way for the two of them to be together. And to that I say ABOUT DARN TIME.)
Back to Sucre Jr....he is now Michael's go-to guy on the inside and helps Michael get the raw material he needs to miraculously blast the balky water pipes back into operation. That moist accomplishment earns Michael the custody of Whistler after Mahone's done all the hard work of dragging him out of the squalid sewers. It also earns him still more acrimony from T-Bag and Mahone, both of whom had their own reasons for wanting to see Michael remain on Lechero's really bad side.
However, the restoration of the water permits Lechero to remain in charge and drown his enemies so...win-win! Unless you're the guy who just got a few lungsful of cool, clear water, that is. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
We open with an exterior shot of Sona, then quickly move to the courtyard that serves as the prison's nerve center. We get miscellaneous shots of the inmates. The mystery of who painted all those murals is solved (it's some anonymous guy) and we switch over to Mahone, who is sitting and rocking back and forth as he mumbles to himself. T-Bag watches this.
We then switch to Bellick. Is there a sorrier sight than a filthy man lurching around in his no-longer-so-tighty-whiteys? He's wandering around the courtyard with his empty water glass, which leads us to…
…the lengthy queue where the inmates are waiting for their dipperful of liquid. Michael is waiting in line too, and only his little friend in the NBA jersey has the nerve to talk to him. After Michael reluctantly admits he's from Chicago, the kid pipes up, "Michael Jordan! Did you meet him?" Michael gives the kid an irritated glare and sighs, "It's a big city." Bellick lurches up and grunts, "Thanks for saving me a spot." Faster than Michael can say, "No cutsies!" another inmate's rushed over to enforce the line. Do you suppose Lechero appoints line monitors? Perhaps he's working on getting them a little belt and badge so they can also lead fire drills and write tardy passes for the inmates.
Bellick limps back to the end of the line; Michael resumes fidgeting, beating his glass against his hand in a rapid tattoo. Nervous tic, or sign that the cogs in his cranium are creaking along as he plans? His little sidekick doesn't care; he'd rather find out if Michael's ever scored with a blonde cheerleader. Michael absently says, "Yeah, sure," and ups the fidgeting to 11. His little sidekick congratulates Michael on his presumed coital coup.
Michael asks how long the water's been out, and we learn that it's been a year. The government sees no reason to address this, citing their adoption of Colin Powell's famous Pottery Barn rule of statesmanship. How is it that Amnesty International is not all over this, with the prison that routinely tosses out bodies and substitutes gladiatorial bouts for basic utilities?
Right after Michael and his little follower get their vessels filled, Michael tries to get the 411 on James Whistler. The news is not so good, according to the kid. And you know what? Seeing as this kid is basically performing the same expository role Sucre did in Season One, I am going to dub him…Splenda. He may play a similar role, but he is merely a sugar substitute. Anyhoodle, Splenda explains that everyone in the prison's looking for Whistler because "He killed the mayor of Panama City's son in a bar fight. The mayor's not happy…" Subsequently, Whistler got out of sight in a hurry.
Meanwhile, Lechero's number two thug from last week picks a fight with someone who evidently owes him money, and in the ensuing fracas ends up knocking over the water barrel. Lechero pulls the guy away, rolling his eyes all, Is it so UNREASONABLE to ask that my flunkies don't make things more DIFFICULT? The guy who was enforcing the no-cutsies rule in line is unhappy that his hard work was for naught. Lechero assures him more water's on its way, but has no real answer when Thirsty Angry Guy barks, "When?"