Episode Report Card Sobell: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT The Fool Of The World And The Flying Ship
By Sobell | Season 3 | Episode 8 | Aired on 11.11.2007
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.It's the day after the escape attempt, and Michael's just gotten the news from Linc that they have another four days to break out Whistler. However, Whistler has gotten the news that the One World Conspiracy is planning on breaking him out that afternoon in something called "bang and burn." I show my age by wondering, "What does REM have to do with getting out of prison?"
Anyway, Susan B. is not too crazy about the "bang and burn" operation, but she pushes it into motion because General Von Baldy (you will remember him as Agent Kim's boss in season two) has told her that if she does not, he will have things done to her that make her three weeks of gang-rape and torture in Mosul "feel like a massage." Susan B. goes ahead with the operation, despite her reservations, and while it is very effective in blowing things up and killing lots of guards, it does not get Whistler out.
This would be because his attempt to get out via a line thrown down from a helicopter is thwarted by one very angry Michael Scofield. Over the course of the episode, Michael and Linc realize the One World Conspiracy plans on killing them off, and they manage to stay in touch to warn one another. This is no mean feat, as Michael's got his hands full with Lechero's new interest in breaking out and in eying Whistler suspiciously. (He was right to do so: Whistler had his orders from Susan B. to kill Michael, balked, and may now regret it.) Linc was also not slacking this episode, what with renting a cabin in the middle of nowhere and rescuing Sofia from One World Conspiracy goons.
Anyway, Bang and Blame -- I mean "bang and burn" fails spectacularly. Whistler is still stuck in prison, Susan B. ties one on as she awaits the inevitable consequences of her failed mission, and the prison guards conclude that Michael and his habit of breaking out of prisons are bad for Sona's general peace of mind. The episode ends with him being dragged out of Sona. Won't Mahone be surprised when he returns to the same prison later?
Now this is how you go on hiatus! Want more? The full recap starts right below!
The episode starts off with a shot of the Sona visiting pen and one of the most awesome covers of "Don't Fear the Reaper" I've heard in a while. It is awesome because A) it is in Spanish, and B) there is no cowbell, so the mental image of Will Farrell whaling away does not automatically spring to mind. Then we zip inside to get shots of everyday life in Sona, and honestly, it sort of reminds me of the few times I walked through Pritchard Hall back in my undergraduate days.
As Michael walks across the courtyard, he's distracted by Splenda asking if Michael likes his visiting-day togs -- a button-down shirt and wrinkled khakis. Michael dismissively says he does, and Splenda rattles on, "It's a special occasion. My dad's coming today, so I'm just going to wait here until he shows up." This affects Michael. He finally looks at Splenda, and nods, "You look sharp." As he scurries off to see his visitor, he claps Splenda on the arm.
As Michael walks out to see Linc, we see a worker welding new bars on the prison windows. Michael's first words are, "L.J. Is he --" "He's alive," Linc confirms. He adds that the brothers have four more days. Michael says, "Okay. Good," and turns to go. Linc stops him in his tracks by calling out, "Back at the exchange point, I saw three body bags. You, me, and L.J. -- we weren't getting out of there alive. It's the last time I get caught flat-footed." Michael half-turns and says flatly, "You do what you gotta do, Linc. As long as I take care of my end, right?" Linc tries to explain himself, but Michael runs right over him with, "You lied." Linc claims, "I had to lie," and Michael walks back over. He says emotionally, "Your son is my nephew, and there's nothing I wouldn't do for him. But apparently you think I only care about myself." Linc is bright enough not to snap, "That's right, St. Michael -- I totally think you're self-centered and you threw away your life in Chicago for kicks." He merely says, "You cared about Sara and loved her. And I'm sorry. But L.J.'s my son. I couldn't let anything happen to him. You know that." Michael's quiet for a moment, then tells Linc that so far as he's concerned, Linc and the One World Conspiracy have something in common. Oooh, burn.
Meanwhile, outside Sona...Susan B. is letting herself into her hotel room as she tells someone on the phone, "I don't know where he is. I have tried every number I have." She opens the door to a hotel room full of General Von Baldy and his goon squad, then tells her fellow conspiracy stooge, "Never mind. I found him." General Von Baldy pushes Susan B. off her footing early on by noting, "Carter Blue Label. You always had such high-end tastes for a girl from Wheeling." Or entirely fictitious tastes -- that looks an awful lot like a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, but I'm guessing someone somewhere didn't approve name-dropping a real brand name. Anyway, General Von Baldy is displeased. So displeased, he's busted out the name "Gretchen" and told Susan B. they're ending her little mission today with something called "bang and burn." Susan B. replies, "That was analyzed. What you're asking for is too dangerous, not to mention next to impossible in the given time frame." General Von Baldy tells her he didn't dump a big bucket of money into Susan B.'s offshore bank account to hear words like "impossible." Susan B. stands firm: "I am doing my job when I tell you to reconsider." And then she is not so much standing anymore; two of the goon squad have pushed her down on the bed so she's pinned. General Von Baldy says, "I don't pay you to be my advisor. You're my operative. You have your instructions. Now get it done, because if you don't, I'll make what happened to you in Mosul feel like a massage." And here is where I would normally crack on how unsurprising it is that the One World Conspiracy uses sexual trauma as an employee-motivation technique, but honestly, I am too distracted by Susan B's eye shadow. She's rocking a blue-and-purple blend that reminds me of what we'd do during slumber parties in sixth grade. Yep -- all we needed was our LP of Seven and the Ragged Tiger and Maybelline's coordinated eye shadow compacts, and we became glamorous little insomniacs bearing uncanny resemblances to Nick Rhodes. Good times! Better times than Susan B's having now, anyway.