Prison Break Season 4 Episode 17

This one becomes more and more painful to watch. Even silly shows like Burn Notice look more convincing than Prison Break. Does anyone think that the plot too much resembles the Angela Petrelli's story so far?? And why the hell everyone is so brushed and wearing heavy makeup for the shoot in Miami, especially Lincoln? I also wasn't aware that the freight trucks in the States are equipped with the fully lit storage compartment...so the escapees can feel comfortable while traveling to Miami. And of course, the General is not dead - quite like LOST noone actually dies on this show. Watch for Bellick glorious return in one of the next episodes. Phew. To me this show is dead.

After the long hiatus, it was hard to remember what happened and I think this affect the audience too. Now every character has one more motivation, their relatives are in great danger, nothing new until now, but since we are approaching the finale, it is normal to begin this way.





The center of this episode was Michael mother´s and we take the whole episode to discover her true intentions, in the mean time Michael have is own filler time in the truck, very boring and one of the worst filler presented in PB.





The general didn´t die in that explosion, how, is another miracle that the only the writers can do.





Presentation Phase - » (6/10),


Complication Phase - » (6/10),


Climax Phase - » (6/10),


Ending - » (6/10),


Details/Progress (To point A to B) -» (4/10),


Time and Scene Management - » (6/10),


Plot Details/Holes- » (8/10),


Suspense/Tension - » (6/10),


Drama - » (6/10)*2





Boring episode, centering in Michael mother intentions and presenting fillers.

It was a decent return back, but the fact the the rest of the series looks to be focusing big on the mother side of things doesnt feel like the end the show was working towards in the beginning of the series. I also know that this was supposed to be a mini-series and that it branched off into more. However, I remember reading an article during season three that said they had it planned out for five seasons. Because of the writers strike and the lack of a solid viewer base anymore we got four - but this doesnt feel like the endgame to the show to me. The episode was solid, but nothing to write home about. Hoping that it gets better during this last stretch of episodes here because the beginning of this season was really something special.

What a jumbled mess Prison Break is these days, eh? Since the culmination of the 'retrieve Scylla for the government' storyline, the programme has lacked focus, moving hastily from underwhelming development to underwhelming development, searching desperately for something with which to engage its ailing viewership. The end result is ultimately little more than a glorified run around as characters chase other characters, switch allegiances and then chase some more, with very little rhyme or reason to the whole thing. And then a few 'shock' beats are thrown into the mix in attempt to liven things up but, unfortunately, they fall depressingly flat. First, we had the crushingly pointless turn of Agent Don Self which, frankly, has yet to prove even remotely worthwhile since he's done little more than be an irritating ball of smug for the past five episodes, and now there's the revelation that Mike and Linc's mother is alive and well and (probably) trying to take over the Company by WHATEVER MEANS NECESSARY. Sigh. When this revelation was made at the end of 'The Sunshine State', an entire nation let out a collective, disappointed groan. Really, is there any point to this other than to manufacture some hopelessly transparent 'character drama'? And where to begin with the logistics of it all... is it even remotely possible that it might make any sense when taken into context with the show's mythology? I mean, are we just supposed to believe that she sat by and twiddled her thumbs while her son was on Death Row and the other one was getting himself imprisoned to rescue him? Oh, um, yeah actually, we are because LOOK, SHE'S (PROBABLY) EVIL! She'll happily order the execution of her son! What a b***h! Except, um, no. This is just embarrassing because it's so easy to see through it to what it really is: a desperate clutch for something dramatic to infuse the story with. And even if she isn't evil (which, let's face it, with the way Prison Break see-saws between extremities from episode to episode, she likely isn't), there's no way we're ever going to get a logical explanation for her behaviour in the past year or so. Just look at the scene where Linc confronts her: oh, she can't reveal her reasons NOW, that'd be too convenient. No, 'the time must be right' or some such rubbish. In other words, the writing staff haven't got round to figuring that bit out yet so we'll stall, and probably kill her off before she can justify everything. Joy. Elsewhere, the plot bounces off the walls of its cell in annoyingly schizophrenic fashion, introducing a thread, resolving it two minutes later and then rebooting as if nothing ever happened. Case in point: the attempted execution of Krantz which comes out of nowhere, happens and then, within two subsequent scenes, sees the guy back in his office with a sling around his arm, dictating to his lackeys. By this point, the narrative has moved on and we are expected to too. THINK about what's just happened? Put it into context? Don't be silly. This is Prison Break, you're not supposed to dwell on trifling things like that. Just let it all wash over you... 'enjoy the roller-coaster ride'. Um, how about no? How about we're treated with a modicum of intelligence for once and given something that's at least remotely plausible and that makes maybe an ounce of sense? Oh, and how about we DON'T spend a third of the episode in the back of a van with Michael and Sara, pondering life, love and the pursuit of happiness? 'The Mother Lode' is the first instalment of Prison Break's final eight episode run and as an introduction, it fails spectacularly to engage. Further proof, as if any was needed, that the programme should've ended with 'Selfless'.

So last 5 episodes of the series starts with Motherlode. Not a very exciting episode, it actually had quite some dull moments BUT it is nowhere as bad as some want to make it.


The bad thing about this episode was by far Michael-Sara parts. It was pretty weak and their "break out" of that truck took way too much of the episode. Michael killing someone was not as catchy as it should be.


However, things were way much better in Linc`s side. To be fair, I`m more interested in seeing Linc, Mahone, T-Bag and Self than Misa. The mother is quite interesting. Trailers completely ruin the character game on here. In fact those trailers established her as the Villain while the episode kinda try to play with that. Anyway, this storyline was not as bad as I expected.


The attempt of killing Kranz was good, again ruined by the trailer but it was good. Cliffhanger was great, can`t wait to see more.

I fail to understand how the average score for this ep was basically labelling it the worst Prison Break episode ever. This is not the case. I was excited that the show was finally back because when I heard the cancellation news back in November I think, I couldnt wait to just get it over with. Not because I dont like this season but because there are other shows too, you know. Back to the episode - now I dont like the direction the show has recently taken. Ever since they captured Scylla in Selfless, the plot has gone a bit to pot. Bringing in the mother was a bad idea and her motives are transparent, however, this episode was not bad if predictable. I knew the General would escape because this is a show. In real life he'd be pushing up daisies, the man who shot the trucker was stupid. He could have shot MiSa there and then. Some parts were a little boring but so was the ep: Shut Down. Remember that? I dont believe that Scylla is for making the world a better place. Not really believable is it? I'm just saying while this is not up to the usual standards for this dying show, it was not the worst. Lets hope this story-arc involving Christina turns around and we get some proper "Die Hard" action.

Is there really enough story for a prison break that's already broke? I mean, I'm starting to wonder if I got jipped watching the "Shawshank Redemption." After watching Prison Break for the first year and a half I couldn't take any more shocking twists that became just way too predictable, however, I now wonder if they did use this recipe what "Shawshank" would have been like. Red decides to go and find Andy, only when he gets to the volcanic rock, the "Sisters" are waiting there so that Red ends up taking them to Andy and then...





Cheers.

Every season of "Prison Break" has suffered from a massive mid-season hiatus, thanks to FOX and their inability to think ahead when compiling their fall and spring schedules. Usually, that means that the season hits a mid-season cliffhanger that sustains interest for the fans and sets the stage for the spring run. That's not quite what happened this season, and as a result, the show doesn't come back as cleanly from the hiatus as it could have.





Even with the convenient re-airing of the previous episode before jumping into the new material, I felt a bit lost. "Prison Break" is all about the tightly absurd serialized continuity, and that means that a lot happens that depends on what has come before. In other words, one episode worth of refresher doesn't quite cut it. I spent just as much time in this episode trying to remember the context as I did thinking about what was happening.





That's not the fault of the writers; that's the fault of the network. The story is progressing at a blistering pace, and I'm sure that it will all flow together as intended when re-watched on DVD (or whatever other means might be employed). Even with the context hard to decipher at times, the point of the episode was relatively clear.





Now that Michael and Lincoln's mother has been revealed as alive, it makes sense to put some focus on her motivations and methods. Her attempt on the General was well-done, and her attempt to fool Lincoln into keeping out of the way of her little coup. Based on what has been seen to this point, it makes sense that Christina is trying to take over the Company, so that wasn't much of a surprise. That she is willing to employ methods as heinous as those used by the General is a bit more surprising.





The bottom line appears to be that Michael and Lincoln can't be content with putting Scylla in someone else's hands. Helping their mother take down the General will only put someone else with questionable morals in control of the Company and perpetuate the cycle. Right now, they're not in a position to be ready to work together again, but once they both realize that Christina is not necessarily going to solve their problems for them, that should change. I still think the only way out of this mess is placing Michael in control of the Company.





If there was a weak point to the episode, it was definitely the Michael/Sara adventures. The encounter between the truck driver and the Company operative was predictable and cheesy. It also seems a bit hard to believe that the operative wouldn't slow down when the side door of the trailer burst open, but would come to an abrupt halt once Michael and Sara were on the ground! If he was willing to kill them in the first place, why not just get in the back of the truck and do the deed when they were defenseless?





Minor quibbles aside, it's good to have "Prison Break" back, even if it is just a short concluding run. After so many twists and turns and a resurgent fourth season, I hope the writers can provide a satisfying resolution.

This has got to be the worst episode to ever make it to television. I'm surprised this show isn't categorized as science fiction. No way on earth the General would have survived that explosion and can you believe what they came up with? An arm damage . . hahahaha . . you have got to be kidding me. The dude survives a car explosion and afew minutes later he's already sitting in his chair, feeling all great and stuff..





It's incredible how those super agents miss each and every shot while their target is running in a straight line.





And don't even get me started on that steel thingy that unexpectedly broke...





Seriously this show has got to end. NOW. No words can describe how lame and stupid this is. Anyways, thank you Prison Break for a wonderful 1st season, the rest is just NOT worth it.

Michael and Sara hitch a ride in the back of a semi, which is soon pulled over by a Company goon, who shoots the driver and takes the truck, Michael, Sara and all. Michael's engineering skills force open a side door and give them the opportunity to dive from a moving vehicle. Um, yay? But they survive the leap unscathed and run away to a convenient abandoned in the middle of nowhere industrial property. There's some cat and mouse action, but eventually Michael smacks the Goon upside the head, and he lands badly on a cinderblock. Meanwhile in Miami Linc and the boys get to work on finding Scylla, The keys they lifted from the guy who shot Gretchen are mega high tech and exclusive, so they're able to track down a couple of locations. One of those locations is Mama Burrows' crib, but she's already gone. She leaves an old picture, leading Linc to a meeting place with mama. Mama Burrows tells Linc of her plans and tells him that you and Michael will be safe after 2 more days.





T-Bag and Self investigate the other location, a storefront church in Little Havana, which turns out to be the hiding place for weapons and counterfeit security badges. There's a shootout, and the guys run. They discover that the security badges are dated two days from now. Whatever Mama Burrows is planning, it involves lots of guns.

It was an OK episode for an OK season for a series that used to be great. Today I really couldn't care less about it. I was surprised the show came back as I wasn't aware it was gone...





The action is pretty stupid. I mean, if they really wanted the general dead they could have shot him in the car like Christina did later with the guy that failed his mission. It was obvious that the writers wanted him alive and wounded but this assassination attempt was pretty damn stupid. It happened again with Michael and Sara, the guy just kidnapped the truck instead of going in and killing them...I don't know. Somewhat ridiculous. The thing with the priest and T-Bag...pretty stupid. He touched him and knew he had a black heart. What the f*&%?





I don't know, I guess I watch this because I like the actors. They are really good and deserve better writers. I feel like the good writers are still on strike...

What a stupid episode, the whole season is stupid but this episode was the stupidest. I think that is time to put linkoln's and michael's dog in action. The dog and the gold fish hide secret about scyla.:):)


First 10 episodes of first season were the best 10 episodes they have everything but hunger for money made the whole show pure soap. It is full of stupid things. At the end of the whole show T-Bag is going to be priest and kindergarden teacher :):) In the first season raped boys but now he is an angel. The name of the show is Prison break the whole point of the show is prison break. I watched every episode( yes someone is going to say why if i think that it is stupid) i just want to see how stupid is going to be next episode.

After all these weeks of hiatus I almost forgot everything about Prison Break. However the first minutes quickly managed to refresh my memories and the story was right back on track. The interesting part is that Michael and Lincoln are nearly working against each other and the Company are using these new antagonistic characters at their advantage. But for the General it's not as easy as before considering the new enemies he has. So all these elements make the story even more catchy but there're still many others that bother me. For example I found the episode rather long when it had the usual duration. It's a bad thing because it means it was a bit boring. Maybe it was the whole Michael and Sara plot because I don't believe anymore in their relationship. It's always about Michael and not about Sara when developing both characters would be far much more interesting. Moreover seeing Michael pulling out smart solutions, like a MacGyver, is not as appealing as it used to be. Otherwise Lincoln and his wacky team saved the episode, specially T-Bag and Alex. In fact I can't wait to see what William Fichtner will do once Prison Break is over because he's such a charismatic and talented actor !





So to sum things up I'm sure fans are glad Prison Break is back. Because even if some things got old there're still many things to appeal the audience. Moreover this episode ended with a cliffhanger so we better stay tuned…

well at last Prison Break is back with its final set of episodes....and it started out well......it was a good episode to begin with...Michael's mother acted well and i liked her expressions through out the episode.....i loved the scene of Lincoln meeting her mom after 23 years...lots of twists and turns made it feel like the REAL Prison Break.........and once again Michael with his outstanding abilities escaped twice....but i think the Writers now need to move it on....i mean there should be no more escape scenes now.......


Still no signs of Sucre but i personally think that he will join the team in the next episodes...and may be we see some more familiar faces from the previous seasons as the series nears its end......


And honestly i don't think Lincoln is gonna die in the next episode.


but as always...........10/10 to Prison Break

To me, I think this episode was, amazing. It brought back a bit of the old Prison Break I feared was gone, the surprises. When the man blew up General Krantz car, surprising. When Christina ordered the driver to kill using the speaker phone, surprising, and smart on her part too. How Micheal ESCAPED from the truck with Sara, failing once then succeeding, very smart. How Christina actually ordered the sniper to fire at Lincoln, disgusting and shocking. I am very glad Prison Break may end strong. This episode was worth the months of dreadful waiting, so overall, great episode and a great watch. Good Job, this episode is one of my favorites of the season.

I absolutely loved The Mother Lode because it was such a good episode to ease you back into prison break after there short time away from us. It was good for a lot of reasons such as we get to see the dream team of self, mahone, t-bag and lincoln all together again and working at full capacity. Its also good because it shows michael back at his roots with outscheming the bad guys. Although i disliked the idea at first of their mother still being alive, i think it looks as though its going to work out extremely well for the last episodes of prison break!