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Prison Break Season 4 Episode 18

VS.

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Aired Monday 8:00 PM Apr 24, 2009 on FOX

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AIRED: Apr 24, 2009

8.4

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Episode Summary

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Michael and Lincoln come to blows over Scylla as Christina sets the wheels in motion for her plan. Meanwhile, Sara receives life-changing news.
The General becomes increasingly paranoid.

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Fan Episode Reviews (11)

Another episode filled with distractions that only super fans can love.

6.0

By Dante_Edy, Aug 29, 2009

The previous episode was boring and I had no doubt that the writers didn´t have the ability to create something interesting or they were saving the best material for the final episodes. Anyway, we continue to focus on Michael mother, which is a bad thing, that is nothing interesting about her and we already could guess what her intentions was. This is way the episode isn´t so strong, this episode played the tension a little better from the previous episode, still, they used another person instead of tracking Michael mother and as you can guess, they created another filler, this was filled with dialogues and distractions.

Presentation Phase - » (6/10),

Complication Phase - » (7/10),

Climax Phase - » (7/10),

Ending - » (5/10),

Details/Progress (To point A to B) -» (6/10),

Time and Scene Management - » (6/10),

Plot Details/Holes- » (7/10),

Suspense/Tension - » (7/10),

Drama - » (5/10),

Surprises/Shocks/Twists - » (5/10).

Another episode filled with distractions that only super fans can love.moreless
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Michael and Lincoln come to blows over Scylla as Christina sets the wheels in motion for her plan. Meanwhile, Sara recieves life-changing news. The General becomes increasingly paranoid.

9.0

By cavanagh15, May 10, 2009

Michael and Lincoln come to blows over Scylla as Christina sets the wheels in motion for her plan. Meanwhile, Sara recieves life-changing news.The General becomes increasingly paranoid.

The beginning part of the episode with Lincoln, Self, and Mahone breaking into the Embassy was vintage Prison Break - great action followed up by something illogical. I understand the plan the whole time was to just make sure that Kristina got out without making everything into a big production, but no one is going to man the door? Not one person is going to stay behind to make sure that they don't get out? Followed up by T-Bag getting the crap kicked out of him, but then being let go. Apparently that was good enough punishment. I liked the action portion of the epsiode, but from a logic standpoint prison break usually does it a little bit better. A little bit. Michael and Sara being the only two in that storyline is a little average. Sara is pregnant, which is cool, but I think that was needed to mainly spice up that storyline a little bit. Hopefully Michael finds out here sometime soon so he can make the decision on how often hes going to put Sara into danger. Overall, an improvement over the last episode but work to do with only 4 hours of show to go.moreless
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Sara is pregnant!!! and what's the thing with Micheal's mother!!!

8.5

By altaleh, May 09, 2009

the most twisted thing in this episode that Sara turned to be pregnant. for sure from Micheal, which is a good thing, it will give a good ending in the final episode.

Now it seems that Micheal''s mom is more evil than the general himself, which gives the show a good touch. I mean the mom don't care about her own 2 sons, and shes whiling to kill them both!!!!

But i like the scene when they bombed the general car, that was twisted, which is expected that now it seems that Micheal's mom want to take over the company.

but whats gonna happen between the two brothers?? are they gonna go back together and work with each over??moreless
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The show's got a long way to go yet before it wrestles itself from the jaws of mediocrity.

5.5

By screenagedkicks, May 02, 2009

Well, at least this is a bit of an improvement on last week's episode but problems remain. Firstly, the decision to split the central narrative into two threads that lead to the same goal fails to make the ultimate basis of the plot particularly interesting; by having both Linc and Michael in pursuit of their mother but along differing routes, it weakens the narrative's substance, making it seem thinner than it actually is, and furthermore, it makes the end resolution utterly, utterly transparent. Prison Break cannot keep its favourite twosome, the brothers Sco, apart for long before both the wants of fandom and the needs of the story demand that they unite. The mother can only be in one place at any given time so inevitably, Linc and Michael are going to bump into each other. What are they gonna do then, keep whining about the motives of the other so that she has time to scarper in the opposite direction? No, they're going to 'put aside their differences', hug and get on with bringing down the Company or whatever nonsense they're driven by these days (really, does anyone know any more?) In fact, they almost do that in this episode with that little scene by the pier but sadly, Michael won't have any of it. And what more can they do with this sort of narrative structure? It doesn't seem like Christina's plot strand is convoluted or involved enough to keep Michael and Lincoln apart for very long so, inevitably, they're going to cross paths again. So in episode 19, will we have a retread of the Mahone scene? And in episode 20? 21? 'til the end of the season? It's just frustrating because the viewer knows that it will be resolved and so the whole altercation comes across as depressingly pointless. Then there's the presence of T-Bag and Self which remains a complete mystery, other than the fact, I suppose, that the Company have threatened the lives of their loved ones but still, when the writers can think of nothing better to do but than to have T-Bag chain himself to a gate and whine about elephants, you know something's up. Oh and of course he wouldn't actually be incarcerated! That would be too much of an inconvenience to the plot. No, the police beat him up a bit and let him go! Well there's a prolific law enforcement agency for ya! Entirely implausible and frustratingly idiotic. Why not simply have Bagwell uncuff himself and leave before anything happens to him? Would that have been such a difficult thing to write? And while we're on the subject of lunatic plot developments: Sara's pregnancy. As is illustrated in another review on this site, the two have actually kissed on the show around two or three times and now she's having a sprog? When did this happen? When, in fact, did they have time to fornicate and where? Haven't they been a bit busy trying to save their own asses and working for the government? Oh wait, maybe they did it on the table in their base of operations when Brad and Sucre weren't looking. Euck. Well, at least it's not another lapse into drug addiction, which is exactly what I thought we're were going to be treated to when she walked into a bathroom, stared in the mirror and that bloody irritating female falsetto began wailing in the background. Thank Heavens for small miracles. So, erm, what wasn't so bad about 'Vs'? Elements of Christina's storyline actually show promise: the scene with the Indian ambassador was at least mildly interesting and the notion that she's in cahoots with the scientist giving the speech does at least make things a little more complex and a tad more intriguing. The show's got a long way to go yet before it wrestles itself from the jaws of mediocrity though.moreless
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Brother against brother against mother

7.0

By entil2001, Apr 27, 2009

First, I must mention that I'm a little annoyed with the way that FOX is confusing the issue with the number of episodes still left for the season. I was under the impression that it would be the full 22 episodes. FOX keeps saying that there are two episodes left until the series finale. Needless to say, most of the usual sources of information are contradictory on what that means. I hope that FOX didn't cut the number of episodes, given how much still needs to be resolved. (And I don't count the direct-to-DVD "Prison Break: Final Break" towards that amount.)

This episode continues with the growing tension between Michael and Lincoln over how to resolve the conflict with the Company. Michael is still dedicated to taking the Company down by taking control of Scylla, and Lincoln and his gang have decided that the only viable way to get Scylla is to "give the Company what they want". Considering that this is Michael's story, and has been from the beginning, there's little doubt who will end up on top.

That doesn't mean that the road has to be easy, and it doesn't mean that Michael and Lincoln are at each other's throats. The two brothers are just using different methods to achieve the same goal, so it's not about both sides shooting it out. It keeps the tension semi-logical without taking away from the dramatic benefits of having the brothers at odds.

I'm also still convinced that Christina is preparing a takeover of the Company, and that knowing this will give both Michael and Lincoln exactly what they need to take control themselves. I don't see any other solution at this point. I say that it will be both brothers, because T-Bag's betrayal looks to end Lincoln's tactic as the General's man and force him back on the run. Naturally, the survivors would (and should) end up back with Michael. This series needs to end with the surviving members of the Escape Squad working together.

I don't expect everyone to survive, but I do think that the story will come to a good end. Sara's pregnancy points to the possibility that Michael and Sara will have the kind of happy future that they should have had after the second season. I would expect a final showdown between Michael and T-Bag and the death of Self, but I'm not sure about anyone else. I would love to see a happy ending for Mahone, but I have the feeling that his number may come up before the end.

The story is no less complicated than the plot for the previous episode, but it seemed to flow a bit better and motivations were a little more straightforward. It's probably just the effect of getting back into the rhythm of the series again; the long hiatus hurt the previous episode a lot more. It also helps that the story is clearly coming to a grand finale, and thanks to the strengths of this surprising fourth season, it has the potential to meet expectations.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Wentworth Miller	Michael Scofield
Michael Rapaport	Agent Don Self
Dominic Purcell	Lincoln Burrows
Sarah Wayne Callies	Dr. Sara Tancredi
Robert Knepper	Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell
William Fichtner	Alex Mahone

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Ted King	Downy	Guest Star
Anthony Azizi	Naveen Banerjee	Guest Star
Ivar Brogger	Vincent Sandisnsky	Guest Star
Leon Russom	General Jonathan Krantz	Recurring Role
Kathleen Quinlan	Christina Scofield	Recurring Role
Steve Tom	Stuart Tuxhorn	Recurring Role

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Episode Photos

Michael (Wentworth Miller) and Sara (Sar...

© 2009 Fox Broadcasting Company
Michael (Wentworth Miller) and Sara (Sar...

© 2009 Fox Broadcasting Company
Michael (Wentworth Miller) squares off w...

© 2009 Fox Broadcasting Company
Lincoln (Dominic Purcell), Self (Michael...

© 2009 Fox Broadcasting Company

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- Christina comments that Bengali is difficult to pronounce because it has "14 different vowels." In reality, it has 11 vowel letters and 7 vowel sounds - fewer vowel sounds than English, which has up to about 20, depending on accent.
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QUOTES (16)
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- Mahone: If we tell the General that Christina has Scylla, he may know something that could help us. Or he may determine that we're no longer useful. Everybody understand that? We're here to get Scylla. We need Scylla. And the way to do that is to stick to the plan and keep our mouths shut.
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- Michael: How badly do you want him, Mom?
  Christina: Michael, listen to me...
  Michael: That's not an answer. I'll be in touch.
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- T-Bag: Are you lying to the General because it's good for the team, or are you still protecting the woman who popped you out lo those many years ago?
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- General: (to Lincoln) The point of this action is not to kill as many of them as you can. Your methods make me question whether you're capable of playing in a league of this size.
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- T-Bag: Oh, sorry. There I go thinking again. My bad.
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- Michael: At least she (Christina) didn't want us killed. I should be grateful.
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- Christina: Have you ever seen a supernova? They're quite beautiful, aren't they? They're very rare, they only occur about once every fifty years. We're a day away from a supernova, a moment so powerful it'll eclipse everything. And nobody's going to stop me.
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- Mahone: (to Michael) Your mother, she has Scylla. Whoever's going to get it has to go through her.
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- T-Bag: (to the General) Linc and Michael's mother, she's got Scylla. Here, in Miami.
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- Lincoln: I warned him (Michael) not to come.
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- Michael: If I'm "MS", who's "VS"?
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- T-Bag: (to Lincoln) Aren't you leaving something out? Something critical, like how it's your mama that has Scylla?
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- General: Someone is attempting a hostile takeover. They're trying to turn the cardholders against me. Oren tried to kill me!
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- Michael: (to Sara) Nice family photos. Sand, sun, cheesy matching outfits. We could have that if we wanted. Someday.
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- Airport Traffic Controller: Hey, you be getting in big trouble for this, guy. You could go to prison.
  Michael: Which one?
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- T-Bag: Where's Scylla, huh?
  Self: They left before we could get it.
  T-Bag: I got the ass-kicking of a lifetime and you come back empty-handed?
  Mahone: (shows the yellow note) We got this.
  T-Bag: A Post-it note?! That's what you got? How about some Elmer's glue? Did you get any of that?!
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NOTES (2)
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- Original International Airdates:
  Latin America: June 9, 2009 on Canal FX
  Australia: June 17, 2009 on Channel 7
  Spain: June 19, 2009 on La Sexta
  Sweden: July 13, 2009 on TV3
  Germany: August 6, 2009 on RTL
  Norway: August 13, 2009 on TV3
  Finland: March 23, 2010 on MTV3
  Poland: March 28, 2010 on Polsat
  Slovakia: August 19, 2010 on JOJ
  Czech Republic: October 20, 2012 on FANDA
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- Though both are credited, neither Amaury Nolasco nor Jodi Lyn O'Keefe appear in this episode.
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ALLUSIONS (0)
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