I don't like to be wrong, but when I'm wrong, I'm happy to admit it. And five minutes into Monday (Oct. 8) night's episode of Prison Break, it was clear that I was wrong about the contents of the box that we left in Linc's hands at the end of last week's show.

[If you haven't seen this week's Prison Break and don't want it spoiled, stop reading.]

I'll fess up and acknowledge that in my recap last week, I said that although the Prison Break team had stolen the entire box gag from David Fincher, it wouldn't actually be Gwyneth Paltrow's head in the box, much less the corresponding heads of Michael's semi-girlfriend Sara or Linc's son LJ.

As the contents of the box did, indeed, appear to be Sara's head (the rest of her body inconveniently elsewhere), I don't feel so bad about my mistake. You see, I was making my guess based on an illogical and creatively bankrupt narrative universe. I was thinking how stupid it would be for the kidnappers to kill off 50 percent of their leverage without a single warning. I was thinking that it might be poor reasoning to provide a motivation for revenge to a man who you're hoping is able to escape from prison. I was thinking that surely the kidnappers must have looked at the IQ scores and realized that killing Sara to light a fire under Linc's rear probably won't accomplish anything given just how incapable the character has always been of any sort of strategic reasoning.

So I was thinking "What would make sense for the characters in the show to do?" and the producers were thinking "What's the fastest way we can get rid of a character played by an actress we don't have under contract anymore?" That's the way the best creative decisions are often made in this town.

I'm not actually going to miss Sara or anything. At best she was an underwritten character who was never designed for a multiple season run. I don't think the producers could possibly have anticipated how willing relationship-hungry fans would be to forgive Michael for getting Sara fired from her job and rehooked on smack just for his own selfish goals. They couldn't have guessed that fans would actually trust the characters when they said they loved each other, even though nothing in their behaviors resembled love. The 'shippers just need something to believe in. I didn't need her back, but once they dedicated two seasons to having us believe that Sara was the love of Michael's life (look at how squinty he got whenever he mentioned her), it's strange that it ended like this. And it's even more strange that presumably Michael is going to go rather psychotic once he finds out that the woman he kissed twice is dead.

I'm a split here, because I could either continue to lament the lazy writing that led to what we assume was Sarah's head in a box (we saw it for all of three frames and Linc's pretty stupid, so it could have been any brunette), or I could celebrate an episode that brought back three of my favorite Prison Break things.

We saw the return of Michael Scofield as the poor man's MacGyver. If you'll recall, the Michael of the first season required whole sleeves of tattoos to remember very basic chemical compounds. He was pretty smart, but the most brilliant thing about him was his indexing system. Cut forward to the third season and not only does Michael possess encyclopedic knowledge of the solutions used by Panamanian prison gravediggers to reduce corpse-stench, but he also knows how that solution will react under extreme heat. Sona must have a well-stocked prison library.

We also got the return of devilish killer T-Bag. It's just been days since T-Bag figured out a way to off a full-grown man despite the fact that he's operating with a single hand (and another arm that really ought to be good an infected by now). But T-Bag didn't just kill Nieves the Drug Dealer (one of two new characters introduced and killed off in this week's accelerated episode) to get closer to Lechero. In addition to taking over Nieves' lucrative role as "manager in charge of retail distribution and customer liaisons," T-Bag was able to get drugs to Mahone. In the long run, I'm sure we'll understand T-Bag's end game, but in the short run we knew Mahone needed drugs because he was seeing...

HAYWIRE! Regular readers know that I was a big fan of Silas Weir Mitchell's wacky psychotic, who just wanted to sail to Holland with his dog and got killed for his troubles. Why was hallucinating Mahone seeing Haywire? Probably because of all of the characters Mahone killed last season, he was the one who would cost the least for a cameo (Peter Stormare can't be cheap) and who isn't under penitentiary observation for vehicular manslaughter (spectral Lane Garrison cameos are just unlikely). Mitchell didn't have much to do in this episode, just cryptic warnings to Mahone, but any time he wants to come back, I'd be glad to have him.

Other thoughts on this week's episode:

What was up with that weird first scene between Susan B. Anthony and Linc? I understand that he was a bit rattled at finding the head of a woman he barely knew in a box. Finding heads in boxes messes with me, too. But was she so messed up by putting the head in the box that she had to recite every line of dialogue in a monotone and then tell Linc that she was around if he ever, you know, just wanted to talk about his feelings.

Did anybody catch the "What's in the box?" joke on this week's Supernatural? A far better head-in-the-box reference.

Well, at least the found something to do with Sucre. Yes, he's an escaped convict whose picture must have been circulated through various law enforcement offices throughout Panama, but the Sona guards would never possibly recognize him, right? Sure.

Given that Bellick admitted to his former career as a prison guard, he got off pretty light with the scalding coffee on his back. And why did everybody keep saying that Michael was lying to Lechero? Yes, he caused the power outage, but Lechero ordered Michael to go into the forbidden zone to dig and Michael never told him he wasn't going out to advance his escape plans.

Inmates in Sona get regular mail privileges?

So, do you figure Sara's really dead or that it's all just another one of The Company's tricks? If she's actually gone, are you sad or mostly disinterested?

Comments

Always thought the ending of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where Katherine Ross rides on the handle bars would be the ending for Michael, Sara and Linc. I'm sad.

Judy | Oct 8, 2007 10:03:58 PM | #

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Uh, you realize that the bicycle scene was definitely NOT the ending of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Will | Oct 9, 2007 12:33:35 AM | #

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Agree with the blogger, just lazy writing to kill Sara. Mind you it was even lazier writing to have her being kidnapped to extort Michael in the first place.

Rishi | Oct 9, 2007 1:59:08 AM | #

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First Lincoln's gf, and now Sarah? I think this show has something against women...

eahilber | Oct 9, 2007 2:51:11 AM | #

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You can never trust this show. I don't believe she's dead. SBA even stated to Linc: " ... do you think it was easy for me to do that to THAT WOMAN?" She didn't say Sarah ... she said "That Woman."

As well, I remember after the season finale in the Spring when I watched the upcoming previews for Season 3 there was Sarah pointing a gun to Linc's head. What's with that? And when does that happen? I think they just got you right where they want you.

She'll be back.

Catie | Oct 9, 2007 5:07:13 AM | #

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The best part of this new TV season so far was seeing Haywire again! Cost issues aside, he was the most logical choice to torment Mahone, since Mahone seemed to be the most conflicted over having to kill Haywire.

Xannie | Oct 9, 2007 5:18:52 AM | #

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Poor Mitchell - imagine being the one who's name comes up when they say - "Who can we get cheap?" As for The Box - it may not have been Sara's head, but who cares. The "romance" between her and Michael never took off. The writers obviously don't know how to write for women so they either kill them off or turn them into robotic psychos, dead or crazy.

Barb L | Oct 9, 2007 5:19:48 AM | #

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Despite any negative comments towards the way they killed Sara off, I found it a GREAT EPISODE! I'm rarely ever disappointed in Prison Break. Of course, I'm hoping for a surprise C-Note return later in the season..but other than that...I'm very pleased with the direction of the show.

As far as the cost issues goes, Haywire would still be the best choice even if you had Peter Stormare or Lane Garrison. Haywire was a NUT, therefore, playing the "voices in the head" role much better.
Should have shown him a little better, though.

Great Episode. This will definitely put some tension between Michael and Lincoln, obviously.

Jason | Oct 9, 2007 6:14:56 AM | #

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A little off topic: anyone see those red Terminator eyes during their FOX broadcasts? I've noticed it twice during Prison Break (and yes, I really liked this week's episode) and once during Kitchen Nightmares. At first I thought my TV was going to crap out, but last night, they showed some of the T-800 metal endoskeleton. That's when I realized it could be some Terminator advertising.

CW | Oct 9, 2007 6:20:08 AM | #

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I actually didn't think they would have killed either hostage. I figured it was a finger or hand or foot or something like that; a tease of what could happen if Linc and Michael didn't move their butts. I found it very stupid that they would kill Sara off this early in the game. You're right, this will just piss Michael off.

Chris | Oct 9, 2007 6:27:12 AM | #

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So, they killed off Sarah... Please... I don't believe that for ONE second. Anyone remember how they brought back John Abruzzi(sp?) in season 1, Or Agent Mahone in season 2? The Company probably has the resources to fake a death pretty easily, given how they were able to fake the death of the Vice president's brother (I forget his name) in season 1. They were even able to produce a body. This should have been a walk in the park for the Company. So, NOPE. Sarah isn't dead folks. They have just bought themselves some time to get rid of her character for a few episodes. She'll be back when the actress who plays her is good and ready to return.

Captain | Oct 9, 2007 6:47:34 AM | #

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"And it's even more strange that presumably Michael is going to go rather psychotic once he finds out that the woman he kissed twice is dead."

Again. Pretty sure third time's the charm though. (The show won't make it into a running "Kenny" gag, but bringing her "back" saying she wasn't really executed would be a poor move).

I do miss Robin Tunney though. You could see that her side story (with the lawyers) would lead to a dead end (emphasis on dead) from a mile away, but at least it was entertaining in a "Lone Gunman" type of deal.

pakopako | Oct 9, 2007 7:46:19 AM | #

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Oh yes, FOX is definetly hyping a new show with a Terminator tie-in later on based on the end of the 2nd movie.

pakopako | Oct 9, 2007 7:48:10 AM | #

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I thought it would be Sarah's foot as well and i was already going to be upset about that. for some strange reason i love the romance between Michael and her and it happens to be one of the reasons i watch the show. i watched both seasons (44 episodes) in 6 days. Sarah cant be dead.

Keith | Oct 9, 2007 8:31:32 AM | #

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i can´t belive that sara is dead.

Fan | Oct 9, 2007 9:41:40 AM | #

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If Sarah is really dead, so is my interest in the show. I put up with some of the grosser parts because of Michael and Sarah. There are always holes in most plots, but the whole Mexican prison "reality" is just not grabbing my attention either.

Lynn | Oct 9, 2007 9:57:30 AM | #

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Until I watched the interviews with the cast this morning, I thought Sara was still alive. Now....I am not sure. They all made it sound like she was really gone. I still want to believe that they are going to bring her character back. Maybe this was the only way to give SWC maternity leave without have to bring her in for random clips of her in upcoming episodes.
It's probably me just hoping. I too am a huge fan of Micheal and Sara's love for eachother. I really hope they bring her back.

Jennifer | Oct 9, 2007 10:20:19 AM | #

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By the way, whether Sara is dead or not I am still going to watch. It wasn't enough to make me any less of a fan. I WILL miss Sara and the whole romance between her and Micheal, but I still LOVE the show!

Jennifer | Oct 9, 2007 10:24:01 AM | #

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I figure once Michael breaks out of prison he'll have 2 choices -- go on the run again and hope The Company will leave him alone this time, or take the fight to them and either expose or kill every last one of them, a la the Bourne trilogy. I don't think Sarah is dead; they seem like the kind of people who would randomly kill some poor girl who looks like Sarah. But I suppose if she is dead it will be more believable that Michael and Linc would choose to try to eliminate The Company instead of just hiding out somewhere. I don't want her to be dead! Oooo, how messed up would it be if Michael breaks out of prison, and they give back Sarah instead of Linc's son and then send Linc and Michael off on some other "task" or whatever? You know how Fox loves to promote surprises.

Yep, I caught the “What’s in the box?!!” joke on Supernatural. It was great!

Marianne | Oct 9, 2007 10:41:13 AM | #

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I found it shocking and poor storytelling to kill Sara this early, or at all really. She was the one character who evoked real emotion and I would have rather she be held hostage the entire season, then killed off. At least as a hostage, there is hope for a return. Now all our series regulars are prisoners or villains. And our one female cast member is a cold witch! I've drastically lost interest in the show, but I will still watch. My only solace is that, Sarah didn't want to return and it wasn't that she was fired. She's happier at home with her family, so that is what I will think of whenever this brings me down.

SADDENED | Oct 9, 2007 11:24:05 AM | #

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SARAH SARAH SARAH .........NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

WHOLETRUTHY | Oct 9, 2007 11:33:54 AM | #

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If you don't like the show, why do you keep watching it? That sounds pretty damned stupid to me.

hey, author. | Oct 9, 2007 12:14:11 PM | #

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I agree with some of the others. I knew when Linc got the box that it would have a body part in it. I didn't think they would copy Se7en, but I knew it was possible. Would have made more sense to have Sarah's foot in there since she kicked her shoe off to get Linc's attention. It will be interesting to see how LJ talks (whenever he is on again) if he alludes to Sarah or not.

I don't buy that Sarah Wayne Callies is not coming back. I think they got a body double for Sarah (character, not actress). I don't believe anyone is dead until I see the body. I still think John Abruzzi is alive. I don't recall seeing his body, only being pummeled with bullets. Someone fill me in if I missed something.

I too, hope that C-Note will make a re-appearance. Glad Sucre (dumbest criminal of all time) is finally doing something - anything.

Who thinks Bellick and/or T-Bag have come to the end of their run by the end of this season? They are running out of story for them.

Chris from NY | Oct 9, 2007 12:32:43 PM | #

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People. What the hell. This show is now totally crap! That's it, no more for me.

A | Oct 9, 2007 3:41:46 PM | #

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Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but TV Guide's Michael Ausiello has pretty much confirmed that Sarah Wayne Callies will NOT be returning after all. You can read the full article at the TV Guide website, but the bottom line is that Callies did not want to return for less than a 22-episode contract.

According to Ausiello, SWC is now living in Canada with her husband and new baby. She didn't want to fly down to the set to film corpse scenes, so the producers decided to use old images of the actress in place of her body. It seems that Callies and the PB show runners have agreed to end her character, but it seemed like the article was blaming the FOX executives for not renewing her contract in the first place.

I was sad to read the news because I was hoping for a happy reunion for Michael and Sara. Callies was great in this role, and I thought she had great chemistry with Wentworth. Of course, Prison Break has so many crazy twists, I suppose the producers could replace her with a different actress at a later time. I'm still upset at the way the Sara storyline ended.

Paige | Oct 9, 2007 4:34:34 PM | #

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I think Sarah's gone for good. The only reason she didn't appear in the earlier episode is because she's just given birth to a baby and wanted to be on 'Maternity Leave' as much as she could. I guess she decided she didn't want to continue.

Uma | Oct 9, 2007 4:41:20 PM | #

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I don't really care if she's really dead or not. I was never really into her character and I always found the romance stuff between her and Michael a little boring.

It was lazy the way they did it. But I thought it made sense. The Company killed her because she almost cost The Company their only leverage. If she could tell the brothers where she was through a photo and a phone call, it made sense to eliminate the risk of something happening down the road. Plus, they still have LJ and, in addition to being less baggage for them to haul around, he is the one with the deeper emotional connection to the brothers and he's not exactly creative enough to get any signals to Linc.

I am looking forward to how this effects the brother's relationship. Linc was in such a bad emotional place this episode. He found a head in a box and had to lie to Mike to make sure he could finish his job and they could get LJ back. Hopefully it'll have a good dramatic pay off.

I was very excited to see Sucre on the team, even though it wasn't a big surprise. Haha, it is pretty far fetched to think he wouldn't raise too many eye brows.

"And it's even more strange that presumably Michael is going to go rather psychotic once he finds out that the woman he kissed twice is dead." LMAO

Matt | Oct 9, 2007 8:31:25 PM | #

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I think I'm just about done with this show. It rarely made any logical sense, even in the first season, and has only gotten more ridiculous. But I enjoyed the characters, and I admit that I shipped Sara and Michael. Now that that's over, I'm not sure I care.

lorrie | Oct 9, 2007 8:41:58 PM | #

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What's the point to this show anymore? If Michael can 't live happily ever after with Sara, why watch? They'll probably kill LJ in Episode 13, Lincoln in episode 19, and the last three episodes will Michael killing off every last member of the Company, only to get gunned down by cops at the end. The End.

JT | Oct 9, 2007 9:33:53 PM | #

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Paige,
You must have skimmed the TV Guide article very quickly. It clearly said that once the decision was made to kill off Sara, due to the networks rejection of the initial storyline, Sarah Wayne Callies refused to accept less than the 22-episode deal. They originally wanted Sara to appear in 13 episodes and to have a proper goodbye with Michael, going so far as to even offer to fly to Canada and film Sara's scenes at her home. She rejected all offers. And it was not to film her doing "corpse scenes" as you put it. It was to have an emotional goodbye with Michael as she passed away. As well as the appropriate lead ins to her death in the first part of the season.

Once the writers knew they wouldn't have SWC to play Sara at all this season, they had to find a way to kill her off without needing her on camera.

I'm not happy at all with the outcome and I'm very upset she's dead. It's the network execs who brought Sara back to life when she was supposed to be dead in season 1, but this time they felt they needed to let her go. And with SWC's refusal to take part in a short season, the writers had to do the best they could with what they had. The way it went down sucks, but at least it did grab the viewers attention.

BriGuy | Oct 10, 2007 6:50:41 AM | #

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I relly really hope that Sara will come back. But like someone said it is the head ..not a leg or an arm which means it will be bad story telling if she appears again somewhere head and all. But I did watch the story because of Michael and Sara...the romance added a lovely taste to all the dirty work that was shown around. So if the writers bring back Sara....and what Link got was someone else's head just like Sara's or something that would be swell. recast if they have to but dont kill the romance.

cathy | Oct 10, 2007 8:11:39 AM | #

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I watched an interview with Dominic Purcell and he said that Sarah Wayne Callies decided she didn't want to come back. She wants to be a stay at home mother. I really want her back on PB but I don't think it's going to happen. Sarah is gone!
Also, if they DID decide to recast, it would be just as bad, to me anyway, as having Sara killed off. They might as well have a totally new girl for Micheal to fall in love with.

Jennifer | Oct 10, 2007 12:05:27 PM | #

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It is strange that I spent the entirety of last week forcing my roommate to accept that Sara's head would be in the box (Of course, she was already freaked due to her lack of appearance in the show's opening), I was still shocked--and dare I say hurt (thereby admitting to my unhealthy, emotional attachment to the show)--to see that it actually WAS Sara's head in the box.

On this scary development, I have one thing to say: if, by some miracle, this is all a huge, elaborate hoax (because the creators of Prison Break really have done a phenomenal job in the past--and I wouldn't label something as sneaky and complex as this beyond their capabilities), then it will be marked in TV show history forever. If it is not, and Sara really is dead (as the cast, crew, and interviewers seem determined to drill into the viewers), then they may feel a LOT of viewer resentment--even if her death is the logical choice of action for plotline. (keep in mind that great shows are cancelled all the time on the basis of ratings and other viewer-dependent factors). Fortunately for them, Michael's character is so fascinating, as well as his predicament and the comical goup of characters surrounding him, that the majority of their widespread fans will look past this. However, everyone has there breaking point...

(though...it IS just a show--as I tend to forget...hehehe--and a drama at that, and almost no one is safe in a drama...)

JK at GT | Oct 10, 2007 9:05:51 PM | #

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There is another big death coming in the second half of the season... really big.

G Man | Oct 11, 2007 2:28:22 AM | #

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Disappointed in the lack of creativity and quality that is being delivered in Season 3. The story no longer makes much sense. The writers have stooped to the cheap thrill in attempt to grab ratings. Its not working.

Seems the writers want to get rid of female characters, female actors and female fans. Forget the fact that Sara fans make up a large percentage of the audience.

Its no way to keep your viewer count up.

lily | Oct 11, 2007 11:31:26 AM | #

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Loved Sarah and Michael chemistry. If the network did offer to come to her and film her shots I wish she had taken them up on it.

Karen | Oct 11, 2007 12:05:25 PM | #

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I agree, this show has issues with women. I'm still in denial about Sara's death. They need to magically bring her back or something, and hope that it was some random homeless woman's head in the box. If not, I see alot of fans tuning out.

Gis | Oct 11, 2007 10:47:51 PM | #

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I LOVED SARAH AND I STILL HOPE SHE'S ALIVE, but I think that fox did a huge mistake not giving her a starring role in the third season. I ALSO SEE A LOT OF FANS TUNING OUT!!!!the plot is getting less and less interesting. Considering this, PROBABLY IT WAS BETTER TO END UP WITH THE AMAZING SECOND SEASON.....i'm so sorry

LUCA | Oct 13, 2007 8:47:34 AM | #

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G Man,

Another death?!?!

Noooooo!!!!!

It's Sucre, isn't it?!?!? Or LJ?!?!? Or some other extremely likable character?!?!

ahhhhh!!!!

JK at GT | Oct 13, 2007 8:38:25 PM | #

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SAVE THE GOOD DOCTOR!!!: http://community.livejournal.com/savethegooddr/5171.html

eustacia | Oct 14, 2007 1:30:17 AM | #

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I really loved this show, but I think it has generally run out of steam for me. Theyu sould have done the two year miniseries, as planned. As for SWC, she just had a bby, and she is probably sleep deprived and not thinking straight about the offer for them to film in her home town! Gee. I say that as a mother myself. She might regret that decision someday.

But, it is just TV. But at this point there is ruly no light at the end of the tunnel for the plot, IMO. Just a bunch of sicko men and tragedy, with no lightness anymore. It needs balance. Sara gave it that.

Plus, nobody seems to be referring to the strange season ending last year, where it was as if Scofield was some kind of clone who was put into situations just to see how bright the creation was. Did I dream that? That was bizarre and is no longer in reference either.

Mary | Oct 16, 2007 7:34:18 AM | #

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without sarah, the show is just killing, screaming, tears, pain, and blood. its actually very strange. sarah's death opened my eyes. i never really liked the show. i mean, who wants to watch a bunch of men threating other men to do what other men want. i guess i just liked micheal and sarah.

pbgirl809 | Oct 18, 2007 7:24:32 AM | #

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As soon as the audience saw her head in the box, my first thought was, "There is no way that she is dead." I know that Sarah Wayne Callies had a body double for all of the season 3 episodes, and we never saw her face. Maybe the reason we never saw her face is because the company never really had her at all. Maybe everything "sara" did was all a set up. Maybe she was suppose to throw her show out the window, so Linc would be suspicious, run after them, only to see them being thrown into a van. Maybe the plan was to kill an innocent brunette, to make Linc work even harder to get them out of Sona.

We ALL know what the company can do. They made sure that Terrence had NO identity. Maybe all they did was give a brunette a little plastic surgery. Who really knows with this show? It can change in an instant.
I still don't think she's dead. I know the writers and producers and everyone says she is, but I still have faith. They better bring Sara back, or I swear, I'm never turning my tv to the FOX channel EVER again, and that's no lie.

Kristy | Jan 10, 2008 10:08:23 PM | #

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Michael Scofield and Sara,they make me feel good when they are together.i wish sara is not dead so that they marry.or better still if she is dead,then i can get Scofield because im in love with him TOO.LOVE YOU SCOFIELD.

Benedicta | Feb 8, 2008 8:15:36 AM | #

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