I have the feeling that my pervading image of Prison Break's third season (Mondays, Sky One) is going to be the above, from 'Boxed In' (s03e09). Refusing to give Sona's new General answers about the botched escape attempt in the episode before, Michael is locked in the Hot Box until he decides to talk or dies, whichever comes first. Slowly baking in the Panamanian sun and with no possible chance of escape, Schofield looked desperate, exhausted and out of ideas. And in that moment my thoughts immediately turned to the show's writers; Schofield's plight so perfectly mirroring theirs. I think that was the precise moment I first lost hope for the show. After last night's episode, 'Hell or High Water' (s03e12), I'm starting to believe it might be all over.
Season 3 has been a mess so far. Borrowing its engine from the show's successful first season and revving away in the vain hope it may once again kick into gear, the story has stalled with a frustrating persistence. To be fair, last night it finally did kick into gear. Unfortunately, before it could get going, the wheels immediately fell off.
Having built up Sona as an inescapable fortress all season and having set various complex machinations into motion around the escape, what turned out to be the hub of the plan? Unconvincingly sneaking past a whole army of guards. Obviously covered in Harry Potter's invisibility cloak or something, it felt like a really cheap way out of a corner the writers had painted themselves into. And from there things didn’t get too much better either. Where a clean break was surely needed from the show’s dismal first half, all signs point back towards Sona; Sucre and T-Bag both looking like key players. This whole thing is dragging horribly, and the sooner we see the back of Sona, Whistler and Jodi Lyn O’Keefe’s hammy hardcase Gretchen the better. Right now the show is looking like a shadow of its former self.
In both of the first two seasons Prison Break was a thrill-ride of a TV show, always pushing forward and never looking back. This season’s lackadaisical attitude progression suggests the show finally has run out of places to go, and if that is the case then one can only hope the show doesn’t run for too much longer. If it continues to struggle like this, cancellation wouldn’t be capital punishment so much as euthanasia.
Season 3 has been a mess so far. Borrowing its engine from the show's successful first season and revving away in the vain hope it may once again kick into gear, the story has stalled with a frustrating persistence. To be fair, last night it finally did kick into gear. Unfortunately, before it could get going, the wheels immediately fell off.
Having built up Sona as an inescapable fortress all season and having set various complex machinations into motion around the escape, what turned out to be the hub of the plan? Unconvincingly sneaking past a whole army of guards. Obviously covered in Harry Potter's invisibility cloak or something, it felt like a really cheap way out of a corner the writers had painted themselves into. And from there things didn’t get too much better either. Where a clean break was surely needed from the show’s dismal first half, all signs point back towards Sona; Sucre and T-Bag both looking like key players. This whole thing is dragging horribly, and the sooner we see the back of Sona, Whistler and Jodi Lyn O’Keefe’s hammy hardcase Gretchen the better. Right now the show is looking like a shadow of its former self.
In both of the first two seasons Prison Break was a thrill-ride of a TV show, always pushing forward and never looking back. This season’s lackadaisical attitude progression suggests the show finally has run out of places to go, and if that is the case then one can only hope the show doesn’t run for too much longer. If it continues to struggle like this, cancellation wouldn’t be capital punishment so much as euthanasia.
No comments:
Post a Comment