Dirt Nap

I had a much better opinion of this week's Prison Break episode than the previous installment, and it all boiled down to a single element.

On the whole, the episode still had some issues with being mostly predictable. We knew there was no way Lechero's old lieutenant was making it out of this hour alive. We knew there was no way Gretchen would be so stupid as to fall for Sucre's con. And so forth.

But the great moment of the episode was that Michael deliberately killed a man by removing the support brace. This was a huge moment for his character. For two-and-a-half seasons, he's gone out of his way to avoid taking that last step. He's had other people do the dirty work around him on occasion, but never had to pull the trigger himself. And now he's crossed the line.

It's been a while since such a defining moment for one of the characters has come along for the show. And I hope that the writing continues to give this change proper weight in the episodes ahead. This rightfully ought to mess Scofield up pretty good, no matter how terrible the man he killed was.

I suppose I should also point out that T-Bag was again a treat. It's easy to take that for granted, since he's fun to watch in every episode. But it's really the most amazing collaboration, the dialogue written for him, and the actor who plays him. The most perfect, oily choices of words ("outsource"); the perfect, oily way he speaks them. I can't recall the last "bad guy" on television who has been this much fun to watch.

So, we close on the revelation that Whistler is really a.... what door-to-door briefcase salesman? I guess we'll find out more about that next week.