Episode 7: Riots, Drills, and the Devil: Part II

The previous episode was going to be hard to top, in terms of intensity, so I wasn’t surprised when the tone of the episode dialed back a bit. Once Michael got his hands on Sara, I knew that she’d be all right, because the stupid FOX promos gave too much away. Had that situation remained unspoiled going in, events might have been a lot more disturbing.

As it is, the anticipated shift towards a more complicated phase of the story arc is underway. The tension between Warden Pope and Captain Bellock now has another aspect to it, because the governor believes that Pope is too soft with the inmates. This riot and the danger to Sara, on top of the information the Secret Service has on Pope, puts Pope in a very bad situation. As the escape plan comes to a head, Bellock could end up running the efforts to get the escapees back.




Michael has also made a snap decision that could undermine his plans completely, if things continue as they are. Saving Sara demonstrated what kind of man he is for her, but he was also caught in a blatant lie. Clearly she’s suspicious of his intentions, since he wouldn’t have lied unless there was something to hide. He might have done better to minimize his explanations, rather than make something up that he should know a doctor would question.

For those looking to really screw Lincoln, there’s now a metal pipe and all kinds of other objects with his fingerprints and someone else’s blood all over it. Even if it was self-defense, no one else saw the circumstances and there was a prison riot taking place at the time. Despite the complete lack of security cameras in key locations throughout the facility, I’d bet that this will be on camera and force Michael to move even faster.




His plan is in jeopardy, however, because they have too many people involved, and T-Bag is a complete psychopath. It wasn’t hard to guess that Bob was a dead man, but T-Bag was also making sure that Michael understood the stakes. There’s also the small matter of a big hole in the wall, which happened to be nearby some maintenance equipment. I would expect that the equipment was being used for something, and that means the hole could be discovered.

Things look to get even more insane in the episodes to come, but we have a bit of a breather first, whether we like it or not (thanks, MLB). Now is probably as good a time as any, since this is basically the end of the introductory phase of the season arc. Now things will get a lot more complicated, and I look forward to seeing what the writers come up with.