"Prison Break" Recap & Review - "Call Waiting"

Prison Break
“Call Waiting”

Original Air Date: October 1, 2007

Tom R - TwoCents Staff Writer

Linc presses the mysterious “Susan” for a phone call from Sarah to Michael to prove she’s alive, after a photo of her holding a newspaper offers clues to her and LJ’s whereabouts. He tells Linc, “If I can’t break Whistler out of here, you’re going to have to break them out from out there.” But by the end of the episode, some threads of ideas may be forming in his mind.

The only cell phone inside the prison is held by Lechero, who sees business slowing and wonders about loyalties. In order to get the phone, Michael blackmails Bagwell with exposing his past pedophilia. Bagwell manages to get the phone, and uses it to drive a wedge between Lechero and his current inner circle, who clearly don’t want him around.

During the call, Sara drops more clues, and Linc manages to discover where they are being held. Just as he bursts into the room, LJ is hustled out the back door.

Whistler is told that Scofield’s brother has the bird book. After Mahone tries to court his favor, Whistler tell Michael that he ran a chartered boat, and someone came to him to retrace the steps of one of his clients. But if he knows about Michael and Linc, he knows about The Company, so it would be easy for him to use that card.

Mahone gets what his public defender classifies as “good news”: He has a trial date in about a year, as opposed to the two years most foreigners get. Mahone tries to get his medication sent inside, but the defender refuses, even after Mahone tells him, “It would be good for everyone if I got that medicine”. He attacks the fence, and is almost shot by the guards.

Bellick tries to take a shoe from a dead prisoner, but is beaten to the punch by the prison’s barber. In order to get the shoe, he pretends to offer himself sexually, which raises something interesting: When Michael threatens to expose Bagwell’s past, he never mentions anything about homosexuality. The only gay storyline was dropped pretty early in the first season. Even the sexual connotation of the nickname Teabag (as opposed to T-Bag as a variation of his name) was implied but never pursued. So is the show being pressured to remove perceived gay slurs? If so, the scene here between Bellick and the barber seems to betray that. Just a random thought. Back to the plot points…

Looking for money, Sucre finds Linc to find the bag containing the Cooper money. Linc tells him the backpack is gone, and getting Michael out is priority one. Sucre wants to help, but feels it’s better to get back on the road…Linc was cleared, but he was not. Sucre leaves, but Linc finds him passed out at his doorstep when he returns from the failed attempt to free LJ. He receives a call from Susan, who tells him he will never try anything like that again. To be sure, she left him a box by the trash. Linc finds the package, lifts the lid…And the episode ends.

The new characters have been put into the loop quickly and effectively, raising just as many questions as the returnees brought with them. To run down just a few teasers…

Was Bagwell placed inside by The Company?
Is Whistler telling anything close to the truth about his book?
What is Susan’s history?
What is Mahone capable of without the meds?
We know Michael will break out somehow, but what happens then?

Prison Break airs Mondays at 8 PM on FOX. Episodes can also be viewed at the FOX website.