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Friday, August 18, 2006

Previously on "Prison Break"...

Before I give you a preview of the season premiere of “Prison Break,” I wanted to give you a quick recap of last season so you can jump right in—and believe me you’re going to want to.

Lincoln Burrows fell into the wrong crowd trying to get enough money for his brother, Michael Scofield, to attend college after their dad split on them. To pay off the debt, he was told to kill Terrence Steadman, the brother of the Vice President of the United States. Lincoln called Michael for help, but Michael was hanging out with Lincoln’s ex-girlfriend, Veronica (nothing happened, by the way). So, Lincoln agreed to do the job, but when he showed up at the parking garage to commit the crime, Steadman was already dead. However, the garage security tape showed Lincoln actually shooting Steadman and so he was convicted and sentenced to death.

After discovering that Lincoln had paid for his college, Michael vowed to find a way to get him out. A structural engineer, Michael worked for the company who built Fox River Penitentiary where Lincoln was imprisoned. So, he devised a plan to end up in Fox River himself so he could break Lincoln out. Inspired by a tattooed pizza delivery girl, Michael hid the prison blueprints and other elements of his escape in an elaborate tattoo that covered most of his body. Then, he committed an armed robbery and was convicted and sentenced to Fox River (He never actually robbed anyone, he just fired the guns so he would definitely get time.). Once inside, he started carrying out his plot and meeting up with the other prisoners that would become his fellow escapees...

Fernando Sucre was Michael’s cellmate. Michael let him in on the plan so he could be a lookout while Michael went through the tunnels at night. At first, Sucre was reluctant to play along and actually got switched to another cell; but when he discovered that his fiancé was pregnant and planned to marry another man, he got back in on the plan.

John Abruzzi was a mob boss convicted on the testimony of a mob informant named Fibonacci. To get Abruzzi to put him on PI duty (to allow him to roam more freely) and to provide transportation away from the prison, Michael offered him Fibonacci’s location—but only after the escape.

Theodore “T-Bag” Bagwell was the leader of the white supremacists of the prison, who liked to stay in the company of younger inmates. During a prison riot that Michael helped to start, T-Bag discovered Michael’s plot and Michael was forced to let him in on the plan. When Abruzzi tried to threaten T-Bag into backing out, T-Bag slit his throat, sending Abruzzi to the hospital and presumed death.

Benjamin “C-Note” Franklin was dishonorably discharged from the army after he reported an officer for improper conduct. He was arrested for transporting stolen goods, a job he took to support his wife and daughter. To hide the truth from them, C-Note told them he was shipped to Iraq, even sending Iraqi postcards from prison. He was also not part of the original plan, but was let in after he figured out what Michael was doing.

David “Tweener” Apolskis was an expert pickpocket who helped Michael get his watch back from one of the guards. One of the Prison COs, Bellick, used Tweener to try and get information on Scofield (who Bellick didn’t trust) but when he didn’t give him anything worthwhile, Bellick had Tweener transferred to a cell with a “friendly” cellmate. Michael, feeling sorry for him and owing him for the watch, let him in on the plan; but Tweener told Bellick, almost ruining the escape.

Charles “Haywire” Patoshik was Michael’s cellmate when Sucre was transferred. Mentally unstable and refusing to take his meds, Haywire was able to see the plans in Michael’s tattoo. Michael was able to make it look like Haywire was beating him and Haywire was put into the psych ward. But when part of Michael’s tattoo was burnt off in a freak accident, he got into the psych ward and convinced Haywire to reconstruct the tattoo for him after tricking him into thinking he’d be part of the escape.

Charles Westmoreland was Fox River’s longest serving inmate. Michael was convinced that he was the famous D.B. Cooper and tried to convince him to go along with the escape for his money. Westmoreland convinced Michael that he was wrong. However, when Westmoreland’s daughter became terminally ill and he was denied the ability to visit her, he revealed that he was indeed Cooper and joined the escape plan.

There were also prison employees that were part of Michael’s plan…

Henry Pope is Fox River’s warden. Seeing something in Michael that he liked, Pope asked Michael to help him construct a replica of the Taj Mahal for his anniversary, which allowed Michael both leeway and access.

Captain Brad Bellick is a CO at Fox River who despised Michael from the beginning, even getting the scoop on Michael’s green card wife (also part of the escape plan). He kept Abruzzi the head of PI because of bribes he received from Abruzzi’s mob friends.

Dr. Sara Tancredi was the doctor at Fox River. The governor’s daughter, Sara is a recovering drug addict. Because the infirmary was key to Michael’s plan, he faked diabetes so he could go there every day for insulin shots. Sara ended up falling for Michael and tried to help him whenever she could—including asking her father for clemency for Lincoln.

Outside the prison, the conspiracy began to unfold as Veronica investigated Lincoln’s case with the help of Nick, a fellow attorney. At the heart of it was The Company, a shadowy group that framed Lincoln to get back at his and Michael’s father, who once worked for them. The Company was trying to get Terrence Steadman out of the way after his company started causing trouble for them

As part of their operation, The Company killed Lincoln’s ex-wife and her husband, framing Lincoln’s son, L.J. L.J. was able to get away and join Veronica and Nick. But eventually he went after the Company agent that killed his mother and stepfather and was caught by the police.

Also involved was Vice President Reynolds, whose Presidential campaign was backed by The Company. But when she fell out of favor with them, The Company tried to have her killed. However, it was the President who died and Reynolds ended up taking over, leaving The Company scrambling to get back into her good graces.

Nick was revealed to be keeping tabs on Veronica for Abruzzi so he would have leverage on Michael. But when Nick balked at delivering Veronica to Abruzzi, he was killed. Veronica continued to follow their lead on a house in Blackfoot, Montana, where she came face to face with Terrence Steadman.

After a botched escape attempt and a near execution of Lincoln, it was time to make another run for it. This time, however, Bellick was hot on their trail because of Tweener, but Westmoreland was able to get him out of the way by trapping him in the escape tunnel—seriously injuring himself in the process.

To get Lincoln out of solitary, Michael threatened Pope into having him moved to the infirmary, and then tied him up in his office closet. Michael asked Sara to leave the infirmary door unlocked. Disillusioned by her father’s failure to intercede on Lincoln’s behalf due to his own political ambitions (He was on the VP candidate list.) and her feelings for Michael, Sara complied. However, she felt so guilty that she later overdosed.

This time, the guys had to go through the psych ward, where they, of course, ran into Haywire. So as not to hinder the escape, Haywire was allowed to join the gang, which now included Michael, Lincoln, Sucre, Sucre’s cousin, C-Note, T-Bag, Westmoreland, Tweener and the newly returned Abruzzi. Westmoreland, though, realized he wasn’t going to make it and before he died, told Michael (and most of the others who were in the room) where the money was buried in Utah.

Pope and Bellick were discovered and the alarm was sounded, but all of them got over the wall except for Sucre’s cousin. The group headed for the airstrip where they would board Abruzzi’s jet, not realizing that Abruzzi had never planned to take all of them. However, Michael told Tweener to go another way as his punishment for ratting them out to Bellick. The group was also able to leave Haywire behind. T-Bag, fearing that Abruzzi would seek retribution, handcuffed himself to Michael and swallowed the key. In a tool shed along the way, they tried to find something to cut the handcuffs apart but were unsuccessful. Abruzzi, angry for the delay it was causing and wanting to get revenge on T-Bag, took an ax and cut off T-Bag’s hand. Not being able to deal with T-Bag’s situation, the group left him in the shed.

Meanwhile, the police were hassling Abruzzi’s men at the airstrip, and getting nervous, they took off, just as the group approached. With Bellick and the other authorities hot on their heels, the gang started running…