WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Prison Break.Watching Prison Break nowadays reveals some notable harsh realities nearly two decades after it initially premiered. Prison Break follows the highly intriguing premise of a structural engineer named Michale Scofield (Wentworth Miller) who purposefully incarcerates himself in order to save his brother Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) from death row. Michael goes to extreme lengths to get himself into the same maximum security prison as his brother Lincoln, the fictional Fox River State Penitentiary in Illinois, convinced that his brother was framed for the murder of the Vice President’s brother, Terrence Steadman.
Although Prison Break never won any Primetime Emmy Awards, the series is certainly one of the most memorable network television dramas to come out during the 2000s. The show originally aired on Fox and ran for a total of 90 episodes over the course of five seasons. The original pilot episode premiered on August 29, 2005 and led to four seasons between 2005 and 2008. The series was rebooted for a fifth season in 2017, which saw the return of Miller’s Scofield, Purcell’s Burrows, and Michael’s love interest Dr. Sara Tancredi played by Sarah Wayne Callies.
While Prison Break season 1 was considered must-see TV when it was released in 2005, earning a Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 78%, the later seasons of the series were unable to capture the same caliber of its exciting initial season. Season 2 was considered to be good but not great, earning a Rotten Tomatoes critic score of 71%, while seasons 3-5 had a critical fall off into the realm of “Rotten” on the site. The show is full of incredible tension and suspense, especially through hits first season, which is why it still holds up as one of the best prison-based shows and series of the 2000s to this day. However, some aspects of the series don’t necessarily hold up by today’s standards.
All 5 seasons of
Prison Break
are available to stream on Netflix and Hulu.
12 Michael Scofield Is In Way Over His Head
While the premise of Prison Break is arguably one of the best of all time for a television series, the execution of the titular prison break requires extreme effort and forethought which very few people could reasonably pull off. Since the series is obviously meant for entertainment purposes, it’s easy to let certain elements of Michael Scofield’s elaborate plan slide, especially when he is forced to think on his feet after his initial attempts are either exposed or thwarted by circumstances. Scofield proves to be a genius who successfully breaks his brother out of Fox River but it’s hard to ignore just how outrageous and improbable his scheme was from the beginning.
11 Veronica’s Shocking Death Was Uncalled For
Veronica was one of the best and most entertaining characters throughout Prison Break season 1. Her sudden death in the first episode of Prison Break season 2 was frankly uncalled for since she had worked so hard and defied all odds to uncover the truth that would have led to Lincoln Burrow’s exoneration. She had gotten all the way to the finish line only to find herself trapped in the endzone with Steadman himself even after Nick betrayed her and then sacrificed his life for her to continue pursuing the truth. Once Veronica finally figured it out, the show killed her off in cold blood, leaving so much on the table for her character.
10 The Series Too Long for Modern Audiences
It can be argued that Prison Break season 1 is much longer than most first seasons of new shows nowadays, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Prison Break season 1 was released on a weekly basis with several gaps in between, which aligned with the typical network drama episodic structure of the time period. Nowadays, viewers may have the expectation to blow through the first season of a series in 2 or 3 days, which would require non-stop viewing to accomplish for Prison Break. Because most Prison Break seasons are 20+ episodes long, there are more character subplots to explore, which sometimes drifts too far from the main plot.
9 Michael’s Tattoos Are Never Fully Explained
Michael’s tattoos not only provide a blueprint for the Fox River State Penitentiary and its various underground systems, but they also have several verbal and visual references that are part of Michael’s breakout plan and his post-breakout plan as well. Specific parts of the full-body tattoos are highlighted in different episodes to advance the plot, such as the names of the streets around the prison and a devil’s face that can be projected onto a wall and miraculously pinpoint safe areas to drill as part of the escape plan. While most of the tattoo elements are explained at the moment, a full explanation of Michael’s tattoos is never explained in great depth.
8 The Vice President Cover-Up Scheme Is Too Extreme
Prison Break had two major narratives going throughout its first season. One of them was Michael’s elaborate plan to escape while the other followed the Vice President’s plan to frame Lincoln for the murder of her brother Terrence Steadman in order to achieve political momentum for the Presidency. The Vice President’s character can be seen as overly villainous and extreme, especially because the series does not dive into her character outside of her involvement in the framing of Lincoln Burrows. The VP character comes off as a caricature which frankly seems over the top and too unrealistic.
7 The Prison Guards Are Overly Aggressive & Aloof
While Bellick is a strong antagonist who is necessary to keep the tension in Prison Break season 1 moving, he is also way too aggressive with the inmates and sets an extreme example for the rest of the prison guards to follow. While there are some moments in which prison guards show sympathy and even respect to the inmates in some instances, especially the overly empathetic Warden Pope whom Michael plays like a fiddle, the guards are way too antagonistic overall. Additionally, the Warden comes off as a moralistic man but ultimately proves to be unfit for the job, allowing himself to “trust” Michael, which in retrospect just seems ridiculous.
6 Some Characters Like Haywire Are Outdated
Haywire ends up playing a key role in Prison Break season 1 but the depictions of mental illness that were attributed to him by the Prison Break writers seem to take advantage and spread misinformation about someone with Haywire’s condition. Even the nickname “Haywire” isn’t necessarily appropriate and could be seen as offensive when describing someone who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or psychosis.
Haywire being able to “see” Michael’s blueprints due to mental illness is an out-of-touch narrative device that is not congruent with the realities of such conditions. The group also ditches Haywire after the escape is discreet, showing clear discrimination against his stigmatized condition.
5 The Secret Service & The Company Are Too Conspiratorial
Along with the wildly cold-blooded VP, the malicious Agent Kellerman is completely unhinged and unregulated, which makes his character seem way over the top upon a Prison Break rewatch. He is responsible for the murders of several civilians, some of them he did in broad daylight, and yet he is somehow able to avoid detection because he is a part of the Secret Service. What about the thousands of other agents in the Secret Service? Where are they in all of this? Additionally, the multinational “Company” on top of the Secret Service takes the conspiracy to a whole different level, which makes it feel like it tries too hard to lean into the Bourne movies.
Related
10 Best Shows Like Prison Break
Prison Break follows a man planning a prison escape for his brother, and while its premise is unique, some other TV shows share similar qualities.
4 Prison Break Sacrifices Realism For Great Twists & Turns
Prison Break is not trying to present a gritty slice of life of the prison system, which is absolutely fine for a TV series but often leads to sensationalism. Michael and his crew nearly get caught multiple times and are extremely, nonsensically, lucky to not be exposed. While Michael’s forethought is well-planned and executed, sometimes the series just comes down to dumb luck and chance, which is hard to justify again and again. For example, Lincoln gets his execution postponed at the very last minute while he’s in the electric chair because the judge ordered Terrence’s body to be exhumed. It’s great for tension and suspense but ultimately feels like forced timing.
3 There Are Many Notable Loose Ends & Plot Holes
Many areas in Prison Break’s plot feel overly convenient or unaddressed in retrospect. One of the earliest examples is the case of Veronica’s apartment being rigged with explosives, leading to one causality. It makes no sense that somebody would not look into why someone tried to bomb Veronica’s house in the first place. This is really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of loose ends and plot holes in season 1. Michael could have been sent to the wrong prison, which would have made his mission a total failure before it even started. Lincoln also may not have actually killed Terrence Steadman but he was planning to, which is better but still a serious and punishable crime.
2 The Series Doesn’t Get Better Over Time
Some may consider Prison Break season 1 one of the most entertaining seasons of television of the 21st century, or at least the 2000s. Unfortunately, once Michael and Lincoln make it out of Fox River, the series gradually starts to taper over time and it eventually feels like the writers are grasping at straws trying to keep the narrative going. There was something very compelling about the Fox River setting and dynamic throughout the first season that made the show wildly captivating. Although Michael and Lincoln successfully got out, before getting locked up again in Mexico, the series was simply more interesting and better quality at Fox River.
1 Prison Break Is Built On One Big Inaccuracy
While Prison Break is a series better watched without asking too many questions, there is one glaring inaccuracy that is tough to overlook when watching it again.
There have been 12 prisoners have been executed in Illinois since 1977, all of them by lethal injection, which was the default method of execution until the death penalty was abolished in the state in 2011. There has never been an execution by electric chair in the state of Illinois during that time period, meaning that if Lincoln Burrows were a real person, he would not have gotten the chair but instead would have been killed by lethal injection. The death penalty was also abolished in Illinois in 2011, meaning that a series like Prison Break couldn’t exist as easily nowadays.
