quasi-academic prison break
The first of the November episodes of Prison Break!
Totally knew Bellick was dead. Last episode where he's getting Sucre to promise to tell his mom if he died, that wasn't foreshadowing at all. But have you noticed, anytime a previously minor character starts having more than five lines, that's the episode they kill him off in? A really obvious example is Carson in SGA. One last hooray I guess? Alas, poor Brad. Your life sucked but at least you went out a hero.
Now your death can be completely overshadowed by Alex and Michael. And speaking of Alex, oh holy fuck!! Wow. Ok, I admit, I cracked up when he shoved Wyatt off mid-sentence. That was just too much awesome right there.
And oh, Michael. I hope the season (series?) isn't going to end with him achieving the impossible and then dropping dead. A bit too much 13th Warrior, you know? Sucre better damn well tell Sara.
And now some ponderings I've been having about the series as a whole
So I've noticed a general trend in trilogies (this is on-topic, I promise!). I've seen this in movies and novels, but it's most obvious in the original Star Wars trilogy.
The first movie/book has to set the stage. Here you meet the characters, the world, etc. And the plot is usually personal--there's hints at a wider conflict, but for now it's narrowed in on the main characters and the main conflict. So in Star Wars, it's Luke and the Death Star. There's still the Empire waiting to be destroyed, but for now it's neatly tied up with the Death Star as the main monster to be defeated.
Second movie/book is where the bad guys almost win. The heroes get sucked into the larger conflict and everything seems lost. They cryo-freeze Han, Luke loses a hand! The Empire's totally kicking the Rebellion's ass!
Third and final, the good guys come back with a vengeance. Luke becomes the last Jedi. The final enemy is defeated and the heroes party with the Ewoks. The third is the biggest and baddest, with them conquering the larger evil spotted in the first movement.
I started pondering this with regards to comments I read about the third season of Prison Break, that it lacked the energy and clever twists from before. But as I was mainlining the first three seasons (in about as many weeks) I saw it differently--mainly, I saw it as Part Two of the trilogy pattern.
Seasons 1 and 2 = Part 1
Starting with season one: you meet Michael, who only wants to save his brother. The characters are narrowed to the prison's cast and what, a handful of others? Even the world is narrowly restricted, to the confines of the prison. And there's the basic challenge to be overcome--getting Lincoln out of jail before his time's up. Then you have Veronica's storyline fleshing out the Greater Evil.
I see season two as a continuation of part 1, even though the world's expanding beyond the bounds you normally see in the standard part one of a trilogy. But it's still part of Michael's plan--he's still the plucky hero and the conflict is still to get Lincoln away.
Season 3 = Part 2
This is why I didn't mind the change in mood in season three. This is the evil Empire kicking their asses. They blackmail Michael into being their bitch and he's helpless against them--he has to do what they want. All seems lost, as reflected by Micheal's frustration and helplessness. You even have Mahone falling into his worst--dealing with withdrawal and prison and trying to get Micheal's trust. The lack of energy seemed to match this part of the trilogy perfectly.
Season 4 = Part 3
And the good guys are back with a vengeance! Got the whole gang together, they're going after the emperor, it's a world-wide event. No really, everyone has come to the part and they're fighting the ultimate baddie who's been hanging over them since the first. Hopefully this too will end with a party.
And that's the main reason I hope they end after this season. They might be able to stretch this part out to another, like they did with the second season being an extension of the first part, but the third part has to be so big, and so high momentum, that I really can't imagine it.
Eheheh, I really hope that was even vaguely coherent. Next time I meta: morality in Prison Break.
Totally knew Bellick was dead. Last episode where he's getting Sucre to promise to tell his mom if he died, that wasn't foreshadowing at all. But have you noticed, anytime a previously minor character starts having more than five lines, that's the episode they kill him off in? A really obvious example is Carson in SGA. One last hooray I guess? Alas, poor Brad. Your life sucked but at least you went out a hero.
Now your death can be completely overshadowed by Alex and Michael. And speaking of Alex, oh holy fuck!! Wow. Ok, I admit, I cracked up when he shoved Wyatt off mid-sentence. That was just too much awesome right there.
And oh, Michael. I hope the season (series?) isn't going to end with him achieving the impossible and then dropping dead. A bit too much 13th Warrior, you know? Sucre better damn well tell Sara.
And now some ponderings I've been having about the series as a whole
So I've noticed a general trend in trilogies (this is on-topic, I promise!). I've seen this in movies and novels, but it's most obvious in the original Star Wars trilogy.
The first movie/book has to set the stage. Here you meet the characters, the world, etc. And the plot is usually personal--there's hints at a wider conflict, but for now it's narrowed in on the main characters and the main conflict. So in Star Wars, it's Luke and the Death Star. There's still the Empire waiting to be destroyed, but for now it's neatly tied up with the Death Star as the main monster to be defeated.
Second movie/book is where the bad guys almost win. The heroes get sucked into the larger conflict and everything seems lost. They cryo-freeze Han, Luke loses a hand! The Empire's totally kicking the Rebellion's ass!
Third and final, the good guys come back with a vengeance. Luke becomes the last Jedi. The final enemy is defeated and the heroes party with the Ewoks. The third is the biggest and baddest, with them conquering the larger evil spotted in the first movement.
I started pondering this with regards to comments I read about the third season of Prison Break, that it lacked the energy and clever twists from before. But as I was mainlining the first three seasons (in about as many weeks) I saw it differently--mainly, I saw it as Part Two of the trilogy pattern.
Seasons 1 and 2 = Part 1
Starting with season one: you meet Michael, who only wants to save his brother. The characters are narrowed to the prison's cast and what, a handful of others? Even the world is narrowly restricted, to the confines of the prison. And there's the basic challenge to be overcome--getting Lincoln out of jail before his time's up. Then you have Veronica's storyline fleshing out the Greater Evil.
I see season two as a continuation of part 1, even though the world's expanding beyond the bounds you normally see in the standard part one of a trilogy. But it's still part of Michael's plan--he's still the plucky hero and the conflict is still to get Lincoln away.
Season 3 = Part 2
This is why I didn't mind the change in mood in season three. This is the evil Empire kicking their asses. They blackmail Michael into being their bitch and he's helpless against them--he has to do what they want. All seems lost, as reflected by Micheal's frustration and helplessness. You even have Mahone falling into his worst--dealing with withdrawal and prison and trying to get Micheal's trust. The lack of energy seemed to match this part of the trilogy perfectly.
Season 4 = Part 3
And the good guys are back with a vengeance! Got the whole gang together, they're going after the emperor, it's a world-wide event. No really, everyone has come to the part and they're fighting the ultimate baddie who's been hanging over them since the first. Hopefully this too will end with a party.
And that's the main reason I hope they end after this season. They might be able to stretch this part out to another, like they did with the second season being an extension of the first part, but the third part has to be so big, and so high momentum, that I really can't imagine it.
Eheheh, I really hope that was even vaguely coherent. Next time I meta: morality in Prison Break.