JULIE ONI
Staff Writer
When first learning to read iambic pentameter in poetry, a specific rhythm is taught: ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three … and so on. Continuing at this steady pace, the words move faster, causing a sense of urgency, and readers know that a break of rhythm looms in the near future.
Monday night’s return of the popular FOX series “Prison Break” created a similar sensation, steadily pounding the hearts of the audience, along with the desperation of events that took place on screen.
Every bit as gut-wrenching as the previous season, the drama increased its tension with each passing moment.
“Prison Break” tells the story of two brothers: Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell), who is on death row for the murder of Terrence Steadman, the vice president’s brother, and Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), Burrow’s engineer-turned-criminal brother.
The drama proves a common notion that what we see in the media affects our actions, or at least our beliefs. In fact, the show calls into question the need and humaneness of the death penalty.
At the beginning of Monday’s episode, Burrows has only one day to live. Scofield and a gang of accomplices are trying to escape with Burrows, but nothing goes right. Every time it seems as if they are finally going to make it, there is another obstacle to overcome.
The tension is so high that viewers can’t help but be right there with the inmates, counting ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three at their side.
When Scofield discovers that if the electric chair has some sort of malfunction, the execution will be put off for three weeks, he places a rat in the electric system in hopes of destroying it enough to postpone his brother’s death.
Whew, that was a close one. But wait, that was only halfway through the show. Things can’t work out so easily.
It seems like all will be well for the time being, but a snitch who heard Scofield discuss his plan to prolong the execution tells a guard, who finds the rat and has the system rebooted in time to stay on schedule.
The writing for the show is so good that the audience feels like they are the ones on death row. The constant highs and lows create a variance of emotions, from hope, to anger, to fear, to frustration, to excitement, to disappointment and around again.
No matter what opinions are on the death penalty, viewers fight for Burrows, winces when Scofield discovers the rat has been found and cries when he says his last goodbye to his brother.
Escaping, though against the rules, is the heroic option, and Scofield’s attempt seems nothing but noble.
“Prison Break” puts a human face on criminals. It plays with emotions in such a way that even if Burrows were guilty, one would want to help him escape.
Scofield is not the only one fighting for Burrows’ case. Veronica (Robin Tunney), his lawyer and ex-girlfriend, has been caught up in many near-death experiences in hopes of appealing the charges. In the final hours before his scheduled execution, she and a colleague get as far as an appeals court, but lose the case.
As the episode ends, Burrows stands in the doorway, staring at the chair that will soon take his life. Will he survive? Will Scofield and the gang come up with another spur-of-the moment idea?
We’re left with ONE, and there are countless two-threes left to come.
03-23-2006