Prison Break Season 5: Raw Breakdown 7

5.07. “Wine Dark Sea”

“Wine dark sea” must be one of those complex adjectives that are common in epic poems. The Ness Monster was drinking red wine. Whip and Linc celebrated their deliverance with a glass of alcohol. Sucre was seen pouring some beverage into the glasses of his friends while they were playing cards in his cabin.

This episode was equally action-packed (even though Michael spent half of it out cold) and full of touching personal scenes. Vaun Wilmott, the author, writes both bromance and romance beautifully. 

This episode was also the speediest one in Season 5 so far – lots of events and plot development fitted into its 40+ minutes. The guys started in Yemen, stopped in Finikas, Crete, and were off to the Mediterranean Sea by the end of it (That was the quickest 12-hour trip ever.) Sara flew to Crete and back again. Michael was lethargic in the beginning but ended up jumping off a ship at the end. Jacob Ness, a caring, loving husband in the beginning, was fully revealed as the main villain of the show. 

I would’ve liked to have seen more of Phaeacia, but Utopian places aren’t that interesting as scary places, I guess. If I were Ja, I would want to get the hell out of the country that has kept him in jail for so long as fast as he could. Then again, he can take a boat to anywhere from Phaeacia once he’s had enough of this paradise on Earth. 

Mike’s drawing is getting better and better, as Sara comments. It’s obviously hereditary. His Dad is a skilled graphic artist too. This drawing of a wounded Greek hero lying on the ground, his sword and shield by his side, is a naïve but truthful reflection of Michael’s state. The father and the son seem to have a spiritual connection (I’d bet that helicopter Michael saw in his dream of Mike was his prophetic intuition speaking.) 

Out of the mouth of Mike comes a wise cultural commentary about old-time heroes being more realistic than modern “supermen”. Might be a case of 4^th Wall Breaking. 

There’s some serious symbolism expressed through the pictures in their house. Mike’s other drawings in Jacob’s room show a plane, a ship (Michael’s means of escape) and… a family of rabbits. The photos in the corridor look like tourist snapshots of Greek temples and ruins. The secret vault in the wall where Sara hides the gun is covered with a picture of a big window or door (escape route?) from which you can see a gravel mountain or an open space. 

There’s a real sibling rivalry going on in this season. Linc and Whip argued about who the better brother was, and Whip was totally unamused to see Sucre, yet another friend of Michael’s he hadn’t known about before. I totally get his pain. You’ve had this man to look up to, who’s treated you like a brother, by your side for a few years, and then you (feel like you) suddenly lose your position in a couple of days because his real brother and his real, loving wife and show up, and it seems like he doesn’t care about you anymore. It’s this feeling of being “alien”. Though Lincoln says Whip is a member of their family now. 

I think Michael and Linc have a better chemistry in Season 5 than ever before. The tough bromance between them was explored in 5.05. “Contingency” (also written by Vaun Wilmott). In “Wine Dark Sea” we delve deeper into the bond between Michael and Whip. Interestingly, Linc was more cool-headed and practical in this episode and Whip was more of a caregiver, revealing his gentle side. That scene where Whip is doing a terrific job of “keeping his spirits up” and talks to a sleeping Michael, letting go of his typical humorous bravado and revealing his insecurity, shows an unusual degree of feeling.  

“What kind of a brother are you?” Whip’s experience of Michael is that of a man who goes to prisons deliberately. Lincoln knows his brother never wanted to be in jail in the first place.

Now I know why Lincoln calls Whip a “kid”. Whip is a man, but his devotion to Michael is so childish, he's like a possessive little brother who gets hurt if ignored by his elder sibling. Just look at that:  

   

A very important moment: When Jacob asks Sara, “And if I told you not to go?” (to Crete) and she duly wonders and asks him to either live up to his veiled threat or to give it up, it may have been a test for her. If she had agreed to stay she wouldn’t have led him to Kaniel Outis and would have proven to Jacob she cared for him enough, and then probably he might’ve refrained from murdering Michael. But she chose to go, as if telling him he couldn’t stand a chance compared to her unfortunate ex-lover, and that gave him a moral free hand to keep on pursuing Michael, and put her life and Mike’s life in danger. When later he reminded her how he had forgiven her for her lies and her shady past, it felt like the last chance he was giving her to forgive him for his lies. In vain.   

Michael says Poseidon betrayed him because he wanted to have Sara all to himself (“He wanted me out of the way… so he could have you”.) However sentimental/unbelievable/pandering to female fans this explanation sounds, it feels like Jacob was indeed caught in a duty/love dilemma. He seems to have some genuine affection for Sara (just like those pesky admirers of Penelope in “The Odyssey”) that clashed with his anti-government work. Though that doesn’t excuse his crimes, he was more or less genuinely caring for that woman, helped her rebuild her life – but was rejected by her, and in that way Jacob could be emphatised with. It’s lonely being an undercover CIA agent working against the CIA. 

Jacob is both “Prison Break”’s equivalent of god and one of Penelope’s unwanted suitors. Gods in Greek myths severely punished those who turned down their favours. But if Homer and “Prison Break” writers are to be trusted, his fate is decided – Michael will slink into his house under a mask and destroy him. Jacob might be an expert on game theory but when it comes to game practice Michael beats him outright.   

Many fans complain that FBI agent Alexander Mahone is not present in Season 5. Jacob is what Mahone was to Michael – an equally smart rival. Unlikely to become an ally, though.

Michael, Sara and their son are/were de facto Jacob’s hostages. He used and abused them both, so what if it was a “soft” abuse in Sara’s case. It makes me think, eerily, of T-Bag’s attempt to play happy families with his beloved Susan and her kids. And also of Kellerman in Season 2, when he disguised himself as “Lance, an addict” and courted Sara to get closer to his quarry – Michael, who happened to be Sara’s boyfriend. T-Bag was so right in his assessment of Jacob earlier this season. 

All that extended scene that began with Lincoln and Whip dragging Michael into the safe house room, laying him on the bed, him waking up from his nightmare with a startle, reuniting with Sara after 7 years spent apart and being healed by her – was a sequence, played by Wentworth Miller almost silently (He says as much as two words – “Linc” and “No”.) But was it heartfelt? Bitter and sweet? Did you feel his pain? In each and every way. He’s shown very eloquently Michael’s constant, nerve-wrecking alertness crumbling under his loss of energy. Leaning into this gentle handling by Sara and his blood and sworn brothers like it was his rescue (and it was).  I’m proud of the actor. And the actors.

Michael was crying his manly tears again when he saw Sara. That crying is totally justified – Odysseus and his comrades in their TV show book were big damn heroes, but they were weeping a lot.

Useful fannish trivia that we learnt: Michael and Sara’s blood types (“B negative” and “O negative”, respectively). That blood transfusion she performs on Michael, using her own blood, is deeply symbolic – now that her blood is running through his veins, they are related on a much deeper level. She acted like a goddess. She saved him.

Sara is such a strong character. I really enjoyed the actress’ performance. 

I may be wrong here but I’d bet many women fans were a bit underwhelmed watching Michael and Sara’s reunion. No running towards each other across the sand, arms outstretched. No dramatics. Her leaving so soon. She almost forgot to kiss him (how many women’s hearts sank at this point?) but then remembered to come back. That was such a tease from the writers. There’s something’s on his mind he’s not telling us.  I’m not one of these viewers whose major reason for watching “Prison Break” is the touching family/romance storyline and who were impatiently waiting for that Sara, Michael and Mike reunion. I don’t care if they live as a happy family afterwards. So, to me that moment didn’t feel like the epic dream come true (or not). So I wasn’t disappointed. But it was a very powerful moment in itself.   

I get it why Michael doesn’t say a word to Sara when she comes to meet him. Why he doesn’t respond to her kiss with a passion (no “h”). Apart from the fact that he’s he’s simply very, very tired. Guilt. He can’t indulge in love until he’s corrected the wrongs he’s inflicted upon them all. 

And if you look closely, you’d notice Michael’s conflicting body language after Sara leaves – he’s got his arm across his heart but he lets out a sigh that sounds like relief, of all things. After all, he didn’t want her to be involved in his escape. There’s something on his mind that he’s not telling us yet.

I guess every “Prison Break” fan would second Agent Kishida’s words, “Outis... did the country a service, so why were you trying to kill him?” This guy from the State Department was not a baddie, it turns out. He was dutifully investigating the possibility of the CIA insiders being involved in “21 Void”. His was probably one of the most senseless deaths this season. But at least the real CIA has finally found a link to the real villain. The CIA probably realized that Outis is not necessarily the terrorist, if he’s killed the militants’ “spiritual leader”.

So, Michael has worked for Posiedon for 3 years, thinking he was working for the CIA, then the CIA deputy director started investigating into “21 Void”, so Posiedon shot him and double-crossed Michael by tampering with that video, erasing his own face from it, framing Michael as the murderer, sending him to Yemen (with the CIA on his trail) for a dead-end job of breaking Abu Ramal out of Ogygia and then leaving him without help (a form of a more sadistic murder). Granted, Michael puzzled out his machinations, and started planning his escape from under Poseidon’s thumb and Ogygia, executed the plan, failed, and was thrown into a solitary cell for 4 frigggin’ years, began planning another escape, finally setting its wheels in motion as soon as he was relased onto the “general population”. And there are still pieces of the puzzle that Season 5 of “Prison Break” is that have to fall into place in the next couple of episodes. Like Whip’s role. And Michael’s code message to “Blue Hawaii” and what these pictures on his hands mean.  

In a way, Michael is to Whip what Jacob is to Sara. Someone who gave him a chance at a new life, became a pillar of support. Whip might be a leverage of sorts – someone who knows something that could be used against Poseidon. Or probably he’s connected to Poseidon in some other way, and Michael originally planned to use him as a potential bargaining chip, just as Jacob would use Sara and Mike if confronted with Michael? So that when he confronts Jacob, Michael would be forced to threaten Whip’s life to gain the upper hand over Poseidon and to ensure his family’s safety? But Michael wouldn’t be able to put Whip’s life on the line because he’s become attached to him. So Michael will try to save all the people he loves, blood or not. That’s a chilling prospect, and I hope it remains my wild guess only.   

In the CIA deputy director murder flashback scene, there is Arabic lettering on Michael’s wrists already but no eyes on his palms yet. Plan in progress? Erasing his identity might be Michael’s own idea, after all. 

Michael and Sucre’s reunion was one of the most joyful bits of humour in Season 5 (even if crude). That Sucre’s business on the side with inflatable sex dolls wouldn’t even take off, unfortunately. He’s lost his job and all his “life savings” trying to help his mates. That’s what a real friend would do.  

Sucre to Michael: “A damn phoenix!” Yes, I was waiting for the phoenix references. Sucre seems to love beautiful words, even though he doesn’t always understand their true meaning. “I thought that was an analogy”.

No matter whose idea it was to knock the captain off, damage the ship’s controls so that it goes sailing towards non-neutral Algerian waters with a bunch of US marines onboard (just like the Phaecians’ smart ships!), it was clever. I guess it’s the Algerian frontier guards that sent that deadly beam-riding rocket to destroy the ship. Just like the Greek Poseidon turned the Pheacians’ ship that brought Odysseus home into stone. 

I wonder whom was Jacob calling to request the destruction of the ship. Someone else who wants Michael dead?  

“If you remove his mask, he’ll lash out”. Unfortunately, Sara couldn’t hide her anxiety when she came back to Ithaca, so Poseidon puzzled her plan out quickly (her “Hey, you” to his “Hey, honey” alone was enough). But he is so very wrong when accusing Sara of having taken action to save her loved ones. 

Jacob’s words to Sara, “It was our life. It’s not over yet. Not even close” sound like a threat. 

With style and class, this episode ends on two cliffhangers.  

Random points

That episode is constantly drawing out attention to the “fictional”, narrative nature of the events on the screen by using copies of the real things – Mike plays with a toy helicopter, the walls in Jacob and Sara’s house are adorned with photographs of Greece, Ja admits his possession of Freddie Mercury’s ashes might be a tall tale, Michael recounts his story to Sara (it’s a story within a story!).

   

No visas are necessary for American citizens to cross the Greek border? 

Interestingly, one of philosophical and logical paradoxes involves Crete: “All Cretans are liars”. “Prison Break”’s characters and lies go hand in hand too. 

Cool cinematography: when Jacob’s face is revealed in the puddle of Kishida’s blood.

Michael: “If I’d known he was your husband, I swear…” He’d do what? 

Void 21 happens to be a 2016 futuristic videogame of the race-and-shoot variety.

I wonder if Michael’s message to Sara ever gets sent to her, with Ja’s phone being far away now.

 

Change of clothes is semiotic – Michael is dressed in that blue shirt now, signifying the return to the cool, cold European and American coasts. 

Sucre’s knowledge of geography seems to be no better than his orthography. 

Must be shuddering for Sara to have her mouth devoured by the predatory Jacob once she returns home. 

They play cards. Game symbolism again. 

This season of “Prison Break” is low on “People Pointing Guns at Each Other” (as Uncyclopedia re-named this show) – but A&W and then Sara revived that trope in that episode.

“Sara, there is a plan to make this right” – beautiful callback to Season 2. Michael sent Sara a paper crane with this exact message. As is Sucre’s “Have some faith, papi”. Michael smiles at that intratextual reference. 

Jacob, about the failed attack on the ship to capture Michael: “Shouldn’t have brough a knife to a gunfight”. The gun, like the Sc(h)ofield?

Random pictures

A tiny blooper: The ABC gates are for “Canada Flights” 

  

On the one hand, literally, Sara has her wedding ring, on the other hand is the blue sapphire ring she’ll use to save Michael, paying for their trip across the ocean.

She looks at her palm like Michael looks at his. Her plan of quitting Jacob is also written on it. The next shot is of that of Michael’s hand. 

 Hello, Captain Cold! Working a side job stealing sapphire rings?

Funnily, Captain Snart here is talking to the captain of the “Tramp”. That’s not Snart’s usual dapper self, but the look on his face is unmistakably Cold.

“Dangerous Substance” and “Warning” it says behind Michael’s back. No doubt about that.