TV Shows Review: Prison Break
I don't watch many American TV shows. In fact the only American TV shows I have watched so far, the ones I really follow are Heroes and Prison Break. And it's the same person who got me started for both series. So I believe this is the first time I have actually finished watching an entire TV show!
Prison Break is brilliant, exciting, touching, mind-boggling and thought-provoking. To sum it up, a truly fantastic series! Needless to say, it's my favourite show yet, though this can't say much since I haven't watch much. But it certainly says something for someone as impatient as me when I sat through all whole 81 episodes for the show! I'm actually not accustomed to the 45 minutes long TV shows as I have always been watching 20 minutes long anime. XD
One of the things or themes that really stood out to me in this show is the kind of relationships the characters share between one and other. There's kinship: brotherhood between the brothers Michael and Lincoln, even though and especially because (it's revealed later that) they're not related by blood, they still kept that kind of bond which is so rare in the real world. This love between the non-blood-related brothers triumph over the link between Michael's mother and Michael. It seems that blood ain't always thicker than water! Furthermore, it ain't the blood or the genes that's holding them together. It's purely the affection and love for each other and this bond is just too beautiful and precious. There's also kinship in the form of father and son eg Aldo Burrows and his sons, father and daughter eg C-Note and his daughter, surprisingly General Krantz and his (Lisa and Emily), though there are exceptions in the show eg T-Bag's perverted father.
I have always have this rather misled conception that the romantic relationships are particularly fragile in the Western countries. Shows like Desperate Housewives and Charmed etc certainly haven't done the correction. But the romantic relationships in Prison Break definitely did. Seeing the firm faith and devotion characters have towards the ones they loved, and the way they behave as if their loved ones are the world to them, it's refreshing and heartwarming. It's not just a handful of characters but mostly all the characters in the show! Notably Sucre to Maricruz, Michael to Sara and vice versa, Mahone to Pam. Even T-Bag, one of my most hated villains in this, displayed an unexpectedly merciful gesture to Susan, the one he claimed to genuinely love.
I actually read The Outsiders while I was marathoning this show and the book just reminds me so much of the show! They have so many similarities. One in case is the admirable unwaveringly strong friendship between Michael and Sucre. They will go to any lengths for one and other, and no matter how many times they will just continue to do so! These examples give me hope and renew my faith in humanity, even though this show is fictictious, seriously. XD
Another aspect of this show that really stands out to me is the way the good characters, with the prime example being Michael, deal with issues like their conscience and principles. There're many times in a situation where killing someone off will be easier and beneficial to them while they're escaping or just trying to achieve something, but Michael will definitely not do it. For example, he will only want justice to be meted out on T-Bag, but he doesn't actually kill him even though he really wants to. When I'm watching these kind of scenes, I always think that if it's me in Michael's position, I will not hesitate to just murder. His acts make me rethink and reflect now. What's right is seldom easy and what's easy may not be right.
In many ways, Michael is truly an admirable character. There're many things that I can learn from him. One very important lesson for me to learn is probably how he's able to talk terms with the others because he has the brains, the capability to do so. Me, on the other hand, just likes to talk terms. Also, with great power comes great responsibility. As the show has clearly demonstrated, many a times there're just too much thrown at him, but he never backs down, he never shirks his responsibility, even if it's the villains like T-Bag who are so unreasonable in their demands. Eg I personally don't think Michael owes T-Bag a ticket out of Fox River initially. And finally, the guts. I think if I were them, the escaped convicts, I'd probably have died or got recaptured really early during the escape. Maybe I wouldn't even have successfully escaped in the first place. I just do not have the guts. I'm too fearful, almost to the point of like, being too fearful to live, which is tragic. Hence, to live, to survive, I need to be more fearless and bold!
Things are usually not what they seemed to be, as it has been the case many times in this show. I think this is applicable to the real world. I have got to smarten up! XD
And paraphrasing what Westmoreland told Michael, sometimes we have the answers but not the questions.
All in all, this show has been one hell of a good ride. It has been very inspiring. My favourite season has to be the second one, followed by the first, the fourth and lastly the third, not including The Final Break. The third started off in a real scary atmosphere! There're many strange bits in the fourth season that I feel are insufficient to fully explain why the characters do what they did etc. I'm not exactly happy with the idea that Michael has to be the martyr, to die to supposedly make up for all the unintentional wrongs he did, but I guess that's for the best. And I'm certainly not happy with Mahone, my favourite character, getting together with Lang because it's just strange! It just doesn't make much sense.
At the end, I just want to say that familial obligation is a wonderful thing. (I know my reviews are so strange and over the place, but I guess that's just how I am. XD)
Prison Break is brilliant, exciting, touching, mind-boggling and thought-provoking. To sum it up, a truly fantastic series! Needless to say, it's my favourite show yet, though this can't say much since I haven't watch much. But it certainly says something for someone as impatient as me when I sat through all whole 81 episodes for the show! I'm actually not accustomed to the 45 minutes long TV shows as I have always been watching 20 minutes long anime. XD
One of the things or themes that really stood out to me in this show is the kind of relationships the characters share between one and other. There's kinship: brotherhood between the brothers Michael and Lincoln, even though and especially because (it's revealed later that) they're not related by blood, they still kept that kind of bond which is so rare in the real world. This love between the non-blood-related brothers triumph over the link between Michael's mother and Michael. It seems that blood ain't always thicker than water! Furthermore, it ain't the blood or the genes that's holding them together. It's purely the affection and love for each other and this bond is just too beautiful and precious. There's also kinship in the form of father and son eg Aldo Burrows and his sons, father and daughter eg C-Note and his daughter, surprisingly General Krantz and his (Lisa and Emily), though there are exceptions in the show eg T-Bag's perverted father.
I have always have this rather misled conception that the romantic relationships are particularly fragile in the Western countries. Shows like Desperate Housewives and Charmed etc certainly haven't done the correction. But the romantic relationships in Prison Break definitely did. Seeing the firm faith and devotion characters have towards the ones they loved, and the way they behave as if their loved ones are the world to them, it's refreshing and heartwarming. It's not just a handful of characters but mostly all the characters in the show! Notably Sucre to Maricruz, Michael to Sara and vice versa, Mahone to Pam. Even T-Bag, one of my most hated villains in this, displayed an unexpectedly merciful gesture to Susan, the one he claimed to genuinely love.
I actually read The Outsiders while I was marathoning this show and the book just reminds me so much of the show! They have so many similarities. One in case is the admirable unwaveringly strong friendship between Michael and Sucre. They will go to any lengths for one and other, and no matter how many times they will just continue to do so! These examples give me hope and renew my faith in humanity, even though this show is fictictious, seriously. XD
Another aspect of this show that really stands out to me is the way the good characters, with the prime example being Michael, deal with issues like their conscience and principles. There're many times in a situation where killing someone off will be easier and beneficial to them while they're escaping or just trying to achieve something, but Michael will definitely not do it. For example, he will only want justice to be meted out on T-Bag, but he doesn't actually kill him even though he really wants to. When I'm watching these kind of scenes, I always think that if it's me in Michael's position, I will not hesitate to just murder. His acts make me rethink and reflect now. What's right is seldom easy and what's easy may not be right.
In many ways, Michael is truly an admirable character. There're many things that I can learn from him. One very important lesson for me to learn is probably how he's able to talk terms with the others because he has the brains, the capability to do so. Me, on the other hand, just likes to talk terms. Also, with great power comes great responsibility. As the show has clearly demonstrated, many a times there're just too much thrown at him, but he never backs down, he never shirks his responsibility, even if it's the villains like T-Bag who are so unreasonable in their demands. Eg I personally don't think Michael owes T-Bag a ticket out of Fox River initially. And finally, the guts. I think if I were them, the escaped convicts, I'd probably have died or got recaptured really early during the escape. Maybe I wouldn't even have successfully escaped in the first place. I just do not have the guts. I'm too fearful, almost to the point of like, being too fearful to live, which is tragic. Hence, to live, to survive, I need to be more fearless and bold!
Things are usually not what they seemed to be, as it has been the case many times in this show. I think this is applicable to the real world. I have got to smarten up! XD
And paraphrasing what Westmoreland told Michael, sometimes we have the answers but not the questions.
All in all, this show has been one hell of a good ride. It has been very inspiring. My favourite season has to be the second one, followed by the first, the fourth and lastly the third, not including The Final Break. The third started off in a real scary atmosphere! There're many strange bits in the fourth season that I feel are insufficient to fully explain why the characters do what they did etc. I'm not exactly happy with the idea that Michael has to be the martyr, to die to supposedly make up for all the unintentional wrongs he did, but I guess that's for the best. And I'm certainly not happy with Mahone, my favourite character, getting together with Lang because it's just strange! It just doesn't make much sense.
At the end, I just want to say that familial obligation is a wonderful thing. (I know my reviews are so strange and over the place, but I guess that's just how I am. XD)