The Art of the Deal 

LJ and Whistler are exchanged, but more surprises abound. Meanwhile, T-Bag's scheming finally pays off.

Director:

Nelson McCormick

Writers:

Paul Scheuring (created by) (as Paul T. Scheuring), Matt Olmstead

Stars:

Dominic Purcell, Wentworth Miller, Amaury Nolasco

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Dominic Purcell	...	Lincoln 'Linc' Burrows
Wentworth Miller	...	Michael Scofield
Amaury Nolasco	...	Fernando Sucre
Wade Williams	...	Brad Bellick
Robert Knepper	...	Theodore 'T-Bag' Bagwell
Chris Vance	...	James Whistler
Robert Wisdom	...	Norman 'Lechero' St. John
Danay Garcia	...	Sofia Lugo
Jodi Lyn O'Keefe	...	Gretchen Morgan
William Fichtner	...	Alexander 'Alex' Mahone
Carlo Alban	...	Luis 'McGrady' Gallego
Julio Cesar Cedillo	...	General Mestas
Rene Rivera	...	Police Officer at Checkpoint
Marshall Allman	...	LJ Burrows
Crystal Mantecon	...	Sister Mary Francis / Carmelita

Storyline

Michael and Lincoln chase Whistler (who calls Gretchen) in the warehouse. However the brothers capture him and Michael schedules the exchange meeting in the public space Plaza de Francia. Gretchen invites him to join The Company, and he changes the spot to the lobby of the Museum of Antiques. Meanwhile, McGrady's truck is stopped for inspection in a police barrier and the policemen sees that the cargo is fertilizer; however, McGrady is hidden in a hideout in the cabin. Then his father drives to Acandi, Colombia, where he is welcomed by his family and friends with a party. T-Bag apparently protects Lechero and lures him telling that they may buy their freedom for US$ 50,000.00. When Lechero calls his prostitute to bring the money, he finds that this is actually T-Bag's plan to escape and the traitor kills him. Sucre is beaten and forced to dig his grave; he does not give any information about Michael, is buried alive and then brought to Sona, where he sees T-Bag. When Gretchen arrives ...

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Plot Keywords:

long brown hair | brunette | nun | handcuffs | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

18 February 2008 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Adelstein-Parouse Productions, Rat Entertainment, Original Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

43 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

The exchange was filmed at The Hall of State at Fair Park in Dallas, TX.

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Quotes

Susan B. Anthony: What's so funny?
LJ Burrows: You, thinking you're gonna outsmart my uncle.

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Connections

Features Prison Break: Sleight of Hand (2005)

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Soundtracks

Llorando
Written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson
Performed by Rebekah Del Rio

User Reviews

Good Episode Rids Viewers, Finally, of Sona!

One really can't compare the Sona season with the initial season Michael was incarcerated at Fox River. For every brilliant nuance played out by Michael and crew at Fox River it seems there were few flashes of that same brilliance as Michael spent his days mostly surviving as a prisoner in the Panamanian jail. The script tried so many scenarios which were in actuality the same story of Lincoln trying to outwit Gretchen. It is with a degree of relief that the third season ends with a fairly strong finale that finally rids the viewer, for all practical purposes, of Sona.

As Patron (Lucchero, whatever) senses he is on the cusp of losing the last remnants of his former power he makes an alliance with Michael which sets up the final breakout. Things are so out of control at Sona, what with every commanding warden either being relieved or killed, there isn't much left except for the inmates to just decide to leave (LOL). It's definitely time for this phase to be put to bed. And to bed it is put. Michael, once more, brilliantly plays those around him, with his unbelievable luck in engineering escapes intact, plays his exit like a Stradavarius. While things seemingly go haywire Micheal and friends simply crawl out while the keystone cops miss everything. This just ain't the brilliance of season one's breakout, but it'll do and it is so welcome that who cares. Things ramp up tremendously. Michael gets out to pursue Gretchen, Gretchen gets Whistler, and Lincoln is reunited with his son, "LJ". It wasn't easy as the escapees boat was missing due to Sucre' being arrested and therefore unable to extract them, but it worked out due to "the kids" father playing an unexpected pistol role. Michael engineers a brilliant swap, but when things unhinge due to Sophia's being shot it looks like it could be "back to Sona". Fortunately that did not happen and Sophia recovers hinting at a new relationship with Lincoln. This episode brought everything together, finally, in season four and was totally action packed. The quite important believability factor that was just there enough in season one couldn't be garnered here, but most of us viewers were already past that and could except this as the best episode of the somewhat strange season. I believe the Panama thing had tremendous potential; Panama was a re-invention of what made Prison Break great, it was fresh due to the crazy environment, however, in the end it was so redundant around Gretchen and whatever agenda she was actually suppose to be playing that most of us viewers needed the breakout as much as Michael and Lincoln.

Prison Break is a great concept. It is hard to keep this story going in a uniformly excellent way that the first, and even second season, accomplished. Season four was not as great as it should have been, but it was good. The great thing is the way it allows another beginning for the series for longtime viewers. Thus, episode 13 was a great tie-up and a fantastic opening for a new chapter in the story of Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows. We must stay tuned as we are left with Michael heading into an unknown future to avenge Sara's murder.