Prison Breakchanged drastically over its original four seasons before being rebooted twice, leaving the show with three different endings.Prison Breakbegan with a simple story told in a new and exciting way, when Michael Scofield broke into a prison he helped design to free his wrongfully imprisoned brother Lincoln from jail. OverPrison Break’s four seasons, it turned from a dramatic prison drama to a police procedural show before ending with season 4.ThePrison Breaktimelinegrew more complex whenThe Final Breakwas introduced, and yet another retcon changed the two previous endings after season 5.
DespitePrison Break’s seemingly confusing timeline, viewers can watch the first four seasons of the show without needing to watchThe Final Breakor the subsequent season 5. However, both of these sequels introduced interesting ideas to the series and give viewers more of fan-favorite characters like Alex Mahone and T-Bag. That said,Prison Breakseason 5 is often considered a mistake, and it has a 56% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. While season 5 returned to the prison setting of seasons 1 and 3, its ending was controversial and the upcomingPrison Breakreboot could retcon the finale again.
Prison Break’s Season 4 Finale Was The Show’s Original Ending
The End OfPrison BreakSeason 4 Shows The Main Characters At Michael’s Grave
Prison Breakseason 4 ended on a largely happy note, which both tied up loose ends and offered fan service. Eric Kellerman’s dramatic change from main antagonist to last-minute hero was one of themost unexpected things to happen inPrison Break. When he was revealed to be alive, he offered exoneration to the main characters. This twist neatly wrapped the main characters' stories up, with most of them starting new lives with their families. That said, the additional ending set four years later showed that one character did not survive to live happily ever after, despite overcoming incredible challenges.
Michael’s nose started to bleed again while he and Sara planned their future.
Season 4 might have contained some of thesweetest moments between Michael and Sara, but the last episode showed an ominous sign that all was not well. While walking, Michael’s nose started to bleed again while he and Sara were planning their future together. This was a clear clue that the rare brain tumor that Michael had been diagnosed with was not cured, despite what The Company had promised they would do if he stole Scylla.The final scene inPrison Breakseason 4 shows the main characters visiting Michael’s grave, implying that the tumor had eventually killed him off-screen.
The Final Break Was Set Before Season 4’s Finale And Revealed How Michael Died
The Final Break Brought New Ideas To ThePrison BreakConcept
The Final Breakoffered a different explanation for Michael’s death. The storyline is set shortly before season 4’s finale.InPrison Break’s two-partThe Final Break, Michael and Sara’s wedding is interrupted when Sara is arrestedfor the murder of the season 4 antagonist, Christina Rose Scofield. This leads to Michael and Lincoln breaking Sara out of prison with the help of Mahone and Sucre. When Michael breaks through an electronic door, he is electrocuted, sacrificing himself so that Sara can escape. Though Michael still has a brain tumor,The Final Breakoffers this alternative explanation of his death.
There are four total prison breaks inPrison Break, with the characters escaping (or helping others to escape) from Fox River, Sona, Miami-Dade, and Ogygia prisons.
Seasons 1 and 2 ofPrison Breakwere explosive, action-packed, and unbearably tense at times, with each episode ending on a cliffhanger. As the seasons progressed, the show’s tone more closely resembled aJames Bondmovie than the more grounded and tense original season.The Final Breakbrought a fresh new twist to the originalPrison Breakformula, being set in a women’s prison and focusing on Sara rather than the men. The two-part series also featured the suspense and urgency of some ofthe best episodes ofPrison Break, earning it an 82% positive audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Prison Break Season 5 Retconned Season 4’s Ending And Ended On A Positive Note
Prison BreakSeason 5 Made Some Major Mistakes With Its Characters
Despite that relatively grounded beginning,Prison Breakhas a habit of resurrecting killed characters. This includes Kellerman, Sara Tancredi, and Christina Rose Scofield.Prison Breakseason 5 continued this tradition by retconning season 4’s ending and bringing Michael back from the dead. The series shows the previous characters uniting to break Michael out of yet another prison after he faked his death. By the end of this season, Michael and Sara finally got a happy ending, with Michael exonerated and his identity restored. Still, the previous bittersweet endings were more well-received, whileAlex Mahone’s absence overshadowedPrison Break’s season 5.
I Can’t Forgive Prison Break For Repeatedly Trying To Ruin Its Greatest Character
Prison Break’s T-Bag was one of the best-written characters on the show but the writers appeared to forget his past over time, which nearly ruined him
While bringing back Fernando Sucre and giving C-Note more screen time were good decisions for the season,Prison Breakseason 5 had some major flaws. After Michael and Sara’s romance had been so significant throughout the show, having her remarry was an odd decision, especially as the show ended with the two together anyway.Prison Break’s constant attempts to redeem T-Bag continued in season 5, and the decision to ignore Alex Mahone was not well received, as the character was a fan favorite. Season 5 had some exciting moments but felt unnecessary when it retconned the previous seasons' character dynamics.
Which Prison Break Finale Is The Best One?
ThePrison BreakReboot Could Retcon One Of The Previous Endings
Prison Breakhad some tragic momentsand never shied away from the brutal reality of prison life. This often led to beloved characters like Westmoreland and Haywire dying.While many ofPrison Break’s saddest scenes were hard to watch, they made the show betterby raising the stakes for its other characters. Season 4’s original ending gave most of the characters happy endings while showing that even the most skilled characters could still die too. This relatively peaceful ending with Sara raising Michael Jr. wasPrison Break’s best ending. AlthoughThe Final Breakwas well-received, it was not necessarily needed.
Prison Break seasons and movie popularity
1
2005
94%
2
2006
89%
3
2007
66%
4
2008
62%
2009
82%
5
2017
71%
The upcomingPrison Breakrebootwill not feature Michael or Lincoln, but it will be reportedly set in the same universe as the original series. This means that the show could quietly retcon one of the endings. AsPrison Breakseason 6 comes from the creator of theMayans M.C.TV show, the show could bring back the grittier tone of the previous seasons, without the science-fiction elements prevalent in season 4. Though no originalPrison Breakactors have been confirmed to appear, the reboot will feature a co-ed prison where characters might know of Michael’s escape from Fox River.
Prison Break
Cast
Prison Break tells the story of two brothers who must unravel a political conspiracy while escaping from one of the most secure places on Earth. When petty criminal Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) is falsely convicted of murdering the Vice President’s brother, his own brother, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), has himself incarcerated in order to stage a daring prison break using the blueprints of the facility he has tattooed on his body.
