So Self is a scumbag. We know this. Michael and his crew know this. T-Bag and Gretchen know this. Even The Company knows this.

As part of his plan to sell Scylla, he lures Gretchen into helping him secure another buyer. How? All he had to do was take her sister and daughter hostage. Apparently that is her one and only weak spot. Gretchen's new buyer (or conduit) is Viken. She takes off with Self and the two leave T-Bag behind to baby-sit. Maybe they haven't heard, but T-Bag isn't so great with families.

It's too bad that she was tied up. She was supposed to meet up with the boys. Instead, they had a reunion with the Feds. In the mad dash, Linc jumped out of his car to save Michael and pummel a passing Fed. He's a sweet guy, but not too smart. So he was the first one to get pinched. This was actually a good thing because that big lug convinced the Feds that Self isn't the hero after all. In fact, he isn't even Self -- or won't be. He's planning to change his identity to Robert Walker when all is said and Scylla is sold.

However, that's not going to be so easy. See, that little Lego piece that Michael has been holding up to the light? It was a piece of Scylla that he removed, rendering the entire thing useless. Pretty sweet.

The General didn't get too much screen time this week. He is under a lot of stress, which makes him as scary as ever. If you're interested in his upcoming plans, that info could cost you a hole in the chest. Think of it as a Company severance package.

Also, Mahone is missing. Of course, he didn't take off to find Pam. Judging by next week's previews, he's tapping an old friend to help bring this whole thing to an end -- or at least a fall finale. See you all next week. -- Rachel Cericola

They promised something big, and boy did they deliver. Let's start with a quick recap. Last week, Michael had just come face-to-face with Scylla, only to be greeted by The General and two of his henchmen. Well, this was part of the plan, kids. It allowed the boys to finally score the sixth Scylla card. Yahtzee!

However, the cards weren't actually Scylla. They just unlocked some kind of super hard drive that held Scylla, which looked more like an old internal hard drive. It was sort of anti-climatic, like the moment when you saw the little Martian king in the first "Men in Black." Speaking of Martian king... the boys decided to take The General along for the rest of the ride.

Of course, he's not exactly a party and he never comes alone. So while the group headed back to The General's office, the entire building went into lock-down mode. "Whatever you're waiting for, it isn't coming," he told Michael. That old guy is pure evil. Of course, lines like that just make the veins in Linc's head more prominent. He was ready to snap The General's neck twig-style. Never mention mom and/or dad, get it?

In other hostage news, Self's crisis didn't last too long. While Trishann/Miriam (real name!) berated him, he picked the handcuffs (not too hard when you have the key), shot the henchmen, and Miriam finished off Feng. Oops. We needed that guy... and we weren't even sure why -- yet.

However, that and The General weren't this episode's only hostage situations. Gretchen and T-Bag had created a little something over at GATE. Also, Sara had Lisa. What in the world was going on?

Well, Lisa is not a lover after all -- she's The General's daughter. Hey now! No wonder she hated Gretchen so much. The whole situation really burned The General's biscuit. How dare those guys have a backup plan!

This Company is quite incestuous. We've got daughters and fathers and lovers. Heck, even Linc's dad (who is also Michael's dad? I get lost sometimes) was on the payroll. But does anyone care that Linc's dad was an executioner for The Company? Meh.

A few other notes:

• Did Trishann/Miriam (when she was alive) ever do any police work while not wearing heels?


• Ever heard of women and children first, Mr. White?


• Leaving that Company guy a copy of "All's Well That Ends Well?" Nice touch.


• When Self gave Michael the "lives will be changed forever speech," did you see Sara? Someone is getting some post-surgery nookie.

All of that paled in comparison to the big climatic ending. Self, the guy we were trusting this entire season was really just in it for the cash. Not sure I like this twist, but hey -- if everyone ended up happy, the season/show would be over, wouldn't it? So now it looks like the hunter will soon be the hunted.

Still, it was quite the stellar episode. Can't say they can keep this up forever, but the writers really revived the show this season. So where do we go from here? Not even The General knows. However, we have Self out on the town with Scylla, T-Bag is handcuffed to Miriam's car, Gretchen is on the loose, and Michael still needs surgery. There's plenty to work with. See you next week (and Happy Thanksgiving!). -- Rachel Cericola

First, we had Sara explain all of Michael's impending brain surgery. I have to side with Linc's statement, "Do we really have to hear this?" In Michael's defense though, Linc: He has this little brain surgery thing later today. If the guy wants to hear about the process, please indulge him.

Then we had the whole Scylla plan, which was a lot of geek speak. Michael needed to explain things to everyone, since he needs brain surgery right away. When all was said and done, the big plan was to have Gretchen doll herself up like a schoolgirl and woo card number 6 out of The General.

Of course, the guy doesn't woo easily -- even though he is the father of Gretchen's daughter. Whoa -- The General is Emily's daddy? No wonder the two dumped her off on Gretchen's sister.

So, Michael blew off his brain surgery to go get that last card. This is where we got to see all of Michael's tech talk acted out, as the remaining boys broke through that Scylla wall. Overall, that whole segment was kind of boring. It was no Cameron Diaz doing back-flips in a white leotard, I can tell you. Still, just as Michael got his sweaty mitts on Scylla, he sounded an alarm and The General kicked his men into high gear. Judging by next week's preview, this was all part of the plan, though. We shall see.

Back at GATE, Cole Pfeiffer made the company $35,000. Is that a lot? I know the economy is in a slump, but that seems, well... totally lame. He was rewarded with a cruise, which normally T-Bag would be all over. It could give him the chance to tan the rest of the body to match that fake hand. However, he had to pass. There's Scylla to be had!

His boss gave him a look that something might be afoot. Seriously, though. Could most people take off for a cruise that day? If only this makes him realize that Cole Pfeiffer is a shifty character, no wonder $35K seems like a lot to him.

Speaking of shifty: T-Bag finally made Trishann to be a Fed. Not because he called her agency and got Don Self on the line, but because she wouldn't strip for $1,000. Of course, any secretary would do that, right?

So instead of stripping, Trishann teamed up with Self -- to walk right into a trap. Now the two are being held by Feng and his henchmen. Now what? Guess we will see (well, maybe) next week. -- Rachel Cericola

Well, this could be considered a spoiler, but Zap2it says that Muse Watson, who played the character, is coming back. Westmoreland was last seen bleeding to death in the first season. Whether he is pulling a Sara Tancredi or something more along the lines of what "ER" is doing with Anthony Edwards remains to be seen.

Either way, Watson will be seen on the December 15 episode. Supposedly, Michael meets up with his old buddy in regards to Scylla. Still, this could be in a flashback, in some surgery-induced dream, or well... anything goes with "Prison Break," right?

The site also says that Kathleen Quinlan ("Apollo 13") will appear in the show's fall finale, which will air December 22. -- Rachel Cericola

Still, Michael needed the missing bird book pages from Gretchen. She handed them over to Michael and Self in a garage, as well as info that The Company was planning to move Scylla to another location -- and it didn't even involve whips or hot pokers or anything.

Apparently, it might involve David Baker. The General was interested, and he was the solution to one of Michael's many Scylla-related puzzles. This guy must whip through the "New York Times" crossword in two minutes. Maybe it's three. The guy does pass out from time to time.

Remember the nosebleeds? Now they have elevated to blackouts. We have probably seen Michael pass out as many times as he's had a bleeder. Thankfully, Dr. Sara was on-call. Of course, she also told the hospital that she's Mrs. Scofield -- actually, Mrs. Freeling or Freely. One of those is the alias. However, you can't hide Michael's beautiful mug. The doctor knew what was up and also knew his diagnosis: he has a hypothalamus tumor, which needs immediate surgery. Otherwise, our fearless leader could die. Judging by next week's preview, that ain't going to happen -- unless he gets it done at the same place that did his tattoo removal.

Back to David Baker. He is the man that can make Scylla move. He designed the whole thing. As The Company barged in, Mrs. Baker and Mahone high-tailed it out the back. In passing, she gave Mahone a few missing clues.

Back at GATE, T-Bag miraculously still has a job. Instead of looking at company reports, he is more interested in info on Gretchen. There were no surprises, meaning there isn't much info on file. Trishann, however, is the real mystery. Did anyone else see her being an agent? That was a much bigger surprise than Sucre and the bomb. However, that plotline did soak up a few extra minutes.

Did anyone buy or understand T-Bag's GATE pep talk? I was waiting for someone to call B.S., but it looked like everyone's eyes were pretty much glazed over at that point. Yep, that's a board meeting. See you next week. -- Rachel Cericola

Now I know why they keep T-Bag around. The above quote was really his only shining moment this week. His small amount of screen time was spent sweating over the fuzz looking for Andrew Blauner. Remember him? The guy that Gretchen popped a few weeks back?

Still, only T-Bag can deliver lines like that.

[MAJOR SPOILER COMING UP]

Bellick? Not so much. So he had to go. Even though the guy was a complete turd back in season one, Bellick has been quite the sad soul since. He almost committed suicide once before, he had that poor mom, a deceased father, was framed for murder, and had an underpants party in Panama. Hasn't the guy suffered enough? Apparently so. He went out a hero, though, and got the boys one step closer to Scylla.

He went out a lot better than Wyatt, who started off the episode still in custody. For a fleeting moment, it looked as though that hypnotic, psychotic voice was going to entrance Sara. Why exactly was she inside that cage with him again? Maybe she was afraid of Mahone, too. He was ready to rip Wyatt's head off with his bare hands. Or at least hook him up to a car battery and a heart monitor. After a quick call to Mrs. Mahone, he treated Wyatt to a cinder block and short walk off a long pier. Goodbye captain psycho; you've served The Company well.

Back at The Company, The General had been planning to move Scylla. At least before Self mocked up a phone message using Wyatt's voice. Now he thinks the brothers are dead, which gave him more time to make out with Gretchen. Ew. Yes. I need to wash my eyes.

Still, the old bastard likes to keep things spicy, so he decided to move Scylla after all. We shall see who gets to it first next week. David Baker, anyone? -- Rachel Cericola

That line needed to be repeated. What didn't need an encore was that entire season recap. Seriously, at some point, I was expecting them to show Abruzzi. One thing we didn't see -- how the hell we got to the current opening. What was Linc doing? He and some guy crash a car, shoot someone, and snatch a briefcase. Who exactly was that guy, anyway?

Apparently, this scene inspired Linc's big plan to get the next stage of Scylla. He's such a tough guy!

Speaking of tough guys: The whole meeting between Michael and Gretchen was a bit much, no? It was like they had both been training by watching Dirty Harry movies. Gretchen has the missing bird book pages, which means she's now on team Michael. It's a nice way to keep everyone on screen.

This week's focus is The General. There's more to the plan than just a good old car crash. Sara will add some morphine to the equation, to keep The General nice, comfortable, and potentially in a good mood, for once.

No one likes Roland. Well, no one liked him from day one. Now they like him even less now that he lost the Scylla copying device in Vegas. So he is banished to his cot. They know he's a douche, and so do we now. He sent a text to Wyatt to trade the brothers for a few bucks. Actually, many text messages. How will that get him out of his prison sentence?

Maybe he is hoping Sara will bail him out. He apologized to her right before the big mission. He said he was "sorry for Vegas," but what he really meant was, "I am sorry for selling out your boyfriend. Want to go out sometime?"

Of course, he doesn't have time. He needs to text his buddy. Roland gives up the location of the brothers, and in the melee, Sucre is shot -- thankfully, not in the face.

Michael called Roland out, but then let him off the hook. Then Roland had the nerve to ask for an apology, and jumped ship. He then met up with Wyatt, who wasn't interested in being BFFs after all. Instead, he shot Roland three times, and then got hit with a crowbar and numerous fists of Mahone's fury.

I had heard rumors that someone was going to die. However, it's not Roland! Sure, even though he wasn't "ready to die, man," he died. However, it doesn't look like he's the main character that we expected to go -- not according to upcoming previews, anyway.

In one of our ongoing side plots, Sara let Michael know that she knows about the nosebleeds. Instead of dealing with her worry, he turns tables and lets Sara know that Gretchen is joining the team. Way to change the subject big boy! We don't know a lot about what went down when Sara was in her care, except for two things: 1) She didn't get her head cut off; and 2) She was whipped a lot. People pay pretty for that kind of treatment, honey!

Maybe she wants to collect or something because Gretchen wants to meet up at some motel. Are they going to get side-by-side spa treatments or something? Instead, Gretchen offered to take a beating of her own, but Sara surprisingly sliced into her neck and demanded up the name of some dead guard that I am 99 percent sure we've never seen before. Wow.

Meanwhile, back at GATE, T-Bag still has an office, as well as his fake hand. Unfortunately, Feng wants to break that hand off and use it to kill T-Bag. Instead, Gretchen talks him down with some name-dropping from her Company days. She promises delivery of Scylla. This thing is hotter than Madonna tickets.

We also find out that it's not just The Company's little black book. It has a deeper meaning -- one we aren't privy to just yet. With the World Series coming up, I'm guessing we won't find out its meaning for at least two weeks. See you then. -- Rachel Cericola

That quote is from Gretchen -- stayin' classy, as usual. We kick off this week's episode with T-Bag's ultimate wet dream: Gretchen had him bound to a chair. Of course, this is not a dream. It's reality, which means that she is also now in possession of Whistler's bird book.

She wants Scylla as well. Why she wants to include T-Bag is anyone's guess. An extra hand, perhaps?

Meanwhile, back at the halls of justice... the Superfriends were plotting to get the next piece of Scylla. This took them to Vegas. Well, Linc, Sucre, Roland and Sara, anyway. Mahone, Bellick and Michael tried to bag themselves one Theodore T. Bagwell. However, the tables got turned and the boys actually got captured. Well, most of them. Mahone made a great escape. Let's break the rest of this bad boy down...

Self Reports to the General
Self pulled Mahone aside to ask for advice on how to deal with Wyatt. Great psychotic minds think alike, and all. Just in time, too. Apparently, Self is now number one on The Company's hit list. Mahone likened Self's situation to his own with Michael. "He took the game to me... that's your only play." Hey -- and that worked out well for you, didn't it?

So instead of getting a house call from Wyatt, he paid his own visit to the General. He gave him the old "if-I-end-up-dead-this-envelope-will-be-opened" routine. So lame, but it allowed Self to live another week.

However, Wyatt didn't get to kill anyone this week. He must be feeling left out.

Gretchen the Puppetmaster
Speaking of kills, Gretchen got to make one this week. She killed that doofus that was out to get T-Bag at GATE. Sounds like love to me. Ew.

In true T-Bag fashion, teaming up with Gretchen didn't help him, and he ended up getting tag-teamed by Michael and Mahone -- and not in a good way. He was locked up and given a one-way ticket back to Fox River. I wonder if he could get his old cell back?

Ain't Got Time to Bleed
Finally, we discover what the nosebleeds could be about. Mrs. Scofield got them too -- before she died from a brain tumor.

Sucre Takes One for the Team
It turns out that Sara was not the proper decoy for our cardholder. Instead, Sucre made for good bait. I would have offered a shirtless Sucre $1,000 as well. However, it wasn't to be the old man's boy toy. Instead, he needed a plaything for his hot wife. Maricruz may be his true love, but the man has been behind bars for a long time. He deserved it; he did help get the next card.

Roland Has a Problem
Well now we know what Roland was in for. He has a serious gambling problem. How his little recording device doubles as a spotter for slot payouts... I have no clue. However, his monkey got the device taken away, meaning we have no way of getting the remaining cards. No wonder he's lower on the totem pole than Bellick.

Baseball is coming up, so the team has two weeks to figure it out. See you then. -- Rachel Cericola

There was some card swiping, but that all went down in the first five minutes of the episode. Cardholder number four loved the ponies, so the crew pulled off an "Ocean's 11"-style caper at the racetrack. Bellick started up a distraction. Michael and Mahone planted the copying device. Linc rigged the starting gate to cause another diversion. And Sucre? He just looked good.

The copying part was extremely easy. Getting the device back? Not so much. Mahone crept in to capture the device, but couldn't get out. Also, Sara couldn't distract a cop for five minutes. Is it possible that she's not as hot as Michael thinks she is? So instead, Mahone did the only thing he knew how: punched out a cop and got arrested.

Mahone was arrested under the name Frank Zwan. Self dropped in to rescue the device, but not Mahone or Frank. He was left to rot in jail. That is, unless he dropped dime on Michael. Apparently, the cops thought the whole thing was a robbery. However, Mahone may be a murderer and occasional drug addict, but he's no snitch.

While Frank/Mahone was sweating in jail, the rest of the Superfriends started working on the next cardholder. However, it didn't matter. Mahone's goodbye call to Michael was just enough of a guilt trip. No one gets left behind, man!

In the meantime, Wyatt paid Self a visit. Did anyone think it was odd that Wyatt just didn't pop a cap into him? He's not really known for stern warnings. In their one-minute conversation, Wyatt noticed Self's parking ticket and tracked down Mahone. That's the "Prison Break" circle of life, friends.

Wyatt meets up with Mahone, but so do the rest of the Superfriends. After yet another caper, Frank Zwan is back with the gang. When Wyatt made that gun motion at Mahone, was anyone else hoping he was going to give the finger back?

T-Bag had very little screen time this episode. However, it wasn't so much quantity as it was quality. His cover was semi-blown when one of the GATE-ites figured out that his sales reports were all B.S. What gave it away? The crayon? So like that, T-Bag took off, bird book and all -- just went it looked like he was about to crack something... something in the stock room behind his faux office.

I was kind of surprised that T-Bag just didn't go to his boss' office and cut out his throat with a GATE-embossed letter opener. How many episodes has it been since T-Bag has killed someone, anyway?

There could be time: It looks like he's about to team up with Gretchen. Just when I was starting to feel bad for her. Not only has she spent a good portion of her life being beaten to a pulp, but she is also a mommy! After last week's breakout, she stopped by for a shower, a turkey club, and the gun she hid inside a ceramic owl that she had sent to her sister a while back. That must have been packed quite nicely. Upon leaving, she gives daughter Emily a kiss and off she goes.

She's quite the badass, but I am ready for the Wyatt/Mahone showdown. Who is the bigger badass there? Also, what's Roland thinking? Will he dial up Wyatt about defecting or wind up stuffed as a centerpiece at a Company Christmas party? See you next week. -- Rachel Cericola

After spotting Wyatt, a brief, boring chase ensues. With the exception of the liquid metal, Wyatt reminds me of Robert Patrick in "Terminator 2." He's got all of the emotion of a cyborg, and "he will not stop, ever, until you are dead." If you are being chased by Wyatt or a cyborg, you'll need to run out into traffic. If you get hit, it's a better fate than having Wyatt catch up with you. In this case, Sarah lost him. Maybe not wander off next time, eh?

Believe it or not, Wyatt stalking Sarah was a good thing. That way, she could ID him to Mahone, who also used the same picture to show/scare his ex-wife. That's right; he had a little meeting with the ex-Mrs. She didn't give him a hug, but she did deliver a gun. Now the hunter is the hunted. In other words, Mahone is now the Terminator -- and we love it!

Back to the Scylla search: Self knew this week's cardholder. His name is Griffin, they live in the same building, and he is the head of the U.S. Treasury L.A. bureau. Self then stormed into Griffin's office, and almost got the card. However, that would have been a very short episode. To make things complicated, Griffin had his card in a safe -- one that Roland's magic copy machine can't penetrate.

Safe? This may be difficult for some, but Michael has seen more than one chicken foot in his time. Using Self's hand-drawn picture of the safe's insignia, Michael learned that the safe not only needs the guy's fingerprint, but a 12-digit keycode. However Michael's resume is full of break-ins. They decided to go through the back instead.

Self got the guys into the building and the Griffin's neighboring officemate out. Then, Michael and Linc went to work on breaking into the back of the safe, while Sucre and Bellick made noise cleaning the carpets.

One thing Michael can't seem to crack? Those darn nosebleeds! He gets another one while hiding in the ceiling. Linc notices. Luckily, the woman he bled on didn't. Linc spilled that this is not a recent thing; he got them when he was a kid. How come we never saw the nosebleeds in seasons one through three?

The plan went off with just one hitch: The General stopped in for a visit. Surprise! Of course, there's no ink stain big enough to cover up the noise on both sides of the wall. However, the boys pulled off their caper just in the nick of time. Episode complete!

In other news: People are waiting for T-Bag (aka Cole Pfeiffer) to produce. Instead, he spills his tea all over Whistler's bird book. This makes something appear, sort of like Color Wonder. He needs more tea to complete the puzzle, only the receptionist is distracted by Bellick and Sucre, who are looking for T-Bag. Instead of info, Trish Ann will get 3 percent of T-Bag's future earnings. What's 3 percent of zero?

T-Bag/Cole could be in over his head, though. If he doesn't produce Scylla in a matter of days, it could mean certain death -- and he doesn't have a 7-man army like Michael and the gang.

Other revelations:

• GATE stands for "Greatness Achieved Through Excellence." That sounds like an extremely lame cult or something.


• The truly psychotic killers preferred method of murder: to "smell" someone to death.

Also, Gretchen made her great escape this week. Who knew a nail to the temple could get you out of a pinch? It looks like next week, she will go to see her sister, and I'm guessing it's not a happy reunion. Also, Self is a made man -- and that's not a good thing. Mahone will get locked up, and the rest of the gang look like they pull of an "Ocean's 11"-style caper. See you next week. -- Rachel Cericola

TNT just announced that William Fichtner has signed on to play the lead in their new drama "Night and Day." What else would he play? An agent! The guy has certainly perfected that role.

Fichtner will star as Dan Hollister, a tough, veteran ATF agent who doesn't want his day job to collide with his family life. We have to wonder: Will Fichtner be doing double-duty, or is this a sign that Mahone may self-implode? Reuters says there's no plans to get rid of the character. However, judging by the previews, it looks like there's going to be a showdown between Mahone and Wyatt -- maybe on tonight's episode.

Sherry Stringfield ("ER") will also star as Hollister's wife, Elizabeth. The whole thing was created by Joel Surnow ("24") and Todd Robinson ("Lonely Hearts").

For now, Fichtner is still on "Prison Break," which airs every Monday at 9:00 p.m. (EST) on Fox. -- Rachel Cericola

T-Bag? He's fair game. T-Bag aka Cole Pfeiffer has a bad-ass mustache, one functioning hand, a corner office, and the ability to spell his own last name. He also met up with his old prison buddies, for a brief moment. When he locked eyes with Linc; that was priceless. How he could outrun Linc, Michael, Mahone and Sucre -- in a suit? Well, that was sort of impossible. Of course, the brothers quickly caught up with T-Bag, only to find he was without Whistler's prized bird book. He threw it in (and retrieved it from) the bushes.

Back to the main plot: Lisa is actually a bigwig with "Eagles and Angles" (hence, the title), an organization that benefits fallen police officers and their families. Hello hot cops! The master criminals stole a crop of cop uniforms so that Mahone, Michael and Linc could attend the policeman's ball long enough to rub up against Lisa and swipe her edition of Scylla.

During the hoopla, Linc was made, and followed outside. Before he got a bullet, Bellick saved the day (or at least Linc), and stabbed the guy. It looks like he isn't all that useless after all.

Speaking of useless: Sarah spent most of this episode hanging back, needing time, and hovering over a glass of Scotch. Despite her lack of activity, she still managed to get her credit card stolen -- actually Bruce's credit card. Remember him? Yeah, the dead guy. Of course she had that. Otherwise, Wyatt wouldn't have been able to track her, and by default, the rest of the crew. That seems like it's going to come to blows next week. I sense a Mahone wrath coming -- and can't wait.

Otherwise, Wyatt had a busy week. Aside from getting the one phone call that led him to Sara, he popped a cap into Jasper, Self's stool pidgeon.

Other thoughts:

• Michael and Sara are all about boat talk. Can you tell me that as an architect, Michael couldn't afford to take a boat ride now and then?


• Was the GATE receptionist flirting with T-Bag? Nothing turns me on like a cheap, stolen, fake hand.


• Gretchen looks like a refuge from a "Saw" movie. What was the purpose of popping in on her this week?


• Do you think Mr. Xing's "friends" have ever met Whistler? Can T-Bag pull off so many cons? Apparently, he's a better salesman than one would think.

Also, what's the deal with Michael's nosebleeds? Maybe they are a side effect from the quickie tattoo removal? Doubtful, but we'll see. Have a good week. -- Rachel Cericola

Whoa -- "Prison Break" has gone all "Bourne Ultimatum" on us. Sure, there's no Matt Damon or decent dialogue (still, I love it), but some of those jumpy camera angles in tonight's episode almost made me lose my popcorn.

Apparently, Don Self is as stupid as most of the other characters that Michael Rapaport plays. He had to wait an entire week to find out that Scylla is not one card, but six. It makes him angry, and Michael even more so. Frankly, I understand that we need six cards to keep the season going, but it would be kind of cool if maybe one section is on a scroll or a Trapper Keeper or something.

However, it's not Donnie's stupidity that gets Michael all twitchy. It's that Self is his puppetmaster. He calls the shots, and for this round, Michael and the musketeers have less than 24 hours to secure the next card -- or head back to the big house.

The next part that ensues is like a scene out of "Sneakers." Sarah even gets into the act as a woman whose fake job interview is a diversion for stealing a security card. This is also where we get the scene from the preview, where Michael and Roland start to run out of air. Michael pulled a fire alarm, and wound up being locked in the server room with Roland. That has to be a painful way to die. Of course, Linc busts in like a badass to save the day. How he could walk into a building that they basically had to break into... all without worry... I don't know. Oh yeah -- maybe it was the axe he was carrying.

So all of that adventure turns out to be for nothing -- sort of. Self finds out that the government is pulling the plug on "Operation Scylla." All turns out well though. Hopefully the whole "we're-going-to-pull-the-plug-and-throw-your-asses-back-in-jail" thing won't be a running theme. It's already a bit old and it's only the second episode.

Two surprises tonight: First of all, Mrs. Mahone is alive and well -- as well as she can be with an on-the-run ex and a deceased son. It turns out that Wyatt is an even bigger monster than we thought. He killed Mahone's boy, but let his ex-wife live.

However, if they hadn't killed Cameron, Linc probably wouldn't want to be Mahone's new buddy. Of course, they could have bonded over their disdain for Roman's "clickety-clack on the keyboard." Either way, the big guy vows to put his Incredible Hulk-style anger towards the guys that did this and smash them good.

Another character that Wyatt has actually killed -- Bruce. He's as dead as disco, with no chance of a revival. There's a shocker.

Bruce took up a lot of airtime with those last breaths -- screen time that could have gone to T-Bag. He didn't have much to play around with tonight. He just moved into Whistler/Cole Pfieffer's place to watch porn and eat pizza. Apparently this is all part of his great "Blood Feud." That's my kind of feud! Another important piece of the puzzle: He has also taken Whistler/Pfieffer's job -- his sales job. Yeah... that mutated, funky, faux hand could probably seal a lot of deals, right? We shall see next week when our one-armed bandit meets up with his old cohorts. Something tells me it's not going to be a happy reunion. -- Rachel Cericola

"Prison Break" certainly likes to mix things up from season to season. With the exception of the kill count, the characters usually stay the same. The story, on the other hand, is always up for grabs. However, there's one thing we can always count on: Unless your name is C-Note, there are no happy endings -- at least not yet.

Season four kicks off and Michael is back in the U.S. He is also planning for his possible death. How he got there, how he got a new office, a gun, and even a suit are a total mystery. However, it was a long episode, kids. Let's just hit the highlights.

Shortly into the episode, Michael discovered what we've known all summer: Sara is alive, well, and well... somewhere. She escaped The Company, so Gretchen stuffed a dead head in a box and sent it off to Lincoln. She must have known he would be too freaked out to ID it.

Maybe Linc will do better at IDing Gretchen or Whistler. Both were picked off in the episode's first 15 minutes... or were they? Read on.

Apparently, Whistler was not Company after all. When he double-crossed Gretchen, she found herself on the other end of a gun for a change. That gun was being held by Wyatt, who could be this season's Kellerman. Before we find out that Whistler was actually a good guy, Wyatt gave him two in the hat. Since he wasn't able to track down his sidekick, Mahone... well, Wyatt decided to pay his ex-wife and kid a very unpleasant visit.

Linc decided to stick around Panama for bit, to play house with LJ and Sophia. This lasted about all of five minutes before he shot a guy dead in the middle of the street. The guy was apparently a Company man. To save his little family from being on the run even further, he turned himself into the cops at the scene.

One would think Michael would swoop in to save his big bro once again. However, he got pinched on the streets of Chicago. This is where we meet this season's new good guy, Don Self (Michael Rapaport). Self is Homeland Security and was working with Whistler, as well as Michael and Linc's father... and well, look how great those partnerships worked out.

Self explained that Whistler was on a mission to make a copy of Scylla. Scylla is "The Company's little black book." Self now wants Michael to score him some Scylla -- or do time.

Here is where we could use a recap. What exactly would Michael be doing time for? Isn't all forgotten from the first season? We certainly know that he didn't kill or injure Sara. However, the show isn't "Spring Break," it's "Prison Break." He's got to be in it or avoiding it. This season, we are focusing on the latter.

There was a lot going on in this episode. To clear up some of the clutter, they pretty much wiped last season's slate clean. Sona burned down, which was a convenient way of getting our remaining characters out and on screen. Sucre teamed up with Bellick, and the two got pinched pretty quickly. Mahone was found at his ex's house. Self's team was almost complete; it was a regular "Prison Break" family reunion.

Before he could make the deal, Linc and Michael made bail, thanks to Sara, who we finally got to see -- head and all. However, all is not well, and soon The Company sent a message via a bullet through Sara's window.

Linc: "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Michael was probably thinking about fugitive sex, but shortly after that, he gave Linc a, "Let's end this." The show or The Company? It doesn't matter; our fourth season finally has purpose.

A face that might be missing from the reunion photo: T-Bag. Instead of being the Murdock to Michael's Hannibal, he wants revenge. Instead though, he spent most of the first hour getting the business end of a tire iron, walking through the dessert, and sampling a local "delicacy" named Sancho.

The second hour gave a glimpse at what we can expect from this season: Flashbacks and the crew trying to figure out how to take down The Company. It was also a time to say goodbye another very important piece of "Prison Break" -- Michael's tattoos were burned off. Perhaps we won't see as many long shirts this season?

One thing we will see: Roland, the group's new computer nerd. Something tells me that this guy will talk the "Star Trek" talk necessary to make anything plausible.

This includes Roland's invention of a device that allows the crew to Scylla remotely. It looked like a cell phone, which made it easy for Sara to slip it into a maid's purse. When she went to work, they got the copy. However, the maid also left the device behind, thinking it belonged to her bossman.

So here was the action. The crew needed to get around this Fort Knox-styled home to get back the drive. Instead of trying to bypass the home's alarm system, they just set one off across the street and hoped for the best. Of course, they got the device, but it didn't have all of the info they need. Did you really expect everything to get tied up in the first two hours?

You see... Scylla isn't one card; it's six. Zing! This stress gave Michael nosebleeds. Wait until he finds out... wait for it... that Gretchen is actually alive! Sure they could have saved that tidbit for at least one more episode, but I am guessing there's a catfight to look forward to coming soon.

That's where we're left for now. The premiere packed plenty into two hours. Of course, a lot of it left you shaking your head, but c'mon -- if you're not going to check your brain at the door, you'd might as well get off the bus, right? It was fun, and the season looks like it's going to be a wild ride. I also sense plenty of guns blaring with a very big "everybody's going to die" finale for the show. Strap yourselves in kids! -- Rachel Cericola

Miller, sans long shirt and tattoos, talked highly about the return of Callies, who was cut out (along with her character's head) last season. "I was just happy to see Sara back," Miller says. "I really felt her absence in [season] three. I felt that her return was important -- not just to my character, but to the show in general."

Still, can a head be reattached? "I think we address it as plausibly as possible," he says. "It helps that the show is kind of fantastic, and I think we've gotten away with worse."

For now, Callies is probably the only old face that will return this season. However, Miller wouldn't mind seeing another. "I'd bring back Paul Adelstein," he says. "I thought he was a fantastic Agent Kellerman, and I thought was symbolic of the kind of character that the show does best, which is someone living within the shades of gray -- not entirely black, not entirely white, not entirely good, not entirely evil, but someone who was complicated, as we all are in real life. I think that Paul really did a beautiful job of defining a character who could be vicious one minute and entirely sympathetic the next. He is very much missed."

However, it wasn't Kellerman, Sara or even C-Note that was missed most throughout season three. What happened to Michael's infamous tattoos? Although the long-sleeved shirts of last season upped his sweaty factor, the tats didn't even get a cameo. "The tattoo is addressed pretty definitively in the first episode," Miller promises.

It's those little things, in between the show's many twists and revolving door of characters, that keeps it interesting. "Most other TV shows are in the habit of figuring out their winning formula and then beating it into the ground," Miller says. "We take what we already know works and toss it out of the window at the start of every season, which I think is very bold and ambitious. It certainly provides a new playground for the actors."

Another "new playground" will be this season's new backdrop: Los Angeles. Just don't expect to see T-Bag head for the nearby Disneyland (how cool of an episode would that be, though?). "If there's a nudie bar or a pawn shop, that's where we are," Miller laughs. "We don't shoot in the nice locations."

While Fox hasn't confirmed whether or not this will be the last season, Miller admits that the show can't go on much longer. "It's not 'CSI'. It's not 'Law & Order'. It can't run forever... We not only jumped the shark long ago, I think we are inventing new sharks," Miller jokes. "We're taking it to a whole new level. Fasten your seatbelts."

Fasten them, indeed. The fourth season of "Prison Break" kicks off with a 2-hour extravaganza on September 1, starting at 8:00 p.m. (EST) on Fox. -- Rachel Cericola