Prison Break Season 4 Episode 9 Rundown : 'Greatness Achieved'

Throughout the seasons, the writers of Prison Break have whittled Brad Bellick into a nub of a man, going from hard-nose correctional officer to cowering wimp. Nevertheless, he’s been a great character (and well acted by Wade Williams). That’s why it was sad to see Bellick’s life came to an abrupt and uncharacteristically valiant end.

In “Greatness Achieved,” the gang is closing in on the last card of Scylla while Mahone has his opportunity at revenge. As for Michael, this issue with his health doesn’t seem to be going away.

Aside from the early redundancy in capturing the keycards, what I really like about this season is that the writers are to the point. Wyatt served his purpose as a stone-cold one-note killer and now, in the clutches of Mahone, he receives the ultimate punishment for his antics. There’s no escape and no manipulation of a weaker character to get out of his predicament. And serious props go out to William Fichtner (again) for his acting this episode. His agony in dealing with his son’s death make you completely forget the killer that he was back in Season 2. I especially liked how he abruptly pushed the Wyatt to his death, ending whatever the heck he had to say about them being the same.

Back to Mr. Bellick. I want to say that his end was moving, but as I mentioned earlier, it was a tad bit uncharacteristic for him. And dare I say that it was completely telegraphed from the sudden change in resolve when Sucre was shot, to the random reflective parenting inquiries to Lincoln; we knew his end was coming. I want to believe that his sacrifice was the only way, but the reality is that the team has overcome many other obstacles in getting these keycards. Brad Bellick always was a coward when his butt was on the line, so his end seemed a little forced and an all too convenient exit for the writers. But I will say that I will miss Bellick - he’s just as much Prison Break as T-Bag, Scofield, Sucre or Burrows are.

Critical eye aside, I loved this episode - it was vintage Prison Break - serious consequences for all the players in this game. The torture scene was certainly the best ever for this show and may have topped anything that Jack Bauer could come up with on 24. And now that baseball has retired for the fall, expect an all new episode next week. The only thing better than the season thus far is knowing that we’re not even halfway through it!