Never Fall In Love With An Inmate... Oops

Friends and family, brethren and sinners all, we're here to chat about Prison Break and one of its most fabulous elements. I ain't talking about the genius scripting or the flawless acting among the multi-talented cast, although these things are quite fantastic and really do make the show perfect. No friends, I'm talking about the whirlwind of a romance that exists between Michael Scofield and Dr. Sara Tancredi. One of my favorite quotations from the show happens to be hers: "The first thing they tell you if you take the job is never fall in love with an inmate..." Oh Sara. You dear thing. You broke that rule, didn't you? ;)

So, as we've discussed in my previous Prison Break post, Michael enters Fox River State Penitentiary with the blueprints of the prison tattooed on his body so he can break his wrongfully accused brother out. He pretends to be diabetic so he'll have to go to the infirmary everyday, which is where he's planned the escape from. He didn't, however, expect to be distracted by the lead doctor on hand, Sara Tancredi. Above, we see one of their first scenes together and they're already getting flirty. The first season is super innocent, at first- Michael's planning an escape but doesn't let Sara know and continues to flirt with her everyday when he visits for insulin. It's harmless, no?

Except, it's not harmless, because it's so wrong. It's very clear that Sara is attracted to him and she spends the whole season fighting this, because she knows she's not supposed to start anything with an inmate. Though Michael's not your average inmate- is it criminal to love your brother so much you'd literally do anything to save him?- Sara knows she could potentially lose her job over this and it's not really worth the risk. Still, it gets harder as Michael saves her life during the prison riot and continues his incessant flirting as the season goes on. Midway through the first season, I'd say, is when you start to see Michael's feelings for Sara come through. And of course, this all culminates in one episode: "The Key."

Ah yes, The Key. The episode title that is a double entendre; a literal key and a metaphor. Michael's plan is to try and get the key to the infirmary from Sara, since Sara is "the key" to making this whole escape plan work. He visits for his daily dose of insulin- as well as for some care to the gigantic burn on his back- and when Sara has her back to him, you can tell there's a plan formulating in his mind. All of a sudden, she turns around again, and he kisses her. And so I'm thinking, "Wow Michael. Way to exploit her feelings for your own benefit." because I was assuming he did it to distract her so he could reach into her pocket and grab the key to the door. But, after a moment, when they pull away, the key is still resting in her pocket. He didn't do it for the key. He did it because he genuinely likes her. He tells her he needs her to do something for him and again I'm thinking he's going to ask her for the key, but instead he pleads, "Wait for me. It won't always be like this. In this room. In this place." And guys, I think my heart melted a little bit.

But she knows it's wrong and she tells him she can't and I'm a little disheartened by this. But, not as much as I am a few minutes later, when Sara realizes that not only did Michael already make a copy of the key, but that she is an integral part of his break out plan. And then drama ensues and whatever was between them is seemingly lost. Sara is, understandably, hurt that all Michael did was use her as a way to figure out his break out plan, but Michael insists this isn't the case and he apologizes for lying to her. Oh man. =( Drama ensues. He pleads for Sara to make a mistake, to break the law basically, and forget to lock up that night and Sara, without a word, leaves the room. Nice one, Michael. I was so sad about this, I actually forgot about the break out plan, for a moment.

Ugh, I couldn't find the picture I wanted so this will have to do. Sara's a good person, so what does she do? She leaves the door open anyway. She honestly believes that Michael doesn't care about her- which isn't even remotely true- but she cares so much about him and wants him to be free, wants him to be safe and happy, so she leaves the door open so Michael and the rest of the Fox River gang can escape. And it's heartbreaking because she knows it's the wrong thing to do. She knows she's going to be in a hell of a lot of trouble and that she could be facing jail time herself. But she did this for Michael, she didn't care what the consequences were. And she feels so guilty that, while Michael and the others are running from the law, Sara attempts suicide by overdosing on morphine.

Season two begins and it's revealed that Sara didn't die, thankfully, and that Michael feels incredibly guilty about how things ended between them. It's obvious, now, that he has feelings for her- feelings that are deeper and more profound than the simple flirting they'd exchanged the previous season. While Sara is in the hospital, she receives a mysterious crane, which if you've been following the series, is Michael's infamous origami piece. Well, that and the rose, but we'll get to that. In the crane, there's a simple message: "There's a plan to make all of this right." Confused, she continues to receive these cranes until she's figured out Michael's message- "Rendezvous, Sundown Hotel." She makes the trip to Gila, New Mexico and meets up with Michael, where they outrun Kellerman, who's hot on their trail.

And then... Shit goes down and not in the good way. Sara's frankly still irritated and again it makes complete sense, because Michael pretty much ruined her life. She's on the run from the law, now, just like he is and though he is truly sorry for this and offers her a way out- he and Lincoln are headed to Panama- she doesn't accept and leaves while he's freshening up, leaving him a message saying, "This time I know better. I'm sorry." And yeah, Michael probably deserved it, but at the same time I was so sad. They'd spent half a season griping about missing the other and then they finally reunited only to be torn apart once more. Sigh...

Except, life for Sara after she leaves Michael only worsens. She gets caught and held captive by Paul Kellerman, who I absolutely loathe by the way. I hated him from the beginning, ever since I found out he was behind the whole framing Lincoln thing and of course, what he did to L.J. Anyway, Kellerman wants to know what Sara's father left her before he died, but, in true allegiance and loyalty to her man and assuming it means something to Michael and Lincoln, Sara refuses to tell him. The result is this:

Yes folks. He sticks her in a bathtub and forces a plugged-in iron in as well. He electrocutes her for answers and when she still gives him nothing, he ties her up and leaves her to drown. Oh the things Sara will do for Michael. She manages to pull the drain cord with her teeth and somehow escape by jumping from the bathroom window and landing on the windshield of a car. She's badly, badly injured, but stitches it up herself- kind of like Lost, actually- and then calls Michael, who has actually been caught by border patrol trying to sneak into Mexico. Ah damn. But he and Lincoln escape and arrange a new meeting with Sara that will hopefully make everything better.

Aw yes. And now shit goes down and it is in a good way, but not before Sara tries to kill Kellerman, which I personally can't blame her for. Then, she locks herself in the bathroom of their moving train to evaluate her life choices (she's jumped bail, she's on the run, she tried to take a man's life, but hey, she's not using, so that's a plus). Michael, once more, apologizes and tells her she will have her life back soon enough. She disagrees but he tells her hope is the only thing that's keeping him going. And what's the only thing keeping Sara going? Yes folks, this is where she says the infamous line- and coincidentally the title of this blog post- "The first thing they tell you if you take the job is never fall in love with an inmate..." And then the two make out and it results in me squealing and flailing like a fool.

Guys, I've been rooting for these two since day one. And I know it's stupid because this is hardly a show where romance takes precedence, but they just make such a beautiful couple. First of all, they're both attractive. Second, as a structural engineer and a doctor, they're both insanely smart. Third, they're just so cute. They seriously have some of the cutest moments on TV ever. And I know I've said that before and I'll say it again. But I don't care. They're so adorable. Also, those hugs? Epic. They literally have the best hugs ever. Keep doing what you're doing, Michael and Sara. It's fantastic.

So then they're together and out of prison and everything's sunshine and rainbows, right? Wrong. The brothers need to get ahold of a guy named Cooper Green for some reason- legit cannot remember- and in the process, Agent Mahone captures Sara and once more holds her hostage to try and get info on the brothers. True to her word, she doesn't tell him a thing. Instead, she somehow manages to escape just as Michael and Lincoln are boarding a freighter to Panama. But before Sara can join them, she realizes she's being tailed and in order for the brothers to depart safely, Sara turns herself in to the police. Noooooooooooo!! I know why she did it and it's completely admirable, but they were so close to sailing off into the sunset and being happy together forever. Oh Prison Break. Why must you do these things to me?

So Sara is put on trial and surprisingly, Kellerman comes forward as a witness and confesses everything. Sara and Lincoln are fully exonerated of all charges and the former immediately hops a plane to Panama to tell Linc he's free and to reunite with her lover. Okay, I didn't mean to make them sound cheap. But they are lovers, what can I say? They're allowed two, maybe three minutes of happiness before that asshole Kim guy comes and tries to kill Michael. Sara shoots him instead and the three run from the Panamanian po-po. Lincoln goes one way, Sara and Michael go another, and soon the latter are stuck in an abandoned cabin that's surrounded by the fuzz. Sara has a breakdown because she just killed a man and Michael tries to calm her down by telling her he'll do everything he can to help her out. They kiss, profess their love for each other, and then step out of the cottage. Here's his brilliant plan:

And that wasn't sarcasm- this really is brilliant. He tells the police he was the one who shot the man, even though Sara is screaming for him to tell the truth and that he really did nothing wrong. Michael tells her, "You sacrificed everything for me once. Now it's time to say thank you." Ugh. I just can't. My heart aches watching these two, in a good way and a bad way. A good way, because I know they would both do absolutely anything for the other, that's how much they love each other. And in a bad way, because now Michael's forced to suffer in Sona, the nastiest prison in Panama, and he can't be happy and free with Sara once more. 

Enter Season 3, a time of angst and despair. Season 3 kind of sucked, I'm not going to lie. It was still Prison Break, sure, so I see what they were trying to do- at the end of Season 2, Michael was sent back to prison so they had to make him break out again, sure. I get it. But the whole season just felt... sloppy. And of course the worst part of it all? When Lincoln finds Sara's head in a box and has to deliver this horrendous news to Michael. Words can't do the scene justice, so here's a photo:

He's sobbing, I'm sobbing, it's just one of the most heartbreaking things this show's done thus far. And after this, Michael just hardens. He closes off. He becomes all about breaking out of Sona because he wants nothing more than to find The Company and make them pay for what they did to Sara. For what they did to him. He doesn't care anymore. He becomes an angry, vulnerable torrent of emotion which is so rare, considering this man, this brilliant man, is usually a strong, unwavering person who can endure anything. But Sara meant the world to him; he loved her so much that when he lost her, he lost everything. Michael Scofield became an empty shell with only one goal- to find The Company and avenge Sara's death.

The rest of the season goes by in an angry blur, but he does manage to break out of Sona and get back to America with one goal in mind and one goal only. Season four begins and Michael is looking for Gretchen Morgan, the woman who killed Sara, and when he finds her at some fancy schmancy business party, he aims a gun at her forehead and says, "This is for Sara." And I'm biting my nails waiting for him to pull the trigger- yes, I've wanted him to take this bitch down, too- when Gretchen says, "Sara isn't dead. I staged the whole thing." WHAT?! Are you serious, bitch? Why put us- I mean, Michael through all of that?! Are ya freaking insane?! Long story short, Michael and Sara reunite and things are happy again...

... If only for a moment.This is about where I am right now. I'm midway through season 4, almost done with the series, but I can already tell that Michael and Sara's love story doesn't have a happy ending. We now know that Michael has a brain tumor, the same fate of his mother, and I can only imagine where the show is going to go from here. For now, I'm going to bask in the beautiful love that exists between these two and the happiness they share, here and there. Also, the joy I get all because Sara broke her number one rule. ;) I only hope one day I can find my own Michael Scofield, because the way he looks at Sara gives me goosebumps. These two are absolutely perfect together and their love for one another radiates whenever they're onscreen. I'm sure more drama will ensue and tears will be shed, but for now, until I finish the series, I'm going to leave you with a picture of them basking in the happiness of being together.