4/5 An Exciting, Anything-Goes Final Season
  by Joshua Miller (Coeur d'Alene,ID)
The Fox series Prison Break debuted in 2005 and had a first season that was intelligently written, intelligently executed, and endlessly exciting. The series miraculously had two more seasons (with season three being cut short due to the writer's strike) and Fox announced the fourth season would be the final season. I absolutely love this show, but the idea to end it was a good one. Prison Break was a one-season concept that made two seasons work but just got more and more ludicrous as it went on, while never failing to be entertaining. With that said, the fourth season is very entertaining. It's this season that the writer's throw all logic out the window. Character's who were dead return, character's who were forgotten come out of nowhere; the writer's of this season seem to have had one rule for writing; if it can go wrong (no matter how implausible), make sure it does.

We've followed these character's as they escaped from prison (season one), ran from the law (season 2), and had to escape from another prison (season 3). In season 4, they have to break in to a building. Sounds interesting, right?

Everyone has escaped from Sona, the prison in Panama that housed the characters for the third season. Now in Los Angeles, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), his brother Lincoln Burroughs (Dominic Purcell), girlfriend Sarah Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies), Sucre (Amaury Nolasco), Brad Bellick (Wade Williams), and former FBI-agent Alexander Mahone (William Fichtner) are recruited by Homeland Security agent Don Self (Michael Rappaport) for a top-secret operation to help take down The Company for good. With an offer of immunity for everyone on the table, the group agrees to help Self retrieve Scylla, the Company's little black book.

All of the characters are back, including everybody's favorite villain T-Bag (Robert Knepper), who (as usual) has a different agenda than the rest of the group. Also, in a much larger role, is Leon Russom as General Jonathan Krantz, but more on that in a moment.

Season four will have you shaking your head several times throughout simply because of how completely ridiculous many of the plot twists are, but it ranks high on the excitement scale. As for how it ends...Well, those who have followed this show and these characters for years will be divided, but how else could they have ended it? The ending works, but could have been executed a little better.

Now, on another note...I'm not the first person to complain about the weak, anything goes-style of writing on Prison Break, but I wish to mention that the writer's never failed to write strong main characters. It's hard to deny this is a show with strong characterization that has a knack for establishing characters for us to care about and establishing characters for us to hate only to trick us into liking them later. But, I will not let the actors escape without credit.

Prison Break, during its run, was never honored for the actor's it had on its show. One doesn't have to even watch this show very long to see that this was a shame. Wentworth Miller, for example, is the only person I can see as Scofield. He's quietly menacing, committed, and charismatic...Not to say he doesn't overdo it sometimes, but he balances the tough and emotional in a way most actors would not. If one denies the range of Wade Williams as Bellick, watch all four seasons of this show and tell me how Bellick goes from one of the most unlikeable characters on the show to a very sympathetic one in such a short span of time. Even Purcell, who never had to do much in the series besides look tough and be intimidating when needed, embodies Burroughs. That description of his acting is pretty much all the character needs to do, so it all fits. Finally, we have Robert Knepper whose performance as T-Bag only got better with each season. If this had been a theatrical film as opposed to a TV series, Knepper would have received an Oscar nomination. If not for fan-reaction to Knepper's portrayal of the devious, depraved T-Bag he likely would've been killed off at the end of season one. Knepper takes a relatively simple character and just molds him into one of the most memorable characters I've ever seen on a television series. It's no easy task to take a character that frequently betrays and hurts the character's you care about and make him likeable and every moment Knepper is onscreen, he'll keep your attention focused there. Finally, Russom as the General has a very menacing look coupled with a deep, foreboding voice...He makes a great antagonist for Scofield's gang. All of the other actor's are great too, but this has already taken up a large majority of my review.

There's not much to write about the fourth season of a television show. If you're reading this, you've likely seen the previous three seasons or you've already seen all four. If you're a fan, this season is definitely worth checking out if only to see the last hurrah of these character's you've watched for so long. While Prison Break lost some IQ points along the way, it never lost its ability to keep your heart racing and keep your affection for its main set of characters. With that said, if you're a fan of the series...This is essential.

GRADE: B

5/5 Best drama on TV in the last 3 years!
  by Anthony S. Williams (Vermont)
Seller did a great job with packaging and shipping. Amazing show... had to own the sets.

5/5 Final Chapter
  by Lydia
The final chapter in the Prison Break saga is not as good as the other seasons. However, you are still kept captivated by the story line and the relationships between the cast members. Tea Bag who you love and hate. Michael who love. All cast members did a great job. Fox did a good job of tying up all the ends. A must have!

5/5 The End Will Break Your Heart
  by U.S. Book Reviewer
Season 4 of Prison Break is just as exciting as its first season. Watching this series end is like having to say a very sad goodbye to an old friend that you will never see again. What killed this great show? Probably the combination of writing errors and the ratings war. It is such a shame that we cannot have another 4 years of great plotting and watching the characters that have become so meaningful to us.

Be advised that season 4 takes the series out of the realm of prison and into the realm of technology and quick innovation through a team context. It is more similar to watching episodes of Mission Impossible than it is to watching hunted convicts. Could some events have been handled better? Maybe so, but this is fiction, not the re-enactment of real life events.

The first half of the season is quite thrilling. It sets up the viewer for the conflicts to be resolved during the remaining episodes. Tension continues to build with each episode. In the end everything gets resolved. There are many surprises, twists, and turns along the way. You will love the suspense and the dramatic rescues.

Prison Break ends in very good way yet with a sad final scene. I will not spoil the ending for you. However, in the final scene it is made clear to the viewer that there is no coming back from the dead this time. Fans will remember Prison Break as one of the best shows ever produced. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did. I wish the show could have gone on forever!

5/5 a remarkable conclusion
  by Michael Madden

This is the last year of the TV series Prison Break and ties all the loose ends together in an interesting and satisfying way. Definitely worth having for fans of the series!