16 Years Later, I’m Still Mad Prison Break Did This To My Favorite Character

Prison Break season 4 aired 16 years ago, and I’m still disappointed with how it treated Alex Mahone. Following a nearly perfect first season, Prison Break season 2 had the difficult mission of how to continue the show now that the “prison break” had already been concluded. The next chapter of the show was not too surprising, though. Michael and the others were now on the run, and instead of breaking out of prison, their goal was to avoid being caught again. To raise the stakes, Prison Break season 2 introduced Alex Mahone, an extremely smart FBI agent.

Mahone was dangerously good at his job, although the real reason why he was so keen on capturing Michael Scofield and his associates was only revealed later in the season. While Prison Break season 2 was not as good as the first season, I liked following Michael and the others on the run while Mahone was after them. This only worked because Mahone was a great TV villain who could steal the show every time he was on screen. Unfortunately, while Mahone was redeemed as the show went on, season 4 almost ruined the character’s story.

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Prison Break Season 4 Cruelly Killed Mahone’s Son

Cameron Mahone’s Death In Prison Break Felt Gratuitous

The driving force of Mahone’s story in Prison Break was his son, Cameron. After almost ruining his career, Alex Mahone accepted working for the company as long as he could keep his family safe. However, at the beginning of season 4, Mahone’s son was killed by Wyatt Mathewson on orders of General Krantz. Mathewson’s mission was to hunt down Michael, Lincoln, and Sara, and he would stop at nothing to get the job done. With Alex having been an associate of Michael for over a year now, the assassin went to Mahone’s house, threatened his wife, and killed his son.

The problem with Mathewson killing Mahone’s son is that this tragic Prison Break moment was for shocking value only. After spending so much time with Mahone and developing him as a character, Prison Break risked throwing everything away just so that he could have a reason to continue working with Michael against Krantz. Mahone was fixing his relationship with his family and was about to return home when the murder of his son happened. I felt like killing off Cameron was a disservice to Mahone’s character and only served to give him a purpose.

Mahone’s Story Was One Of Many Problems With Prison Break Season 4

Prison Break Season 4 Was Arguably The Show’s Worst

The fact that Prison Break did not really know what to do with Mahone after they escaped Sona is one of many problems with season 4. After following the characters on the run and then to a new prison, Prison Break was running out of ideas. The dynamic was now shifted, and the characters were working with a governmental agency to perform a heist. Mahone’s quest for revenge was not as interesting as it could have been, and everything about the data card known as Scylla felt too generic and uninspired for a show as compelling as Prison Break had once been.

Prison Break

3.5

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.  

Cast

Curtis Lum , Sarah Wayne Callies , Marina Benedict , Amin El Gamal , Wentworth Miller , Steve Mouzakis , Dominic Purcell , Bobby Naderi , Christian Michael Cooper

Release Date

August 29, 2005

Seasons

5

Network

FOX