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Prison Break
S5.E5
All episodesAll
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
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IMDbPro

Contingency

  • Episode aired May 2, 2017
  • TV-14
  • 45m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
4.8K
YOUR RATING
Wentworth Miller in Prison Break (2005)
Prison Break: Lincoln Confronts Michael About His Death
Play trailer1:26
5 Videos
24 Photos
ActionCrimeDramaMysteryThriller

Lincoln tries to find out what happened to Michael and C-Note hopes to execute a new escape plan with Cyclops close behind.Lincoln tries to find out what happened to Michael and C-Note hopes to execute a new escape plan with Cyclops close behind.Lincoln tries to find out what happened to Michael and C-Note hopes to execute a new escape plan with Cyclops close behind.

  • Director
    • Guy Ferland
  • Writers
    • Paul T. Scheuring
    • Vaun Wilmott
  • Stars
    • Dominic Purcell
    • Wentworth Miller
    • Sarah Wayne Callies
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    4.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Guy Ferland
    • Writers
      • Paul T. Scheuring
      • Vaun Wilmott
    • Stars
      • Dominic Purcell
      • Wentworth Miller
      • Sarah Wayne Callies
    • 7User reviews
    • 11Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos5

    Prison Break: Lincoln Confronts Michael About His Death
    Trailer 1:26
    Prison Break: Lincoln Confronts Michael About His Death
    Prison Break: Sara Is Given Shocking News About Jacob
    Trailer 1:20
    Prison Break: Sara Is Given Shocking News About Jacob
    Prison Break: Sara Is Given Shocking News About Jacob
    Trailer 1:20
    Prison Break: Sara Is Given Shocking News About Jacob
    Prison Break: Michael Decides The Train Is Their Best Way Out
    Trailer 1:15
    Prison Break: Michael Decides The Train Is Their Best Way Out
    Prison Break: Sara Rushes To Pick Up Mike
    Trailer 0:38
    Prison Break: Sara Rushes To Pick Up Mike
    Prison Break: Contingency
    Trailer 0:37
    Prison Break: Contingency

    Photos23

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    Top cast33

    Edit
    Dominic Purcell
    Dominic Purcell
    • Lincoln 'Linc' Burrows
    Wentworth Miller
    Wentworth Miller
    • Michael Scofield
    Sarah Wayne Callies
    Sarah Wayne Callies
    • Sara Tancredi
    Paul Adelstein
    Paul Adelstein
    • Paul Kellerman
    • (credit only)
    Rockmond Dunbar
    Rockmond Dunbar
    • Benjamin Miles 'C-Note' Franklin
    Robert Knepper
    Robert Knepper
    • Theodore 'T-Bag' Bagwell
    Amaury Nolasco
    Amaury Nolasco
    • Fernando Sucre
    • (credit only)
    Mark Feuerstein
    Mark Feuerstein
    • Jacob Anton Ness
    Inbar Lavi
    Inbar Lavi
    • Sheba
    Augustus Prew
    Augustus Prew
    • David 'Whip' Martin
    Crystal Balint
    Crystal Balint
    • Heather
    Marina Benedict
    Marina Benedict
    • A&W
    Christian Michael Cooper
    Christian Michael Cooper
    • Mike Scofield
    Amin El Gamal
    Amin El Gamal
    • Cyclops
    Faran Tahir
    Faran Tahir
    • Jamil
    Lee Majdoub
    Lee Majdoub
    • Yasser
    Steve Mouzakis
    Steve Mouzakis
    • Van Gogh
    Kunal Sharma
    Kunal Sharma
    • Sid
    • Director
      • Guy Ferland
    • Writers
      • Paul T. Scheuring
      • Vaun Wilmott
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews7

    7.74.8K
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    Featured reviews

    5lorddnarbsy

    Pacing is fast enough to forget the weaknesses

    I like the 'city is a prison approach' but nothing really memorable happens in this episode. The dialogue that has been written for these characters is so poor, that you don't feel anything when they try to be emotional. This show is spoon feeding the audience the information though forced dialogue, because apparently we can't think and make connections for ourselves. Fortunately, the pacing is fast enough, so you don't dwell on these shortcomings.

    It's a shame that the prison plot was resolved so quickly because now they rehash the overused conspiracy plot lines which are the far less interesting aspects of the show in my opinion.

    On a side note: please develop your characters more, Scheuring. Don't use the old familiar ones on the sidelines where don't actual contribute much to the plot and use new faces which you don't give any development (because that screen time is given to the familiar faces; T-Bag, C-Note etc.) If you develop your characters more, than we actually might give a sh*t when someone gets killed of. There all completely forgettable, dull and bland now.

    But to end on a positive note, the action and pacing keeps me interested and I will tune in next time.
    8pinkmanboy

    Stuck Between Action and Frustration

    This episode definitely slowed things down a bit after the emotional bomb that was the last one, but it still delivered a fun, and at times frustrating, chapter-in both good and bad ways. You can tell the show's in that transition phase, moving the pieces around the board to set up what's probably gonna be the season's final stretch. But in the middle of all that, some problems pop up that, for longtime fans, are just impossible to ignore.

    Starting with Michael finally spilling the beans about how the hell he survived and ended up in Yemen. And honestly, the explanation made enough sense, at least within the crazy world that "Prison Break" has always embraced. It was great seeing Lincoln channel the whole audience by demanding answers, and even better finding out that the whole fake death thing wasn't about ego or cowardice-it was to protect Sara and their friends after Poseidon threatened to wipe them all out. It totally tracks that Michael would agree to a dirty deal like that, especially considering all the guilt he carries around. But even if you buy into the internal logic of it all, there's just no way to ignore the giant hole they left about the whole brain tumor thing, right? The show made that a huge deal back in the day and now just acts like it never existed. Honestly, it feels like a slap in the face even to people who weren't paying close attention.

    On the escape front, the episode tried to bring back that classic vibe of Michael's crazy gadgets and the "everything's going wrong but maybe it'll work" energy. Trying to reactivate his old plan in the middle of ISIL territory was just as insane as it sounds, and while it's always fun to see Michael thinking through every step, even Lincoln had to call him out with some much-needed reality: dude, four years changes a LOT, especially in a country in civil war. The train scene, where they almost got sliced in half, was actually really well-shot and packed real tension-but Cyclops as the big bad? Come on. Enough already. He feels like a cartoon villain who wandered into the wrong show, and it's impossible to take him seriously as a threat.

    Still on the escape team, Sid's death was one of those things you could see coming from a mile away. The second they gave him a tragic flashback, it was basically a death sentence. It was an attempt to add emotional weight, and it could have worked better if he'd been more developed earlier on. The way it played out, though, it just felt like an obvious emotional ploy instead of a truly moving moment. On the flip side, Jamil keeps being a positive surprise: the whole "We Are The Champions" trap idea was genius, and even though his Freddie Mercury obsession is totally over-the-top, he's charismatic enough to bring some much-needed lightness to all the tension.

    Meanwhile, in New York, we had what was by far the most frustrating storyline of the episode-and it's all thanks to the dragging around Jacob's crap. Seriously, what the hell was that conversation? From the moment T-Bag handed Sara the photo, everyone knew some lame excuse was coming, but the lack of creativity in the explanation was just painful. So, let me get this straight: Jacob, some random civilian, tracked down two trained killers by himself? And those same killers, who had already attacked him once, just agreed to casually meet up with him? No second attack? No suspicion? And they conveniently left a bunch of digital breadcrumbs behind? This isn't just lazy writing-it's borderline insulting to anyone actually paying attention. And if Sara, after everything she's been through, is even considering buying that garbage, then honestly, she hasn't learned a damn thing from the first four seasons. It's enough to make you want to rip your hair out.

    And to top it off, narratively it makes zero sense for Sara to stay married to Jacob until the end. Everything the show's built-the love between her and Michael, the sacrifices he made, their kid-everything points to them getting back together. Keeping up this fake love triangle is exhausting and just bogs down the story. It's way past time to expose Jacob (if anyone even still has doubts) and move the hell on.

    So yeah, it was an episode that mixed some genuinely good tension and action moments (the escape, the train, Sheba's airport plan) with rushed solutions and plot holes that weigh heavy for anyone who's really invested. Still, "Prison Break" remains that energetic guilty pleasure that-even when it stumbles-knows exactly how to keep us rooting for these characters to somehow pull it off. Now let's just hope they finally hit the gas and take these characters back to where the show has always shined brightest: escaping from a system way bigger and way more corrupt than they ever imagined-this time, hopefully, without the lame excuses.

    Related interests

    Bruce Willis in Die Hard (1988)
    Action
    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      All entries contain spoilers
    • Goofs
      There are no trains in Yemen.
    • Quotes

      Michael Scofield: There's another station thirty miles outside Sana'a. We can find a way there, hop a train. They won't anticipate us coming that way.

      Lincoln Burrows: Doubling down on a bad bet. Just like you did seven years back with the CIA. Look around you. Your plans affect people, you don't even see it.

      Michael Scofield: I don't blame you for resenting me.

      Lincoln Burrows: You're damn right I resent you.

      Michael Scofield: I see it, Linc. I see it. Every second of every day; the people, the collateral damage, the lives I've... affected. But I can't start thinking about that. Because if I do, then it all falls apart and none of us get to go home. I have to stay focused, be the man with the plan. Just like Fox River.

    • Connections
      Features Queen: We Are the Champions (1977)
    • Soundtracks
      We Are The Champions
      (uncredited)

      Written by Freddie Mercury

      Performed by Queen

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 2, 2017 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official Instagram
    • Languages
      • English
      • Arabic
    • Production companies
      • Dawn Olmstead Productions
      • Adelstein Productions
      • Original Film
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 45m
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 16:9 HD

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