+++ Warning, this contains spoilers from season 1, but no major season 2 giveaways+++
The 22-episode second season of Prison Break aired during the 2006/2007 TV season. It picks up immediately after the events of the Season 1 finale, with the plane having taken off and the escapees running through the field to get away from the enclosing police. It then shifts the series to a cat-and-mouse game between the authorities, led by a new antagonist, FBI agent Alexander Mahone (played by William Fichtner), and the escaped convicts. There is a ton of cast turnover this season, with some cast members being written out of the show entirely and some having their roles drastically reduced (the best example of which is Stacy Keach). Some roles (such as Agent Kellerman and CO Bellick) are expanded. In the second season, the show has no qualms about killing off characters, no matter how important. Like with the first season, almost every episode ends on a cliffhanger, putting one or more characters in danger. So, being able to watch the entire show in one, two, or three sittings, as opposed to having to wait months to see how everything plays out, is very satisfying.
The Blu-Ray set is a six-disc set. It is much like the first season release, with the one exception that if you use the play all mode and stop in the middle of an episode, it will NOT pick up where you leave off when you restart the player. So, I just watched them episode by episode. The extras include commentary tracks on select episodes (sometimes more than one track per episode) and, on the final disc, about 50 minutes of making-of featurettes.
Overall, the writing and acting in the show continued to be very strong. I think all the actors do a good job making the audience love or hate their characters, as called for, and the writers do well to show that the characters are not all bad, or all, good, and the actors do a great job bringing out the human side in even the worst characters. The overarching conspiracy was given a larger focus this season, but you can tell some things needed to be tweaked because of actor availability or lack thereof in season two. But, it seems that the show was able to follow the overall outline that it has been using pretty well.
If you liked or loved the first season of the show, then chances are, even though the show takes a much different track after the escape, you will probably feel the same way about the second season. Conversely, if you did not like the first season then there is probably nothing in this one that is going to lure you back. It is definitely a serialized show, so you cannot just jump into it without seeing it from the beginning without being pretty lost. Plus, without all the character development, you will definitely not get the full effect. So, for those who did not see the show when it originally aired and are thinking about bingeing the show now, I would say start at season one, and see how you like it. If you do, then season two is definitely worth picking up.
The 22-episode second season of Prison Break aired during the 2006/2007 TV season. It picks up immediately after the events of the Season 1 finale, with the plane having taken off and the escapees running through the field to get away from the enclosing police. It then shifts the series to a cat-and-mouse game between the authorities, led by a new antagonist, FBI agent Alexander Mahone (played by William Fichtner), and the escaped convicts. There is a ton of cast turnover this season, with some cast members being written out of the show entirely and some having their roles drastically reduced (the best example of which is Stacy Keach). Some roles (such as Agent Kellerman and CO Bellick) are expanded. In the second season, the show has no qualms about killing off characters, no matter how important. Like with the first season, almost every episode ends on a cliffhanger, putting one or more characters in danger. So, being able to watch the entire show in one, two, or three sittings, as opposed to having to wait months to see how everything plays out, is very satisfying.
The Blu-Ray set is a six-disc set. It is much like the first season release, with the one exception that if you use the play all mode and stop in the middle of an episode, it will NOT pick up where you leave off when you restart the player. So, I just watched them episode by episode. The extras include commentary tracks on select episodes (sometimes more than one track per episode) and, on the final disc, about 50 minutes of making-of featurettes.
Overall, the writing and acting in the show continued to be very strong. I think all the actors do a good job making the audience love or hate their characters, as called for, and the writers do well to show that the characters are not all bad, or all, good, and the actors do a great job bringing out the human side in even the worst characters. The overarching conspiracy was given a larger focus this season, but you can tell some things needed to be tweaked because of actor availability or lack thereof in season two. But, it seems that the show was able to follow the overall outline that it has been using pretty well.
If you liked or loved the first season of the show, then chances are, even though the show takes a much different track after the escape, you will probably feel the same way about the second season. Conversely, if you did not like the first season then there is probably nothing in this one that is going to lure you back. It is definitely a serialized show, so you cannot just jump into it without seeing it from the beginning without being pretty lost. Plus, without all the character development, you will definitely not get the full effect. So, for those who did not see the show when it originally aired and are thinking about bingeing the show now, I would say start at season one, and see how you like it. If you do, then season two is definitely worth picking up.
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