S01E05: 'English, Fitz or Percy'

Light summary | Full summary

Note: The light summary of this article provides only gentle teasers as to what happens in this episode, and is suitable for reading before viewing. The full summary serves as a more detailed recap of the episode.










Light Summary: Kellerman and Hale pay a visit to Warden Pope, whose past may not be as angelic as it appears; Michael learns he may be getting out of Fox River much sooner than he expected - without Lincoln; Veronica and Nick's investigation to prove Lincoln's innocence makes Veronica doubt whom she can really trust; Michael must raise the roof as another piece of his escape plan.













































Full Summary: Having completed the hole in his cell wall, Michael arranges a meeting with Abruzzi, Lincoln and Sucre to discuss the next stage of the plan. Abruzzi isn’t pleased to learn that a man with Lincoln’s violent reputation is in the gang, but has to change his tune when Lincoln reveals the two are brothers. Pointing out there’s not much time before they’ll be missed from their PI duties, Michael outlines the current problem. “We have a decision to make: English, Fitz or Percy,” he says cryptically. “If we’re going to pull this off, we need to take one of them out.” What is he up to?

Meanwhile, Secret Service agents Hale and Kellerman are having a meeting of their own with Warden Pope. They want Michael moved to another prison as far away from Lincoln as possible, but Pope refuses to comply. However, it seems Kellerman has an ace up his sleeve – a file showing that Pope had an illegitimate, petty criminal son who was killed a few years ago. To protect his wife from the truth, Pope visits Michael’s cell to tell him he is shipping out tomorrow. Convinced he can deal with this latest turn of events, Michael resolves not to tell his brother – but news travels fast in prison. When they meet in the chapel, Lincoln accuses him of being out of his depth. “I’d made my peace with what was coming,” he says, “and you show up and give me the one thing a man shouldn’t have in my position: hope. And now that’s going to be taken away from me.” But it seems Michael has everything in hand. A brief chat with Westmoreland reveals there are dozens of ways to block a transfer – and he promptly files a motion arguing against the move that will take about a month to process.

With everything back on track, Michael reports to the Warden’s office to continue work on the model Taj Mahal. Pope is impressed to see him already working the system “like an old con” – especially since this motion should keep Hale and Kellerman off his own back. However, he soon proves mistaken in this regard. Leaving Michael in his office to support some drying glue, he heads home to find both agents waiting for him. Kellerman instructs him to destroy Michael’s papers, and with his wife in the next room, Pope feels that he has no choice.

And it seems the agents are also keeping tabs on Veronica and her new ally Nick. No sooner do they prove the tape of the shooting has been expertly tampered with, than both their copy and the original go missing. Veronica is staggered to realise that Nick is the only person who knew where her tape was hidden – can she trust him?

Back in Pope’s office, Michael abandons the model and sneaks out of the room’s back door. Returning to his cell, he promptly crawls through the hole behind the sink and heads for the roof. He’s still up there when Bellick makes his cell check, and of course discovers Michael is missing. Raising his radio, he bellows “We got a runner!” which prompts a prison-wide uproar. The guard on the door of Pope’s office assures him Michael is accounted for, but a quick glance inside the room proves this is evidently not the case.

Meanwhile, Michael watches calmly from the roof as a phalanx of police cars races towards the prison. English Street and Percy Avenue are swarming – but Fitz Street is completely deserted. With the escape route fixed, Michael returns to the office just before Pope and the guards arrive and claims to have been sitting on the floor, masked by the table, all this time. Pope lets this pass, but adds that it doesn’t matter as he’s going to be transferred tomorrow. Is this the end of the line for Michael and his plan?