One of the great essential elements of story telling that carries over from the first season is the use of Michael’s elaborate body tattoo. It turns out that it didn’t only contain the blue prints and plans for the prison itself, but he also included his plans for their escape. It’s not referenced quite as much as it is in the first season, but it does still play a pivotal part in how things unfold. Because let’s face it a chase is not interesting unless the pursuer has a chance of figuring out where his prey is headed; and with Prison Break all the information is staring the Feds in the face, it’s just a matter of if they are smart enough to recognize it.

Edge of your seat chases are all well and good, but the thing that saves this show from being a traditional, Brett Ratner ‘shoot ‘em up, chase ‘em down for no real reason’ story is the thoughtfulness behind the writing. Each characters motivation comes from a very real honest place of loving his or her family. The only possible exception is Brad Bellick (Wade Williams) who’s really only out for the money, but greed is also a very real, powerful motivator.

But the underlying moral ambiguity of no true heroes and no true villains is probably the shows most compelling aspect. Michael is constantly asking himself if saving his brothers life can be weighed against all of the deaths that have ensued since he put his plan into motion, and still come out on top. Is correcting an injustice and saving an innocent man’s life despite the cost in the end morally the right choice? You wouldn’t expect deep emotional or thoughtful themes running through a FOX show, but they are definitely omnipresent in Prison Break.

The special features are actually very telling as the first half of the Reinventing a Series featurette gives you the impression that this is not one of those magical sets where everyone gets along. Watching the executive producers and writers talk about the show and the process of creating it, you get a definite sense that it is work for these guys. It’s not something they love or creatively NEED to do. They are cashing a paycheck here and probably leave their desks pissed off each day as they head home all the way reminding themselves of that paycheck that’s on its way. It was actually a real downer, because you always hope your favorite shows come from those happy environments where everyone loves each other – but I’d bet a lot on the fact that this, is not the case with this group.

It’s not until the actors start talking that you get any kind of warm feeling towards the creation of the show. Surprisingly, listening to Robert Knepper ...