We’re all going to our fill of prisoner escape stories when the Prison Break limited series run premieres next year. For now, we’ll settle on MacGyver‘s unique take on the task. What the spy lacks in criminal friends who are willing to aid his cause, he makes up for in ingenuity. Even in a maximum security prison MacGyver can turn lemons into lemonade, or more accurately, salt and batteries into the perfect escape plan. Let’s recap what landed MacGyver in prison and how the genius broke out in a way only he could.
The Phoenix Foundation decides to break out a notorious Mexican drug lord named Joaquin “El Noche” Sancola out of prison, in order to catch his Lieutenants. While the boss has been away his underlings have gotten a little too violent, so they need to be shut down completely. The only way to do that is to find their compound, which is where El Noche comes in. MacGyver goes undercover, blind without coms I might add, as a prisoner named Frank Morris. Luckily Riley was able to do some homework for MacGyver before he went in. This is how he finds the right mark to beat up to get El Noche’s attention. From there Riley and Jack take care of the minor details so that he works the same laundry detail as the kingpin. Becoming friends with El Noche means taking on his enemies as his own. Once MacGyver makes contact he earns El Noche’s trust by knocking out a few members of the rival cartel going after them both. Now El Noche has no choice but to trust MacGyver because his life is in danger if he stays in prison any longer. Using the battery from a stolen radio, salt from the prison lunch leftovers, and toilet water (eeew), MacGyver creates enough hydrogen in the atmosphere to pull the cell door off its hinges. Unfortunately MacGyver and El Noche don’t get far before they need Jack’s help with a distraction. El Noche is impressed with MacGyver, but immediately suspicious when he stops El Noche from killing a prison guard. When they finally do escape the prison, El Noche’s men knock MacGyver out, leaving the Phoenix Foundation with no way to find them.
Though the primary purpose of the mission was to get El Noche’s help in taking down the cartel Lieutenants, the first priority shifts to saving MacGyver. Someone really needs to show me that trick with the taillight because this is not the first time that little end of the car has been useful in escape plans. The Morse Code gets back to Jack, who arrives just in time to save his buddy at El Noche’s compound. The Phoenix Foundation and a few other federal bureaus dismantle the cartel for good, but it earns MacGyver many more enemies than he already had. Guess you’re not doing your job as a spy if people don’t want you dead.
Worrying about her friend brings up scary memories for Riley about her own time in prison. Her heart rate seemed to move in double-time for the entire mission. MacGyver has so much more respect that Riley was able to survive two years in prison after his own taste of it. It’s ironic that this case should come up just as Riley is stepping into a new phase in her life. With a good job and a good salary, Riley can finally afford a nice apartment which she can call home. She’s eager to get back to her new life after the mission’s over, but the demons of her experience are still with her.
Did you appreciate MacGyver’s prison break, not to mention delve into the psychological weight of being locked up?
