Prison Break : Here's how Michael is still alive

Natalie Abrams
·2 min read
Prison Break
Prison Break

Didier Baverel /FOX

Warning: This story contains major spoilers from a recent episode of Prison Break. Read at your own risk!

The truth behind Michael Scofield's survival was finally revealed during the latest episode of Prison Break.

A few weeks before Michael (Wentworth Miller) married Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) — TV movie The Final Break kicked off at their wedding reception — Michael was approached by rogue CIA operative Poseidon, who offered everyone their freedom if Michael faked his death and went to work for him. As it turns out, Kellerman (Paul Adelstein) didn't have the authority to exonerate everyone, as he had promised in the original.

When Michael initially said no to Poseidon, Sara was incarcerated, leading to the events of The Final Break, in which they tried to break her out of prison, culminating in Michael's supposed death. In actuality, Michael was compelled to take the job and subsequently wasn't allowed contact with his family.

"There is no Prison Break without Michael, so when [creator] Paul Scheuring was planning out this fifth season, it was important to create a plausible and exciting reason for how and why he's still alive," executive producer Vaun Wilmott tells EW. "Placing the prison in the Middle East and having his former 'death' be a ruse seemed fitting as the show and Michael's journey in season 5 was based on the Odyssey. Also, it was important to follow the original intention of the series, recreating the dilemma of one brother in prison, the other one going in to save him."

So, who is Poseidon? The rogue CIA agent who created his own intelligence operation had enlisted Michael to break out terrorists and other rogue agents all over the world from prison. Michael has since gone under assumed names, like Kaniel Outis, over the years as he did Poseidon's bidding, the latest of which was breaking Abu Ramal (Numan Acar) out of Ogygia.

While it seemed like Sara's husband could be Poseidon, Jacob (Mark Feuerstein) had Van Gogh (Steve Mouzakis) and A&W (Marina Benedict) arrested during the episode, potentially getting him off the hook. "He will be off the hook, and Sara will trust him again," Wilmott says. "But Sara is a very smart woman and will continue to wonder: If not Jacob, who? The enemy could be around any corner."