Gay.com Column: "Prison Break": Are the writers losing their heads?

Shark-jumping. Ballsy. Cop-out. Game-changer. All these words and more were used to describe the beheading of Sara Tancredi.

Played by the fresh-faced Sarah Wayne Callies, Tancredi was the One True Love of Wentworth Miller's Michael Scofield. In the first season of "Prison Break", Scofield got himself sent to prison, the move part of a masterplan to spring his death-row brother. But the blueprint for their breakout was quickly complicated, as Scofield fell in love with prison doctor - and pawn - Tancredi. After a season's worth of agonizing will-they-won't-they tension, shippers everywhere were finally rewarded when Tancredi agreed to help in the escape. The prospective fall-out of her decision also ratcheted up anticipation for season two.

And man were fans not disappointed. Despite the sophomore season's uneven pacing, fireworks continued to fly between Scofield and Tancredi, as both were drawn deeper into a murderous conspiracy. Just as their relationship seemed about to materialize, however, Scofield chose to return to prison, taking the rap for Tancredi's killing of a conspiracy flunky who would have off'd them. Though this was a bittersweet finale for MiSa fans, they took comfort in the fact that there had to be a scorcher of a reunion. After all, their love for each other proved, what could keep Scofield and Tancredi from each other?

As it turned out, a very sharp hacksaw would do the trick. In the ongoing third season's biggest plot point so far, Tancredi, after being kidnapped alongside Scofield's nephew, was summarily beheaded by her kidnappers. The ostensible reason? Payback for a botched rescue attempt, and a warning that the nephew was next if the brothers did not do as told.

Of course, those in the know will recognize this reason as utter bullcrap. Since the summer, trouble has been on the horizon for this MiSa One True Pairing. After news surfaced about the pregnant Callies's contract negotiation problems, rumors began to circulate that Tancredi was not long for "Prison Break". After the release of the season three cast photos - from which Callies was conspicuously absent - the prospect of a MiSa happy ending seemed even more unlikely.

Still, judging from fans' outcry over Callies's abrupt departure, certainly this particular exit was probably not foreseen. Even two weeks after the now infamous episode, "Prison Break" fans are still debating the ethics of the exit. And considering the heated-ness of some of those debates - which include actor-producer negotiations and actors' professional versus personal responsibilities - the controversy is unlikely to abate soon, at least not in the "Prison Break" world.

However, rather than concentrate on the behind-the-scenes action, let's not forget that this is first and foremost an ongoing series. How will Sara Tancredi's beheading ripple through future episodes?

MiSa has always been an important component of the series. Whether viewers are also shippers or not, it remains a fact that season three is predicated on Scofield's sacrifice for Tancredi. So removing Scofield's One True Love is bound to leave a vacuum and, furthermore, leave the writers in a bind: if they don't replace Tancredi then they risk losing the romance-invested audience, but, if they do replace her, they risk making Scofield look like the world's giantest tool.

Regardless of their choice, however, the brutal death of Tancredi may already have done irreparable damage: with the decapitation of the character goes the last strong woman of the show, a demographic "Prison Break" has always had trouble portraying. Consider the show's track record with its leading women: season one's Veronica Donovan was held hostage twice, before being shot and dismembered; Sara Tancredi, before losing her head, was tortured horrifically and kidnapped. Considering the comparatively lighter punishment the men on the show have undergone, all this adds up to an indelibly misogynistic tone. This is a situation that is likely to lead to some problems.

Having said all this, however, there is one good outcome to this plot point: it sure as hell has created a lot of dramatic potential for the Scofield brothers. What will Michael Scofield do when he finds out what he's responsible for? And how will he feel when he learns that his brother has kept Tancredi's execution from him? To date, the series has not featured a substantial altercation between the fiercely devoted brothers, but, if anything will do the trick, this Tancredi situation will be it.

It's not the beheading that is really the issue at hand; it's more what route the writers will take having killed off Dr. Sara Tancredi. What characters have the new female actresses been hired to portray? How will the writers handle the fallout of the popular Tancredi's death? They have to know that they are on a very limited grace period, but, from this somewhat jaded and on-the-fence watcher, here's hoping that they manage somehow pull off a last-minute miracle.