Sarah Wayne Callies was a great part of the cast until her character was killed off-screen in season 3, but why does Sara die in ? Callies played Dr. Sara Tancredi, being Michael Scofield's love interest in season 1 and having a more action-based role in season 2. Sara was one of the doctors working at Fox River State Penitentiary's hospital, and she was one of the few with an on-point moral compass, holding herself to a strict ethical standard — that's until she met Michael. Sara looked the other way when it came to Michael's antics, even though she knew about the prison break.
Whether the show was so entertaining because
or simply because of the thrilling escapes, Michael and Sara's will-they, won't-they relationship had huge appeal. However, when season 3 of Prison Break began, Sara was nowhere to be seen. The character was killed off-screen with her head literally being found in a box. As Sara was easily the most likable character on the show, her off-screen death caused a monumental upset, and it didn't help that it was reportedly due to tension between Callies and the producers, but why does Sara die in ?
was leading to a happily-ever-after ending where Michael and Sara settle down together and put their sordid history behind them. However, that all ended when Sara was suddenly killed off-screen, which is revealed when Lincoln Burrows finds her head in a box in season 3, episode 4, "Good Fences." According to producer Matt Olmstead, it wasn't always the plan for Sara to die, but the network rejected the original pitch for season 3 (via ). In order to "" the next idea was for Sara to be killed off.
many times over its run, as it was originally planned to be a limited miniseries, so it's hardly surprising that Sara's death was a result of Fox not being happy with a previous pitch.
However, just because the producers had settled on the decision to kill Sara doesn't mean they didn't want Callies to return. Olmstead explained that they initially asked Callies to be in a handful of episodes instead of a full season. Callies was contracted to return, but only if it was for the entire 22 episodes, which meant that the producers and Callies would have to renegotiate.
Being pregnant and living in a remote area of Canada may have kept Callies from wanting to return, but according to Olmstead, he suggested bringing a camera crew to her. Contract negotiations ruined so many potentially great ideas, as it's what caused
, and Fox spokesperson Chris Alexander thinks that's exactly what kept Callies from reprising the roleAlexanderexplained that after she wouldn't agree to 13 episodes, ""
Following the negative reception of Sara's absence in season 3, the producers realized that it'd be easy to bring her back. There was no clear answer to the question "" because her death was off-screen. Callies never said much about being killed off the show or about the negotiations other than that she was "
," but luckily enough, neither the producers nor the actors burned their bridges. Olmstead put it best himself, noting, " (via ).
As a result, Callies returned for season 4. became a common occurrence in the show, and in season 4, Sara returned with her head fully attached to her body. While the season 3 pitch saw the producers succumbing to pressure from the studio, season 4's approach ended up being the opposite, as it was reactionary and based on the negative reception from the audience. While some suspension of disbelief is required, it was fairly easy to bring back Sara, as Lincoln never inspected Sara's "head" when he found it in the box in season 3.
Lincoln simply assumed the head was Sara because both the head and Sara shared the same hair color. The death was retconned when Gretchen, who supposedly killed Sara, explained to Michael that Sara escaped. Gretchen lied about killing Sara so she could keep leverage over Michael. Since the actual , the show had gotten increasingly confusing, but it was worth it, as bringing back Callies was the best decision the producers made. Ironically, it's lucky that Callies didn't return for season 3, because if the character had an on-screen death scene, it would have been impossible to bring her back.
The series has had two definitive endings, and the first would have been completely different if Callies never came back. Her return in season 4 worked out great outside of a few timeline continuity errors. A major story arc in season 4 is all about the mystery of what actually happened to her and what she was doing during the season 3 timeline. She's even the lead character in the TV movie, , which sees Sara performing a prison break of her own, and it fills in the gaps of season 4.
and producers had to come up with another way to have all these characters once again break out of yet another secure compound. Callies returned for the season, only this time it was Michael who was brought back from the dead. However, though season 4 didn't see Sara and Michael have the happily-ever-after ending that was set up in the first season, as Michael sacrificed himself to help Sara escape, they get that ending in the season 5 finale. 12 years after the characters were first introduced, they finally get their happy ending and settle down with their son, Mike.
Season 5 was welcomed with open arms by fans, but overall, it had a mixed reception due to some strange creative decisions, such as Teabag getting a redemption arc. While the pedophile is put back in prison, Michael pulls some strings to get Teabag in the same cell as the man who murdered his son. As a result, Teabag kills the man in what is a very uncomfortable victory. However, the season did right by Michael and Sara, and with their happy ending. Nevertheless, season 5 was almost very different, as Callies almost didn't return for the legacy season either (via
). Here's what Callies said:
“ meant a tremendous amount to me personally, and I have a job, so I only want to come back if we’re doing something brave. Personally, there was also a thought that was my first real job, I had only been in the business a couple of years, and it’s been seven years since I left that show. I ought to be a better actor by now, you know? Andy Lincoln and Jon Bernthal are two of the best teachers I’ve ever had, not that any of them ever tried to teach me anything, but I’ve learned so much on , on , on weird little movies with Nic Cage and stuff. I guess I’m interested to see if I can do better than I did before.
I realize I’m setting myself up to be completely panned. but I hope I’m a better actor and I hope I can bring more to it than I did before, so that, to me, seems like a legitimate reason to do it."
Callies had a successful TV career after , as she starred in , and it's clear that the actress has become better since her breakout role on the Fox series. However, her hesitance to return is understandable given that she moved on and wanted more of a challenge, but she ultimately realized that returning to the 12-year-old character was the biggest challenge of all. Callies also found herself asking what everybody else was confused over: "
" When the actor was approached about reprising her role, she explained:
“It was, ‘No f—ing way, holy f—ing s—,’ like expletive filled. Totally did not believe it, like not in a million years, because I asked the same questions that everybody’s asking. They’re like, ‘But Michael’s dead?!' Yeah, okay. To be fair, was not the first show that I was on where people get resurrected constantly.”
Michael was also killed off in the TV movie , making it hard for the network to bring him back. However, Prison Break has made a habit out of killing off its characters only for them to return, with the most notable example being Sarah Wayne Callies' own off-screen death in
season 3. The character was literally decapitated but still showed up in season 4. In the end, Callies ultimately agreed to return for the fifth season, but it wasn't without more tough negotiations, as the actor revealed that she ""
