Abruzzi gets his revenge when he cuts off Bagwell's cuffed hand with an axe, seriously wounding him and leaving him for dead. In order to ensure his safety, he handcuffs himself to Michael, knowing that it will keep Abruzzi from killing him. In the final episode of the season, Bagwell escapes from Fox River along with Michael, Abruzzi, C-Note, Tweener, and three other inmates.
Abruzzi claims to have forgiven Bagwell, but the characters keep a wary eye on each other for the rest of the season. Upon learning in "The Key" that Abruzzi has returned to the prison, Bagwell is frightened and makes a second attempt on Abruzzi's life but is stopped by C-Note, who reminds him that Abruzzi is providing their transportation. In the episode "Bluff" his skills at rigging a deck of cards also help the team. Bagwell is among six inmates included in the first unsuccessful escape attempt in the episode "End of the Tunnel".īagwell is more loyal to the team in the season's later episodes, contributing to keep the escape tunnel hidden and engaging in reluctant relations with a transvestite inmate to further the escape plan. Knowing that Abruzzi was behind it, Bagwell seeks revenge, and slashes Abruzzi's throat with a razor blade in a failed attempt to kill him. Bagwell also learns that his cousin James Bagwell and his son had been killed and is deeply upset. When the group discovers that they have one too many for a successful escape, Abruzzi gives Bagwell an ultimatum in the episode "Odd Man Out": back out of the escape or die. In the following episodes, friction continues to increase between Bagwell and the other members of the escape team. Michael, who was feeling guilty about Seth's death, finally confronts Bagwell with a crowbar to the knee and tells him to leave Tweener alone. After Seth hangs himself, Bagwell moves on to harass newly arrived inmate Tweener, who had alienated himself among Fox River's prison population. Throughout the season, T-Bag is shown as having a sexual interest in other inmates, and coerces his new cellmate Seth into a sexual relationship. Following this, Bagwell becomes a fully-fledged member of the escape team in the episode "The Old Head", blackmailing them to include him.īagwell is initially an endless source of friction on the escape team, testing the others' patience with racist taunts, and is a constant strain on Michael's conscience. He later frames his friend and fellow Aryan gang member Trokey for the murder. At the end of the riot, Bagwell defies the orders of Michael and Abruzzi and murders a guard that could expose the escape.
When he returns in the episode "Riots, Drills and the Devil", Bagwell instigates a full-scale riot, during which he accidentally learns of the escape attempt and threatens to tell the other inmates if Michael and the others do not include him the others have no choice but to agree. Believing Scofield was responsible, Bagwell seeks revenge but is stopped by Abruzzi, who has his goons assault him, sending him to the infirmary after which the character is absent for two episodes. During a race riot in episode "Allen", his cellmate and lover is fatally wounded. Upon the arrival of Michael Scofield ( Wentworth Miller) at Fox River, Bagwell wants to ensnare him as his personal plaything, but is unsuccessful. A racist and a pedophile, he is detested by most other inmates, such as John Abruzzi ( Peter Stormare) and Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin ( Rockmond Dunbar), but his status within the Alliance for Purity protects him from attacks. Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell is the leader of the Aryan gang inside Fox River.