Current mood:

accomplished

That Old Dirty Bastard – Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell
Title: That Old Dirty Bastard
Author: alazysod
Character: Theodore “T-Bag” Bagwell
Fandom: Prison Break
Spoilers: Through the end of the first season.

Michael: Does T-Bag have a real name?
T-Bag: That is my real name.

At first glance, Theodore “T-Bag” Bagwell is nothing more than a basic, one-dimensional villain that occasionally—okay, frequently—hits on the main character. This is a man who kidnapped, raped, and killed six students in Alabama, and it “wasn’t always in that order, either.” He rules a nasty white supremacist gang in Fox River, and he isn’t afraid to slit a guy’s throat or incite a riot.

This man has no redeeming qualities.

However, Robert Knepper plays him so well—he dives deeply into this character, spitting out the best lines in a Southern drawl without seeming like an utter cliché. Even if you aren’t a fan of T-Bag’s character, Knepper steals every scene he’s in, even in the episode 110, where his only line was a single word to warn the escape team that the guards were coming.

Knepper, who I was introduced to through the HBO show Carnivalé, is, without doubt, most of the reasons I adore T-Bag. His acting is outstanding, and he makes T-Bag seem human.

But this is a T-Bag essay, not a Robert Knepper one. Let’s move on.

*

T-Bag: You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to do this.
Abruzzi: [points shank at him] You brought it on yourself. I’m just an emissary for all the pain and suffering you caused. All the families you ruined, all the kids.

It can be generally assumed that T-Bag has some sort of personality disorder, since “normal” people don’t rape and murder. The most popular supposition is that he has an Antisocial Personality Disorder. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (American Psychiatric Association, 1994, pp. 649-650) describes Antisocial Personality Disorder as “a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age fifteen, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:”

1. Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest.
We can check this one off. According to the bios at the official FOX website, T-Bag had been arrested for arson, assault with a deadly weapon, and attempted murder before the six counts of kidnapping, rape, and murder. It can be assumed that there were more before, as the bio mentioned that his crimes became “more serious” and included the aforementioned felonies.

2. Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure.
We don’t really know if T-Bag has a propensity to lie. He does seem to enjoy conning people, however, given his choices of cellmates, the way he talked Abruzzi into taking the blade off his throat, and how he got Trokey to be blamed for the murder of Officer Bob. However, he had Seth lie for him, but that may have been just another mindfuck for Seth, or a way for the show to build up drama to see if Seth would turn in T-Bag—but I digress.

3. Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead.
Uh-uh. This isn’t one of T-Bag’s characteristics. He always seems has a plan, whether it’s calling Jimmy as a safety net or stealing the handcuffs from the unconscious C.O.

4. Irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults.
Considering he’s been arrested for murder and assault and he incited a riot, I think we can safely say that T-Bag has frequently been in physical fights.

5. Reckless disregard for safety of self or others.
Hm. Well, he’s always protecting himself—with a shank, with his words—but I don’t think he could give a shit about anyone else.

6. Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations.
We don’t know anything about pre-prison T-Bag except for his parts of his family, juvenile delinquency, probable friendship with Jimmy, and relationship with a woman, so we don’t know if he had trouble keeping a job.

7. Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.
He hasn’t shown remorse over his victims, but he has shown emotions over things that are his fault. A prime example is the death of his cousin, Jimmy, who was killed by Abruzzi’s men after T-Bag used Jimmy as an insurance policy: “I called up my guy on the outside and I told him about our plan. And I told him in all likelihood I’ll be seein’ him next week. But, if he don’t hear from me five minutes before the escape and twenty minutes after, I told him to call up the warden, blow the whistle on the whole thing.”

It is Warden Pope who reveals that Jimmy was killed by gunfire (after using his own son as a shield—what a guy, this Jimmy Bagwell). T-Bag’s reaction to his cousin’s death is heartbreaking. There is pure emotion on his face, and he’s not pretending, because there’s no one to act for, since everyone else is in the yard. There’s a choked sob, a twist of his lips; he feels. It’s not known whether or not he cries for the death of his cousin, his seemingly only friend on the outside, or for his loss of an insurance plan. Personally, I lean towards the former, because if it was the latter, I think he would have been angry. He is, after all, a violent man.

There’s also the death of Maytag, who is killed by a random inmate during a race riot in an early episode. T-Bag sees it and mistakenly believes that Michael is the one who killed Maytag, which further pushes T-Bag to try and mess with Michael.

The look of pure horror on T-Bag’s face over Maytag’s death, coupled with the pocket rubbing as he looks at Maytag’s body in the morgue, can be looked at from different angles. The two most popular ones seem to be that either T-Bag was angry that Michael took something that was his, or that T-Bag truly loved Maytag.

I go back and forth between these two theories. Part of me wants to believe that yes, T-Bag did love Maytag, but he did move on rather quickly to Seth (also known as “Cherry”), so perhaps it’s the former. Either way, T-Bag still expresses emotions over incidents that happened partly because of what he did.

*

T-Bag: Remember, Pretty, I am servin’ life plus one. So if I get busted for attempted escape, I’m gonna throw a homicide in there, no problem. That’s like a parking ticket to me.

While I was searching for characteristics of Antisocial Personality Disorder, I came across the following: In Cognitive Therapy of Personality Disorders, Aaron T. Beck, Arthur Freeman, and associates (1990) list typical beliefs associated with each specific personality disorder. Here are some of the typical beliefs that they have listed (pg. 361) for Antisocial Personality Disorder:

Force or cunning is the best way to get things done.
T-Bag does use these things—especially force—to get what he wants.

It is not important to keep promises or honor debts.
How often have we seen T-Bag keep an oath? His promise to God for Abruzzi lasted maybe fifteen or twenty seconds, after all.

Lying and cheating are OK as long as you don't get caught.
While there isn’t proof of this, I do think it coincides with T-Bag’s character.

I have been unfairly treated and am entitled to get my fair share by whatever means I can.
T-Bag is a child of incest, and he probably went through puberty in a juvenile detention center. It can be assumed that he was abused, both emotionally and physically (and possibly sexually), and I doubt he had a wonderful childhood. That definitely fits into the unfairly treated category, and I’m guessing T-Bag’s not happy with it.

Other people are weak and deserve to be taken.
The people that T-Bag preys on are weak. Michael is new to Fox River and generally prison life; T-Bag tries to take advantage of that, just as he seems to do with his cellmates or other inmates.

He advises Westmoreland to quit the escape team—“You know what I can't understand is why somebody like you wants to get out of here anyway. How you gonna survive, huh? The world's all different now, it's scary. They got computer phones, boobies made out of silicone, you wouldn't know what to do.”—and when Westmoreland essentially tells him to piss off, T-Bag resorts to violence: “Them old bones just gonna be draggin' us down. Maybe I oughta just snap of few of 'em right now, huh?”

If I don't push other people, I will get pushed around.
T-Bag is always picking fights. He constantly uses derogatory nicknames, purposely insults the Mexicans in front of Sucre (even though Sucre is Puerto Rican), and makes these little comments that must just irritate the hell out of everyone.

I should do whatever I can get away with.
There doesn’t seem to be a set of rules for T-Bag. He does do what he wants to.

I can get away with things so I don't need to worry about bad consequences.
He doesn’t seem to care about the consequences; after all, he slit a guy’s throat in plain sight of guards and other inmates.

*

Sucre: She tug on your pocket?
T-Bag: I may be social, but that’s a boundary line even I won’t cross.

T-Bag is desperate to escape. Given his criminal record, it’s likely that he spent most of his life in prison after his attempted arson at age ten. He will do anything to get out of Fox River, from forcing himself onto the escape team to physically threatening Michael when something happens to the plan, or even having sex with a transvestite who looks like Colin Mochrie to give her panties to Sucre. (He is, of course, hideously embarrassed about that last part, and threatens Sucre with death if Sucre were to tell anyone.)

He also craves control. Once he’s on the team and is helping out with parts, he immediately takes a leadership position. When Michael’s cell is auctioned off, T-Bag is eager to play cards for the money, even if it means cheating and possibly death, if he’s caught. Later in the episode, Sucre’s cousin, Manche, reveals that he knows about the escape plan. In response, T-Bag is violent—once again—and asks, “What are we, the A train? Everyone gets to ride with us?” It’s fairly ironic, considering that T-Bag forced himself into the team. But, now that he’s a part of the group, he tries to assume responsibility. This doesn’t make him any more popular in the eyes of C-Note or Abruzzi.

Speaking of Abruzzi: The power struggle between T-Bag and Abruzzi is incredibly fascinating, and I wish Prison Break had focused on that more. They each have their own gangs that obviously oppose each other—white supremacists vs. the mob—and their own agenda within the prison. Judging by some of T-Bag’s comments during the riot episodes, it seems that his gang sells drugs and weapons, among other things; I’m not quite sure what Abruzzi’s group does, since Prison Break focuses more on the escape instead of the dynamics within the prison, but I’m going to presume that it’s something different, considering that Abruzzi essentially runs the prison.

*

Michael: Now, you and I may be stuck together in this little dance, but I call the shots. First shot, that kid out there. You don’t touch him, ever. Do we understand each other?
T-Bag: We do.

While watching T-Bag and Abruzzi or T-Bag and C-Note volley back and forth with racial slurs and Southern generalizations is great fun, it’s also the interactions between T-Bag and Michael that interest me. In their first meeting, T-Bag takes the dominant role in their relationship; he’s almost kind as he flirts in his own way and encourages Michael to hold onto his pocket, but when Michael refuses, T-Bag quickly slips into an aggressive prisoner, implying that there will be violence if he sees Michael again.

But once T-Bag coerces the group into letting him on, he has to become more submissive, even with the threat of blackmail over everyone else’s head. Because Michael is the only one who knows what’s going on with the escape plan, T-Bag has to keep in Michael’s good graces. This is why T-Bag backs down from seducing Tweener, which he did with lines such as, “But you know what the funny thing is? We’re also a lot alike. Couple of dogs with runny noses that nobody loves. [squeezes Tweener’s knee] How’s that knee, by the way?”

Later in the season, T-Bag tries to take control of the situation by handcuffing himself to Michael in the escape van. We all know this doesn’t work out particularly well, but you have to give him props for effort.

*

Abruzzi: [grabs T-Bag] Now you listen, pervert! You’re in as much trouble as he is, you understand!
T-Bag: Go ahead, go ahead, stick me. Stick me. Let’s see how many times I can shout out about your little hole in there before I bleed out, huh? Because every con in here’s gonna know about your escape before one drip of my blood hits the floor. So you see, friends, either I’m through that hole with you, or I’m gonna sing like Johnny Cash.

I really hope that the writers and producers continue with T-Bag’s character, especially with that little incident in the season finale. How is he going to survive outside the prison? Where will he go? Will he meet up with any of the other members of the escape team?

Despite the obvious unpleasant parts of T-Bag’s character, I can’t help but love him. He’s so goddamn intriguing. I want to get inside this man’s head and know what he thinks, why he acts the way he does, and what he’s like. He’s a scary fucking man, but I can’t help it.

Besides, you have to love a man who can sing.

*

T-Bag: You know, math was never my best subject, either. But, um, I got through it by learnin’ some new tricks. You wanna learn some tricks, Gracie?

LINKS
Communities/Websites
hold_my_pocket – The one and only LJ community dedicated to T-Bag/Robert Knepper. miss_mandy, the moderator and creator, meticulously organizes the memories. There’s fic, art, pictures and video clips of Knepper in various other roles, and quotes.

Fic
fanfic100 – Er, it’s me that’s writing T-Bag for this community..

prisonbreak100 – The T-Bag prompts, which are currently being written by five people, can be found here.

thekayla has compiled a T-Bag fanfiction masterlist. It's organized by category and includes title, author, and rating. There's +300 fics there. Flipping fantastic.

Art
There is few fanart in the PB fandom, but crawdadorgy and kahla_w draw crazily well. Their art can be found in hold_my_pocket’s memories, here, along with other art.

Vids
My absolute favorite T-Bag vid is entitled “Shoop” (yes, the Salt-N-Pepa song) and made by jenncho. It can be found and downloaded here, in addition to her other vids.

*

T-Bag: Yeah, she looks just like all them girls who made fun of me. After I kill you, I’m gonna crawl out that hole and call me up a limousine, and me and yo’ baby’s goin’ to the prom.

Thank you, hold_my_pocket, for the quotes; this website, for providing information about Antisocial Personality Disorder; thelana, for pointing out this community to me; and miss_mandy, for looking this over and boosting my confidence.