MovieChat Forums > Prison Break (2005) Discussion > Why does everyone hate Roland?

Why does everyone hate Roland?


I'm rewatching Prison Break before viewing season 5 and I'm currently on season 4. I just can't understand why everyone is so mean and hateful to Roland. Is it because he's Asian? Is it because he's a nerd?

I mean sure the guy can be a bit aggressive at times, but most of what he says is joking and playful. Not to mention, aside from Scofield, he's probably the most critical member of the team. Everyone else (Lincoln, Bellick, Sucre) is just the muscle.

A few examples:
Lincoln: "Without that device you're worthless! Now shut up and pump [gas]!"

Lincoln: "Shut up and go back to your nerd box!"

Please no season 5 spoilers.

reply

(I know this is 3 years late, but...)

Basically, a lot of it can be traced back to the simple fact that the rest of them have all already been through a hell of a lot together and know each other very well. Roland is a complete outsider - he hasn't been through the Fox River escape, or been part of trying to get the $5m in Utah, or what happened in Sona - and, even worse, he's an outsider that they're being forced to work with. It's like in school when there's a new kid and the teacher forces an already established friendship group to be friends with them: that friendship group isn't just going to welcome the newbie with open arms because their presence changes the whole dynamic of the pre-established group; they can no longer tell inside jokes, and the lingo that friendship groups can develop is meaningless as well so you're basically right at square one with regards to interaction - that can often cause a lot of resentment.

Then there's the fact that their experiences up to this point (with the Company and just in life in general) mean that a lot of them would have trust issues. All they know of Roland is that he's very clever (besides Michael and possibly Sarah and Mahone, Roland's probably the cleverest in the group), he's a mouthy smartass, none of them have ever even seen him before, and he's been foisted on them without them having a say in the matter - all of those facts would be immediate red flags after everything they've been through, both as a group and individually. He's essentially the S4 equivalent of how Tweener was back in S1: no one really wants him around because his attitude makes them think he'll potentially mess things up but he keeps "muscling in" (even though neither Roland nor Tweener had any say in the matter themselves) and he eventually proves they were right not to trust him, even though it's essentially a self-fulfilling prophecy.

reply

I mostly agree everyone everyone especially Lincoln was cruel to him before his death. Sorta makes me wish that they had stereotyped him into a martial arts master capable of handling himself against Scofield and everyone.

reply