History Recap / JAGS01E08BrigBreak

Directed by Creator/JimJohnston

Written by Creator/ReubenLeder & Creator/RobertCochran

Harm and Austin are on their way to the Sea-Tac Naval Base, and Austin notices that Harm must be excited to be there, because he's speeding. Harm states he didn't notice, but is definitely happy about something. They arrive on the base and are greeting by [[TheBusCameBack Lieutenant Kate Pike]], much to Austin's surprise (but not Harm). While Harm and Pike [[{{UST}} catch up on old times]], Austin goes to meet with [[ScaryBlackMan Petty Officer Quinn]], who has been implicated in the suspected theft of two Stinger missile launchers, [[ChekhovsGun only one of which has been recovered.]] And that's when she gets taken hostage when the prisoners [[GreatEscape break out]] with the [[TheMole help of the Gunnery Sergeant supervising the brig]]. Harm and Pike work to save Austin while Austin tries to figure out exactly what the prisoners' plan is...

!!"Brig Break" contains examples of the following tropes:
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* ArcNumber: The number "7" keeps coming up in dialogue throughout the episode, and at the climax, [[spoiler: the bomb is deactivated with the timer reading seven seconds left.]]

* AntiAir: The missing Stinger launcher is used on a Sea Stallion helicopter pursuing the villains. [[spoiler: But it was sabotaged so the warhead didn't go off.]]
* BombDisposal: Harm races in a car to get the [[spoiler: nuclear bomb]] far enough from the base before it goes off, while Meg and Pike try to figure out the code to disable it.
* BoundAndGagged: Happened to Meg.
* ChekhovsGun: The stolen Stinger launcher. [[spoiler: Quinn sabotaged it so the warhead was disabled.]]

* GenreBlind: Major Aspinal, primarily because all of the evidence available to him suggests this is just a poorly planned Brig Break. He becomes increasingly fed up with Harm and Pike refusing to let him handle it.
* GonnaNeedABiggerWarrant: A handful of prisoners busting out of the brig gradually escalates into a plot [[spoiler: to destroy the base with a nuclear explosion and sell stolen nuclear weapons to UsefulNotes/SaddamHussein.]]

* NoSell: [[spoiler: The Stinger missile, having been sabotaged, bounces near-harmlessly off of the Sea Stallion.]]
* RedHerring: [[spoiler: the Aryan Nation folks pretty much stop being relevant one scene after being introduced.]]

* SkewedPriorities: The group of right-wing militiamen seeking to overthrow the government learn that one of their co-conspirators is a black man, and their leader proceed to demand that the tall blonde female US military officer (Meg) whose government they are fighting against is protected from him.
* TitleDrop: Harm looks out the window and sees the prisoners exiting the brig and herding Austin onto a bus. He immediately shouts "BRIG BREAK" before trying to stop them from escaping.
* UndercoverCopReveal: [[spoiler: Petty Officer Quinn]]. He ends up dying a scene or two later.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Once [[spoiler: they have gotten the nukes]], the villain kills his accomplices.

* RealityEnsues: A group of right-wing militiamen armed with automatic rifles encounters a Sea Stallion helicopter equipped with armor protection and machine guns. The fight lasts about two seconds before the militiamen are forced to retreat into the woods.

* TheMole: [[spoiler: Gunnery Sergeant Gentry]]
** ReverseMole: [[spoiler: Petty Officer Quinn]]

* GonnaNeedABiggerWarrant: A handful of prisoners busting out of the brig gradually escalates into a plot [[spoiler: to destroy the base with a nuclear explosion and sell stolen nuclear weapons to SaddamHussein.]]

* RealityEnsues: A group of militiamen armed with automatic rifles encounters a Sea Stallion helicopter equipped with armor protection and machine guns. The fight lasts about two seconds before the militiamen are forced to retreat into the woods.

* SkewedPriorities: The group of militiamen seeking to overthrow the government learn that one of their co-conspirators is a black man, and proceed to demand that the female US military officer whose government they are fighting against is protected from him.

* BombDisposal: Harm races to get the [[spoiler: nuclear bomb]] far enough from the base before it goes off, while Meg and Pike try to figure out the code to disable it.

* GonnaNeedABiggerWarrant: A handful of prisoners busting out of the brig gradually escalates into a plot [[spoiler: to destroy the base and sell stolen nuclear weapons to Saddam Hussein.]]

[[{{Recap/JAG}} As you were...]]