We talk about the “Shovel Talk” between Michael and Lincoln, or the death of John Abruzzi. But one of the show’s quietest tragedies is that LJ Burrows never got a happy ending. He got a bus ticket to nowhere.
In the early episodes, LJ is a rebellious teenager smoking pot and skipping school. It would be easy to hate him, but the writers grounded him. He has every right to be angry. His dad is on death row for a crime he didn’t commit, and his mother (Lisa) has remarried a man who doesn’t want LJ around. The moment the conspiracy turns its eyes on LJ, the stakes go from “Will Michael cut his foot?” to visceral terror. When the Company kills his mother and stepfather and frames him for the murders, LJ is thrust into a nightmare no child should experience.
His scenes in season one—hiding in a hotel room, calling the FBI, being hunted by Agent Hale (R.I.P.)—are genuinely tense. Marshall Law (the fake cop) remains one of the creepiest villains of the early series specifically because he is hunting a kid. LJ’s dynamic with Michael is underrated. While Lincoln yells “LJ, stay put!” every five minutes, Michael actually treats him like an adult. When Michael breaks out of Fox River, he immediately pivots to saving his nephew. The moment in the train station where Michael gives LJ the money and tells him to run is heartbreaking. LJ doesn’t want to leave his dad, but he knows he has to. Where Did It Go Wrong? Let’s address the elephant in the room: Seasons 3 and 4.