Originally aired on January 29, 2007, the episode was written by Zack Estrin and Karyn Usher, and was directed by Bobby Roth.
The episode opens with a Fox News Channel broadcast of Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell), proclaiming his innocence.
Bellick's behavior, particularly around Nurse Katie, at the start of this episode intentionally mirrors that of Michael's when he was in the infirmary at Fox River.
After they finish dinner and the elderly host had retired for the night, Sucre stole the car but is later stopped by the Mexican police.
In Algoma, Wisconsin, Haywire (Silas Weir Mitchell) is with his dog, a Border Collie he named Larry, while he digs in a dumpster.
A Montana television station is stunned to see their missing cameraman back safely, holding a video cassette.
Michael announces that Sara Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies) is innocent as well, and that FBI Agent Mahone has murdered Abruzzi, Tweener and also the missing Oscar Shales.
Mahone is informed by a Montana FBI agent who interrogated the cameraman that the brothers mentioned driving to a location 450 miles away within six hours.
Mahone comes to the conclusion that the brothers are headed toward Denver, Colorado, where President Caroline Reynolds (Patricia Wettig) will speak.
Agent Mahone watches the Declaration of Innocence video with analysts who believe that Burrows is lying, based on subtle movements he makes.
At the same time, Sara Tancredi watches the video of Michael and Lincoln from the Jewell Glore Library in Kansas City, Missouri, flipping through a book as she does.
Mahone agrees, and Bellick informs the Agent that the quotes used by Michael are chapter titles in the Alcoholics Anonymous book.
By analysing the chapters in the book, Mahone quickly discovers that Michael is planning to rendezvous with Sara at the St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio.
As Michael, Lincoln, and Kellerman drive, they hear on the radio how their news story is being sidelined due to a lost storage unit full of Arabs (which raises the Homeland Security Advisory System into Orange Alert).
While Michael talks to Sara, Kellerman receives a telephone call from the President, telling him that he is the only one that cares about her, and that he should return to her side, but without the brothers.
Troy Rogers of UGO gave "The Message" a B+, stating, "This week, Prison Break went the distance in connecting as many dots as possible, while catching us up to speed on a few long lost players, including Haywire, Sara, and Sucre.
"[4] Similarly, John Keegan of MediaBlvd muses that, "There's plenty of time left in the season to bring those to conclusion, but it's also possible that they will remain open-ended.
"[6] Entertainment Weekly's Kate Sullivan had this to say of "The Message": "Icy, but hilarious, was the infirmary nurse who turned down Bellick's try at Michael-esque charm when he asked her to leave the door open for him.
"[7] Overall, San Diego Union-Tribune's TV Tracker's Craig Blanchard gave "The Message" an A+ grade, stating that, "All in all, this was a great episode.