Alexander Mahone

Lore & Background

Mahone was born at Boardman, Ohio into an abusive family, and was repeatedly beaten by his father. After joining the military he was transferred to Special Ops during the Gulf War, later becoming an FBI Special Agent. He married a woman named Pamela and they had a son, Cameron. The marriage lasted for 12 years until Mahone abruptly ended it without explanation, ordering his family out of the house. Before separating from his wife, Mahone pursued Oscar Shales, a murderer whom he struggled to capture; it is revealed that Mahone killed Shales and buried the body in his backyard. Fearful that his wife would discover his secret, he cut her out of his life. Mahone was plagued with visions of Shales, which caused him to self-medicate with prescription drugs.

In Their Own Story

After eight prisoners escape from Fox River, Mahone leads the investigation to capture them. He tracks the escapees to Oswego, Illinois, but they manage to escape. Mahone eventually tracks down John Abruzzi and David "Tweener" Apolskis; he orders his men to shoot Abruzzi to death when he fails to surrender, and later murders Tweener in cold blood. It is revealed that Mahone was being blackmailed by Paul Kellerman, a Secret Service agent forced to work for the Company. Kellerman threatens to reveal that Mahone killed Shales, and forces him to kill all the escapees in exchange for his silence. Mahone agrees when an operative of the Company, Agent Kim, threatens to murder his family. Mahone continues his hunt but is betrayed and shot by Kellerman. He survives and decides to stop chasing the escapees, but is forced to resume his search when his son is injured in a car accident orchestrated by one of Kim's agents. Before returning to work, he murders the agent who arranged the accident.

Reader's Guide

Inside Sona, Mahone attempts to convince Michael to form a partnership. Michael refuses to work with him, angry because Mahone killed his father. Mahone begins to suffer from drug withdrawal and is informed by his state-appointed lawyer that his trial is almost a full year away. When Whistler realizes that Michael is not entirely on his side, he forms an alliance with Mahone. Mahone deduces that Michael is planning to break Whistler out of the prison, and Michael eventually agrees to let him join the escape. After he begins hallucinating about Haywire, Mahone accepts heroin from T-Bag to calm himself. Agent Lang visits Mahone and offers him a deal: eight years in a St. Louis prison in exchange for testifying against the government in the Lincoln Burrows conspiracy, or multiple homicide charges if he does not cooperate. Mahone eventually accepts the offer and confesses to Lang that he killed Shales, and that guilt made him turn to drugs. Because he is unable to maintain his composure while testifying, Mahone's testimony is dismissed, and Lang is forced to return Mahone to Sona. Mahone (now rehabilitated) approaches Whistler and Michael and rejoins the escape. Michael, Whistler, Mahone and fellow inmate McGrady manage to escape; Lechero, T-Bag and Bellick are caught by the Sona guards. Lincoln wants to shoot Mahone in revenge for killing his father, but Whistler escapes from Lincoln's custody and Lincoln is forced to chase him. Mahone takes advantage of the situation and flees, eventually making his way to a bar. Mahone is approached by Whistler, who offers him a job in the Company with him and operative Gretchen Morgan. Mahone warns Whistler that Gretchen is the "weak link", and that Michael will eventually hunt them down if Gretchen has indeed killed Sara. Mahone accepts Whistler's offer to work for the Company, although the group is secretly working with Homeland Security to destroy the Company, focusing their attention on a card (code-named "Scylla"), which contains information on all of the Company's agents and operations. Whistler finds the card; however, he is killed by the Company's hitman, Wyatt, who takes the card. Mahone returns to his family home to find his son has been murdered and since he is a wanted criminal, he is arrested by the police. Mahone is contacted by Agent Don Self, a Homeland Security agent who was working with Whistler to take down the Company. He offers Mahone freedom if he joins an unofficial operation to recover Scylla from the Company. Mahone accepts, learning that other members of the operation are Michael, Lincoln, Sara, Bellick, Sucre and computer hacker and identity thief Roland Glenn. The group devises a plan to regain the card, which succeeds, however, they learn that Scylla is actually made up of six cards held by different members of The Company. The group continues to look for the other cards, while Mahone asks Lang to find out who killed his son. Mahone obtains a picture of Wyatt and meets with his estranged wife Pam, who makes him promise to hunt down and kill Wyatt. When Wyatt is captured Mahone tortures him, forcing him to apologize to his wife over the phone. He ties a cinderblock to Wyatt's wrists, and drowns him in the ocean. The group manages to complete Scylla, and Lincoln absolves Mahone for his role in his father's death. Self betrays the team and steals Scylla, forcing them to be fugitives once again. While the others hunt Self, Mahone meets with Lang and asks for help. Lang calls Wheeler to help Mahone; however, Wheeler lies to Mahone about a meeting with the Attorney General.

Did You Know?

• William Fichtner was cast as Mahone just one day before filming began on the second season.
• Mahone was born at Boardman, Ohio into an abusive family and was repeatedly beaten by his father.
• Mahone killed Oscar Shales and buried the body in his backyard, which led to his wife being cut out of his life.
• Mahone's son Cameron was murdered by the Company's hitman Wyatt.
• Mahone drowned Wyatt in the ocean after tying a cinderblock to his wrists.