TV Recap: My Name is Earl - Early Release

Has the day finally come for Earl to get out of prison? Let's hope so, for the sake of this series. Joy and Darnell are there to pick him up, and Randy’s been practicing his slow-mo Chariots of Fire running hug. But the gatekeeper says Earl’s not on the list of prisoners getting out. For that matter, he’s not on the extra-pudding list, either. That sucks big-time.

Turns out the warden shredded his time-off certificates, because he realizes Earl’s value on the inside. He’s been making the warden look good, especially to his wife, the governor. But things go from bad to worse, and Earl ends up in solitary after roughing up the warden.

Sixty days later, the warden lets him out, just in time to spiff the place up for Christmas. But Earl’s had it. With a soundtrack of The Animals’ “We Gotta Get Outta This Place,” Earl tracks down the prison blueprints and makes a plan to bust outta there.

Working on the outside, Catalina distracts the priest and nun on their way to give a prison mass, and Joy and Darnell end up masquerading as same, doing their own twisted version of mass for the inmates -- but making enough noise for Earl and pals to crawl through the vent.

But Holy Crap! They fall through the ceiling right into the warden’s office. Before you know it, Earl has the warden at gunpoint in a hostage situation, with Darnell – sneaking IN to free him, because “you never leave a man behind!” – close behind.

Too bad Darnell recognizes the warden as his former roommate – a C-grade porn star. Somehow, I'm not surprised. To keep Earl quiet, the warden honors his time-off certificates and pretty soon, he’s free as a bird. Still, could this turn of events have a lasting impact on the karma Earl’s been trying so hard to fix? More important, will the storylines get better now that he's rockin' in the free world again?