New Theory Explains How Michael Is Still Alive On Prison Break

04/10/2017 01:24 pm EDT

Prison Break returned with an epic season five premiere last week, and the episode ended with the reveal that Michael Scofield truly is alive. Now, he claims that he has no idea who Lincoln is and that he isn't actually Michael, but there's no denying that the character is at least the physical body of Mr. Scofield.

It's great that he's back, but the whole situation has fans scratching their heads. How is it that Michael is still alive? Sure, he's mastered the art of escape, but was he actually able to wiggle his way out of death?

A new theory takes this mystery and makes sense of what's actually going on. According to ScreenRant, it all starts with the surgery that The Company gave Michael.

When the organization operated on Michael's brain in season four, he began to flatline. However, they injected him with some kind of serum that seemed to help his illness. After that, everything seemed fine.

In the TV movie that followed season four, Michael had to break Sara out of prison (she was incarcerated for a murder in the process of helping Michael). On the way out, Michael realized that they both couldn't escape. He created an electrical surge to open the gate and, in turn, set Sara free. The only problem was that the surge sent electricity coursing through Michael's body, killing him.

While this act was off-screen, the events that followed made fans believe he was actually dead. Michael left behind a letter and a DVD for Sara and their son, saying his final goodbye.

This new theory states that Michael actually wasn't killed by the electric shock. Instead, Michael was knocked out by the shock, but not killed. Someone - possibly the government or The Company - found Michael underneath the prison, and made a deal with him. If he were to stay dead - or complete some task that we've yet to learn about - Sara and Lincoln would be left alone.

This helps explain why Michael said he didn't know Lincoln. If he is being watched, that lie could have helped save Lincoln's life.

Yes, this is only a theory, but it makes a lot of sense. It's certainly the only idea that explains Michael's resurrection. Well, the only one that's surfaced so far.

More Prison Break:

• Official Season 5 Review
• Producers On Why Prison Break Is Back

The original action drama centered on MICHAEL SCOFIELD (Miller, "DC's Legends of Tomorrow"), a young man determined to save his convicted brother, LINCOLN BURROWS (Purcell, "DC's Legends of Tomorrow"), from death row by hatching an elaborate plan to escape from prison.

In the new series, filmed on location in Morocco, clues surface that suggest a previously thought-to-be-dead Michael may be alive. Lincoln and SARA (Sarah Wayne Callies, "Colony," "The Walking Dead"), Michael's wife until he was presumed dead, reunite to engineer the biggest escape ever, as three of Fox River State Penitentiary's most notorious escapees, SUCRE (Nolasco, "Telenovela"), T-BAG (Knepper, "Heroes") and C-NOTE (Dunbar, "The Mentalist"), are pulled back into the action.