What does 'everyone turns up one sooner or later' mean?

Question

I was watching Prison Break and in one scene Scofield tells the Pope that 'everyone turns up one sooner or later' I googled it and I couldn't find a coherent meaning for this particular context, I obviously used the 'slang tag'when I googled it yet nothing that could match this particular situation came up. Here is the script:

Warden Henry Pope : Top of your class at Loyola... magna cum laude in fact. I can't help wondering what someone with your credentials is doing in a place like this.

Michael Scofield : Took a wrong turn a few months back, I guess.

Warden Henry Pope : You make it sound like a traffic infraction... like all you did was turn the wrong way up on a one-way street.

Michael Scofield : Everyone turns up one, sooner or later.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0678483/characters/nm0005078

Answer 1

The prisoner (Michael) tells [Henry] Pope he is in prison because he 'took a wrong turn'. Pope says Michael is describing his crime as if it was a minor traffic violation on the level of turning the wrong way up a one-way street (driving into it and going in the forbidden direction. Michael replies that 'everyone turns up one (a one-way street) sooner or later'. He means that everyone makes mistakes at some point.

As one might guess, this is in a TV prison drama. I might personally enclose "the Pope" in quotes because it is, evidently, the nickname of the prison warden, Henry Pope. (He's not the Holy Father).

POPE: I can't help wondering what someone with your credentials is doing in a place like this.

[We see Michael sat opposite the Pope, on the other side of the desk]

MICHAEL: Took a wrong turn a few months back, I guess.

POPE: You make it sound like a traffic infraction. Like all you did was turn the wrong way up a one-way street.

MICHAEL: Everyone turns up one sooner or later.

Prison Break pilot episode script

Answer 2

To "turn up something" is to come across it, generally when you're not looking for it - to find it unexpectedly.

You will also find frequent references to people "turning up", with the same implication. Their arrival was not arranged or expected.

What the "one" referred to is can only be determined from the context.

Answer 3

Let's relate the dialogue to the plot of the story:

I. "Prison Break" - The Plot:

"Prison Break" revolves around two brothers: Lincoln Burrows, who has been sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit, and Michael Scofield, a brilliant structural engineer. Michael devises an elaborate plan to save Lincoln by faking a bank robbery to get himself sent to Fox River State Penitentiary.
Michael’s goal is to free Lincoln and save him before the execution.

II. The Scene:.
In the scene described, Warden Pope asks Michael why someone as intelligent and accomplished as he is ended up in prison.
Michael replies, "Everyone turns up one, sooner or later."
By this, Michael implies that everyone makes mistakes or poor decisions at some point in life.
Although Michael is in prison on purpose, he tries to make his crime seem like an accident or a lapse in judgment.:

III. The Interpretation:.
Michael speaks in a careful way to avoid revealing his true motives.
His line, "Everyone turns up one, sooner or later," is deliberately ambiguous. On the surface, it seems to suggest that everyone makes mistakes or wrong choices at some point, which aligns with how he wants the Warden to perceive him—as someone who simply took a wrong turn in life.

However, the hidden truth lies in the fact that Michael is in prison by choice, driven by his plan to rescue Lincoln. At the same time, Lincoln is in prison by chance, a victim of a wrongful conviction.
This contrast between Michael’s deliberate sacrifice and Lincoln’s unfortunate circumstances reflects one of the show’s central themes: that even good people can find themselves in difficult situations, whether by their own actions or through forces beyond their control.