@fakescorpion:
Prisoner Mine in Wano is kind of underwhelming tbh. Luffy is pretty much doing whatever he want, taking down Beast Pirates headliner guards with no repercussion
Queen, the actual warden of the prison, has just arrived as Luffy's about to attack a 2nd guard in plain view unlike what happened with Dobon. So we'll see how that plays out, as Queen was the only one I expected to pose a threat to begin with.
and overall feeling like ppl could come and go.
Only two people have done that, with one of them being a stealthy ninja, the other leaving while still in seastone cuffs. Luffy could likely do the same, but it wouldn't be in his best interest.
Compare that to Prisoner Library in WCI, Opera was reading a book on the couch, and there was nothing Luffy could do except rage and scream. Beast Pirates headliner hurts old man in Prisoner Mine and Luffy takes them out, Opera threatened Nami in Prisoner Library and Luffy could do NOTHING except trying to rip off his own arms.
Because they're different prisons with entirely different purposes. In WCI they're pinned down with apparently unbreakable nails, as they want them stuck there so as to not disrupt the wedding. They planned on killing them later on.
The Udon Prisoner Mines on the other hand is designed to have the prisoners act as a workforce, even equipping Luffy and co. with seastone cuffs that are weaker than normal ones so they're able to actually work. So naturally they have to be able to move around.
Also pls don’t give me the “because Luffy is stronger than…” excuse. Opera is same tier as Dobon, yet managed to be more threatening in prison scene while reading a book than Dobon did while claiming to cut limbs. WCI Prison is better designed imo, since it managed to make prisoners feel completely helpless, even when the warden is significantly weaker compared to Luffy.
Barring whatever Queen may do, I would argue that it's pretty clear Oda is (at least so far) purposely not going for any sense of hopelessness like he's done with past instances of Luffy being imprisoned. The prisoners and Hyou already see him and Kid as their "stars of hope". The initial shock aside, the Strawhats are all largely confident that he'll recover and escape before long. IMO, it's just a way to setup Kid (and Caribou's) reintroduction, as well as Hyou and whoever that mystery prisoner turns out to be. Could also argue it's there to keep Luffy still so we can better see what the rest of the alliance is up to in the meantime.