Season 1, Episode 7-9
“There's no such thing as just doing time. You're either predator or prey.”
All shows have growing pains in their first seasons, those first handful of awkward episodes where the writers are still tweaking with the formula, the stories, the characters, in order to make the best possible show out of the elements they have on hand. This goes at least double for genre shows that have overarching mythology, as the show has to experiment in order to find the perfect balance between serialized and standalone elements. Obviously, not all shows get through the growing pains period on the right foot, but those that do should be commended. Depending on your overall sense of patience, Alcatraz should have already gone through this phase (and given the declining ratings, most of America seems to be in agreement with this statement), but these past three episodes serve as nice snapshot of what the show is doing right, and what it's doing wrong.
Let's start with the worst of the three, that which aired two weeks ago,“Johnny McKee”. What's notable about “McKee” is that it is so unremarkable from the six episodes that had aired previously; perhaps the most standalone hour aired so far, so little connects to the on going plot, and the case itself isn't really all that compelling in any way shape or form. Let's start with the later. The show always seems so interested in giving the escapees some sort of motive for their actions, and while that's an admirable goal, none of them have been really resonant enough to work. And with Johnny McKee the show really scraped the bottom of the barrel, as it used on of the oldest motivations in the book: the scorned nerd. Even the ending monologue which laid out the moment when Johnny went bad, which was delivered quite beautifully by the actor, couldn't overcome the triteness of it all. Nor was it helped that the 60s flashback of the episode was essentially another tale which spun the same yarn as that of the present: that Johnny's just out to get back at bullies.
As for the mythology of the episode, we get at best something that constitutes flavoring – the inmates can no longer dream! Hauser as the ability to take things off the internet entirely! - and at worst empty plot momentum (Rebbecca now knows that the prison regularly took Tommy's blood). All told, none of this was really necessary to anything as far as I could tell, just strings that led nowhere that the show place within the episode to make it seem like they were furthering the master plot. The fact that they thought such empty gestures would placate the audience reeks of the kind of cynicism towards the audience that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Yet things steadily improved this week with “The Ames Brothers”, the second hour, and a real crackerjack one at that, perhaps the best hour that the show has produced so far, even as it dealt so little in the overall story. I know that I talk so often about mythology on this blog that it must seem like I place it in the highest of regards, but the truth is that there's a real art to making singular, standalone episodes, one that's mostly been lost in the wake of television shows attempting to do mythology because that's what they think is required of them. And I think “Brothers” caught that art perfectly tonight, but sticking to the basis and giving a simple but fun chase through the prison.
Part of my enjoyment most likely stems from my love of bottle episodes, so I'll admit this episode being pitched at my sweet spot might color my judgment, but I have to wonder if part Alcatraz's problem is that it's reaching for loftier goals than is able to clear, and thus everything it produces feels disappointing. This is especially true for the standalone cases, which should be among the simple writing tasks, but get lost in the wake of the mythology.
So let's breakdown what this episode did right. For starters, placing Rebecca, Soto, Hauser, and the 63s (in this case Herman and Pinky Ames, and Officer Donovan) all in the same place eliminates all lot of that burdensome build up to the story, and just lets things get right down to the action. And oh, what action there was, with gun fights and lies flying left and right, as everybody just wants to get out alive, and at least three people want to get at the gold. It's tightly paced and breathless, and the fact that it doesn't let up is a real boon, as the episode takes us on a ride and doesn't give us time to ask any questions that might undermine the illusion that it's trying to sell. It also helps that the flashback and the present-day action were all focused around the same goals, for both the characters and the narrative, and that streamlined focused help from things being too disparate and distracted.
Speaking of that gold, as a bit of mythology it's quite bunk. I mean, who really cares that there's gold under the prison when there's something obviously much more insidious behind a second, even more secret door? However, the gold here was actually used as a narrative tool, a way to open up some of the lighter questions about this world. The biggest revelation here is that Hauser is as more or less in the dark about the conspiracy of Alcatraz as we are, and he's not even interested in it for any sort of personal gain. (I mean, he never went after the gold.) While defining what Hauser is about – and making it fairly boring – takes a lot of tension, mystery, and excitement out of the character, I respect the episode for using a inmates' quest to smartly inform us about another aspect of the show's world.
And that leaves us with “Sonny Burnett”, which exists somewhere between the previous two episode in terms of quality, but does some things that I really like and think are quite important for the show moving forward. For perhaps the first time in show's run, there existed an emotional connection between the flashbacks and the present-day action. While “Brothers” showed a narrative connection between the two, there was some actual character work going on here as we saw Sonny (played by Theo Rossi, who really didn't have to stretch himself beyond the range he uses for Sons of Anarchy) change from the man that he was in the past to the one he is now. In truth, I wondered when the show would deal with such an issue ever since back in the pilot when we saw Jack Sylvane claim to be innocent right before he started murdering people, and again when we saw Guy Hastings go from good-guy guard to criminal himself. There's obviously something corrosive about Alcatraz, and episodes tend to make more sense when they acknowledge that fact.
Of course this change wasn't perfect – Sonny seemed to change far too quickly based solely on the fact that he got screwed over once, and while his actions of revenge in the present-day were suitable dark and disturbing, they perhaps almost too cartoony to be believable.* That being said, the flashbacks, which began to feel a bit superfluous once you figured it all out (which was about 20-30 minutes before the show wanted you to) it did give a nice glance into the power struggle between the Warden and EB, one that was started in “Bros.” when it became apparent that their lack of communication was corroding EB's trust. The fact that he would encourage one inmate to kill another just to get back at his boss is a scary and perverse thought, and adds to this sense of space around the prison.
*(In less of course Sonny was supposed to be in love with 14-year-old girl he kidnapped, which while creepy and uncomfortable, at least would have provided more logical character motivation. I think that maybe the show was already hinting at this, but was too scared to make it more overt and piss off the conservatives in the audience who would rather not think of such things. As it stands, it was so muddled as to be uncertain, and that harmed what could have been a stronger interpretation of the story.)
Now, this episode wasn't quite as straightforward as “Bros”, and even if the A-story was a bit too padded out for my tastes, I didn't appreciate the show distracting us from it with more mythology. Admittedly, the information here is a bit more substantial than it was in “McKee” - mostly that thing about some kind of silver in the blood of inmates, and Tommy being all creepy by watching Rebecca as she sleeps – but there still just breadcrumbs, not enough to make a TV meal out of. And we get it; Ray and Hauser don't trust each other. Can we just move on with that?
The more I think about it, the more convinced I become that Alcatraz's would be better if it was actually less serialized, even if some week it feels like the overall mystery is the only thing that keeps me tuning in week after week. But if the show just tabled all of that for now, and just focused on the individual stories more as they seem to be doing with more regularity now, then maybe, just maybe, we wouldn't care about that mystery, and the show would be better overall. I'm not saying to get rid of the mythology, just to be a bit more judicious about how it's used.
Next Week: The show takes another crack at showing how Alcatraz destroys souls, as a prisoner who was innocent in the 60s is now a murderer in the present. Oh, and he also happens to be black. I'm sure that the show will handle that fact with the utmost sensitivity.
Quotes and Other Thoughts:
So does Soto ever go to his comic book store anymore? Because I'm slowly becoming convinced that he moved into that weird bunker on Alcatraz and is just sort of living there.
One positive thing to come from these last few hours: We now know the coroner's name. It's Nikki. Step one of the long drawn-out romance between her and Soto is complete.
Look, I'm guessing that part of the reason that Lucy's in that coma is because Parminder Nagra had some scheduling conflicts and/or the show is trying to save money, but this storyline has gotten ridiculous. We didn't know her enough when she went into the coma to care about it (two episodes!) and it's not really adding anything to the ongoing plot as is, plus I'm pretty sure having her up and about in both the present and the past would make for a more interesting story. So can we just end it, please?
Okay, so that was pretty bad, but it could be worse – they could try to shove one into one of the 1960's scenes. Just imagine how awkward that would be.
As for the mythology of the episode, we get at best something that constitutes flavoring – the inmates can no longer dream! Hauser as the ability to take things off the internet entirely! - and at worst empty plot momentum (Rebbecca now knows that the prison regularly took Tommy's blood). All told, none of this was really necessary to anything as far as I could tell, just strings that led nowhere that the show place within the episode to make it seem like they were furthering the master plot. The fact that they thought such empty gestures would placate the audience reeks of the kind of cynicism towards the audience that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Yet things steadily improved this week with “The Ames Brothers”, the second hour, and a real crackerjack one at that, perhaps the best hour that the show has produced so far, even as it dealt so little in the overall story. I know that I talk so often about mythology on this blog that it must seem like I place it in the highest of regards, but the truth is that there's a real art to making singular, standalone episodes, one that's mostly been lost in the wake of television shows attempting to do mythology because that's what they think is required of them. And I think “Brothers” caught that art perfectly tonight, but sticking to the basis and giving a simple but fun chase through the prison.
Part of my enjoyment most likely stems from my love of bottle episodes, so I'll admit this episode being pitched at my sweet spot might color my judgment, but I have to wonder if part Alcatraz's problem is that it's reaching for loftier goals than is able to clear, and thus everything it produces feels disappointing. This is especially true for the standalone cases, which should be among the simple writing tasks, but get lost in the wake of the mythology.
So let's breakdown what this episode did right. For starters, placing Rebecca, Soto, Hauser, and the 63s (in this case Herman and Pinky Ames, and Officer Donovan) all in the same place eliminates all lot of that burdensome build up to the story, and just lets things get right down to the action. And oh, what action there was, with gun fights and lies flying left and right, as everybody just wants to get out alive, and at least three people want to get at the gold. It's tightly paced and breathless, and the fact that it doesn't let up is a real boon, as the episode takes us on a ride and doesn't give us time to ask any questions that might undermine the illusion that it's trying to sell. It also helps that the flashback and the present-day action were all focused around the same goals, for both the characters and the narrative, and that streamlined focused help from things being too disparate and distracted.
Speaking of that gold, as a bit of mythology it's quite bunk. I mean, who really cares that there's gold under the prison when there's something obviously much more insidious behind a second, even more secret door? However, the gold here was actually used as a narrative tool, a way to open up some of the lighter questions about this world. The biggest revelation here is that Hauser is as more or less in the dark about the conspiracy of Alcatraz as we are, and he's not even interested in it for any sort of personal gain. (I mean, he never went after the gold.) While defining what Hauser is about – and making it fairly boring – takes a lot of tension, mystery, and excitement out of the character, I respect the episode for using a inmates' quest to smartly inform us about another aspect of the show's world.
And that leaves us with “Sonny Burnett”, which exists somewhere between the previous two episode in terms of quality, but does some things that I really like and think are quite important for the show moving forward. For perhaps the first time in show's run, there existed an emotional connection between the flashbacks and the present-day action. While “Brothers” showed a narrative connection between the two, there was some actual character work going on here as we saw Sonny (played by Theo Rossi, who really didn't have to stretch himself beyond the range he uses for Sons of Anarchy) change from the man that he was in the past to the one he is now. In truth, I wondered when the show would deal with such an issue ever since back in the pilot when we saw Jack Sylvane claim to be innocent right before he started murdering people, and again when we saw Guy Hastings go from good-guy guard to criminal himself. There's obviously something corrosive about Alcatraz, and episodes tend to make more sense when they acknowledge that fact.
Of course this change wasn't perfect – Sonny seemed to change far too quickly based solely on the fact that he got screwed over once, and while his actions of revenge in the present-day were suitable dark and disturbing, they perhaps almost too cartoony to be believable.* That being said, the flashbacks, which began to feel a bit superfluous once you figured it all out (which was about 20-30 minutes before the show wanted you to) it did give a nice glance into the power struggle between the Warden and EB, one that was started in “Bros.” when it became apparent that their lack of communication was corroding EB's trust. The fact that he would encourage one inmate to kill another just to get back at his boss is a scary and perverse thought, and adds to this sense of space around the prison.
*(In less of course Sonny was supposed to be in love with 14-year-old girl he kidnapped, which while creepy and uncomfortable, at least would have provided more logical character motivation. I think that maybe the show was already hinting at this, but was too scared to make it more overt and piss off the conservatives in the audience who would rather not think of such things. As it stands, it was so muddled as to be uncertain, and that harmed what could have been a stronger interpretation of the story.)
Now, this episode wasn't quite as straightforward as “Bros”, and even if the A-story was a bit too padded out for my tastes, I didn't appreciate the show distracting us from it with more mythology. Admittedly, the information here is a bit more substantial than it was in “McKee” - mostly that thing about some kind of silver in the blood of inmates, and Tommy being all creepy by watching Rebecca as she sleeps – but there still just breadcrumbs, not enough to make a TV meal out of. And we get it; Ray and Hauser don't trust each other. Can we just move on with that?
The more I think about it, the more convinced I become that Alcatraz's would be better if it was actually less serialized, even if some week it feels like the overall mystery is the only thing that keeps me tuning in week after week. But if the show just tabled all of that for now, and just focused on the individual stories more as they seem to be doing with more regularity now, then maybe, just maybe, we wouldn't care about that mystery, and the show would be better overall. I'm not saying to get rid of the mythology, just to be a bit more judicious about how it's used.
Next Week: The show takes another crack at showing how Alcatraz destroys souls, as a prisoner who was innocent in the 60s is now a murderer in the present. Oh, and he also happens to be black. I'm sure that the show will handle that fact with the utmost sensitivity.
Quotes and Other Thoughts:
So does Soto ever go to his comic book store anymore? Because I'm slowly becoming convinced that he moved into that weird bunker on Alcatraz and is just sort of living there.
One positive thing to come from these last few hours: We now know the coroner's name. It's Nikki. Step one of the long drawn-out romance between her and Soto is complete.
Look, I'm guessing that part of the reason that Lucy's in that coma is because Parminder Nagra had some scheduling conflicts and/or the show is trying to save money, but this storyline has gotten ridiculous. We didn't know her enough when she went into the coma to care about it (two episodes!) and it's not really adding anything to the ongoing plot as is, plus I'm pretty sure having her up and about in both the present and the past would make for a more interesting story. So can we just end it, please?
Okay, so that was pretty bad, but it could be worse – they could try to shove one into one of the 1960's scenes. Just imagine how awkward that would be.
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