On this week’s episodes of Alcatraz, a late night on the island turns dangerous for the entire team. That is followed by a psychopathic kidnapper looking to get back on his former victim. I don’t know if either episode can compete with last week’s nail-biter that involved truck explosions and cars driving in circles, but we can hold out hope.
On a Dark and Stormy Night
It looks like Madsen and Doc are asked to work overtime, and they are stuck in the office on a night of storms. Doc goes to see what a worker is doing in the hallway and soon witnesses a murder. It is at the hands of the Ames Brothers, who have returned to the island due to some previously unfinished business. Doc is taken to the hole after the brothers find out he knows his way around the island. Madsen goes looking for Doc and runs into one of the island’s rangers. Or is he?
It turns out that Mickey and his brother Herman had help from a former guard named Donovan back in the 60’s. Donovan helped the brothers steal and create copies of the Warden’s keys. Now all three of them are back and looking for secret gold hidden in the tunnels of the prison. Of course they are.
I Wanna Know Where Da Gold At
Madsen starts to lead Donovan through the prison when she finds out that he is lying to her. That’s when the Ames Brothers appear out of the darkness and start shooting. Madsen returns fire and hits Herman in the neck killing him. This causes Mickey to go into beast mode, but Hauser appears to help Madsen escape.
In the process, Hauser is shot through the side, but to quote the Black Knight, “It’s only a flesh wound.” Meanwhile, Doc calls his employee at the comic book store and finds out where the lock release is to the hole. He gets out only to find himself in custody by Mickey and Donovan.
The two hold him hostage and demand access to the gold vault. Madsen separates the two baddies and eventually kills Mickey by throwing a bed frame on him. That may sound ridiculous, but that’s because it is. Hauser finds Donovan in the tunnels with explosives at the vault door. He blasts the door open and finds that it is empty. After Madsen arrests him, Hauser tells him the gold was a fable, but we are treated to a final flashback and learn that Warden James did indeed have gold hidden in the room in the past.
Ransom Money
The second episode starts with a wealthy business man kidnapped on the street. His partner is shot with a shot gun, so you know that this guy means business. It turns out that the kidnapper is named Sonny Burnett, and he looks like a cross between Maynard James Keenan and Tim Blake Nelson. Sonny was convicted in the 60’s as a kidnapper. Madsen, Doc and Hauser speak to the victim’s wife, Helen, and find out that she was a victim of Burnett’s in the past. It turns out that Helen was 14 when Burnett kidnapped her and held her captive for three months. Helen later escaped and turned him in.
When Burnett was in Alcatraz, he promised his stolen ransom money to one of the gang leaders on the island for protection. The money was never found on the outside which made Burnett a marked man. I’ll give you three guesses as to who stole the money. Back in the present, Burnett kills Helen’s husband and tells her that she betrayed him so he is getting revenge. What a nut job.
Six Feet Under
Burnett’s next move is kidnapping Helen’s daughter who is flying in from Colorado to visit her mom, which is really convenient. He poses as a limo driver and later buries her alive. Madsen and Doc find out about the plot and they find Burnett driving away from a field. He tries to break through a police barricade and is showered with a rain of gunfire. Luckily, the SFPD are terrible shots and Burnett is arrested without injury. They later find Danielle and all’s well that ends well.
One little plot twist that developed is that the prisoners that have been recaptured have super healing powers like Wolverine. Hauser tries to use their special unicorn blood to revive Lucy, but unfortunately no one matches her blood type, except Burnett, and he has regular human blood.
It was interesting seeing both of these episodes back to back because it shows the inventive ways that the writers are trying to keep the show fresh. The second episode went according to formula, but the first one was set entirely on the island which made the pace pick up and feel more claustrophobic. Not a bad two episodes, but I don’t think that any new viewers would feel compelled to watch again.
Chase Gamradt
Contributing Writer
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
