Review:  Alcatraz – S1, E8, “The Ames Bros.”

Air date: Monday, March 6, 2012 at 9/8c on FOX

Rating: ★★★★★

A storm is hitting the San Francisco area and more than thunder crashes on the former Alcatraz prison. Pinky (Graham Sheilds) and Herman Ames (Travis Aaron Wade) are fraternal twins who couldn’t possibly look more different but share strong brotherhood ties. They purposely return to the island with a mission and it doesn’t take long for blood to start flowing.

As a result of being kept in the dark by Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill), the curious Doc (Jorge Garcia) lands in trouble. Luckily for him, his blabbering appears to save his life when he runs into undesirable company. Pinky and Herman catch on that Doc may possess valuable information, and Doc’s fixation on figuring out why the brothers’ infamous 1963 escape failed is full of hints of what is to come. Hmmm!

Warden James (Jonny Coyne), Dep. Warden Tiller (Jason Butler Harner) and Officer Archer (Robbie Ammel) search for the Ames brothers.

With the storm getting worse and Doc taking forever on a ten-minute errand, Rebecca (Sarah Jones) goes looking for him; unbeknownst to her, she ends up slowing down the Ames brothers’ unexpected accomplice, Donovan, who has also re-emerged. Her instincts quickly alert her something is off with this stranger, a trait that makes Rebecca an extremely appealing character. She’s an instinctual physical person with qualities we often see only in male characters. Jones manages to retain her character’s sense of femininity and vulnerability.

With Doc in danger, Rebecca and Hauser are forced to put their heads together to figure out the motivations and agendas of the three criminals.  Their dynamics are interesting as they work surprisingly well together. Hauser pushes the guns-blazing Rebecca to focus and remain rational while she is a daring and loyal partner during the shootout scenes. As cold as Hauser comes across, I enjoy Neill’s portrayal of the federal agent. But just as the dedicated Hauser saves the day (in more than one way) and we finally see glimpses of his actual personality, Doc and Rebecca question his humanity. We also see clues behind his personal commitment to the project, and I vacillate between redemption and love as the main reason. My guess is that the answer probably lies somewhere in the middle.

The bad guys are a calculating trio with a flair for playing dumb, which they leverage to carry out purposeful actions. As cunning as they are, though, they haven’t fully caught up to 50 years of technology changes or present-day idiomatic expressions. It’s realistic to see how this contributes to their downfall, like when the Ames brothers leave Doc jailed, forgetting about him carrying a cell phone, an amateurish mistake for present-day criminals! As things start falling apart for the trio, it builds up to a David and Goliath-type confrontation between Pinky and Rebecca. I have to admit, I really got scared for her in this scene because Sheilds plays a fantastically terrifying brute.

Pinky (Graham Sheilds) gets dangerously close to Rebecca (Sarah Jones)

Did anybody else find it odd how the criminals have a tendency to repeat their past crimes but are clever enough to question the circumstances of their supposed ‘chance’ encounters (e.g., running into each other during an Alcatraz tour)? There is a hint that someone is orchestrating these events. Perhaps I’m making this more complicated than it is, but if the criminals are smart enough to make these observations, wouldn’t they also be able to figure out things are not going to end well?  Just saying!

Ultimately, the biggest con man doesn’t turn out to be one of the prisoners. Just when one thinks it’s Donovan the guard, Alcatraz adds another layer of complexity, which gets me all excited!  Pay attention to the closing interrogation scene because not only do we learn more about what Hauser suspects and/or knows, but we finally hear a concrete hypothesis of who could possibly be behind the disappearance and re-emergence of the Alcatraz prisoners and guards.  This scene makes me think of why I disagree with critics of Alcatraz who disregard it as purely formulaic.  I’m not going to dispute that the show follows a formula of the ‘criminal of the week’ storyline (which I consider somewhat of a distraction), but it is only one layer of this show and an oversimplification of the Alcatraz concept. The heart and genius of the show is the ever-expanding 1960s universe in the prison run by Warden James (Jonny Coyne), which plays in the background of every episode.

”The Ames Bros.” demands attention because small details that may not seem important come into play (watch out for missing spoons!). Not that I ever want to be in jail, but I continue to be fascinated by minutiae of prison life and how crafty criminals can get inside prison walls. Necessity is the mother of all inventions, indeed!

From a thematic standpoint, greed and rewards are the center of this episode, along with the bonds of brotherhood. As we see in the infirmary, blood ties are hard to break even after 50 years, especially for someone like Rebecca’s grandfather, the mysterious Tommy Madsen (David Hoflin).

At the end, I think the brutish Pinky Ames gets it right. Based on the characters’ actions, it does appear those pursuing spirituality seek understanding and those pursuing religion seek rewards.  It makes one wonder if Warden James stayed or got off “the path.”  We’re going to have to keep watching Alcatraz to find out!

Tune in to Alcatraz Mondays at 9/8c only on FOX.

For all things Alcatraz, visit the show’s official site at http://www.fox.com/alcatraz/

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