Alcatraz

Alcatraz

Episode 3: Kit Nelson

By: Carlos Uribe

Alcatraz is a show about a bunch of Alcatraz prisoners who disappeared before they reappear in modern times without having aged at all.

Spoilers Ahoy!

Ok, Alcatraz. Here's the deal. I'm not an idiot. For instance, when you state early in the episode that this week's bad guy, Kit Nelson, lost his brother when he was 11 right after establishing that he kidnaps and then kills 11-year-olds it becomes pretty obvious why he does it. When he starts to take the kid out to take activities it is increasingly obvious to any thinking viewer that he's making the kid act out what his brother used to like to do. The show does save the nugget of info that he killed his brother rather than the story that his mother spread that his brother died from scarlet fever, but I guessed it before the show even thought of that idea. The bad guy essentially kidnapped little boys, make them act like the brother that he resented and hated, then killed the boys like he killed the little brother. I figured this out rather easily and it's all because the show brought up that he had a brother. If the show had revealed this info later in the episode, then I could have potentially pieced the information with Dr. Soto. Since all the characters had this information from the beginning of the episode, they seemed like idiots for not figuring it out earlier.

Then there's the kid. When Nelson took the kid fishing, he warned the kid to not run away or call any attention to the fact that he was kidnapped. The kid follows through, but why? It's not like Nelson had any weapon and once in public, the kid could have easily gotten away or had the authorities arrest Kit. If Nelson had some sort of visible weapon, then that could explain it. The kid seems to go along with it despite having no real reason to do it beyond the fact that the plot demanded for it. The kid isn't a complete and total idiot as when he did run away, he used some good strategy. So why didn't he think of anything sooner? Fear? Fear of someone who seemed to be unarmed? Yes, the idea that this guy forced the kid to go through actions was creepy but the show needs to be intelligent about it. Also, whoever played the kid did a terrible job. He never seemed like he was ever scared and at the end when he got some “cool” comic books he showed absolutely no actual enthusiasm for it. He merely read the line.

Interestingly enough, it was the flashback scenes that made this episode good. It was filled with many good scenes. In the flashback, Kit gets beat up for killing children. The guards merely stand there, only helping him to ensure he doesn't die. He gets no pity from anyone. When his father comes to visit him, he's forced to go confront him. The father states that he knows the truth that Kit killed his brother. It isn't until the warden essentially forces the truth out of Nelson before the father and the world gets the confession they need. That scene with the warden and the matches was not only creepy, but it was done in a much more intelligent manner. If the show could have replicated that to the present day then it would have worked a lot better.

The show also takes some time to somewhat advance the mythology. It reveals that the Alcatraz Doctor is not only still alive, but like Lucy he hasn't aged a single day. Lucy is still in her coma as there is a medical complication. This seems to emotionally effect Hauser. Hauser also reveals that Soto suffered some sort of childhood tragedy when he was 11 years old, but the show isn't going to reveal what that tragedy is. It seems to be some sort of kidnapping, but I imagine it was something more than that and it had to be connected to Alcatraz somehow. This apparently would explain why he is such an expert of Alcatraz and everyone that's been in it.

Here's the things. Despite my numerous complaints, and the lack of intelligence from this show, I still found myself really enjoying this. Maybe it's because I'm naturally inclined to like shows like this, but I couldn't wait to see what happens next. Or at least, I couldn't wait to see what happens next after all the characters had caught up with me. The ending was also really effective, and I want to know what their going to do with the body.