Alcatraz

Alcatraz

Episode 5: Guy Hastings

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!

In the past, Guy Hastings was an Alcatraz guard. He was a loving father and husband with a nice little cheap apartment. He was also a training officer and he personally took in a young Ray Archer under his wing and helped mentor him. Ray Archer is the person who raised Rebecca. Supposedly he's a series regular even though this is first appearance since the pilot. It turns out that Ray Archer was actually the brother of Madsen, making him Rebecca's real uncle. Ray went into the guard business because of a strong bond that he shared with his brother. At first Madsen doesn't want Ray to be a guard and so he attacks Ray. Guy decides that the best solution is so have Ray beat Madsen up for reasons of respect. There is also a hint that despite denying to know Madsen that Ray and Madsen do know each other. It was all pretty interesting stuff.

Guy Hastings has now re-appeared in the present. He appears to have suddenly become violent despite having been a good man in the past. It turns out there's several reasons for this. The first reason is that he's after Madsen for some reason. It's never really explained, but Hauser assumes it's because Madsen has disappeared from the people who caused the Alcatraz disappearance. I personally think that there's two different sides at play here. A good side, who took the guards, and a evil side, who obviously took the prisoners. Guy looks for Madsen by kidnapping Ray Archer. Ray tries to resist as much as he can before finally leading them to his childhood home. The idea being that if Madsen is to hide anywhere, it would be that house.

The second reason why he has become violent is because he believes that he has lost his family. He was told that there had been a chemical attack and that his entire family had died. What he doesn't know is that his family was very much still alive. They believed that he had died in the chemical attack. Without a family, it seems like the very thing that kept him grounded was taken away from him. Once he learns that they are still alive, he is a bit shocked. He does get to see his daughter one last time before Hauser takes him to wherever they are keeping the Alcatraz guards. I'm aware that they have built a secondary Alcatraz prison for all the returning prisoners. The real question is what's going to happen to Guy. Is he going to be a guard? Or is he just going to be given a nice little apartment so he can retire? It would have been nice if the show had revealed what's going to happen to him.

This episode also advanced the mythology in a surprising way. It turns out that not only did Ray lie about being brothers with Madsen, but he also knew the truth about Alcatraz. Hauser had actually tried to recruit Ray some sixteen years ago. The reason Ray rejected the assignment was to take care of Rebecca. Ray has also been in contact with Madsen, although it seems to be very tense between them. It makes sense that he would protect his own brother. It makes even more sense that he would be more loyal to the little girl that he raised. He threatens to kill Madsen if he goes near her because he fears for Rebecca's safety. He may just be her uncle but he truly does love her as his own daughter. It's clear that he has his own agenda and his own secrets. This just got more interesting.

This was probably the best episode since the premiere. It's probably a bit late for this episode since the ratings have fallen hard for this show. Then again this show is now facing the Voice. I guess FOX is getting a taste of it's own medicine. Hopefully the next episode can be just as good as this one.