It’s finally here, the Alcatraz finale! And we start with Rebecca injured and lying on the floor. Yes, it’s another one of those annoying film tricks where they show us the ending then make us skip back to see the story. Did I mention how much I hate this tool?
In the past we see a new inmate – Joe Limerick, apparently very cold in Alcatraz who apparently tried to swim to shore. And apparently Warden James listed him as dead – even filled out a death certificate for him. His paperwork says he’s dead.
Meanwhile we Tommy Madsen being strapped down and getting a blood transfusion – after all the time they took blood from him. And interestingly we have a new doctor to do it – not Beauregard or Sangupta. The blood going back in hurts him, causes him to taste metal and causes him to seize.
He wakes up in a very ritzy hotel with Warden James – wondering if he’s died and gone to heaven (really, if that is your idea of heaven you need to open your imagination a little bit). He’s alive and has a lot of silver in him – and Warden James has plans for him. Plans which involve giving him a perfect day in San Francisco. He wants to see his son – but his son doesn’t recognise him. Madsen decides then what he wants from the Warden – his brother, Ray (the hidden prison guard) to adopt his son – he also confesses to his crime to convince his brother to take on his son rather than try and rescue him from Alcatraz.
In the secret room, Warden James consults with his scientist and they can see that they can track Madsen wherever he goes. And Warden declares that Madsen is their advance man
In the present Rebecca is talking to her ex-police captain trying to figure out why Tommy Madsen (her grandfather) killed her partner – why did he come back from running away expressly to kill him? And she learns that her partner was under an IA investigation due to suspicious payments from Simmon’s company – the ex-inmate of Alcatraz
Lucy Banerjee is questioning Beauregard about what was done to the prisoners and the silver being placed into their blood, but both of them were kept in the dark in the past. The silver emits a signal but attaches itself to the platelets in the blood and cannot be separated from it. Lucy also considers exactly what she feels for Hauser – who has lived almost a lifetime without her.
Meanwhile at a psychiatric facility, Joe Limerick is trying to check in – telling them he’s an inmate from 1963 with bad bad people chasing him. Possibly one of those bad people, Tommy Madsen is breaking into a house and holding a man at gun point. The little girl sees this and runs away, giving the police a picture of Tommy which, of course, ends up in the hands of the Scooby Gang. After questioning the child they go to the home
The captured man (Michael) manages to escape and have a bit of a gun fight with Tommy, which he loses and is wounded. The Scooby Gang arrives to find him wounded and alone. Tommy has got away with Michael’s wife, Georgia Bradley and makes her sew up a bullet wound he took to the leg (Tommy is apparently very confident of his silver healing abilities)
Hauser has a clandestine meeting with a soldier on a private jet – wanting to speak to Simmonds (the Alcatraz inmate billionaire) and they both wonder whether Warden James himself has returned yet. A plot that poses more questions than answers (going to Paraguay?) but he is ordered to brief his team (Hauser’s boss?)
The Scooby Gang does a nice recap of the facts to date to try and bring all the facts together before they’re invited into the Bat Cave where Hauser tells them about the hidden door which needs 3 keys to open and the two keys they already have – and that they think Warden James is behind everything. He needs them to know all of this information because he’s going away for a week – to get Lucy somewhere safe. Something that is news to Lucy. She refuses adamantly to be shipped across the world – she’s survived 50 years time slippage and a bullet to the heart – she’s not hiding.
Lucy has other news though before she gives Hauser hell – Georgia Bradley works for a psychiatric hospital owned and run by Simmons – and Madsen needs (and uses) her biometric ID to get access to it. Yes, he’s hunting for Joe Limerick. He wants a key from him – but Limerick is afraid of Harlan Simmonds – to a point where he’d rather die than give the location of the key to Masden?
Dr. Soto with his knowledge of Alcatraz tricks finds the key on Limerick’s body and decides that he’ll pick up Rebecca and they’ll all check the secret room together. Hauser objects with a gun – but Soto, in a moment of towering awesome, just ignores him (while Lucy gives Hauser some quality side-eye). Ok I think it’s not the smartest move Soto ever made, but I still admire it
In comes the Scooby gang! There follows a car chase between Madsen and Rebecca (who commandeers the most expensive car she can find, as you do) where Rebecca finally drives Madsen to crash (then rescues him before the car explodes in action movie fashion. Y’know if cars were really as prone to explode as the movies tell us, our roads would be utter carnage).
Madsen tries to appeal to Rebecca’s family ties but she has the best come back “we’re blood” “and you think that makes us family?” Rebecca, again, brings the awesome. Madsen spills some beans- he killed her partner because he was being paid to spy on Rebecca and they’re after Simmons because he broke a promise to Warden James (oh that’s a brave brave brave man). Unfortunately, Madsen manages to stab Rebecca despite her holding a gun on him, damn and she’s been such a perfect action warrior before this. Dr. Soto arrives just then to get her to hospital and help (with quality medical babble)
In the wake of the injury, Dr. Soto hands the key to Hauser. He offers for him to come but whatever’s behind the door isn’t as important to Dr. Soto as staying with Rebecca while she’s in surgery. Especially since she flatlines
Inside the room they find a map which is tracking the return of the 63s by the silver in their blood – and it’s not just in San Francisco, it’s all over the US. And the room also contains the scientist Warden James was using – time shifting forwards as well.
I have to say in these past 3 episodes, Lucy and Soto have all opened up massive amounts of awesome that I never expected. Rebecca has always been most extremely awesome and Hauser has always had style and skills, but after so long as coma victim and sidekick I love how these two shone in these episodes.
On the secret Door – what, they found the door why can’t they get in? With the resources that Hauser has at his disposal, he couldn’t find an acetylene torch? I can’t imagine that any door made in the 50s is utterly impregnable to anything the 21st century can throw at it.
But the killer – THIS IS THE SERIES ENDING?! Rebecca flat-lining? I do not believe she is dead for a damn second! And if she is I am going to be so very very vexed. Yes yes I am.
And the room – this is the answer? Where’s the rest? All these questions can’t be about some damn elaborate GPS system! No no no, more answers, we still, have questions! You can’t stop there!
