Alcatraz: "Cal Sweeney" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

So far all of these "63's" have been twisted in their own way. Cal Sweeney (played by Smallville's Eric Johnson) is a little different. Yeah, he's a bit like Sawyer from Lost, using his looks and suave skills to con "average looking women" (Madsen is too picky) into doing his bidding. He's ultimately far more wicked however. I'm not sure if that has to do with the pre-programming he may have received before he was sent on his mission. Cal in '63 didn't strike me as a murderer but in present day he seemed to have no issue killing the owners of the safety deposit boxes.

I'm a little perplexed by Cal Sweeney's motive for grabbing the other safety deposit boxes. Was he just pre-programmed to track down the key by any means necessary? When Madsen was questioning him in the car he seemed to be a little confused by what he was doing as well. If whoever sent him on his mission knew where the key would be, why didn't they have him go there first? Why visit people at their homes and question them? This confusion does seem to play into the overarching plot so I'm willing to forgive the lack of clarity but it still doesn't explain why he was doing a lot more than his mission required. The necklace seems completely inconsequential.

The tin box storyline in 1960 was well-handled. The birthday scene was good and there was a strange underlying creepiness to the proceedings. E.B. Tiller's involvement with the underground trade in the prison system is a potentially interesting plot point. The big twist involving the other inmate stealing his tin box was a nice surprise.

The bank standoff and escape was exciting and that's the second time in the past few days I've seen the no seat belt crash used to disable a captor. Ellie on Chuck did it first this past Friday. Remember, if you're going to take someone hostage, you still need to put on your seatbelt.

- FOX

More hints of the overarching plot are finally revealed this week, offering a few exciting tidbits to keep fans who are looking for a little more than a "villain-of-the-week" story interested. First, I have to say that Hauser's dismissal of Madsen's request for more information regarding the mystery key was brilliant. Hauser, once again, proves to be both elusive and badass, even if the character hasn't offered much of anything else. However, he also gains nothing by working against his two field agents. If he wants them to continue putting their lives on the line he may want to give them something more than a blow off after the mission is done. Madsen needs to assert herself a little more. After Hauser told her "Some other time" she really should have pressed the issue instead of letting it go. That's what bugs me about the character. After her and Soto got gassed in the pilot episode by Hauser and his people she isn't nearly pissed enough about it. She sort of just lets it go and then they both team up with Hauser. I guess the curiosity about her grandfather's involvement is keeping her in line right now, but how long will that continue to be enough? Asking for answers but not pressing the issue is something Lost did quite a bit of, which can get frustrating for even the most devoted fans.

The room full of computer techs and scientists was rather unexpected. Are they sitting there 24-7 waiting for Hauser to walk in and give them orders? They don't even have to put their lives on the line and they know more than Madsen and Soto. Two things stood out about during this scene. First, Hauser mentioned that the prisoners "jumped" which infers time travel over cloning. Still not going to put all my chips on that though, since "jumped" could mean a lot of things. Second, the keys were apparently made using a laser cutter, which wouldn't have existed in the era that they were used, yet we saw them used on Alcatraz in 1960.

So what was inside the mystery cell and why did Sweeny's pal look scared to go in? No clue, but I'm excited to find out. It's clear that FOX and the producers are trying to find the perfect marriage between an over-arching Lost style mystery paired with a procedural format. It's working well so far. It will be interesting to see if the last five minutes of "Cal Sweeney" turn off some viewers or keep people hooked.

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