Grade: D+
There is no doubt that
Alcatraz could be a great series. There is also no doubt that it could be the follow up to
LOST that everyone is looking for. What
”Clarence Montgomery” makes clear is that its stories can no doubt be amazing but it also makes it glaringly clear that their execution is horrible. As we are given one of the most compelling stories the rock could put out for ints season with a wrongly convicted & returned inmate the series bombards the audience with pacing, storyline, & layout problems a plenty. In the end if there were an episode to teach writers & directors how not to tell a story, & if given the chance an episode from the team behind the series to learn from, it is no doubt
”Clarence Montgomery”.
In probably one of the most powerful, & powerfully squandered, storylines of the series we see the return of inmate Clarence Montgomery, a black inmate who was wrongfully convicted of killing a white woman on a golf course, in a plotline that still profoundly resonates to this day in real life. Upon his return we see the same murder convicted & this time it turns out to be by Montgomery’s hand. As the story unfolds, & as usual in its best during the flashbacks, we see the type of treatment that Montgomery went through while on the rock. Of course we see the warden take a special interest in him & instead of reform we see resident doctor, Dr. Milton Beauregard, attempt to reverse the types of treatment Doctor Lucy is using to create a killer.
In what amounts to the best story to ever be delivered by
Alcatraz we see it torn apart in the worst ways with one of them being pacing wise. In the end the story feels short & cheep for a rich & disturbingly real look at the prison system. Not only do we see a squandered story on the state of the judicial system but we also lack in the horrific experiments that went on in prisons like Alcatraz. Even if Alcatraz is able to survive to a second season it would still need to take a complete 180 to resolve stories like these.
