ALCATRAZ Episode 1.05 ("Guy Hastings"): Thoughts & Theories

Go grab your secret stash from the wall and get comfortable, because we are about to take a few virtual jumps between decades in an attempt to figure out what lies beneath. Lairs and nerd herds and dungeons, oh my!


The 302/63’s


1. Lucy Banerjee
2. Dr. Beauregard 
3. Mrs. Beauregard (questionable)
4. Guy Hastings, guard
5. Ernest Cobb, inmate #2047
6. Tommy Madsen, inmate #2002
7. Kit Nelson, inmate #2046 
8. Cal Sweeney, inmate #2112
9. Jack Sylvane, inmate #2024


According to Alcatraz expert and author Michael Esslinger, there were about 300 civilians living on Alcatraz at any given time. It is possible that those responsible for the abduction on 3/21/63 took the time to safely evacuate all of the guards’ wives and children, given how Hastings’ family was separated from him before he disappeared. But if you stop to ponder the logistics involved with making sure that 300 or so family members were taken into SF by ferry on a particular day, it really does prove how pre-meditated and extremely organized the entire event was. 


Whatever the reason was behind the disappearance of the 302, ensuring future generations was not on the agenda. Purposefully relocating the wives from the big picture removed any opportunities for additional offspring, leaving only the inmates, guards and prison staff to be suspended in time. 


Thus far, we have only witnessed Jack Sylvane and Guy Hastings’ re-entry into current day take place on Alcatraz. We initially saw Ernest Cobb on a picnic, Kit Nelson kidnapping a boy and Cal Sweeney robbing a bank – but not the exact moment when each first appeared to “wake up” disoriented and out place/time.  


Cobb’s programmed mission included taking out Dr. Lucy Banerjee/Lucille Sangupta. Madsen’s programmed mission clearly involved leading his granddaughter Rebecca on to the scent of the returning 63’s. I would not be at all surprised if a future returning inmate goes after Doc, if indeed his parents have ties to a former prisoner or the person responsible for their son’s childhood trauma. And at some point, ex-SFPD officer Hauser is also a likely target. 


DOUBLE-UPS ARE KEY


I realize that it may have only been a throwaway comment made by Doc in the Pilot, but his statement about double-ups continues to ring true on many levels. Hastings told young guard Ray Archer, “On Alcatraz, no man can do it alone.” And a second cracked framed photo featuring a significant pair of characters (first the older Wardens James and Tiller, and now younger brothers Ray Archer and Tommy Madsen) played a role yet again in the search for the returning 63’s.  It takes two, baby. 


I FEEL THE EARTH MOVE UNDER MY FEET


It was surprising to hear Hauser ask about seismic activity on the day that Guy Hastings returned.  Seismic waves are generated by earthquakes or explosions, and I have to wonder if Hauser tipped his hat with that inquiry. Perhaps there is an atmospheric or subterranean disruption at the moment that inmates and guards re-enter, or he is expecting one to occur soon... 


{Side note: we live alarmingly close to the Hayward Fault, so now when we experience frequent tremors - I'll keep an eye out for nefarious criminals with Richard Alpert syndrome}


EMERSON HAUSER


We know that young Hauser was a police officer in San Francisco in 1963, and presumably for a few years before that. My guess is that he had encountered or arrested young Tommy Madsen and also knew his brother Ray Archer.  We don’t know if Ray’s first job was as a prison guard – it is possible that he applied for the SFPD or even worked with Hauser there before transitioning into a prison guard…


Thinking back to the Pilot episode, when Hauser informed Jack Sylvane that E.B. Tiller “was my friend” – I have to wonder when they become acquainted and how. In 1963, young Hauser was an SF police officer that assisted with prisoner transfers. EB Tiller was a socially awkward Deputy Warden who appeared to suffer from agoraphobia and likely rarely left the Rock.  I assume that they formed a friendship BEFORE the 1963 abduction; when Tiller relocated from the Rock to become a Fed. While both men were not present during the events on 3/21/63, we must consider that they were somehow complicit in what happened.

When Hauser picked up the red phone in the secret lair beneath Alcatraz, he simply said, “I need to see you.” He wasn’t addressing the geek squad of scientists behind closed doors – it was a direct line to someone not on the premises. My money is on Dr. B at New Alcatraz. Time for Hauser to call in that favor and have Dr. B save and/or wake up Lucy from the coma so that she can continue assisting his search and recovery of the 63’s. 


Was Hauser holding rosary beads at the end of this episode, and if so – why?

THE PRISONERS

TOMMY MADSEN


Ray said that he didn’t think Tommy had killed his wife, but “then I did.” I look forward to more details emerging about the relationship between the two brothers on the Rock, as well as how and why Tommy killed his spouse.

“My grandfather is more important to you than I ever imagined. Which means that you need me more than I need you.” – Rebecca Madsen to Emerson Hauser

After beating him with a tray in the mess hall, Tommy told his brother Ray that “you shouldn’t have come here.” That warning, coupled with Tommy’s knowledge about what takes place beneath solitary and his frequent visits to the infirmary for blood withdrawal – makes a strong case that he knew what was going to happen on 3/21/63…ahead of time. Tommy Madsen was very important to those who orchestrated the abduction and also to Hauser in current day.  I would venture to guess that he was the first to be experimented on before the other inmates and guards were subjected to tests, both with and without their knowledge. 


Additionally, Tommy may have been sending himself to both solitary confinement and the infirmary on purpose, to either get information or treatments…


It could be that Guy Hastings’ mission was to find the evasive Tommy Madsen, who is currently “unaccounted for” or “lost.” He may have gone rogue from his programmed agenda after re-entry into modern society, and perhaps Hastings’ programmers figured that it was better to send a guard (one of the ‘good guys’) after Tommy than a fellow inmate. 

THE GUARDS

The personal items of the inmates were left as-is when they vanished in 1963, and then boxed up and stored later beneath Alcatraz. And yet Annie Hastings received a box of her father’s items from the prison. Taking the time to provide guards’ family members with their personal affects was a very thoughtful and time-consuming process for those who meticulously masterminded the disappearance of 302 people.  Someone was responsible for making sure that these items were delivered – someone local and not wherever/whenever the 302 were taken.  Hauser referred to Hastings as a “casualty in this.” Clearly, all 46 guards and/or prison staff were casualties that someone or something was willing to sacrifice for their greater purpose…


RAY ARCHER


In the Pilot episode, Ray told Rebecca to “let it go” and walk away from the Sylvane case. In this episode, Ray told her that – regarding Tommy’s crime, “I just had to let it go.” While an obvious comparison to Christian Shephard on LOST might be screaming at you in neon lights, I've moved on (which I highly recommend you can do too, without actually letting go). 

“You and me are in this together.” - Guard Ray to Inmate Tommy

Ray signed up to be an Alcatraz guard knowing full well that his brother was an inmate there (thus, the smile on his face when he saw Tommy – who greeted him with a horrified look and beating). He must have known the risks involved, if anyone found out that he was related to a prisoner. Rebecca surmised that Ray was not surprised by the ageless, returning inmates because Hauser had tried to recruit him, but it is also possible that Ray was warned by Tommy and thus left his position on the Rock before 3/21/63. Ray “left to raise his son” after all… 

Sixteen banners united over the field, where the good shepherd grieves. Desperate men, desperate women divided, spreading their wings 'neath falling leaves. - Bob Dylan, "Changing of the Guard"

Hauser offered Ray Archer a job 16 years ago. Just something to keep in mind...


GUY HASTINGS

“You don’t belong here.” – Alcatraz Park Ranger to Guy Hastings

Whoever programmed Guy Hastings hid the gun in the wall as part of his assignment, but also the family photos. But Hastings’ wiring was very off because he wasn’t aware that his daughter was still alive when he returned. Unlike Jack Sylvane, who was hell-bent on finding his brother because he’d married Jack’s wife – Hastings’ implanted or restored memories were blurry at best.


Did Hastings leave two gun clips in the hidden wall space because he didn’t intend to harm Ray or Tommy, or because it was another instance of faulty wiring?

They mentioned that Hastings was in the Navy and in Korea before becoming a guard on Alcatraz in 1957.  We do not know in what capacity he served, but perhaps it was at Portsmouth Naval Prison – otherwise known as the Alcatraz of the East. The brig at Portsmouth was modeled after Alcatraz, and used throughout the Korean War. Another interesting fact gleaned from Soto's book above - Tommy Madsen also served in the Korean War from 1952-1953. I would not be at all surprised to learn that he and Hastings were well acquainted long before both arrived on the Rock in very different capacities...

THE WARDENS

So Warden James has a “little one.” I can’t wait to meet the Mrs. Shall we add her to the list of the 302, or did he arrange for his wife and child to leave the Rock along with the guards’ families?


Deputy Warden Tiller was rather adamant about getting rid of Ray Archer, as if he already knew that Archer’s brother was Tommy Madsen.  Once again, Warden James took a decision out of his hands and assigned authority to someone other than his Deputy. 


CRAZY THEORY OF THE WEEK…CONTINUED


According to official (fabricated) records, Hastings and 8 either guards died after a chemical spill in 1963.  Before he was abducted and suspended in time, Hastings recalled being told that there was an “accident” that killed their families, and that the guards were  sick and contaminated. 


I have already speculated about the possibility of cryogenics as an explanation for the frozen-in-time, ageless 302. When Hastings remembered his last night on Alcatraz, he described a “fog that took all the stars away.” Vapors released from cryogenic liquids tend to condense the moisture in air, creating a visible FOG…


Another possible hint was the way that Hastings expressed regret to Ray Archer in current day, about missing all of the years from 1963 to present: “I haven’t been anywhere. You got to…live.”  The re-animated Hastings may not have known what happened to him, but he knows that he was robbed of his family and life – and the look on his face spoke volumes; he really is a casualty once this mission is over, and any life he might have now will not be his own. 


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- Jo