• Home
  • Movies
  • Music
  • TV
  • Video Games
  • Wrestling
  • Topics
  • Latest Comments on Cult of Whatever
Search
Cult of Whatever logo
  • Movies
    Featured
    • The Living Daylights: Timothy Dalton as James Bond

      The Living Daylights is still awesome, thirty-five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 28, 2022
      Movie Blogs
    Recent
    • The Muppet Christmas Carol: Michael Caine as Scrooge

      The Muppet’s Christmas Carol remains the gold standard for the book

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 20, 2022
    • Nightmare Before Christmas 1993 1

      2022’s Christmas Movie Watchlist!

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 18, 2022
    • Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio Poster

      REVIEW: GDT’s Pinocchio is my favorite film of the year!

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 14, 2022
    • Troll: Ine Marie Wilmann as Nora

      REVIEWS: TROLL and TROLL HUNTER -A giant creature double feature!

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 5, 2022
    • Harry with The Hendersons

      Harry and the Hendersons is still awesome, thirty-five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 1, 2022
    • Fantastic Four Poster

      The five best “rogues galleries” in superherodom! (part 3)

      By Matthew Martin
      | November 28, 2022
  • Music
    Random
    • Fozzy Happenstance Cover

      Fozzy - Happenstance Review

      By Steve Sky
      | August 6, 2003
      Music
    Recent
    • The Beatles: Get Back

      What GET BACK reveals about the Beatles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 15, 2021
    • Simon And Garfunkel at Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam1982

      The Boxer is a song about being conned

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 4, 2021
    • Lady Gaga: Chromatica Album Cover

      Lady Gaga’s discography is totally out of order

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 3, 2021
    • Michael Jackson Thriller Album Cover

      Thirty years ago music fans said “Nevermind” to Michael Jackson

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 21, 2021
    • Queen II Album Cover

      On Queen’s The Miracle, and the importance of track ordering

      By Matthew Martin
      | February 16, 2021
    • Linda Paul Mccartney 1976

      50 years ago, McCartney dropped “Lennon” and went solo…

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 5, 2020
  • TV
    Featured
    • Big Sky S03e05: Kylie Bunbury, J. Anthony Pena and Katheryn Winnick as Cassie Dewell, Mo Poppernak and Jenny Hoyt

      Big Sky S03E05 Review: Flesh and Blood - Glamping!

      By Salome G
      | October 22, 2022
      TV Blogs
    Recent
    • Big Sky S03e10: Gang

      Big Sky S03E10 Review: A Thin Layer of Rock – Break time…

      By Salome G
      | December 11, 2022
    • Rick And Morty: S01e03

      Is Beth from Rick and Morty a bigger sociopath than Rick?

      By Jason Collins
      | December 7, 2022
    • Big Sky S03e09: Dedee Pfeiffer and Cree as Denise and Emily

      Big Sky S03E09: Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire – Stalling

      By Salome G
      | December 1, 2022
    • The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special: Dave Bautista and Pom Klementieff as Drax and Mantis

      REVIEW: The GOTG Holiday Special is a sweet prelude to next year’s finale

      By Matthew Martin
      | November 27, 2022
    • The Midnight Club S01: The Gang

      The Midnight Club S1 Review – A series of unfortunate events

      By Salome G
      | November 24, 2022
    • Big Sky S03e08: Reba McEntire as Sunny Barnes

      Big Sky S03E08 Review: Duck Hunting – I love a weirdo.

      By Salome G
      | November 19, 2022
  • Video Games
    Featured
    • Arkham Knight

      Batman: Arkham Knight - A fitting end to a trilogy

      By Tom Farr
      | July 18, 2015
      Video Game Reviews
    Recent
    • Splatoon 3 Screenshot

      A trio of Nintendo Switch reviews!

      By Matthew Martin
      | September 28, 2022
    • Nintendo Switch Logo

      Looking ahead to the Switch 2: Predictions and Wants

      By Matthew Martin
      | August 15, 2022
    • Legend Of Zelda

      Can a Legend of Zelda movie work?

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 6, 2022
    • Super Mario 64

      Which system had the better launch: A battle of four Nintendo consoles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 1, 2021
    • Luigi's Mansion

      Happy twentieth to Nintendo’s underrated gem, the Gamecube

      By Matthew Martin
      | November 18, 2021
    • Metroid Dread

      Metroid Dread – Post Game analysis and sequel needs

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 29, 2021
  • Wrestling
    Featured
    • AEW All Out 2022: Keith Lee. Anthony Bowens, Max Caster and Billy Gunn

      AEW All Out 2022 - Review and (wild) Speculation!

      By Matthew Martin
      | September 5, 2022
      AEW
    Recent
    • article placeholder

      Which Is Better AEW vs WWE?

      By Coder
      | September 29, 2023
    • article placeholder

      Which Female Wrestler Leaves WWE?

      By Coder
      | September 29, 2023
    • article placeholder

      Which WWE Wrestler Had a Heart Attack?

      By Coder
      | September 29, 2023
    • article placeholder

      Which WWE Legend Recently Died?

      By Coder
      | September 29, 2023
    • article placeholder

      Which WWE Game Has the Best Story Mode?

      By Coder
      | September 29, 2023
    • article placeholder

      Which GM Should I Pick WWE 2K22?

      By Coder
      | September 29, 2023
  • Topics
    • site logo
    Latest
    • Which Is Better AEW vs WWE?
    • Which Female Wrestler Leaves WWE?
    • Which WWE Wrestler Had a Heart Attack?
    • Which WWE Legend Recently Died?
    • Which WWE Game Has the Best Story Mode?
    • Which GM Should I Pick WWE 2K22?

    The Alienist S01E03 Review: Silver Smile – If only the alienist would stop alienating people.

    By Salome G
    | February 6, 2018
    TV Blogs

    As the super team works on their case, the police already have their own idea of who might to be blame. To wit, retired chief Tom Byrnes (Ted Levine) goes to visit the Van Bergens, the parents of a wealthy young man who’s apparently known for his indiscretions with the young. He’s warning them that Willem, the young man, may have gotten into trouble that’s tricky to get out of, but c’mon. You think affluenza was just invented?

    Alienist S1e3 Ted Levine Thomas Byrnes

    Anyway, while we don’t go back to the Van Bergens, I believe we get a glimpse of their son ogling a teen at a men’s pool. Last week, we got a glimpse of the likely killer, as a young boy in a room with a shadowy figure asked the figure, “What’s wrong with your mouth?” That would indicate the figure is the same person Gloria called Silver Smile, because a 19th century kid would probably be befuddled by a grill, which is what the moniker seems to describe. Anyway, I don’t believe these two men are one and the same, but we’ll see.

    Meanwhile, the super team is studying the fingerprint they pulled from the pocket watch. It bears a strange mark, an absence of whorls that could be a scar or a cut. This is the scene to which John awakens, having been found wandering the Tenderloin by Stevie. John was missing his pants at the time, which would fall in line with the conversation Byrnes, Kelly, and Connor have, in which it is implied that John was sexually assaulted at New Paresis Hall.

    Unfortunately for John, no matter what happened, this is something he’s going to have to bear alone. He must be stoic and he must be silent, as was the way at the time. He can’t dwell on it.

    To its detriment, neither does the show. There is, after all, another body, another dead boy. Nevermind that both crimes are part and parcel of the same system of abuse. We’ve got to concentrate on our hunches!

    Alienist S1e3 Daniel Bruhl Dakota Fanning Luke Evans Laszlo Kreizler Sara Howard John Moore

    Anyway, it appears to be the boy we saw earlier, the one who asked about the mouth, but it’s hard to tell with his eyes missing. His body is found at Castle Garden, on top of a skylight. Again, the killer’s gotten into and out of a spot that’s difficult without wings. Roosevelt is there with the Isaacsons and they’ve begun the investigation without bothering to tell any other police, a fact that rattles Connor once he finds out, so he assembles the 19th century equivalent of a SWAT team. It’s clear why he’s doing it–he’s mad and embarrassed at being kept out of the loop–but it looks more than a little ridiculous to ride up with the cavalry and barking dogs for a boy who isn’t going anywhere. As for why Roosevelt is keeping things close to his waistcoat, he was known for trying to institute police reform, so TV Roosevelt is doing the same by trying to cut out officers he believes are corrupt. And he’s right–they absolutely are corrupt, openly counting out bribes in the precinct.

    Meanwhile, curled up in a dark corner of the ceiling, a figure listens to the super team above as they talk out theories. They don’t get very far in the limited time they have, but Sara does put it together that the bodies have all been found in high places and all the places have something to do with water. She also points out that the first bodies were hidden, while the more recent ones were anything but, leading Kreizler to conclude that the killer’s “evolved.”

    What he’s evolved into is anyone’s guess, as the team has to beat feet once old-timey SWAT shows up. John, as is his way, immediately drops his sketchbook on the scene. Luckily (?), it’s found by the killer and not by Connor or Byrnes or one of the main police officers.

    Alienist S1e3 Dakota Fanning Sara Howard

    And here is the place and time where the super team would get to work, but Kreizler, ever the analyst, can’t help himself from analyzing his friends. Finding Mary in the study where they’re keeping their case notes, he berates her for being there. As Sara later concludes, he’s trying to protect Mary but was embarrassed to show his feelings in front of Sara and John. So he distracts them from his feelings by digging into theirs, needling John about his inability to cope with hardship [great timing, Laszlo!] and interrogating Sara about how she coped with her father’s suicide. Earlier, he had upset Cyrus (Robert Wisdom), his valet, the same way. Cyrus once killed a man*, so Kreizler takes the opportunity to get inside a killer’s head. In his singleminded focus, it doesn’t seem to occur to him that Cyrus is (as far as we know) not a serial killer and did not kill a child, so any insights gathered from him won’t be that germane.

    They’ve gathered some important evidence and are starting to stitch it together. If only the alienist would stop alienating people.

    8/10 – The show is solidifying what it wants to be and do, and it’s become adept most of the time at handling the tonal shifts necessary. However, skating over whatever happened to John is a weird note, especially in light of the kind of crime they’re investigating. They may come back to it, of course, and that would be to the show’s benefit. As it is, ignoring it seems like a glaring omission. Y’all will repeatedly show children with their eyes cut out, but skip that?!

    *Cyrus is not the only one in Kreizler’s employ who committed a crime, as we also learn that Mary burned her father to death.

    In other things I couldn’t fit in: John’s mom (Grace Zabriskie) tries to set him up with a young lady and that goes about as well as you’d expect. Also, Sara is the only singleton at her college reunion. John kisses Sara on the cheek after their disastrous last conversation with Kreizler and it’s almost as awkward as Mrs. Moore’s matchmaking tea party. And speaking of tea, Sara has a thing for Kreizler, but he’s got a funny tension with Mary. Tune in next week to Guys? Children Are Being Murdered for more details on love venn diagrams!

    Tags

    The Alienist

    COMMENTS

    Please read our Commenting Policy before you join in with the discussion.

    Note: If you have email notifications enabled, please check your email spam folders to ensure emails are not missed.

    Subscribe
    Connect withD
    I allow to create an account
    When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
    DisagreeAgree
    Notify of
    guest

    Connect withD
    I allow to create an account
    When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
    DisagreeAgree
    guest

    0 Comments
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments

    You might also like

    • The Alienist S01E02 Review: A Fruitful Partnership – We get some vital clues

      By Salome G
      | January 30, 2018
    • The Alienist S01E01 Review: The Boy on the Bridge – Room for another serial killer?

      By Salome G
      | January 23, 2018
    • The X-Files S11E05 Review: Ghouli – This episode was tonally all over the map

      By Salome G
      | February 1, 2018
    • American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace S02E03: A Random Killing – A detour from the main crime proves to be the strongest episode yet

      By Kevin Boyle
      | February 1, 2018

    FIND THE TOPICS YOU WANT...

    TV Topics

    Recommended for you

    • Big Sky S03E10 Review: A Thin Layer of Rock – Break time…

      By Salome G
      | December 11, 2022
    • Is Beth from Rick and Morty a bigger sociopath than Rick?

      By Jason Collins
      | December 7, 2022
    • REVIEW: The GOTG Holiday Special is a sweet prelude to next year’s finale

      By Matthew Martin
      | November 27, 2022
    • The Midnight Club S1 Review – A series of unfortunate events

      By Salome G
      | November 24, 2022
    • Doctor Who 2022 October Special Review: The Power of the Doctor – Lackluster

      By Jason Collins
      | October 25, 2022
    • Can the Doctor regenerate into a previous incarnation?

      By Jason Collins
      | October 23, 2022
    • Is the Tardis more sentient plant or machine?

      By Jason Collins
      | October 10, 2022
    • Star Trek Strange New Worlds – Season two wishlist!

      By Matthew Martin
      | September 14, 2022
    • Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Every episode ranked! (Part 5/5)

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 30, 2022
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Affiliate Disclosure
    • Cookie Policy and Settings
    • Terms of Use
    • Photo Credits
    • RSS
    All Cult of Whatever articles, logos, illustrations and graphics are copyright CultOfWhatever.com. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. © 2023 CultOfWhatever. All Rights Reserved.
    • facebook
    • twitter
    wpDiscuz