The Alienist – Angel of Darkness S02E01 & S02E02 Review: Ex Ore Infantium / Something Wicked

Hello, hello, and welcome to this season of The Alienist. Despite the slight title change, this is a continuation of season 1. If you didn’t see that season, then you can catch up with my reviews beforehand. But if you just want to dive into this season, here’s a quick introduction. An alienist is what we used to call psychiatrists. Based on the books by Caleb Carr, this show, which takes place in fin de siècle New York City, is about an alienist, Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl) who solves crimes. Well, he solved one series of crimes with help from Sara Howard (Dakota Fanning), the first woman in the NYPD, reporter John Schuyler Moore (Luke Evans) and the proto-criminalist Isaacson brothers, Lucius (Matthew Shear) and Marcus (Douglas Smith). This season will see them tackle a new case. And if you couldn’t handle the first season with its crimes against children, then you’re definitely going to wanna tap out for season 2, which is about crimes against cradle babies. Either way, I’m getting started. (Note: This covers the first two episodes, as they comprise the premiere.)

First of all, this season takes place in 1897, a year after the last season. And it begins like a fairy tale, with a figure in black lurking around a lying-in home–kind of an obstetric hospital–just as a baby goes missing. The baby’s mother, Martha Napp, sounds the alarm, but it’s pretty useless. It seems like the bad is coming from inside the house.

But it’s still sad when she’s later convicted of her baby’s murder and sentenced to death. In the year since the child murders case, the gang has scattered, but they’re all there for the execution.

Sara, at least, speaks up and tries to stop the execution. It would appear as if there were logical objections–after all, they haven’t even found the baby’s body. If she killed her baby in the hospital, then you’d think they would have found it by now.

It’s to no avail, though, and Martha, like the first woman to face the electric chair in real life–Martha M. Place–is electrocuted. The gang goes back to their separate corners. Laszlo is still an alienist, John still works for The New York Times, and the Isaacsons are still analyzing crime scenes for the NYPD. Only Sara has moved on, establishing a detective agency.

However, the old excitement isn’t really there. Her cases tend more toward rich folks who think their servants are robbing them. Laszlo visits and Sara offers him a drink. She has bourbon and also bourbon. What a mood. Oh and good news, Laszlo hasn’t stopped analyzing his friends when he gets agitated.

All of this, by the way, is taking place against the backdrop of a “delicate political situation” that will eventually boil over into the Spanish-American War. So it’s unfortunate for a multitude of reasons that the next victim is the family of the Spanish Consul-General, Narciso Linares. His wife, Isabella (Bruna Cusí) is taking a bath in a tub I just have to admire. Anyway, when she returns to check on her infant daughter, she finds a grotesquely defaced doll in her place. She doesn’t want to go to the police (because of the politics), so she hires Sara.

While Sara is examining the doll, a poor little girl is finding a baby’s body in a display of toys at the Siegel-Cooper department store. (That’s where the doll came from, by the way.) After examination, the Isaacsons will determine that the baby was first poisoned, then asphyxiated. When they let Laszlo look at the body, he identifies it as the missing Napp baby.

At the department store, Sara and John find out that someone known only as EH bought 5 dolls in the same style as the one left at the Linares home. There’s an address attached and I have to choke-laugh as John says that “Hudson Street is a preserve of ruffians and hoodlums.” I have a friend who, until last year, lived just off Hudson, so…checks out.

But back in the say, it really was true. It was the stomping grounds of the Hudson Dusters, a gang of, well, ruffians. John and Sara’s trip to the wilds of the West Side not only takes them to visit Cyrus (Robert Wisdom), who now runs his own bar, but it also puts them in the path of the Dusters. Goo Goo Knox, their leader, used to own EH’s former address. (It was a boardinghouse before it burned to the ground.) It’s clear he knows more than he wants to share, but John and Sara can’t convince him to do his civic duty. Maybe it was Sara threatening to shoot him into eunuchism.

But there are a lot of potential enemies this season. Byrnes (Ted Levine) is still around, stirring up trouble. And Laszlo, for his part, hates Dr. Markoe (Michael McElhatton), the doctor at the lying-in home. Hates him so much, for instance, that he interrupts a lecture to harangue him for his part in Martha’s death. He tells him, “You had a mother executed.” Yeah, well–it’s not the first time. After all, he’s somebody that we Roose to know. (I will not apologize for that.)

And it may not be the last. Because as the episode draws to a close, Markoe is delivering another baby. We’ll just say it died, he tells his right-hand woman, the Matron (Heather Goldenhersh). What on earth is going on in this place?

Oh and speaking of the Spanish-American War, John is now engaged to William Randolph Hearst’s maybe-daughter, Violet (Emily Barber). That should bring only good things.

8/10 – Although I’m not sure why we need two episodes at once every week, I say through tears, this was a heckuva way to start out the season.

20/10 – Sara’s outfits. That’s it, that’s the rating.

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.

9 Comments

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

KeeperofUnicorns

5 months ago

Nice pun! Dakota Fanning looks so sophisticated here. I just saw Man on Fire again and the difference is startling. She’s become quite stunning over the years.

Author

Salome G

Reply to KeeperofUnicorns

I’m a scamp.

Yeah, War of the Worlds was on last week and it was major cognitive dissonance, trying to get my brain to process that that was little Dakota.

Arabella

I need something to replace NOS4A2 and this looks like a good fit. Do I need to see the first season in order to follow along? Will it be enough if I just read the recaps? Yes, I saw that Salome mentioned catching up on the story with her reviews, but I’m also seeing a lot of comments that mention confusion.

Last edited 5 months ago by Arabella

Reply to Arabella

Well, there’s not a whole lot of plot continuation between the seasons–they both deal with different cases, which aren’t related. Reading the reviews should be fine and enough to get you up to speed on the characters.

Silver

It’s pretty straight-forward, but it might help to know a bit of their backstories. The main characters are wealthy. John is a tragic figure who lost his younger brother and got dumped by his fiancée, so he’s been known to drown himself in alcohol and prostitutes as a way to cope. Laszlo is awkward. He was going to propose last season to his maid, but she was tragically murdered. His father was a drunk who brutalized him. Sara is the real brains of the operation. She’s well-educated and fiercely independent. She faces the same prejudices that women still deal with… Read more »

Kkelie

6 months ago

I watched these and was totally confused. I thought that maybe I needed to go back and watch the first season. After reading this, I’m not quite as confused. I’ll give it another shot.

Samuel234

Reply to Kkelie

I watched the first season and these 2 episodes still confused me at times. Reading the reviews does help though, for sure. I still like the show.

Reply to Samuel234

Well, they did throw a lot of information out there (and having two episodes at once doesn’t really help). But I think it gets easier.

Shelbii

Reply to Salome G

Easier, ha. It’s a lot to get because they give you so much. I think watching each one twice is helpful. It is pretty interesting but confusing

Cookie	Description
_pxvid	This cookie is used for detection of the browser and distinguishing whether it is a real user or malicious bot.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	This cookies is set by GDPR Cookie Consent WordPress Plugin. The cookie is used to remember the user consent for the cookies under the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-non-necessary	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Non Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	This cookie is used to keep track of which cookies the user have approved for this site.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-preferences	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Preferences".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-uncategorized	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Uncategorized".
CraftSessionId	This cookie name is associated with the Craft web content management system, where is functions as an anonymous session identifier.
csrftoken	This cookie is associated with Django web development platform for python. Used to help protect the website against Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks
DSID	To note specific user identity. Contains hashed/encrypted unique ID.
JSESSIONID	Used by sites written in JSP. General purpose platform session cookies that are used to maintain users' state across page requests.
PHPSESSID	This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
viewed_cookie_policy	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Cookie	Description
b30msc
btc
CMST
cref
d
gpl
i
icts
ig_did
mdata
na_rn
na_sc_e
na_sr
na_srp
session_depth
visitor-id

Cookie	Description
__gads	This cookie is set by Google and stored under the name dounleclick.com. This cookie is used to track how many times users see a particular advert which helps in measuring the success of the campaign and calculate the revenue generated by the campaign. These cookies can only be read from the domain that it is set on so it will not track any data while browsing through another sites.
__stid	The cookie is set by ShareThis. The cookie is used for site analytics to determine the pages visited, the amount of time spent, etc.
_ga	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, camapign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assigns a randoly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_gtag_UA_60765351_1	Google uses this cookie to distinguish users.
_gid	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
ad-id	Provided by amazon-adsystem.com for tracking user actions on other websites to provide targeted content
demdex	This cookie is set under the domain demdex.net and is used by Adobe Audience Manager to help identify a unique visitor across domains.
DigiTrust.v1.identity	Registers data on visitors’ website-behaviour. This is used for internal analysis and website optimization.
dmvk	This cookie is set by DailyMotion who display videos, it registers statistical data of visitors' behaviour on the website.
gid	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
GPS	This cookie is set by Youtube and registers a unique ID for tracking users based on their geographical location
is_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
is_visitor_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
sc_is_visitor_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
v1st	This is set by DailyMotion to display videos.

Cookie	Description
__asc	This cookie is used to collect information on consumer behavior, which is sent to Alexa Analytics.
__auc	This cookie is used to collect information on consumer behavior, which is sent to Alexa Analytics.
__qca	This cookie is associated with Quantcast and is used for collecting anonymized data to analyze log data from different websites to create reports that enables the website owners and advertisers provide ads for the appropriate audience segments.
_cc_aud	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_cc	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_dc	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_id	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_kuid_	The cookie is set by Krux Digital under the domain krxd.net. The cookie stores a unique ID to identify a returning user for the purpose of targeted advertising.
_px2	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
_pxff_tm	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
_pxhd	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
ab	This cookie is generally provided by agkn.com and is used for advertising purposes.
ad-privacy	Provided by amazon-adsystem.com for tracking user actions on other websites to provide targeted content to the users.
ayl_visitor	This cookie registers data on the visitor. The information is used to optimize advertisement relevance.
bafp	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bafp_t	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_pl	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_rf_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_rt_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_t_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_td_2d31c94105a0aa6d1ceaea0c86c6b656	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bito	This cookie is generally provided by bidr.io and is used for advertising purposes.
bitoIsSecure	This cookies are generally provided by bidr.io and is used for advertising purposes.
bsc	The cookies is set by ownerIQ for the purpose of providing relevant advertisement
CMID	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
CMPRO	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
CMPS	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
dc_id	This cookie is used to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaign. They are usually placed by advertising networks with the website operator's permission. They remember that you have visited a website and this information is shared with other organisations such as advertisers.
did	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
didts	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
dpm	The cookie is set by demdex.net. This cookie assigns a unique ID to each visiting user that allows third-party advertisers target that users with relevant ads.
eud	This cookie is from Rocket Fuel and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
euds	This cookie is from Rocket Fuel and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
everest_g_v2	The cookie is set under eversttech.net domain. The purpose of the cookie is to map clicks to other events on the client's website.
evo5_popin_instance	Prevents an interaction from reoccurring for visitors not accepting 3rd party cookies.
id	This cookie is set by DoubleClick (which is owned by Google) to build a profile of the website visitor's interests and show relevant ads on other sites.
IDE	Used by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
io.narrative.guid.v2	This cookie is generally provided by io.narrative.io and is used for advertising purposes.
KADUSERCOOKIE	This cookie is generally provided by pubmatic.com and is used for advertising purposes.
KTPCACOOKIE	This cookie is generally provided by pubmatic.com and is used for advertising purposes.
matchliveramp	This cookie is provided by w55c.net and is used for advertising purposes.
mc	This cookie is associated with Quantserve to track anonymously how a user interact with the website.
mxpim	This cookie is generally provided by mxptint.net for advertising purposes.
na_tc	This is a Social Media sharing tracking cookie.
NID	This cookie is used to a profile based on user's interest and display personalized ads to the users.
nnls	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
pxrc	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
pxvid	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
rlas3	The cookie is set by rlcdn.com. The cookie is used to serve relevant ads to the visitor as well as limit the time the visitor sees an and also measure the effectiveness of the campaign.

Cookie	Description
__jid	Cookies set on the website by the third-party commenting platform Disqus.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
disqus_unique	These cookies are set by Disqus so that users can comment on website/platform.
G_ENABLED_IDPS	The cookie is used by Google and is used for Google Single Sign On.
mid	The cookie is set by Instagram. The cookie is used to distinguish users and to show relevant content, for better user experience and security.
na_id	This cookie is set by Addthis.com to enable sharing of links on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter
ouid	The cookie is set by Addthis which enables the content of the website to be shared across different networking and social sharing websites.
ov	This is a generic functional cookie that provides enhanced functionality and personalisation.
ts	This cookie is generally provided by PayPal and supports payment services in the website.
vuid	These cookies are used by the Vimeo video player on websites.

The Alienist – Angel of Darkness S02E01 & S02E02 Review: Ex Ore Infantium / Something Wicked

You might also like

FIND THE TOPICS YOU WANT...

Recommended for you