Welp, the final two episodes of The Alienist: Angel of Darkness aired, and I’ve come away from it wholeheartedly disappointed. It honestly seemed like such a mess that I’m surprised anyone actually liked it. I know that I kept trying to trick myself this past month into thinking that it was still good despite the GLARING differences from the book, but I will tolerate it no longer. And that’s all because of the trash fire that was the final two episodes.
The penultimate season finale episode picked up where the sixth ended, with Sara and her ragtag gang of investigators teaming up with Byrnes and his somewhat corrupt cop friends. While Sara wants to get Libby off the streets, Byrnes is just concerned with returning the baby back to the Vanderbilts. This obviously doesn’t play well. Goo Goo Knox almost takes a bribe set up by Byrnes, but then backs out at the last minute. In that case, Sara, John, and Kriezler track down Libby’s mother to get more information out of her. Turns out she was a terrible mother who got her daughter committed and sent her granddaughter away to be an orphan. Cue using Libby’s daughter Clara as bait! It almost backfires though, as Libby almost kills both Sara and John.
This is where the finale picks up. As Sara blurts out that Clara is at Kriezler’s institute to save John’s life, Libby is distracted and John overpowers her. At first, Byrnes uses some violent tactics to get her to give up the location of the baby, but it’s ultimately Sara, who connects with her on an emotional level, who is able to dupe Libby into revealing the location. Getting the baby back almost seemed anti-climatic, until Goo Goo and his brood go break Libby out of jail. They go to the institute and take Clara, but not before getting into a brief scuffle with Lucius and Marcus. Lucius gets knocked unconscious while Marcus unfortunately meets his end with a shot to the gut. This scene KILLED ME. Why?! The injustice of it all!
Anyways, at some point, Sara, John, and Kriezler come to the conclusion that Goo Goo and Libby have probably taken Clara to the house where Libby grew up. She wants her daughter to experience the finer things that she once had in her life. Goo Goo rightfully gets taken out by Lucius, and Libby finally snaps, releasing Clara and getting arrested. Surely the electric chair is her future. On a personal note, Sara and John admit their love for each other, but that’s cut short when John’s fiance, Violet, reveals she is pregnant. Kriezler decides to leave his institute behind and follow Karen to Vienna. The final shot is of Sara getting her business back in working shape.
Look, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it to anyone who talks to me, this was total crap! No Stevie! No Cyrus! No Mr. Picton! They kept certain names but totally changed their story! And even though I was impressed with the actress playing Libby, she was not at all what the novel described. The personal life stories were also completely fabricated, and it made Kriezler seem almost irrelevant this season! If the book didn’t need romance to propel the book forward, then why does the show?! Just incredibly frustrating.
There are talks of a third season, where apparently the creator of the show would be up for as long as Caleb Carr wrote another novel. Why?! It’s just going to be ignored anyways! I know I’m complaining a lot, but I’m not mad that I watched the show. All of the actors are great, but so much was glossed over or changed. I hope a third season happens without a novel as a reference point, or I’ll just have to ignore it until after the fact. Anyways, watch it? Your call really.