Well, next week is already the season finale of The Alienist: Angel of Darkness, and once again, I am mildly disappointed with all the creative liberties they’ve taken. I’ve come to the conclusion that having only eight episodes to tell the story had a lot to do with it, but still. Anyways, here we go.
At the end of last week’s episode it’s been revealed that Libby is the culprit and she’s also killed the matron. We revisit her in the matron’s home somewhat unhinged and trying to breast feed a baby who doesn’t really want anything to do with her. Meanwhile, the group is on the hunt for her and when they figure out she’s involved with Dusters’ leader Goo Goo Knox, Sara decides to follow her with Cyrus’ niece in tow. Of course they made Libby and Goo Goo’s relationship kinky, which was just more uncomfortable than anything else. I suppose it helped them all figure out that she was drinking the poison and then breastfeeding the infants?
Regardless, maximum suspense comes when Sara follows Libby into a seemingly abandoned house. Getting at gun pointed at her neck, Sara using some quick thinking to get herself out of the situation, and although Libby manages to escape, they are able to rescue baby Ana Lineras. The episode ends, somewhat awkwardly, with that sex scene everyone’s been waiting for between Sara and John. Sigh. Why does romance need to be a part of this?! This was pretty much Sara’s episode, as all that Kriezler does is watch Houdini with Paullie, a boy from his institute, and go on a date with Karen Stratton. Sigh, again. Why?!
The second episode of the night picks up right after John and Sara’s rendezvous, when she realizes that she hooked up with an engaged man! But John essentially tells Sara that he’d end the engagement if she wanted him to. But Sara is awkward and steers the conversation right back to finding Libby. They head to the house next door to the one where they found the Lineras baby and discover a full-blown nursery/prison. In it are articles from the stolen infants’ homes, along with some items donning the Vanderbilt family crest.
Libby is one step ahead though, and steals the baby in broad daylight! John’s rival newspaper decides to post a slanderous story about Sara which only has the opposite of the intended effect, so that means Vanderbilt hires Sara to retrieve the infant. By the end, Libby and Goo Goo have taken the baby with them to Brooklyn, so hopefully our ragtag gang gets a leg up soon. Elsewhere in the episode, Kriezler’s just got suspended from practice because Paullie was found hanging in his office while trying to imitate a Houdini trick. At least this somewhat falls in line with events in the book.
I say somewhat, because Kriezler is suspended at the very start of the novel because a boy died by hanging. This is how he’s able to involve himself so thoroughly in the case. It’s also clear at this point that Stevie is going to have next to no involvement in this show and Mr. Picton isn’t going to show up at all! I think they’re spending too much time with NYPD officers that all look the same, and Sara’s over-populated detective agency than actually covering content from the book! Also, Ana Lineras wasn’t discovered until the very end of the novel! Ugh, the frustrations!
These two episodes in particular also made it very clear to me that this is Sara’s season featuring John, with the occasional involvement of Kriezler. He’s basically served no purpose this entire season. They’ve given him a love interest solely for the purpose of having something to do, I guess. Same goes for the Issacsons. I feel that they are being foolishly underutilized. But at this point I can’t imagine that any of my qualms get rectified by the end of next week’s finale episodes. I just have to deal and kick myself for reading the book first. I learned today that Caleb Carr’s got two more Alienist novels in the works, so I can only be smart and watch the show’s third season (hopefully!) before I read them.