Courtesy of Turner Entertainment
After last week’s epic episode, it seemed “The Alienist” had only one place to go: down. With “These Bloody Thoughts,” the series shifted and ran parallel to last week’s excellence. With only 5 more episodes, the pressure to keep the flow and narrative remains.
The personal becomes prevalent with the viewer finding out more bits and pieces of our 3 investigators, Kreizler, Sara and John. Commissioner Roosevelt spills the beans to Sara regarding his own strained relationship with Kreizler: a fisticuffs duel in college that Roosevelt refused to participate in because of Kreizler’s disability. How and why Dr. Kreizler’s arm is non-functioning was not divulged.
Courtesy of Turner Entertainment
Jealousy abounds as well with slight misunderstandings regarding the nature of Sara and Dr. Kreizler’s meeting in the park. John Moore’s attachment to Sara is on full display when he finds this out from Kreizler’s driver, Cyrus. He retaliates by taking Kreizler’s mute housekeeper Mary to a new Edison exhibition. Whereas Sara and Dr. Kreizler’s meeting was professional and above board, John used Mary for his own temperamental purposes. Completely dishonorable.
Courtesy of Turner Entertainment
As for the case, John discovered the reason for the serial killer with the silver smile through his dentist: syphilis. The base treatment during this period was shots of mercury which caused the teeth to turn silver. The murderer with the platinum grill appears to be the son of the wealthy Van Bergens, a couple who have the entirety of the police department leadership in their pocket. They are one step ahead of the investigative crew.
The team is shocked when they are all summoned by the killer-he knows who they are and what they’re doing. It’ll be a race to see who remains alive.
‘The Alienist’ airs Mondays at 9PM on TNT and on-demand.
