The Alienist: Angel of Darkness Review: Ex Ore Infantium (Season 2 Episode 1)

Old New York returns with a fascinating new case, and old friends Kreizler, Howard, and Moore are drawn back into the fray on The Alienist: Angel of Darkness Season 2 Episode 1, “Ex Ore Infantium.”

The show smartly directs Sara Howard to the forefront, as her character is not only perfect for the story the season looks to be telling, but Dakota Fanning has been one of the major standouts from the first season.

Now, with the detective agency and the larger spotlight on women in 1897 New York, Sara can try her hand at being more involved in the story more than a liaison between the police force and Kreizler’s shadow investigation.

It’s a fun story flip, to have Kreizler more on the outside initially while Sara is spearheading the search for clues.

She’s handling the newfound freedom with a level of assertiveness and strong will that rises her to the challenge, as daunting as it may be. But she’s showing herself more than capable, now matching even Kreizler in digging through the layers of meaning this new killer may be working within.

The angle of infant murders is more haunting and disturbing than the murders of the first season, even if less (at least so far) visually violent. It carries with it a sense of panic and fear for what a mother will be going through with that kind of terror in their hearts.

It’s a heavy subject, but it’s one the show is nailing so far by keeping the empathy and sympathy as a primary concern beyond the investigation.

The child going missing from the institution is curious, as it invites the possibility that it’s someone with the means of getting inside.

Given the wandering woman orderly at night, and the way Dr. Markoe can so easily block Kreizler from coming inside and is readily available once Martha starts panicking, it looks like a rather tightly run ship, and so a baby going missing potentially points to an inside job.

Same goes for Martha’s child appearing in the toy store, and the dignitaries’ home getting broken into, setting up a pattern of someone who can slip in and out of complicated locations.

It’s not on the same level of John Beecham’s interest in rooftops and sewers and his climbing expertise, but it’s a start to figuring out how the killer can evade detection.

Kreizler is deeper into the humanity angle of the story, a departure from his more clinical methods of the first season. It’s as though he has softened somewhat, where he has connected with compassion more when it comes to Martha’s pleas for help.

He still has that same old flashes of cruelty, however, from the dinner scene when he reunited with Moore and meets his fiancee. The shallow comment is quite cold, but in a sign of progress, he does correct himself, if only a little, more than he has given before.

Maybe Mary’s death and that final chat with his father that caps off the first season has brought with them a clarity and acceptance, but we will definitely need to continue further to be sure of that.

That technology, the wave of the future, is used in such a barbaric way with the electric chair execution of Martha, feels like reverting away from decency and more toward the old ways. It’s a sign that even as civilization may build, there will always be pieces that are stuck in the dark ages, as new as their methods may be.

The moment the execution happens, only our primary leads are affected by it. Maybe it’s because they believe her in her innocence, or perhaps they are the only ones willing to see the cruelty of the act, technology being turned against an inconsolable mother.

But it also brings back former police chief Byrnes to the fold, no longer hidden behind Captain Connor and looking to get his hands dirty for himself for a change. His return is one that symbolizes that the old ways can’t be gone forever, and that his sway over the police and much of the rich will likely prove a foil in Sara’s investigation.

A piece of the episode that is striking is how the affluent neighborhoods appear compared to the grimy areas that housed most of the first season’s action. The show gets its setting just right with these scenes, showing the upper class enjoying their day at a more leisurely, casual approach compared to the loud, noisy bustle of the common people.

Which is what makes the kidnapping of the child all the more curious. It’s a wonder if there is an aspect of wealth, or if it has something to do with the tensions gripping both the United States and Spain at the time. The show looks to be making the case of race or affluence playing a role, and it will be interesting to see which is the more likely culprit.

A particularly intriguing aspect of the premiere is that the core trio of Laszlo, John, and Sara appear to have effectively gone their own ways since the events of the first season: Kreizler doesn’t know of John’s fiancee whatsoever; Sara’s detective agency is graced by its first visit by Kreizler, despite being open for a little while now; and there’s the aforementioned strange calm over Kreizler, a departure from his hardened solitude that he carries with him throughout the final episodes we last see him.

Based on the title card at the start of the episode, a year or less has passed, and so it’s curious if the show will comment on this estrangement, or if busy lives are to be blamed for their drifting.

Another aspect that is rather interesting is that Sara refuses to bring Kreizler into this at first. It’s likely she feels she can handle this on her own, and rather prove her own means rather than succumb to his shadow, like last time.

But it also adds to the rise of women that this season looks to have as its backbone to the story. The movement, when combined with the pained, vulnerable fear that comes along with the maternal horror of losing a child, brings such a vulnerable perspective forward, where goodness is at risk.

There’s not much else more heartwarming than the love between a mother and her child, and so inflicting danger onto absolute innocence is a terrifying, heart-wrenching place to dive these characters, and us as an audience, into.

The women’s movement is a long time coming, and Sara becoming part of that while also trying to prove herself makes for exciting potential.

Will she help buoy the movement, or will history continue to be the enemy, since we’re still two decades from major progress?

The episode is far more straightforward than the previous season, a marked departure from the dense storytelling. It’s far more clear-cut in doling out clues and characters now, whereas certain aspects, especially later on during the first season, did take some time to decipher (like when Beecham’s name theft is discovered).

It can be great when a show throws you in the deep end and lets you figure it all out (before spelling it out the following episode), but this episode appears to be more interested in pacing itself and its information carefully and considerately.

This is certainly not a knock against the premiere whatsoever, just that it looks to be taking a different approach to the second Caleb Carr novel than the first season has with The Alienist.

The Alienist: Angel of Darkness is opening with a promise of important perspective and history as a backdrop. It’s a fantastic start.

A few stray observations:

• One major omission from the premiere is John Moore’s complete and utter exasperation. Luke Evans nails those moments so wonderfully, and it’s sad that we didn’t get any. But plenty of episodes still to come!
• It’s unfortunate that Matt Lintz isn’t back as Stevie, though it likely has to do with scheduling or maybe even some overlap with The Walking Dead. It will be curious if the show focuses on Sara specifically or keeps Stevie in focus, as the book the show is adapting is from Stevie’s point of view (but with similar focus on Sara).
• It’s awesome to see Matt Letscher appearing as William Hearst. Hopefully we’ll be seeing plenty of him, as he’s always a great addition to a cast. He will have some large shoes to fill, with Roosevelt (and Brian Geraghty) now absent from the show.

 

What did you think of this episode of The Alienist? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Alienist: Angel of Darkness airs Sundays at 9/8c on TNT.

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