As the episode begins, Laszlo (Daniel Bruhl) meets with an old patient. She now works in a brothel of sorts. Together, they contemplate what could cause a man to enjoy pain and blood. After the intro, Roosevelt (Brian Geraghty) is harassed by the media. Then, he and Sara (Dakota Fanning) receive a visit from Captain Connor (David Wilmot). Connor tells them that he found a notebook at the crime scene. It just happens to belong to John Moore (Luke Evans). Meanwhile, Marcus (Douglas Smith) and Lucius (Matthew Shear) attempt to discover how the killer has been climbing such heights. They discover a piton and learn that the killer has been climbing.

Sara tries to visit Laszlo. Mary (Q’orianka Kilcher) doesn’t answer the door. Instead, Cyrus (Robert Wisdom) meets her on the street and gives her information about the doctor. Then, she meets with Laszlo and delivers him the notebook from Roosevelt. When asked about their pervious conversation, Howard insists she isn’t capable of killing kids. They sit and chat about a woman across the way. Despite being free, the woman killed her children. Now, she roams aimless with an empty baby carriage. John visits the closed brothel, The Golden Rule. He finds a few boys inside, before running into Marcus. They speak with a woman there. Then, they search a room with a window. They believe it is the room, where Giorgio was captured. After heading to the rooftop, they find remnants of a rope.

This leads them to believe that the killer climbed down from the rooftop. They run into another brothel worker. She tells them about the pigeon man. Moore cleans the makeup from the boy’s face. Moore tells Joseph to stay away from the man with the silver smile. Connor meets with Byrnes (Ted Levine). He wants to know what to do with the sexual deviant. He is told nothing for the time being. Then, Byrnes visits Mrs. Van Bergen. He makes it clear that something needs to be done with her son. He wants to make sure police cannot question the boy about the matters thoroughly. We see Silver Smile (Josef Altin) rubbing on lotion and putting on gloves. He gets a visit from one of the girls. Smile offers to take the boy elsewhere for the night. Laszlo speaks with a man from Bellevue.

He wants to know what motivates the man to do what he does. The man, Charles, insists the dogs deserved to be killed. He believes the dogs can easily be replaced. Then, Laszlo visits a younger boy, Ezra. The boy is angry at his family for not visiting. Laszlo encourages him to think of the ball as someone special and kick it. The boy does so, while blaming his mother. John asks Mary out on a date. They go watch waves on Edison’s latest invention. Sara joins Roosevelt, who picks up guns for the men. In the office, Roosevelt tells Sara about being beaten up in college. The man had a broken arm or something, so he couldn’t fight him. Roosevelt got beat up I guess. Laszlo is upset to find Mary missing. Moore returns home with her moments later.

Laszlo isn’t happy. Soon, he returns John’s notebook. Moore realizes that Moore is jealous. Moore is asked about his feelings when Julia left and his romps with prostitutes. Moore admits he has a sense of shame. Laszlo believes the killer might be acting out, because of a past trauma. Moore visits a dentists and asks if he has ever encountered a silver smile. He learns what might cause a silver smile. One night with Venus, a lifetime with Mercury. Lucius confronts Marcus as he sneaks into their home. He is told that there is gossip about him and the girl. They argue about the girl not being a Jew. Later, Moore returns to Laszlo, who is attempting to answer why the killer kills. He also wants to know when he will kill again. Giorgio’s mother finds a note or something and decides to take it to the police.

Later, Laszlo meets with John. They were both summoned there, but they’re not sure by who. Lucius and Marcus join them seconds later. They believe that Laszlo invited them. Sara arrives with the letter from Mrs. Santorelli. The letter is passed around the table. Laszlo contemplates why sending a letter would be necessary. They believe that the killer might watch the Santorelli family to see their pain. Laszlo believes that the killer invited them all there. He believes that he may be watching them as well. Laszlo reads the letter. He writes about eating human flesh and eating the boy. The letter insists the killer didn’t have the boy. At the end of the episode, Silver Smile picks up another boy.

 

The Alienist Review

To me, The Alienist is really hit or miss. I don’t find the story or the investigation to be all that interesting. I enjoy the time period and I appreciate most of the actors and actresses. I hate to see that Josef Altin got involved in the show honestly. He is such a great actor. If I stick with The Alienist it will be for him and Luke Evans. The Alienist is quickly losing my interest though. It is becoming tedious and bland. This episode was okay, but nothing to brag about. It scores a 6 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of The Alienist right now!