As the episode begins, Thomas Byrnes (Ted Levine) visits Willem’s family. He tells them about the incident at the brothel. They do not want to hear it. Connor (David Wilmot) meets with Thomas and Kelly (Antonio Magro). They insist that Willem has been warned about doing rough stuff with Biff’s girls. Thomas promises that it won’t happen again. Then, they discuss John Moore (Luke Evans). They make it clear that Moore won’t be a problem anymore. Moments later, Moore wakes up with Laszlo (Daniel Bruhl) and Sara (Dakota Fanning). He learns that Stevie found him wandering about in an alley. Moore insists he doesn’t remember much about the night.

Meanwhile, Connor learns that Roosevelt (Brian Geraghty) has decided to give medals to a few officers. Connor isn’t happy with that decision. During this time, we learn that Sara learned how to shoot from her father. Moore is harassed by his mother when he returns home. Laszlo, Marcus (Douglas Smith) and Lucius (Matthew Shear) chat about fingerprints. Laszlo learns that the fingerprint is incomplete. The murderer may have a skin condition or abrasions. He suggests collecting fingerprints from the victim’s body. We see a bunch of boys swimming together. One is told to leave, since he was there earlier. A stranger watches them from a distance. Marcus chats with Tuthill, who admits he wishes Roosevelt would have stayed away. Soon, they discover that the body of the Santorelli child has disappeared. Sara tells Laszlo that Roosevelt has decided to back him now that he cannot trust his own men.

Sara joins a friend at a party of sorts. She is introduced to Milton. Moore speaks with his mother and a few of her friends. He doesn’t cooperate with his mother. He returns home and drinks. He recalls something from the night before. John visits Laszlo and tells him about Giorgio being locked in his room. They don’t know how Giorgio left his room, since it was so high up. Nevertheless, when they opened the door, he was gone. He also mentions the silver smile. Laszlo and Moore go on the hunt for Sally. They eventually manage to track him down. They learn that Sally is working outside, because Kelly and Biff take most of their money at the brothel. Sally insists she has been working the streets long enough to know who to trust. This convinces Laszlo that Giorgio went with someone willingly, because he trusted them.

Later, Laszlo speaks with Cyrus (Robert Wisdom) about killing someone. Cyrus admits that he felt great pleasure from it. Laszlo freaks out, before being comforted by Mary Palmer (Q’orianka Kilcher). The group learns about another body at the old immigration station, which is being turned into an aquarium. The body is found on the roof. Roosevelt tells them that he has managed to get the information held for an hour. They’ll need to work quickly. Barclay tells Connor about the body. The police begin rushing towards the scene immediately. Cyrus orders Stevie to watch the road and warn him when the police come. It is confirmed that the new victim was killed in a similar fashion. Sara becomes convinced that the murderer may have an obsession with heights and maybe water.

The victim shows no signs of a struggle. Soon, the police arrive, so the group scatters. They manage to escape without being noticed. When they return, Laszlo discovers that Mary has cooked dinner. He is not happy. He sends her home with Cyrus. Then, Laszlo pressures Sara and Moore to tell them how they dealt with the death of their fathers. They leave after a brief argument. Moore and Sara discuss Mary. Sara learns that Mary burned her father to death. Mary was taken in by Laszlo at a young age. Sara insists he was afraid to show his concern in front of them. Laszlo returns to Mary moments later.

She cleans a knife. He stares at her, but doesn’t say anything. John discovers that his wallet is missing. At the end of the episode, it looks like someone is looking at John’s drawing of the first murder victim.

 

The Alienist Review

The Alienist has been okay, but this episode was really a bust. The Laszlo character is becoming very unrealistic and somewhat cartoonish. I am not sure why he continues playing mind games with his partners. Brian Geraghty hasn’t been impressive either, but that is to be expected. At this point, I just wish things would start moving forward. We’re really going nowhere and it is starting to get irritating.

I’d give the episode a low 6 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of The Alienist right now!