But the real red herring isn’t the Boston Boy Fiend; it’s the mysterious Willem Van Bergen, the upper-class bad boy with the metallic teeth and deviant sexual proclivities. On one side, Willem seduces a young male prostitute in a scene that’s crammed with luxurious textures: velvet, crystal, milk, silk, a lace dress, a bubbling champagne flute. I’m talking about Stevie Taggert, the tough-talking teen played by Matt Lintz, who proved in the latest episode that even a self-serious grimdark historical drama about child murders can use a little tension-breaking levity in the mix. Finally, the timelines converge…with a twist you probably saw coming: The door Roosevelt knocks on isn’t Willem’s, and the knock Willem hears isn’t Roosevelt’s. Luke Evans and Daniel Brühl in ‘The Alienist’ season 2 episode 5 (Photo by Kata Vermes / TNT) TNT’s The Alienist season two episode five opens with Libby (Rosy McEwen) still in the matron’s apartment. Moore tags along, coming fresh from a just-kidding-or-am-I proposal to Sarah (the nicest little interaction we’ve ever seen between the two! A man whose syphilis treatment has turned his teeth permanently silver. A trained climber with psychic wounds. No, not that big dead horse who got so much screen time in the trailer (although he has his big moment, too. One of Stevie’s little street urchin friends recognizes him in drag, which seems to dissuade an approaching, shadowy figure in the background. “Let the family handle it,” the mayor says. You’re a star!). On the other, Roosevelt charges uptown with a paddy wagon to arrest Van Bergen on suspicion of murder. 10 funny mockumentaries to remind us about the absurdity of life, Family-friendly Halloween films for boos big and small. It only took six episodes, but The Alienist finally gave us the A-grade episode we’ve all been yearning for this week — with a perfectly paced plot to catch a killer and a long-awaited chance to shine for the most criminally underrated member of the cast. (She’s figured out that he’s been lying about how he got a crippled arm, meaning Kreizler has been giving all of them grief about not facing their pasts while being evasive about his own, making him a jerk and a hypocrite.) And poor little Rosie, who had already suffered through the indignity of listening to Marcus Isaacson reciting poetry, is now lying dead and partially dismembered at the feet of the Statue of Liberty. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Connor, who intentionally scuttled the operation, tries to play it off like an honest mistake, but Roosevelt isn’t fooled. (Although for what it’s worth, Willem seems disinclined to go.). And Marcus chases down and tackles a shadowy figure on the roof who turns out to be a priest (awkward) and doesn’t even apologize or help the guy to pick up his sack of Bibles (rude). Offers may be subject to change without notice. This plan has a few flaws, namely that Stevie won’t stop swaggering, spitting, and generally failing to be even a little bit cute, but everyone seems enthusiastic about it — even after he sends his first prospective customer packing. A recap of ‘The Alienist’ season 1 episode 5 “Hildebrandt’s Starling.” Kreizler doesn’t know nearly as much as he thinks he does. The Alienist recap: 'Hildebrandt's Starling' ... until you realize that we’re only halfway through a 10-episode season, and there’s no way they’d show us the killer this early. This recap of The Alienist: Angel of Darkness episode 5, “Belly of the Beast”, and The Alienist: Angel of Darkness episode 6, “Memento Mori”, contains spoilers. Aww). Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. The strategy: Close all the brothels save one, position a tarted-up Stevie in the street, and wait for the mystery murderer to take the bait. In the end, Stevie had to put on a corset for nothing; no likely suspects showed up during the sting operation, and that includes Willem Van Burgen. 10 funny mockumentaries to remind us about the absurdity of life, Family-friendly Halloween films for boos big and small. Incredibly, this doesn’t kill him. “How’d you like to rub up against me like a kitten?” asks the bowler-wearing pervert. Curbed is now a part of New York Magazine. For weeks, Dr. Laszlo Kreizler’s team of supersleuths has been chasing a series of spectres: a man who kills, mutilates, and cannibalizes children. And until this week, it seemed reasonable to conclude that all of these spectres were actually one single guy…until you realize that we’re only halfway through a 10-episode season, and there’s no way they’d show us the killer this early. In real life, Pomeroy was sentenced to life in prison at the age of 14 after brutally murdering several children in Boston. You cannot touch me!” and Connor immediately proves him wrong by touching him extremely hard, putting a bullet right between Willem’s eyes. And because his accomplices are complete hosers (I particularly can’t wait to see Marcus explain that he couldn’t do his job because he was too busy reciting dirty limericks to a child), Stevie’s customer manages to escape, luring the gang out and into the street — right past Kreizler, who is also not doing his job, because he was too busy slapping Sarah in the face after she called him a coward. Kreizler and the cops close in on the man with a silver smile, but careful: he might be a red herring. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Hence, neither one is paying attention when a man approaches Stevie — and all Stevie’s swagger melts away. But of course, Willem was never the killer, and the hunt goes on. A recap of season 1, episode 1, ‘The Boy on the Bridge’. He’s only more determined to assert his authority and prove that no New Yorker, however privileged, is above the law. With everyone distracted, the killer has doubled back to get what he came for. of what looks like surgical alcohol (?!). Sarah learns a secret about Kreizler's "Mister Perfect" act, while the team launches a risky sting operation. Well done, Dead Horse! A wealthy patron of boy prostitutes whose exposure would be politically disastrous. He knows the murderer’s victims are boys who remind him of himself. © Copyright 2020 Meredith Corporation. He doesn’t just tell Connor to turn over his badge; he rips it from the man’s body like he’s channeling Justin Timberlake at the 2004 Super Bowl. Hence, the theme of “Hildebrandt’s Starling” is a lesson not just to Kreizler, but to us, too: To understand the nature of the thing, you’ve got to look at it until it reveals itself. Okay, so this isn’t a perfect analogy.). © Copyright 2020 Meredith Corporation. He knows he stalks them at a Lower East Side church frequented by immigrants. (Or watch it on television. The Alienist recap: 'Ascension' The Alienist recap: 'Ascension' Sarah learns a secret about Kreizler's "Mister Perfect" act, while the team launches a risky sting operation Unfortunately, Willem doesn’t want to go to Buenos Aires, and on the eve of Pentecost, he storms out into the night after drinking an entire bottle (!) Needless to say, Roosevelt isn’t about to do that. In the world of The Alienist, Kreizler had a go at unraveling his psychology somewhere along the way. A recap of ‘The Alienist’ season 1 episode 7 “Many Sainted Men.” Kreizler’s little stabbing experiment definitely isn’t good news. The dead man’s body is wrapped in burlap and pitched off the bridge, and that’s the ignominious end of Willem Van Burgen. Curbed is now a part of New York Magazine. But while Roosevelt didn’t get his man, Kreizler is one step closer to catching his killer. She’s preparing tea and has set up the matron’s body as if she’s sitting at the table ready to partake in refreshments. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. A review and recap of TNT's The Alienist: Angel Of Darkness, episodes 5 and 6, "Belly Of The Beast" and "Memento Mori" Instead, the disgraced Captain Connor does. Things only go downhill from there, as the whole evening suffers a series of mishaps. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. And finally, he’s figured out the pattern that leaves him one step ahead of the killer’s next move: The boys are being captured and killed on Christian holy days, which leaves them a brief window of time before the next body turns up. Set in New York City at the end of the Gilded Age, The Alienist is Sherlock Holmes by way of Hannibal. While Kreizler and Co. are still searching for the killer, pretty much everyone else (including the police and his parents) have made up their minds that Willem did it — leading to an awkward confrontation in which the mayor unwittingly tips off Theodore Roosevelt that there’s something happening behind the scenes of his very corrupt police department. Moore keeps lighting cigarettes on the rooftop, despite repeated warnings that he’s drawing attention to their presence. Stevie shows up right off the bat in “Ascension” as a key player in the gang’s play to catch their killer, whose schedule suggests that he’ll be kidnapping his next victim on May 10th, Ascension Day. For the second time, Stevie is dressed up and set out, this time inside a brothel where a younger prostitute named “Rosie” informs him, “You make an awful girl.” (Side note: He really does. This time, Kreizler’s tour de former patients leads him to Jesse Pomeroy, an honest-to-goodness baby serial killer from the annals of history. And of course, while Roosevelt was chasing a false lead, Mr. and Mrs. Van Bergen were busy breaking up their wayward son’s naughty night to pack him off to Switzerland or Bermuda or wherever. So Roosevelt tells Sarah; Sarah digs up the likeliest suspects; and shortly, the info is in Kreizler’s hands…as is a glass of whiskey, because that’s what Sarah drinks and the doctor is a sucker for peer pressure from an independent woman in huge sleeves. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. You can check out our thoughts on the previous two episodes by clicking these words. A brief chase along the waterfront leads back to the Williamsburg Bridge, where Willem screams, “I’m a Van Burgen! So, about Willem Van Bergen: He’s the man with the silver teeth and raging case of arm pustules who once scuffled with a bishop before abandoning the church for “a life of the flesh.” He is also, according to Kreizler, not the killer — but Roosevelt doesn’t care, which brings us to a nice little cat-and-mouse montage.