The Alienist Episode 7
The killer has managed to snatch a boy right under their noses. His body left at the feet of “Lady Liberty.” How can they possibly stop this man? What will the ramifications be from this murder? Will Roosevelt have to pull them off the case? Will the latest murder provide any new clues to the man’s identity? How long until the next Holy Day? A lot of questions in The Alienist Episode 7!
We open to the sound of a ticking clock, we then find John Moore (Luke Evans) attempting to sketch the man Stevie (Matt Lintz) saw at the brothel. Dr. Kreizler (Daniel Brühl) is becoming frustrated with Moore who, according to the doctor, is drawing what he wants to draw and not what Stevie is describing. As the two men argue Stevie becomes frustrated and yells at them to stop. It’s sad that a boy has to be the one to remind the men that all the arguing will not help them find the killer.
Rosie
There is a huge mob of angry people being held back by a line of policemen. Moore and Kreizler are making their way through the crowd. The immigrants are outraged that another one of their boys has been murdered. I’m surprised how easily Moore and Kreizler make it through, I would have expected them to be more accosted. The men are headed into the morgue where Rosie’s (Oliver Cater) body is.
Lucius Isaacson (Matthew Shear) describes the boys wounds to everyone gathered. Like the other victims his genitals have been removed and his right hand is missing. There are also lacerations to the abdomen. Unlike the other boys though Rosie is only missing one eye and his heart is missing. The boy was also, unlike the others, scalped. This makes me immediately think that perhaps the murderer is Native American.
The Wild West
Commissioner Roosevelt (Brian Geraghty) says he has only ever seen someone scalped out west. He explains that when he was working on a ranch in the Dakotas he saw the bodies of some white men that had been mutilated after an Indian massacre. Kreizler asks Roosevelt if he is sure it’s the same. The commissioner tells him the scalping and the missing eye and genitals are similar to what he saw.
Kreizler tells Lucius and his brother Marcus (Douglas Smith) to go through the information they received from mental hospitals and asylums. He wants them to look for any patients with connections to the west. He asks Sara Howard (Dakota Fanning) to assist them. Kreizler then asks to be left alone with the boy’s body. It’s a strange request, even for him. No one questions it though and they all leave the morgue.
What Is Kreizler Doing?
While the request to be alone with the body was strange, what he does next is completely bizarre. After lovingly stroking the boy’s hair Kreizler picks up a sharp instrument. Why? What is he going to do with that? He begins tracing the wound on Rosie’s abdomen. Then for no apparent reason he slowly stabs the body with the scalpel. Kreizler has always been strange, but this is beyond strange, it’s down right creepy. Does he just want to know what it feels like to stab someone? After pulling the scalpel out of the boy he tells him “I’m Sorry” in what I assume is German.
Leaving the morgue is much more difficult for Kreizler and Moore than arriving was. A man from the crowd manages to break through and grab the doctor. Moore jumps in to try to help him. They are rescued from the irate man and brought to a waiting carriage. When the door is opened we see Paul Kelly (Antonio Magro) welcoming them. Kreizler and Moore are surprised but they enter the carriage. I’m surprised too, I wonder what Kelly is up to now.
A Harsh Reality
A newspaper is thrown down and we see an article entitled “BOY-WHORE KILLER STRIKES AGAIN.” Thomas Byrnes (Ted Levine) is showing the paper to a shocked Connor (David Wilmot). He tells Byrnes it wasn’t Willem Van Bergen who did it. Byrnes is surprised by this announcement and Connor tells him the timing is off. Connor would certainly know since he had already killed Willem by the time that murder had happened. He is left no other option but to confess to Byrnes that Willem is dead, although he lies and claims it was an accident.
Byrnes loses his temper and grabs Connor, telling him he was suppose to keep an eye on Willem. Connor assures him the body won’t be found. Byrnes looks to me like he is going to pass out. It’s never good when a member of “The 400” is killed in cold blood under your watch. Byrnes then explains to Connor, who he calls a “stupid Mick”, how the city is run. They serve the rich, who think of them as nothing more then dumb animals. The rich don’t think of Byrnes and Connor any better than the scum they protect them from. If they don’t do the bidding of the rich they will pay someone else to sink them to the bottom of the river like Connor did with Willem. Byrnes looks really worried because he knows Connor has really fucked up big time.
Back in Kelly’s carriage he asks Kreizler and Moore where they would like to be dropped. Kreizler says The Natural History Museum. I was surprised by this because I did not realize the museum has been around that long. I’ve discovered it was created in 1869 and has been showing exhibits since 1871. Kelly tells the men he is proud of “his people” back at the police station. When Moore says Kelly probably arranged the mob, Kelly retaliates by reminding him of the last time he saw him. He doesn’t say when it was, but I’m sure everyone remembers it was when Moore was drugged up in the brothel with the boys. When Kreizler asks what Kelly wants he tells him he wants his brothel reopened.
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