The Alienist Episode 9
Mary is dead. How will this affect Kreizler? Will Connor be charged with her murder? Or at least manslaughter? Will they find John Beecham and stop him before he kills again? When IS the next Holy Day? So many questions, I wonder how many answers will we receive?
Haply I May Remember
We open on the very sad scene of Mary’s burial. There are only a few mourners at the cemetery. John Moore (Luke Evans) is reading Christina Rossetti’s poem “Requiem”. As her casket is lowered into the ground Sara (Dakota Fanning) tells Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl) she is so very sorry, but he does not respond. My heart is aching for Kreizler, he finally found love and to have it ripped from him in such a tragic manner is so heartbreaking. Theodore Roosevelt (Brian Geraghty) offers his condolences to Kreizler and reminds him that he is not alone, and there is no shame in grieving.
As they begin to shovel dirt into Mary’s grave the skies open up turning the area into a muddy mess. As they stand in the pouring rain of the thunderstorm Kreizler tells Moore their investigation is over. Moore tells him he is not responsible for Mary’s death, but Kreizler believes he is. I feel so sad as Cyrus (Robert Ray Wisdom) and Stevie (Matt Lintz) watch Kreizler grab a handful of dirt and mud, kiss it and toss the dirt onto Mary’s casket.
And Haply May Forget
The thunderstorm continues as Lucius Isaacson (Matthew Shear) questions Sergeant Doyle (Martin McCreadie) about Mary’s death. He tells Lucius that they were waiting outside for Kreizler and she invited them in. What a lying piece of shit Doyle is. I pray they have Connor locked up somewhere in that building. Then Doyle claims Mary asked them if they wanted tea…ASKED THEM! He fucked up now, Mary couldn’t talk! When Lucius tells the Sergeant that Mary was mute he becomes angry, claiming he wasn’t being literal.
Now Doyle’s story is that she said it with her eyes. I just want reach through my TV and choke this man. Lucius asks when she got the knife and he says she must have had it hidden in her petticoat. Lucius asks Doyle if he expects him to believe that. Doyle responds that he expects Lucius to believe him over “sambo” and a “half witch stable boy”. At this point Marcus Isaacson (Douglas Smith) does what I wish I could, he charges at Doyle. Unfortunately Lucius holds him back. Doyle finds “a couple of heebs playing at cops” amusing.
Hiding In The Past
We see a man walking through the pouring rain towards O’Rourke’s Bar. Inside the bar Thomas Byrnes (Ted Levine) is telling a joke to a group of men. I’m quite surprised that the joke is not racist in any way. As he reaches the punchline he turns to see Commissioner Roosevelt enter the bar. Roosevelt tells Byrnes he has been to a funeral and that he (Byrnes), and the police force he built over the past 30 years, bear some of the responsibility. Byrnes tells the Commissioner that the crimes in the city are because of his lack of leadership and that the men don’t respect him. Roosevelt asks him what they respect and is told the badge and the uniform. That they do not respect weakness. I certainly would never accuse Teddy Roosevelt of being weak. Roosevelt tells Byrnes that weakness is an old man hiding in the past.
The Investigation Continues
At Sara’s house Moore is telling her that Kreizler won’t or can’t change his mind about ending the investigation. Sara tells them they will have to continue without him. Moore thinks she is doing this for her own ambitions, but she tells him she is doing it so she can sleep at night. Moore tells her they don’t have the knowledge to continue and she reminds him they have a name…Japheth Dury, better known now as John Beecham. Sara says all they have to do is find him. Now a days with everything computerized that would be pretty easy, I’m not sure how she plans to pull this off in the late 1800s.
Sara brings Moore to an old bar that was put out of business. The windows are mostly covered in newspapers. As they enter the bar we see the Isaacsons are there waiting for them. Sara tells Moore this is their new headquarters. It’s certainly not as fancy as it was at Kreizler’s. Moore looks pretty skeptical to me. Sara is very determined to catch this killer, that’s for sure.
Just Nick a Vein
Cyrus is sharpening a knife as Stevie tells him he followed Connor (David Wilmot) to his house. Just what is Cyrus planning to do with that knife? He tells Cyrus that Connor lives in Brooklyn. That they are the only family in the house and they have a yard and an outhouse. I guess in those days that was “living good” for someone who was not part of New York’s elite society. Cyrus looks to be deep in thought as he continues to sharpen that knife. I have a feeling he is plotting something very bad. Stevie says its not fair that he’s living like that and Mary is in the ground. He tells Cyrus he would like to stick a shank in Connor’s throat. Cyrus tells him all you have to do is nick a vein in a man’s leg to kill him.
Continue reading on the next page…
Narrow Down the Hunt
Back in the old bar they are trying to narrow down where to look for Beecham. None of the murders have happened above 14th Street so Sara says to limit their hunt to Greenwich Village and the Lower East Side. Moore tells her that’s only half the population of the city. He obviously feels this is not going to be easy, and I agree with him. It seems a nearly impossible undertaking. They know he uses the rooftops and Marcus says churches and charities use the rooftops to travel.
When Moore says they should start knocking on doors Sara tells him they don’t have time for that. The Feast of St. Barnabas is in 8 days. I had been wondering when the next Holy Day was, now we have a countdown. Will they find Beecham in less than 8 days? They have until the 11th of June. Moore says they need to involve the police and Lucius reminds him they ARE the police. Did he forget the Isaacsons are Police Detectives? Or does he just think they are not enough.
A Good Question
Moore steps outside to smoke a cigarette. Children are playing in an open fire hydrant. Moore rushes back into the old bar and asks the others why Japheth changed his name to John Beecham. The man who violated him was named George Beecham, so why did he only take his last name? I had wondered that myself when we discovered the real Beecham’s first name was George. Sara says there could be some twisted logic to it. By taking part of his name he goes from being victim to tormentor. I agree with this, but Sara that does not answer why he used John instead of George. Is there a John in his past? Did he just choose it because it’s such a common name?
Completely ignoring Moore’s question about the name Marcus tells him that Beecham was released from St. Elizabeth’s in 1890 and the Zweig kids were killed in 1893. So where was Beecham between those two events? Sara asks Lucius where she would go to find someone’s address if she had their name. He tells her police records. She then asks what if the person doesn’t have a police record.
The Isaacsons arrive at the Census Bureau telling them they need to check the census records for the name of a man they are trying to find. They pull all the books listing the lower east side wards. Sara and Moore join the brothers in searching the many volumes of handwritten names. Talk about looking for a needle in a haystack. Suddenly Marcus finds John Beecham on Allen Street. The excitement quickly wains when he realizes it was a 2 year old boy, who would now be aged 8. The hunt continues.
Fe Fi Fo Fum
A bunch of boys go running into a house. I’m not sure if the house is abandoned or not. It is full of furnishings and the boys are playing hide and seek. A young boy runs into a bedroom and hides inside the wardrobe. We then see that there is a man hidden behind the bed in the room. The boy who is “it” is repeatedly chanting “fe fi fo fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman” as he hunts for the boys. As he chants we see the feet of the man slowly moving towards the wardrobe. We switch to a shocked looking Sara, she shows Moore the signature at the bottom of the census pages…John Beecham. Back at the house, just as the man goes to open the wardrobe police rush in telling the boys they need to leave. When the boy steps out of the wardrobe the man is gone.
The Needle in the Haystack is Found
The Isaacsons are asking Charles Murray (Ronan Vibert), head of the Census Department, about John Beecham. He is reluctant to give them any information. Moore lies to Murray claiming they need information on Beecham’s brother and hope John can help them. Murray seems to accept this story and tells them he hired Beecham as an enumerator, a census taker. He tells them he hired 900 men in the Spring of ‘90 and Lucius is surprised he still remembers Beecham. Murray tells them he was hard to forget because of his facial spasm. Sounds like they have found the right John Beecham this time. Murray tells them he was a decent fellow; polite, religious, scrupulous.
Murray then tells them he had to fire Beecham after a complaint from a Jewish family. He did not believe the complaint, but the family said he had been visiting their 12 year old daughter. Murray claims girls of that age have “vivid imaginations” especially if they are of the Hebrew faith. I don’t know how the Isaacsons are able to hold their tongues, but they do. Murray brings Beecham’s employment file when Marcus asks for it. He compares the writing on his form to the letter sent to Mrs Santorelli and finds them similar. The form lists his birth place as New Paltz, NY and his address on Bank Street, which is located in the West Village. I also happened to notice on the form that he has blue eyes, brown hair, is 6’4”and 165 pounds.
I’m so heartbroken when we see Kreizler at home. His heartache is so obvious, he can’t even bring himself to answer the door. He wanders into Mary’s room looking a bit disheveled. As he looks at her belongings on her dresser he finds a ticket to The Vistascope. That was from the day Moore took her out on a date, not even 2 months earlier. Remembering how happy she was that day makes me feel so sad now. I wonder what Kreizler is thinking as he stares at it.
Just The Kitties
The Isaacsons, Moore and Sara arrive at the Bank Street address. Moore says he would feel safer if there were some roundsmen with them and Sara says not after they shot you in the back. After ringing the bell and getting no response Marcus jimmys the lock. The home seems quite neat and well decorated. Not what I would expect Beecham’s home to look like. The Isaacsons search the house with guns pulled. They cautiously make their way to the 2nd floor. There is a faint sound of crying up there, is it a baby? I hold my breath as the brothers open a door where the sound is coming from. Two cats come running out, I breathe again. The room is FULL of cats. Is Beecham an “Old Cat Lady”?
The front door opens and everyone freezes, but a sweet little voice calls out “Hello?” The little old lady (Flip Webster) apologizes for frightening them. Why isn’t she shocked people are in her house? Sara lies and tells her the door was unlocked. The woman asks if they are there about the room. Sara tells her their friends are looking for lodging and are upstairs. She asks the woman if she has any other lodgers and the sweet lady tells her “just the kitties for now”.
Moore tells her that he got her address from John Beecham. The old landlady says Mr. Beecham was not a friend of the kitties. She tells Moore that Beecham lived with her for almost 6 years, but left last Christmas after losing his job. She remembers it was the same day that Jib, her tabby, ran away. Coincidence? I think not. The landlady tells Moore that Beecham had been a charity worker. No one has used the room since he left and she tells them they can look at it. They are overcome by the smell of death as they enter the room. Jib perhaps? How does the landlady not notice the smell? They find a loose floorboard and pull it up. Although they all looked shocked, I’m not surprised at all to see poor rotting Jib.
Such A Vile Pig!
Back at the old bar it is now dark and Sara is preparing to leave. I’m quite surprised that the men left her there alone. Although, knowing Sara, she would have given them a difficult time if any of them offered to escort her. Connor confronts her on the steps after she locks up. What is that asshole doing out on the streets? Why isn’t he locked up somewhere after killing Mary? This makes me very angry and very worried for Sara. He offers to walk Sara home and she refuses. She tells him she will yell for a roundsman. He tells her good luck finding one that time of night. He grabs Sara and tells her she better be careful or someone could grab her from behind and “put it inside her.” He’s such a vile pig! I despise this man!
Joseph
Moore is walking down a street and we see, who we now know must be John Beecham, watching from the rooftop. When a couple “girls” hit on Moore, Joseph comes to his rescue. He tells Maxie (Dominic Boyle) to keep an eye out as he brings Moore into the building. Moore asks Joseph why he’s out on the street. He tells him the cops threw them out so they had nowhere else to go. Moore gives Joseph a bunch of cash telling him to find a room in a boarding house. He tells him he does not want him working or living on the streets. I still wish Moore would take Joseph in. The boy tells Moore that his friend met someone who promised to take him away, but there was nothing wrong with his face.
Moore tells Joseph that the killer may not be a client. That he may have a job that would get him close to the boys. He suggests perhaps a charity worker, but Joseph says he wouldn’t trust them as far as he could kick them. Joseph tells Moore they just pretend to care so they can “cop a feel.” Moore then suggests a preacher or medical worker, he asks if Fatima ever said what her “Saint” did, but Joseph doesn’t know. He tells Moore that Fatima (aka Ali) said the man was nothing like his father, who he hated more than anything in the world. As this conversation is going on Beecham is watching the other boys from the roof across the street.
Revenge?
Kreizler is playing a sad sounding song on him piano with his left hand. He looks less disheveled which I guess is a good sign. He is calling for Cyrus, but Stevie comes to the room instead. When Kreizler asks where Cyrus is Stevie just shrugs. We then see Connor heading outside to his outhouse. As he’s relieving himself Cyrus begins creeping towards him. He is standing next to the outhouse with his knife in his hands. I know it’s awful of me to think, but I hope he manages to stab that piece of shit and we get to watch him bleed out. Cyrus is creeping up behind Connor who is oblivious in the outhouse. He is right behind him. Stab him Cyrus! Do it! Connor turns around and is startled, but instead of Cyrus standing there it’s his son Thomas. Cyrus sneaks away.
Kreizler is pacing around his bedroom in the dark. He keeps flashing back to memories of his beloved Mary. I continue to ache for him, he must be in so much pain. When he remembers them kissing he grabs his injured arm and screams, a deep guttural scream, into his mirror. The hurt and rage he feels is overwhelming.
A Friend
The Isaacsons are outside a classroom where a young lady is teaching English. It turns out this is the girl, Ellie Leshka (Lily Lesser), that Beecham was accused of visiting when she was 12. Now at 18 she explains to the brothers that she had told her parents that he was her friend, and just that, a friend. Marcus asks if he ever touched her and she says “not once” and that she told her parents the same. Her parent filed a complaint anyway. Lucius asks her what they talked about and she tells him “how much I hated my parents”. Marcus asks her why she thinks a grown man would friend a 12 year old girl. She thinks he needed someone to talk to, that he didn’t have many friends.
The Countdown
June 8
The Isaacsons are going door to door trying to find information on Beecham. Moore is talking to children on the street. As they are hunting for him, Beecham is pulling himself up on a stonewall. Exercising? Practicing Climbing?
June 9
They continue their door to door hunt for the man. Moore is showing a sketch of Beecham to kids asking if they have ever seen him. Beecham is using what look like meat hooks in the ceiling to do pull ups, this man is extremely strong.
June 10
As night falls Moore continues his questioning of boys in the street. Back at his house Kreizler is looking at a picture of himself as a boy with his parents. He asks in German “Was I too loud Papi?” then again in German he says “You were right…I’m just a little imposter.” Was it his father that injured his arm? Was he jealous of his talent on the piano? Kreizler raises his glass of whine to the picture and cheers it in German. He then downs the drink and I jump as he smashes the glass on the table. I gasp out loud when he stabs the shattered end of the glass into his bad arm. Does he have no feeling in it at all? If that wasn’t enough he then pulls the glass out and starts pounding on his arm.
June 11
Moore asks if they think The Feast of St Barnabas has meaning for Beecham. Sara says everything has meaning for him. Marcus concludes whatever he does for work it lets him befriend the boys. He tells them they should keep talking to charity workers and church volunteers. Sara tells him the boys would have contempt for charity workers. Moore realizes that Ali hated his father, Ellie hated her parents and Giorgio was beaten by his father. Beecham’s childhood was similar with beatings, poverty and hating his parents. The boys trust him because he understands them. They then realize that there is also a gambling connection, both Ali and Giorgio’s fathers were gamblers.
Getting Closer
The group heads to a rooftop cock fight to talk to a man who “collects” gambling debts. The first man he sent to collect from Ali’s father came back with a broken nose, so he sent a bigger guy. When asked the man’s name all he knew was “John” and that he had something wrong with his face. The man doesn’t know where John lives but knows where he hangs out.
Moore and Marcus go into a very rough looking bar while Lucius and Sara wait outside. Marcus tells the barman he wants information about a customer and the barman tells him to get out. Moore pulls out some cash and says “John Beecham”. When the barman looks confused by the name Marcus tells him a tall guy with a facial tic. The barman gets a look of fear in his eyes. This guy is no little guy, he looks pretty tough, for him to be scared of Beecham says a lot. He tells them where to find Beecham and warns them he is no man to cross.
The Bathhouse
As the group make their way to Beecham’s apartment we see Joseph and Maxie are at a bathhouse that is about to close. As Joseph takes one last swim Maxie leaves to change into his clothes. Back at the apartment Marcus manages to pick the lock and they enter Beecham’s place. In the bathhouse the boys are leaving when Maxie tells Joseph he is meeting someone and sneaks away. At Beecham’s Sara finds an 1896 calendar with the dates the boys have been killed circled with an X through them. June 11 is circled with an X already and Sara thinks they may be too late.
As Joseph and his friends leave the bathhouse he tells them “beers and smokes are on me”. When he checks his pockets for the money Moore gave him he realizes Maxie took it. He heads back into the bathhouse looking for him. Maxie is sitting by the water counting the money he stole from Joseph. He hears noises coming from somewhere in the bathhouse, he calls out “is that you?”
So Many Eyes
At Beecham’s apartment Moore finds pictures hidden in a book. They are the pictures that Reverend Dury had brought back of people slaughtered by Indians. In the bathhouse Maxie begins to leave when Beecham comes repealing down from the ceiling. Marcus is searching under Beecham’s bed when he spots something. As he struggles to reach it Sara finds a box containing a heart. Marcus pulls a jar out from under the bed. The jar is full of eyes…far more eyes then those of the known victims. Sara asks how many have there been. From the look of the jar probably close to a dozen.
Another Holy Day, Another Death
As Joseph enters the bathhouse looking for Maxie we hear a slicing sound. All we see is Maxie’s feet and lower legs sticking out from around a corner in a pool of blood. We can also see the lower part of the killer next to the boy. It appears that both Maxie and Beecham are naked. Joseph starts running in fear. Get out of the building Joseph! As he runs away he ducks into one of the changing cabinets. Why? Beecham wasn’t chasing him, why didn’t he run out of the building? Beecham is still slicing up the body when Joseph loudly slams the cabinet door. Why Joseph Why?
Joseph is in the cabinet, terrified, breathing so loudly it must be echoing around the bathhouse. Beecham makes his way through the changing room dragging the blood soaked body of Maxie behind him. Joseph peeks under the door as Maxie’s naked body is dragged past his hiding spot. Is the killer going to ignore him? Now that he’s killed is he satisfied for the time being and doesn’t need to go after Joseph? As Beecham drags the body further away Joseph struggles not to cry out. Suddenly Beecham stops, did he hear the boy? As Joseph cowers in the corner of the changing stall the door suddenly opens…and we fade to black.
Please don’t let Beecham kill Joseph! Is it even Beecham that opened the door? Did someone else come into the bathhouse? I’m grasping at straws here because I don’t want him to kill Joseph. And what about Kreizler? Has Mary’s death pushed him completely over the edge? Will we ever find out what happened to his arm? What about Connor – will he ever pay for what he did to Mary? Will John Beecham finally be caught? Next week is the final episode with so many questions to answer. I need this week to go quickly so I can learn the answers to these questions and see how it all ends.
Give Us A Like! Give Us A Follow!
Previous The Alienist Reviews:
Episode: 1 ♦ 2 ♦ 3 ♦ 4 ♦ 5 ♦ 6 ♦ 7 ♦ 8
Don’t Forget To Check These Out:
Podcast: The Blacklist “The Capricorn Killer”