Review: The Alienist: Angel of Darkness (2020)

 Series review: The Alienist: Angel of Darkness

Seasons: 2

Episodes: 18

Description: 

Newspaper illustrator John Moore meets with criminal psychologist (alienist) Dr. Laszlo Kreizler to investigate a serial killer in New York during the late 19th century.

 The second season of The Alienist is as good, if not better than the first. Set in gloomy New York of the late 19th century, an alienist, a female detective and a news reporter try to solve a series of hideous crimes.

The crimes in the first series were brutal, but the murder and kidnapping of babies is the most brutal thing I can think of. The series builds tension fast, and holds it. Just when the viewer is led to believe that the crime is solved, a twist occurs and more investigative work is required.

The series gives some attention to women's suffrage and shows the fairly emancipated Sara, who worked with the Alienist, Kreizler, in the first season and now opened her own detective agency with female employees only. 

The combined talents of our three investigators remind me of Sherlock Holmes. The story is original and the clues are hard to see for the viewer. The plot is unpredictable, which makes it hard to look away once you start watching.

Within the plot there's even room for some romance between the detective, Sara, and the reporter, John. The romance between them is full of denial and disappointment and it is frustrating to me how they get close and drift apart again. Yet it adds to the main story.

I am a huge fan of the cast. Dr. Kreizler is played by Daniel Brühl, a german-spanish actor who you might have seen in Inglorious Bastards. His lack of a German accent is amazing, I have personally witnessed the struggle that a lot of Germans have with English when I went to school in Germany. Dakota Fanning, who plays detective Sara, looks like she was made for the part. She tends to have a pensive look on her face which sometimes makes way for compassion or rage. In my opinion she is a beautiful woman and fits right into the setting. Luke Evans, reporter John, plays the part of gentleman so well that I believe him to be like that in real life as well. You might have seen him in The Hobbit or the 2011 version of The Three Musketeers or at least, that's where I know him from.

All in all, a great series. I didn't find any flaws but I'm not a trained critic or an expert, just someone who likes to write and watch Netflix. The series will get a hold of you and drag you down into the gloomy setting, so much that you might forget you are watching a series.

Rating

The Alienist: Angel of Darkness gets Dungeon Material status.

As gloomy as people picture a dungeon, and even more brutal.

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