The Alienist episodes 1-4
Aug. 24th, 2021 06:37 pmI've already watched the whole first season (and really liked it!) but ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rachelmanija and scioscribe are watching it now, so I'll pace these posts to their watching so they can participate in the discussion. No spoilers beyond the discussed episodes, please!
So basically this is a moody, atmospheric psychological thriller set in late 1800s New York. A serial killer is leaving mutilated corpses of young male prostitutes, and between the nature of the victims and institutional corruption in the city, the police are doing nothing. So a group of outsiders set out to conduct their own investigation and find the killer themselves.
The murder plot is probably the part that I'm least interested in; I'm mostly here for fascinating character dynamics (which really reward rewatching, btw), the gorgeous and seedy recreation of Gilded Age New York, and the show's nuanced portrayal of various dysfunctional coping mechanisms for disability and trauma. Despite being dark, bloody, and violent, it's overall an optimistic show (at least I'd consider it so) with a lot of empathy for its flawed and complicated characters.
There is a really great twist in episode 4 that's worth being unspoiled for if you enjoy watching unspoiled, because it was such an "Oh!" moment and beautifully recontextualized all of a particular character's scenes that came earlier, as well as being a masterclass in misdirection and putting something in front of the viewer in a non-obvious way. This twist is discussed beneath the cut, along with various other spoilers from the first four episodes.
And yes, I started watching it because of Daniel Brühl (the actor who played Zemo), whose puppy eyes and prickly/empathic character in this show are worth the price of admission alone. Other enticements: a female character who is basically 1800s Peggy Carter, crimefighter Teddy Roosevelt, and a plausibly diverse 19th-century New York, as well as some very catnippy and painfully twisty character dynamics.
I do have a couple of content warnings if you want to watch: ( Content warnings )
( And now, on to the spoilers )
rachelmanija and scioscribe are watching it now, so I'll pace these posts to their watching so they can participate in the discussion. No spoilers beyond the discussed episodes, please!So basically this is a moody, atmospheric psychological thriller set in late 1800s New York. A serial killer is leaving mutilated corpses of young male prostitutes, and between the nature of the victims and institutional corruption in the city, the police are doing nothing. So a group of outsiders set out to conduct their own investigation and find the killer themselves.
The murder plot is probably the part that I'm least interested in; I'm mostly here for fascinating character dynamics (which really reward rewatching, btw), the gorgeous and seedy recreation of Gilded Age New York, and the show's nuanced portrayal of various dysfunctional coping mechanisms for disability and trauma. Despite being dark, bloody, and violent, it's overall an optimistic show (at least I'd consider it so) with a lot of empathy for its flawed and complicated characters.
There is a really great twist in episode 4 that's worth being unspoiled for if you enjoy watching unspoiled, because it was such an "Oh!" moment and beautifully recontextualized all of a particular character's scenes that came earlier, as well as being a masterclass in misdirection and putting something in front of the viewer in a non-obvious way. This twist is discussed beneath the cut, along with various other spoilers from the first four episodes.
And yes, I started watching it because of Daniel Brühl (the actor who played Zemo), whose puppy eyes and prickly/empathic character in this show are worth the price of admission alone. Other enticements: a female character who is basically 1800s Peggy Carter, crimefighter Teddy Roosevelt, and a plausibly diverse 19th-century New York, as well as some very catnippy and painfully twisty character dynamics.
I do have a couple of content warnings if you want to watch: ( Content warnings )
( And now, on to the spoilers )