by Conan Simmons – August 6, 2020 – 5:32pm
Promising cast and impressive production design can’t uplift overly grim tale.
This second season of TNT’s original series is set one year later even though nearly two years have elapsed since the first season debuted in 2018. A lot has happened in the real world since then and even with the changing of showrunners this new season, dubbed ‘Angel of Darkness’, feels lagging behind the times.
Following the adventures of Sara Howard (Dakota Fanning), John Moore (Luke Evans) and Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Bruehl) as they pursue another serial killer on the loose. This time it’s infanticide and with the help of forensic detectives the Isaacson brothers (Douglas Smith and Matthew Shear) they navigate their way through the corridors of the super wealthy and the gutters of extreme poverty.
Taking place in 1897 New York the production design is the real highlight of the series as it transforms sets in Budapest, Hungary into late nineteenth century America. Complimented by equally impressive costume design and cinematography the show is a pleasure to look at. Though it’s a television series the quality of the work makes it feel like you’re watching a feature film in the cinema.
Having three charismatic leads to carry the proceedings it is unfortunate that the writing doesn’t quite hold up. Time and again the story indulges in generic character arcs such as predictable romances and typical confrontational arguments. The cast does everything they can with the material and a particular bright spot comes from Melanie Field as novice detective Bitsy Sussman working for Sara Howard’s all female detective agency.
The series has never been shy from challenging subject matter and the first season maintained classiness while delving into what easily could have turned exploitation material. This new season unfortunately takes shock value a little too far especially in a disgustingly disturbing scene at a department store. It’s as though the director doesn’t understand that the audience doesn’t need to see everything in order to know what is happening.
While the first season had moments dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace involving Sara Howard being the first female employee of the New York Police Department the current season focuses more on misogyny. Even the newspapers of William Randolph Hearst try to smear her in the press simply because she is a woman.
The issue of racism is briefly brought up albeit with the usual naive Hollywood optimism that suggests the problem is only as bad as a few people frowning. It’s a real missed opportunity to make comparisons with contemporary times in examining how racism shapes society. Doubly so that the show doesn’t push more into such a relevant issue instead opting for overdoing the horror of the crimes.
‘The Alienist: Angel of Darkness’ airs Sunday nights on TNT.