Laszlo Kreizler

Laszlo Kreizler
Biographical Information
Born	1855
Occupation	Alienist Founder and director of Kreizler Institute
Relationship
Affiliation	Kreizler Institute 808-Broadway
Relatives	Mr. Kreizler (father) Mrs. Kreizler (mother)
Significant Others	Mary Palmer† (lover) Karen Stratton (love interest)
Appearances
Actor	Daniel Brühl
First Appearance	The Boy on the Bridge
Last Appearance	Better Angels

“	I am an alienist. I look to help those with an illness of the mind. I must construct an image of the killer. And, thereby, capture him.	”
	— Dr. Kreizler in "Define Alienist" teaser

Dr. Laszlo Kreizler is an alienist, or criminal psychologist called upon by Theodore Roosevelt to investigate some mysterious murders in 1896 New York City.

Dr. Kreizler is the titular character of “The Alienist” and a major character in “Angel of Darkness”. He is portrayed by Daniel Brühl.

Official Description

The Alienist

"DR. LASZLO KREIZLER is known as an Alienist – one who studies mental pathologies and the deviant behaviors of those who are alienated from themselves and society. In addition to providing expert testimony in court that determines whether a person goes to prison, a mental hospital, or back on the streets, he operates the Kreizler Institute, providing a haven for “damaged” children. His alienist profession, along with his obsessive intensity and controversial views, makes him a social pariah in some circles. Kreizler is passionate and tireless in his efforts to seek out the depraved killer whose vicious, barbaric and ritualistic deeds have terrorized the children of the city's immigrant poor. In doing so, he hopes to also unravel the mysteries of the human psyche and answer the question: what motivates someone to become a serial killer?"

Angel of Darkness

Dr. Lazlo Kreizler is an Alienist – one who studies mental pathologies and the deviant behaviors of those who are alienated from themselves and society. In addition to providing expert testimony in court that determines whether a person is mentally fit to stand trial, he operates the Kreizler Institute, providing a haven for “damaged” children. His alienist profession, along with his obsessive intensity and controversial views, makes him a social pariah in some circles. In Angel of Darkness, Kreizler joins forces with newly minted detective Sara Howard to find and capture a terrifying individual who preys upon infant children. In probing the motivations for such horrific actions, he and Sara Howard seek to better understand society’s expectations for women and motherhood and the sometimes-dangerous consequences of not living up to those expectations.

Character Overview

Dr. Laszlo Kreizler is a handsome man of medium height with brown hair, a thick beard that highlights the facial features and piercing dark brown eyes. He suffered a fracture in his right arm as a child that made it less strong and developed than the opposite limb, preventing him from easily performing routine functions. This often causes a sense of frustration and discomfort in Laszlo.

Dr. Laszlo Kreizler is one of the luminaries of his time, ostracised by his medical colleagues and distinguished members of society for his avant-garde ideas and his unorthodox methods in the treatment of the afflictions of the mind, body, and spirit. His shrewdness and profound knowledge of the human psyche often place him in conditions of open conflict with those around him, since Kreizler seems to enjoy putting people in front of their demons. The alienist also lacks some social skills required for his social class, namely a hypocritical semblance of morals and ethics. On the other hand, Kreizler is endowed with a great spirit of observation and is free from prejudice against the outcasts and those oppressed by society. He is also very persuasive and does not hesitate to manipulate people to achieve his goals. Perfectly aware of his disability, he is strongly motivated to show his worth, rejecting any form of commiseration or pity for his condition.

Biography

The following contains plot details – read at your own risk.

Early Life

In 1866, Mr. and Mrs. Kreizler, Hungarian Jews, emigrated from Germany to New York City, and moved to a mansion on the 5th Avenue. Their presence in high society immediately became famous, and their parties were much talked about in the newspapers. During a soiree hosted by the Kreizlers, "the evening was highlighted by young Master Kreizler, who dazzled all with his interpretation of Mozart's ‘Concerto for Piano No. 20 in D minor’" according to some newspaper clippings found by Miss Sara Howard. As she explained to John Moore, such a concert can only be played with two hands.

However, behind closed doors, the Kreizlers lived differently from the façade of the loving family displayed in public. According to Laszlo, his father had two sides; one loving and the other brutal and the two often coexist. When he was nine years old, Mr. Kreizler was putting him to bed, playing a "game of tug of war." Despite they were laughing and playing, at some point Mr. Kreizler pulled Laszlo's arm behind his back, fracturing the bones so severely that the arm never fully recovered. Later, Laszlo often asked himself if his father was drunk or if he said something that offended his father to trigger such violence.

In order to conceal the horrors of his childhood, Laszlo began lying about it, saying he was afflicted with a congenital defect and that his arm never fully formed as it should have.

Undertaken university studies, Laszlo became a remarkable Harvard student, where he was mentored by Professor Cavanaugh. On his first day on campus, Laszlo went to Professor Cavanaugh and asked to take his class. Laszlo was still unsure about his own future and it was thanks' to Cavanaugh's class "Introduction to Ornithology" that he undertook a path that he didn't even know he would take. In order to stimulate his dormant interests, Professor Cavanaugh put Laszlo in a room and gave him a preserved specimen to study, known as Hildebrandt's starling. Laszlo looked the bird over, after a short time, returned and gave his teacher a few sentences describing it. Unsatisfied with it, Professor Cavanaugh told him to look at the bird again. After Laszlo did as instructed, he returned with a 4-page essay. But again, the teacher sent him away. After three more days of looking at that Starling, the poor thing was beginning to molt and Laszlo realized he was finally starting to see "his bird," namely his interest in pathological anatomy.

While he was a student, he also became a great friend of both John Moore and Theodore Roosevelt. One time Roosevelt managed to throw Laszlo on his heels, and the German young man challenged Theodore to a duel in the gymnasium in front of all their classmates. Roosevelt chose fists and they both stripped to their waists. As soon as they saw Laszlo's injured arm looking like a broken wing held tight, the whole room fell silent and Theodore refused to fight since everyone in that room was bothered by his disadvantage, making Laszlo even angrier. This accident helped to consolidate their friendship, as Roosevelt did not pity him.

In 1874, Laszlo interviewed Jesse Pomeroy following his arrest, and the alienist came to the conclusion that Pomeroy had killed some kids because he was jealous of their physical appearance; Pomeroy was, in fact, disfigured in the face. Nevertheless, Jesse Pomeroy was found guilty and sentenced to prison.

Still following cases of brutal murders, Dr. Kreizler testified at Cyrus Montrose's trial, guilty of killing a rapist. After the man was cleared, Kreizler took him to work for him as a valet. Dr. Kreizler personally also took under his wing both Mary Palmer, guilty of having set her own father on fire, and Stevie Taggert, a pickpocket.

Having become an established alienist in his field, Dr. Kreizler opened the Kreizler Institute, an approved school for wayward and abandoned children.

Chasing Shadows

New York City, March 3rd, 1896. Dr. Kreizler was interested in a recent murder case of a boy prostitute and sent his friend John Moore to the crime scene to sketch the body. Dissatisfied with the sketch, Dr. Kreizler and Moore went to Bellevue Hospital to interrogate Henry Wolff, the man arrested for the murder of Giorgio Santorelli. However, Laszlo soon realized that Wolff was not the man that they were looking for, but only sick with syphilis and that he had killed his lover in a fit of jealousy.

Dr. Kreizler and Moore then went to the police department for an impromptu meeting with Commissioner Roosevelt. The alienist believed that there was a connection with the death of Santorelli and that of Benjamin and Sofia Zweig, killed three years earlier.

At the Kreizler Institute, the alienist took the young Ezra Mills, a child with pyromaniac inclinations, into his care. Having ascertained with Moore's help that there was not much to work on in the murder case, Dr. Kreizler obtained permission to dig up the bodies of the Zweig twins by unleashing the fury of Mrs. Zweig, who blamed the man for the death of her children.

Dr. Kreizler also obtained from Roosevelt the help of two promising Detective Sergeants, the brothers Marcus and Lucius Isaacson to do a post-mortem on the bones. Dr. Kreizler and Moore, meanwhile, pursued to no avail a shady man who left behind a severed human tongue, probably Giorgio's.

A Fruitful Partnership

Dr. Kreizler visited a mortician to find out if there were other similar cases of murder, but the mortician dismissed it and added that Giorgio Santorelli had what he deserved.

At the Kreizler Institute, Laszlo reprimanded Mr. Rajk and his priest for harassment against Mr. Rajk's daughter, Berthe who had been caught masturbating.

John Moore and Miss Howard, Rooseveltʼs secretary, meanwhile, had discovered the cover-up of two other recent murders — Aaron Morton and an unidentified African-American boy. Dr. Kreizler invited both of them to dinner at Delmonico's with the Isaacson brothers to discuss their investigation. Before dinner, Laszlo and John went to the Metropolitan Opera House where the alienist told Roosevelt that he intended to conduct a parallel investigation.

At Delmonico's, team members updated each other on their recent discoveries. The Isaacson brothers had been able to identify the type of dagger used, an Arkansas toothpick, and also found a bloody footprint on the pocket watch found in Benjamin Zweig's coffin. Through fingerprinting, they would have been able to trace the culprit.

Dr. Kreizler and the Isaacson brothers studied the photographs of the fingerprint while Sara expressed her disappointment for John Moore, who had spent a “rough night” at the Paresis Hall where he had gone to investigate Giorgio Santorelli on his own.

Thanks to John's information obtained from Sally, one of the Paresis Hall's prostitutes, the two friends discovered that the man described by Sally gained the trust of his victims before killing them. And that, most likely, was suffering from syphilis because of the “silver smile” caused by mercury salts.

In the evening, Dr. Kreizler could not figure out how to understand the criminal mind and was dissuaded by the manservant Cyrus from the pursuit of such research, since it would have destroyed him slowly and the man did not want his benefactor to suffer unnecessarily.

Later, Mary offered to wash Laszlo's shirt stained with ink and the two were about to share a romantic moment when Stevie announced that there had been another murder at the former immigration station.

With Roosevelt's help, who delayed the release of the news, Dr. Kreizler and his team were able to quickly examine the scene, where Miss Howard noticed how the series of murders had common patterns — heights, water currents, terrible and violent mutilation and removal of organs.

Dr. Kreizler visited Mrs. Williams, a former sadism-prone patient. The alienist hoped to be able to use the woman's knowledge to understand and anticipate the actions of the Killer. The woman was pleased to help the doctor, explaining how the man who enjoys defiling women is usually dominated in his daily life, while the man who is being beaten is probably bully. She then made Kreizler uncomfortable when she affirmed that with all his intelligence, he was most likely to fall for someone for whom that intelligence means nothing. Kreizler replied that the murderer was attracted by his opposite but Mrs. Williams offered a different point of view in her mind. Kreizler revealed their accounts of men's vulnerabilities, in which he recognized his own weakness. Therefore, if the murderer enjoyed inflicting wounds, there's a good chance he had wounds of his own. Kreizler promptly left the room when Mrs. Williams started to touch his right arm, whispering in his ear that “the cripple in him is looking for the cripple in another.”

At the park, Dr. Kreizler went into one of his trances where he rearranged his thoughts. Here he met Sara who returned Johnʼs sketchbook found by Captain Connor on the latest crime scene. The two talked about the nature of the crime and what drives a person to kill. Using as an example a woman pushing a stroller on the opposite side of the park, Dr. Kreizler revealed that she had drowned her children and was now walking around with an empty stroller. The alienist and Miss Howard agreed that the expectations of women in society were profoundly wrong but Kreizler also asserted that anyone is capable of committing heinous actions if given the circumstances.

At the Kreizler Institute, Laszlo let Ezra Mills vent by kicking a ball when he discovered that the child was angry with his mother for leaving him at the institute. Later, Dr. Kreizler questioned Charles Blythe to find out the reason that led the young man to kill dogs and accuse some neighbors of Chinese origin.

At home, Laszlo was very disappointed to find out that Mary spent the afternoon with John Moore and was barely able to hide his jealousy by arguing with John. That evening, the team met at a cabaret believing that they had been invited by each other, only to discover that they had been invited there by none other than the murderer. Sara Howard, meanwhile, had received a visit from Mrs. Santorelli who had received a poisonous letter handwritten by the murderer.

Through a Glass, Darkly

At the headquarters, the team uses the help of a graphologist to study the letter written by the mysterious killer. Dr. Kreizler and Sara argue fiercely about their differences of opinion about the killer's potential background — Miss Howard believes the presence of an authoritarian female figure is plausible, while Dr. Kreizler dismisses any possibility of this.

Later, Dr. Kreizler visits his old mentor and university professor, Professor Cavanaugh for guidance. The professor reminds Laszlo of his passion and determination when he was a student and advises him to continue his research.

Laszlo then asks John to accompany him to Charlestown State Prison where Jesse Pomeroy is currently imprisoned. Once face to face with Pomeroy, Laszlo is forced to review his perspective of understanding the criminal mind when the inmate makes a mockery of his intelligence and tries to stab him in the eye with a makeshift knife. The intervention of Moore and an orderly save Laszlo from the assault, but leave him mentally shaken.

At Delmonico's, Laszlo was having dinner when Sara handed him some documents useful for their investigation. Laszlo invites the woman to have dinner with him, but she refuses and orders a liqueur.

Thanks to the documents, Laszlo followed the trail that seemed to incriminate Willem Van Bergen, a young offspring of high society with a fondness for young boys. The alienist visited the Catholic Archdiocese where he questioned Bishop Potter about it. In church, Laszlo had an epiphany when he reconnected the dates of the murders to those of the Christian holy days he saw on a calendar. After dissuading Roosevelt from further investigating Van Bergen because he did not correspond to the killer profile, Laszlo informed John of his latest discovery.

During the days prior to the Feast of Ascension, Dr. Kreizler led his associates into an elaborate plan to take the culprit of the murders by straining him into the Tenderloin. By dressing up Stevie as a prostitute, in fact, the team thought of succeeding in entice the Killer.

However the first attempt failed and the alienist struck down with perhaps too much ease in the face of the initial defeat. Meanwhile, he grew closer to Mary and the two shared a romantic though awkward moment when Dr. Kreizler kissed the cut on Mary's finger.

Laszlo was put under pressure by Roosevelt to find the culprit because otherwise the public and the press will want their heads.

A second, more studied attempt took place at The Slide, a brothel. While Moore and Marcus were inside the brothel and kept an eye on Stevie, Cyrus and Lucius were on the roof of the opposite building to supervise the area. Laszlo and Sara waited in the carriage, where they had a discussion about Laszlo's past. Sara, in fact, had discovered that Laszlo lied about his impairment and now Sara was forced to question the whole profile of the killer since Laszlo was biased in his research. The discussion took a bad turn, and the alienist slapped Sara. Before the woman could retort, however, John warned them of a flaw in their plan. The killer had managed to create a diversion by knocking out both Marcus and Cyrus. While Stevie was safe, locked in one of the rooms, however, the killer kidnapped another of the boy prostitutes, Rosie.

At the morgue, Lucius led a post-mortem on Rosie's corpse, found early in the day at the foot of the Statue of Liberty. The corpse showed a considerable greater amount of violence than those suffered by the previous victims. The entire team was present in the room. Marcus was in shock because he had befriended Rosie during the posting whilst Moore and Sara couldn't believe they had come very close to catching the culprit. Roosevelt claimed to have seen similar injuries when he was in the army in North Dakota. When the others left the room, Laszlo apologized to the corpse before plunging a scalpel into Rosie's lifeless chest.

Outside the Police Department, Dr. Kreizler and Moore were confused by the crowd protesting in the streets due to yet another murder, demanding justice. The two men were approached by McManus, one of the henchmen in the payroll of Paul Kelly. The latter warned the alienist that he was making very powerful enemies with his investigations and advised him to be careful because he was chasing a monster much bigger than he believed, ready to devour them at any given chance.

With a new lead, the team decided to research past crimes committed in similar circumstances. Laszlo and John went to a Natural Science Museum to learn more about Native Americans and their traditions since the crimes bear resemblance with some indigenous tribal warfare practices.

On their way back, John and Laszlo were kidnapped by former Captain Connor and Sergeant Doyle and led by J.P. Morgan's mansion. The magnate hosted a secret meeting where Former Chief Police Thomas Byrnes and Bishop Potter were also present. The two men ordered Laszlo to stop the investigation but J.P. Morgan was fascinated by Laszlo's theories even if not by his ways. Laszlo replied that he was very disappointed by both the police and the church if they had more at heart the reputation of the wealthy families than the lives of children and the searching for the culprit, whoever he was.

After sending Potter and Byrnes away, J. P. Morgan claimed that he did not approve of the reputation of New York City and its police officers being stained with doubts and criticism. However, he agreed with Kreizler that something had to be done. When he offered to help Laszlo, however, the latter refused as he did not want to be indebted to J.P. Morgan.

At the Kreizler Institute, Ezra could not sleep and Laszlo caught him playing with a knife. After scolding him, he let him fed a monkey in a cage. Shortly after, Laszlo had a brief squabble with John, who found out about Laszlo slapping Sara several day before.

At dinner, Laszlo and Mary shared a kiss as well as a meal.

The recent findings led the group to split up into separate investigations. Laszlo and John headed to Washington, DC where they learned of a former Corporal John Beecham who could match the criminal profile they drafted. While Sara headed to New Paltz, Beecham's home town and the two Isaacson brothers met with Captain Miller, a former comrade from Beecham's past, Laszlo and John visited Adam Dury, Beecham's brother in Newton, Massachusetts.

Here they learned of a gruesome story about the past of John Beecham, born Japheth Dury. He was raised by abusive parents and raped by a friend, George Beecham when he was a teenager. Laszlo and John were convinced that they had found the man they were looking for but, on the way back, they suffered an attack and their carriage ended up in a ditch. Although both were injured in the crash, they did not report any serious damage and even had the opportunity to leave their differences behind when Laszlo revealed to John that he was in love with Mary and not Sara, as a jealous John had erroneously assumed.

A Bleak Descent into Darkness

While Dr. Kreizler was in Washington, DC and later in Newton, Massachusetts, his home was intruded by former Captain Connor, Sergeant Doyle and The Swede. They were willing to use brute force against Kreizler to stop him from investigating. Not finding the alienist at home, they attacked his servants and killed Mary.

At the funeral, all Laszlo's associates and friends gave him the most sincere condolences but nothing could stop his deep pain. The alienist abandoned the investigation and shut himself up in the house, where he had painful hallucinations of the love that had been torn away from him by violence.

Deeply shaken by mourning and angry with himself for not being able to protect Mary or having solved the case, Laszlo stabbed himself in the impaired arm with a broken glass, in an ineffective attempt to feel something.

Following the umpteenth murder and the kidnapping of Joseph, John Mooreʼs friend and spy in the Tenderloin, they forced Laszlo to resume the investigation. A step away from finding John Beecham, the team had managed to locate his lairs and previous quarters, giving the alienist a way to study Beecham's criminal psyche much more deeply.

Laszlo and Sara set their differences aside and both confessed secrets they had never revealed to anyone. Laszlo had been abused by his father in childhood and beatings were the reason for his impaired arm. Sara confessed to helping her father commit suicide.

After getting rid of Thomas Byrnes and his henchmen with a diversion at the Metropolitan Opera House, and sending the police officers to the wrong address, Laszlo and John headed to the “Castle in the Sky”, the place where Beecham was intent on sacrificing his last victim, Joseph. Laszlo tried in vain to reason with Beecham, trying to empathize with him past experiences and traumas but every attempt was canceled by Connor who, having followed them, shot Beecham and was about to kill Laszlo and John too if Sara hadn not follow them as well, shooting Connor in cold blood.

After making sure that John and Joseph were fine, Laszlo followed a mortally wounded Beecham to the roof where he had escaped but it was too late. The murderer died, bringing to the grave the real motive that had led him to commit such heinous crimes.

Later, Laszlo and the Isaacson brothers performed an autopsy on the corpse but found nothing abnormal in Beecham's brain that could explain such deviant behavior. Laszlo stated that for months they had hunted down a monster but found only another victim.

Despite everything, the team decided to celebrate the resolution of the investigation to Delmonico's and Laszlo gave John the engagement ring he had intended to give Mary, so that John could propose Sara to marry him.

In the days that followed, Laszlo welcomed Joseph to the Kreizler Institute, where the boy would get all the psychological help he needed to recover from the trauma.

Finally, Laszlo visited his father at the hospice, forgiving him for what he had done in the past and turning the page so as not to allow resentment to dictate his own life.

Hunting a Kidnapper

Laszlo arrived at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility to assess whether or not Martha Napp was guilty of killing her child. She was undoubtedly grieving over the loss of her baby. Laszlo was soon convinced of her innocence, reminding her that the world they lived in was monstrous. Martha no longer cared for her own well-being. Only concerned with her child, she asked Laszlo to promise that he would find her baby girl.

Following Martha's execution, Laszlo convened with Sara at her agency. She invited him into her office for a drink. He instantly took notice of the furnishings of her office, noting that it is a mirror of herself and telling Sara that her father would be proud of her. Laszlo then informed Sara of his promise to Martha Napp to find her child, for which Sara and her detective agent are at Laszlo’s disposal.

Laszlo joined Lucius and Marcus at the lab for the autopsy of the child that was found sitting on a doll display at Seigel-Cooper. He asked if they had identified the child yet, which they hadn’t. Martha mentioned her child had an identifying contusion; a benign hemangioma under her left axilla. With that, Laszlo was able to identify the dead baby as Martha Napp’s child.

Sara, John, and Laszlo reconvened at the agency to discuss their findings. The markings on the eyes of Martha’s child were reminiscent of posthumous portraiture. Grieving parents would have the eyes painted on the eyelids of their dead children to give the illusion of life. Sara described their suspect as being someone with a Pandora’s box of emotion with diabolical intents. The doll was simply a repository of the evil within that allowed the killer to dissociate from the cruelty of the act.

On their way to the Spanish Consulate, Laszlo suggested hypnosis as a means to access Señora Linares’ subconscious to recover her memory of the day her child was abducted. However, Sara didn’t believe the method to be appropriate. Upon arriving at Señora Linares’ home, they began interviewing the staff. Afterward, they spoke with Señor Linares and asked to speak with Isabella, but he turned them away as she was resting.

After interviewing the staff at the Spanish Consulate, Laszlo joined John at Dr. James Markoe's public lecture. They approached Markoe with their latest discovery surrounding the Napp case; how a body was found in a department store after Martha Napp was executed. Dr. Markoe retorted that those were nothing more than outrageous accusations.

Laszlo learned from Lucius and Marcus that they’d managed to identify one component from the poison. Nightshade, most likely Hyoscine. While it could be found at most apothecaries, medical training was required to be able to administer the proper dose. They also found powdered carbon in the black substance from the Napp child’s mouth. Which was sometimes used as an antidote to poison. The amount of poison ingested by the infant was only enough to render it unconscious. It’s official cause of death was asphyxiation. From what they gathered, someone poisoned the baby, changed their mind, and then gave the baby powdered charcoal. Only to eventually smother the child.

Against Sara’s wishes, Laszlo went to visit Isabella and propose hypnosis. She noticed him admiring one of her paintings from Cecilia Beaux. She presented it to Isabella at her studio. Isabella even exhibited at the Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in Madrid when she was younger. She then asked why Laszlo came by. Laszlo believed that he could help her access her memories of the day her baby was taken. However, Isabella viewed hypnosis as nothing more than the trappings of tricksters and liars, refusing Laszlo’s offer.

Laszlo and Sara arrived at the Spanish Consulate to find Captain Doyle and his men forcing Isabella into the back of a police vehicle with Eva trying to intervene. They intended to question her about the disappearance and possible murder of her baby. Sara told Doyle how she applauded his bravery given that the Linareses had diplomatic immunity. Arresting and charging her would result in a diplomatic incident of the highest degree. Fearing the outcome, Doyle reluctantly released Isabella.

Laszlo, Sara, Isabella, and Eva return inside. This was why she chose not to go to the police to begin with. Sara and Laszlo then asked to speak with Eva, who they never got a chance to interview, but Isabella sent her away, explaining that Eva hadn’t done anything wrong. Only what she asked. Isabella then admitted that she had been keeping a secret. She was afraid to tell Narciso. She thought he would blame her for when Ana fell on the floor a few months ago. So she and Eva brought Ana to the Lying-In Hospital, where she stayed for a few days. Eva stayed there with the child. And Isabella never told Narciso.

Lucius and Marcus revealed to Sara, Laszlo, and John the three poisons used to kill the child. Two of them readily available from the apothecaries. The third poison was a pain suppressant. If administered incorrectly, it could kill a child and would likely only be found in a maternity ward.

Before trying to convince Señora Linares to undergo hypnosis, Sara agreed to be Laszlo’s subject. He instructed her to go to a calm place of safety and happiness. Sara recalled her time spent at her family’s house in Rhineback when she was 12 years old, running through a field of grass with a red balloon. Suddenly, her hands were covered in blood and the hypnosis came to a stop.

After ensuring that Martha’s child was buried in her grave with her, Laszlo returned to the institute and had session with one of the kids, Paulie. Sara watched as Laszlo showed him a magic trick and even snuck a coin into his pocket to buy a deck of cards. Laszlo had become fond of boy. Once he was gone, Sara revealed that she learned from one of the ward nurses that the Matron was worth investigating. Also, Sara had spoken to Señora Linares, who had agreed to the hypnosis.

Laszlo hypothesized Isabella. Sara, John, and Narciso watched from afar. Isabella recounted that final evening with baby Ana. She remembered seeing a painting at the Metropolitan Museum. She then left the museum and instantly became unnerved and agitated. Unsure of her surroundings. Isabella then collapsed back into her seat.

Laszlo put Isabella back under hypnosis. Cecilia assisted her in painting her surroundings that evening as she described them. Sara, John, and Narciso watched quietly. Sara soon realized that Isabella was at the Tea House. She could sense that someone was watching her. A woman. She then described seeing a flash like a gunshot as she left the park.

Laszlo later attended John's bachelor party and gave a toast.

Laszlo visited Mrs. Carlisle, a posthumous portraiture, who performed the service pro bono. Mrs. Carlisle lost her own child when he was just six months old. Most of her images conjure the illusion that the child was merely sleeping, but the images with the eyes hand painted onto them were a rarity. Mrs. Carlisle had only made two in all her years. And both mothers took their own life.

Sara and Laszlo attended John and Violet’s engagement part. Laszlo confronted Richard Osgood with impregnating Helen Sumner and leaving her at the Lying-In. He then asked Richard about Colleen, who was a possible suspect and another one of Richard’s mistresses. He revealed that she was impressed by fine clothes and dining. Admittedly, Richard persuaded her to think that his intentions were honorable. Laszlo accused Richard of taking her innocence, youth, and prospects in respectable society, as well as having her child taken away, though Richard was under the illusion the child had died. Laszlo warned him that his reckoning would come.

Laszlo watched from above at the engagement party as the partygoers made fools of themselves. He was joined by Karen Stratton, a fellow Alienist. She was Violet’s professor at Barnard. Laszlo had read all her work, and she was very much familiar with his work as well. She handed him her card before leaving.

Laszlo no longer believed that Markoe was involved in the kidnappings and that his nefarious deeds were completely distant from the missing children. Isabella then showed up unannounced and revealed that her memories was coming back to her, allowing her to identify Libby Hatch. And so they rushed to the Lying-In to find Bitsy unconscious on the ground. Sara and Lucius tended to Bitsy while Laszlo and Marcus chased Libby to the street, where they lost her trail. And so they returned to the drug closet, where Lucius managed to save Bitsy with the antidote.

Laszlo presumed that Libby had been trying to replace a lost child. In her mind, that child would be frozen in time. Any growth beyond that of her own baby would be greeted with skepticism. Meaning the Linares baby may have already overstayed its welcome. And so John suggested running Libby’s likeness in the Times. Marcus joined them and shared that they found a photo of Libby in Byrnes’ mugshot book. She was in there as a known associate of the Dusters.

While looking through the evidence they had gathered around the Linares kidnapping case, Laszlo was interrupted by Paulie, who came by to show him a new trick involving a rope. Laszlo then called Karen and asked her to meet with him. Admittedly, he had reached an impasse and was hoping Karen could help, revealing to her the details of the Martha Napp and Linares case. Laszlo was puzzled by her motivations. Her actions consistently changed.

As Laszlo arrived in Duster territory, he was ambushed by Fat Jack, who pulled a blade from his shoe and forced Laszlo back inside the carriage. Fat Jack inquired about Laszlo and his profession. He explained he tended to the health of the mind, keeping him distracted long enough for Marcus to arrive, who armed with a gun, demanded that Fat Jack put his weapon down. Afterward, they convened with Sara and John, who recovered the Linares baby.

Losing His Credentials

Laszlo took Paulie to see the Great Houdini free himself of a straight jacket while hung by his feet in the air. Much later, Laszlo returned to the institute and found Paulie hanging from a noose in his office. He held the child up by his lower body while Stevie cut him down. Fortunately, they managed to save Paulie. However, it didn’t take long for Captain Doyle and his men to arrive and begin an investigation.

Laszlo sat at Paulie’s bedside at the hospital and apologized for not paying him enough attention. He admitted he was too caught up in the case. Afterward, he joined Karen in the waiting room, explaining how he thought magic could reunite Paulie’s pre-traumatized, childish, joyful self with the anxious, troubled, young man he was becoming. Laszlo blamed himself for having weaved a fiction that Paulie fell too deep into. However, Karen argued that Laszlo did the best he could.

Markoe informed Laszlo that his institute was under investigation following the near death of Paulie. Laszlo was suspended from practicing medicine and advising professionally as an Alienist until the investigation was completed.

Laszlo met with Karen to share his recent findings. Mostly how Sara saw Libby nursing Goo Goo Knox. Karen made the point that it may not even be Goo Goo’s fetish at all. She explained that with adult males, a woman's breasts are life-affirming. However, Libby didn’t use them in that context; she put them in a position to respond to pleasure.

After some digging, they discovered what they believed to be Libby's true identity, Elsepth Hunter. So Laszlo, Sara, and John informed Vanderbilt, Byrnes, and Hearst how they’d narrowed down Libby’s location to Brooklyn. Fleeing Manhattan would be her only option. Sara assured Vanderbilt that they would find his grandson.

Karen took Laszlo to an alternative club, where she revealed that she received a letter from the Institute of Psychology in Vienna. They offered her a position, and she would depart in two weeks. She then introduced Laszlo to Alice, the owner of the club. Alice has both male and female reproductive organs. Alice's partner, Rose, had a fixation identical to that of the kidnapper. Rose’s desires often tormented her. It was as if she gained life by suckling from Alice. When Rose was four years old, she was left on a doorstep by her mother. This suggested a detachment from other people. A loneliness sated by obsession.

Laszlo had studied many books in hopes of unlocking aspects of life that people would rather not give voice to, including paraphilia and perversion. However, he understood more from walking into the alternative club than he ever did in reading books. He asked Karen if she had been to the club before. She simply replied that she liked to keep her mind open to new experiences and feelings. Laszlo then got an urgent call from Sara.

They paid Libby’s mother, Mallory Hunter, a visit. Laszlo learned that Libby had a girl who the Children’s Aid Society took responsibility for. Laszlo realized that Libby never attacked her mother. Mallory was a woman of means, so the Children’s Aid Society would’ve never taken the child from her care unless they could prove Libby was a danger. Otherwise, both Libby and the child would’ve been her responsibility. So Mallory fabricated a story about Libby trying to kill her, which led to Libby being institutionalized and becoming the monster that she was. Laszlo then asked if Libby knew where the child was. Fortunately, she didn’t, and Mallory still had the papers from the orphanage.

Laszlo and Sara confronted Byrnes and Mallory for exploiting Clara and putting her in danger by putting her likeness in the Journal to lure out Libby. However, before they could leave with the child, they got word that Libby was near — spotted three blocks away in a striped jacket. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. It was a redhead girl in a striped jacket, but it wasn’t Libby. The woman explained that Libby said she could keep the jacket if she delivered them a message. In hand, the woman held a bullet and told them that Libby said there was one for each of them.

Laszlo brought Clara back to the institute with him and introduced her to Karen. He then asked Stevie to show her around. Unfortunately, with Laszlo’s license being revoked, he wouldn’t be able to help her. Although, the institute would remain open in the interim thanks to Karen. Laszlo feared that this last act by Byrnes would only result in more deaths after he antagonized Libby.

Karen informed Laszlo that she was going to accept the invitation to Vienna. She couldn’t decline such an opportunity. She hoped Laszlo would join her, but his life was in New York.

Laszlo arrived at the police station with Sara and John. After Byrnes failed to get Libby to break, he suggested that Laszlo try to get her to open up. Rather than Laszlo interviewing Libby, he believed that Sara was better for the task, much to John’s objection. She and Libby had a kinship, which she could use to her advantage. And so Sara agreed to conduct the interview and eventually managed to convince Libby to tell her where to find the baby.

With most of the police force gone to retrieve the child, the Dusters attacked the station and freed Libby. Laszlo and Sara hid inside a cell. As the commotion settled, they made their way back to the lobby, where the bodies of officers and Dusters alike were scattered across the floor.

After attending Marcus' funeral, after he was killed by Libby and Goo Goo, they began searching through all the evidence they had on Libby and the cases. Sara recalled a moment in the prison cell with Libby where her eyes lit up at a recollection — where she spoke of being happy and doing ballet. Laszlo deduced that Libby was sheltering in her memories, retreating to a time when she was happy. John remembered the painting on the wall at Mallory Hunter’s place and believed it to be Libby’s childhood home, which she likely retreated to.

Laszlo, John, and Sara met up with Byrnes outside of Libby’s childhood home, where he confirmed that Libby and Goo Goo were inside with the child. Byrnes agreed to stand outside with his men in preparation for another Duster attack while they proceeded inside. The three of them sneaked inside through the back door. However, they were greeted by Goo Goo Knox, armed with a shotgun. Just as he was about to shoot, Lucius arrived, killing Goo Goo after shooting twice in the chest. They suddenly heard Clara scream out for help. They enter the main room to find Libby holding a shard of glass to Clara’s throat. Fortunately, Laszlo and Sara managed to convince Libby to release Clara. Byrnes and his men then entered and placed Libby under arrest.

Laszlo was gifted with a book by Fredrick Douglass from Cyrus. Laszlo shared with Cyrus how often he felt as if he’d been hiding behind the institute’s walls. When Cyrus was at the institute, he never felt like himself, not like he did at his bar. Despite all of Laszlo’s knowledge in life, he hesitated and treated gingerly. Cyrus advised him to decide what it was he wanted and to fight for it.

Laszlo and Karen played Chess. She made Laszlo a wager: should he lose, he’d be hers to do with as she pleased. She asked one last time for him to come to Europe with her, but he turned her down. As he walked her to her carriage, they shared a kiss. Laszlo suddenly had a change of heart and decided to join Karen to Vienna.

Laszlo, John, and Sara gathered to have dinner, where he revealed that he was moving to Vienna with Karen. They toasted to their friendship. Violet then arrived and John left with her. Sara asked Laszlo how long he would be in Europe though he wasn’t sure.

Memorable Quotes

Dr. Kreizler: “I work as a specialist in deviant behavior – an alienist. My profession makes me a bit of a social pariah. My aim is to unravel the traumatic mysteries of the human psyche and answer what makes a man into a murderer.”

— Kreizler's voiceover, Promotional teaser

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Dr. Kreizler: “As an alienist, I treat mental and emotional disorders in my patients, and I try to alleviate their condition. I do not presume to cure them.”

Dr. Kreizler: “I'm certain cold-blooded killers walk among us.”

Dr. Kreizler: “His acts are so wretched, so evil that only if I become him; If I cut the child's throat myself; If I run my knife through the helpless body and pluck innocent eyes from a horrified face... Only then will I come to truly understand what I am. Only then will I recognize that what drives me is not an absence of emotions at all. Rather, a torrent of feeling. The kind that gives meaning and purpose to my own blackened soul.”

Dr. Kreizler: “I must see life as he sees it. Feel pain as he feels it. Take the same path he takes. Yes, I must follow this wherever it goes. Even if it leads me to the darkest pit of Hell.”

— The Boy on the Bridge

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Dr. Kreizler: “I, too, learned Scripture when I was young. But instead of answers, I found only questions. Why does God allow us to feel both pleasure and pain? Why has he given a young girl like Berthe impulses and desires she cannot begin to fathom or control? Is this the God of whom we speak?”

Dr. Kreizler: “This is a sanctuary for the young. I will not tolerate its trespass, neither by man nor by God.”

Dr. Kreizler: “We may not know his name or where he lives, but he exists in plain sight.”

Dr. Kreizler: “Our task is to gather those hints and indications to construct an image of the man [...] but most importantly, his appetites. Look at who his victims are, where he commits his crimes, and what exactly he does to them until a pattern begins to emerge.”

Dr. Kreizler: “Each and every one of the choices he makes will reveal a hidden aspect of his alienated mind. And there's one more thing. We know the killer's conscious thoughts are fixed on violence. If we get too close, that violence might well spill over onto us."

— A Fruitful Partnership

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Dr. Kreizler: “Certainly, a beggar is motivated to steal a piece of bread because he's hungry. But why does our killer do what he does?”

— Silver Smile

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Dr. Kreizler: “I recognized my own weakness, and it gave me pleasure.”

Dr. Kreizler: “You say you cannot see the world from the perspective of a child killer because you could never kill a child. I believe we all possess the raw material required to commit horrible acts. We just need the right or wrong combination of events to make the raw material combustible.”

Dr. Kreizler: “Chasing clues will mean he's always a step ahead of us. We must see what's behind the clues.”

Dr. Kreizler: “He's watching us.”

— These Bloody Thoughts

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Dr. Kreizler: “I wonder how long he would have stayed hidden. Somewhere inside, I believe he wanted society to know he's its tormented offspring, a living reminder of all the crimes we commit behind closed doors.”

Dr. Kreizler: “We set out to find a monster, but all we found was a wounded child.”

— Castle in the Sky

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Appearances

The Alienist Ep. 1: The Boy on the Bridge Ep. 2: A Fruitful Partnership Ep. 3: Silver Smile Ep. 4: These Bloody Thoughts Ep. 5: Hildebrandt’s Starling Ep. 6: Ascension Ep. 7: Many Sainted Men Ep. 8: Psychopathia Sexualis Ep. 9: Requiem Ep. 10: Castle in the Sky

Angel of Darkness Ep. 1: Ex Ore Infantium Ep. 2: Something Wicked Ep. 3: Labyrinth Ep. 4: Gilded Cage Ep. 5: Belly of the Beast Ep. 6: Memento Mori Ep. 7: Last Exit to Brooklyn Ep. 8: Better Angels

Notes

• In an interview posted on the official Twitter account, Daniel Brühl gave an insight of his character: "The character I'm playing is Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, who is a psychologist. They were called 'Alienists' back in the day. His approach is very new. He is clever enough to surround himself with people who have similar abilities and progressive minds in other fields which help him in finding the murderer."

• The original, and slightly different draft for Dr.Laszlo Kreizler's description read as follow: "Known as an alienist – one who studies mental pathologies – Dr. Kriezler works as a specialist in deviant behavior. His profession, along with his careless intensity, makes him a social pariah in some circles, despite his striking good looks and a sophisticated sensibility. Kreizler is passionate about his work and tireless in his efforts to seek out the depraved killer whose vicious, barbaric and ritualistic deeds have terrorized the city's poorest residents. In doing so, he hopes to also unravel the traumatic mysteries of the human psyche, especially his own, and answer the question behind what makes a man into a murderer."

• When asked if there was any real-life figure who inspired Dr. Kreizler, Caleb Carr said, "Not directly. There were people in many countries who were doing the kind of work that he would spin his theories off of, either in emulative or combative terms, such as William James (again, obviously) but also Josef Breuer, Emil Kraepelin, and others, and there were people who would have been colleagues of his – people like Adolf Meyer and Hugo Münsterberg. But models in terms of personality? No. He came from a place deep in my own psyche and represented both an amalgam of many characters I admired – historically, in fiction, in movies – and a projection of character traits I both hoped I occasionally embodied and also thought I saw in other people and characters I admired."

• In Caleb Carr's novel, it is revealed that the Kreizler family fled persecution following the failed German Revolution of 1848–49 and came to America.

Gallery

• The Alienist
• The Angel of Darkness

• Promotional Stills
• Screencaps
• Videos
• Behind the Scenes

Photo by Kata Vermes and Jesse Giddings. [Courtesy of TNT Pressroom]

Episodes

Trailers

Episode scenes

The Alienist It's All Right There - Season 1, Ep. 1 CLIP TNT

The Alienist A Toast to the Beginning - Season 1, Ep. 2 SNEAK PEEK TNT

The Alienist Corruption in the Police Department - Season 1, Ep. 3 CLIP TNT

The Alienist The Expectation Society Bestows on Women - Season 1, Ep. 4 SNEAK PEEK TNT

The Alienist I Have Something to Show You - Season 1, Ep. 4 CLIP TNT

The Alienist The Truth Is... - Season 1, Ep. 5 CLIP TNT

The Alienist Dinner with Mary - Season 1, Ep. 7 CLIP TNT

The Alienist Psychopathia Sexualis - Season 1, Ep. 8 SNEAK PEEK TNT

The Alienist Castle in the Sky - Season Finale SNEAK PEEK TNT

The Alienist Castle in the Sky - Season Finale BONUS SCENE EXCLUSIVE TNT

Inside

The Alienist Promo — Daniel Brühl Introduces Laszlo Kreizler

The Alienist History of the Serial Killer with Daniel Brühl BEHIND THE SCENES TNT

The Alienist Birth of Psychology with Daniel Brühl - Season 1 BEHIND THE SCENES TNT

• Promotional Stills
• Behind the Scenes

“Laszlo Kreizler will reveal what is hidden.”

Photo by Kata Vermes. [Courtesy of TNT Pressroom]