The Alienist: Angel of Darkness Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

The Alienist: Angel of Darkness Blu-ray Movie Review

The Sara Howard Chronicles.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 23, 2021

Picking up a year after where the first season left off, TNT's The Alienist (this time around, ominously sub-titled Angel of Darkness) changes its approach by focusing largely on one of its three leads: Sarah Howard (Dakota Fanning), the NYPD's first female employee who has now established her own detective agency in Manhattan circa 1897. Although she still works closely with psychiatrist Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl) and John Moore (Luke Evans), who's now a full-fledged reporter for the New York Times, this shift in perspective -- combined with a slightly quicker pace and smaller episode count -- makes Angel of Darkness a more immediate experience than The Alienist's first year. Featuring the same great atmosphere and outstanding production design, it's a pretty good way to spend seven hours.

This compact but efficient eight-episode season kicks off with a grisly turn of events: a young mother at New York City's Lying-In Hospital is accused of murder after her baby turns up missing, and she's quickly tried and executed via the electric chair. Sarah Howard takes it upon herself to investigate the matter, especially once it becomes obvious that not only was the dead mother innocent of her crime, but at least one other infant turns up missing in a similar fashion. Enlisting the help of Laszlo Kreizler and John Moore, as well as other familiar faces like forensic expert brothers Marcus and Lucius Isaacson (Douglas Smith & Matthew Shear), Sarah once again explores the city's dark underbelly... which stands in great contrast to the luxurious dinners and events enjoyed by New York City's upper class. Combining an ever-twisting (and, at times, extremely unsettling) murder mystery with a scathing portrait of "a woman's place in society" during this era, Angel of Darkness offers a largely satisfying run of episodes this time around. Fans of the title character, Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, however, will be disappointed as he runs a distant third for screen time.

Disc 1

• Ex Ore Infantium: Sara Howard has opened a new detective agency in the heart of New York City. After the unjust execution of wrongly accused young mother Martha Napp (Hebe Beardsall), she reunites with "alienist" Dr. Laszlo Kreizler and New York Times journalist John Moore, who's engaged to Violet Hayward (Emily Barber), the goddaughter of William Randolph Hearst (Matt Letscher). Together, they attempt to uncover the truth and also find the kidnapped infant daughter of a desperate Spanish dignitary named Isabella Linares (Bruna Cusí).

• Something Wicked: After the startling discovery of a dead child, Sara and John uncover a clue at the Siegel Cooper Department Store that leads them into one particularly dark area of New York City's underbelly.

• Labyrinth: Sara persuades a young nurse at the Lying-In Hospital to disclose what happens behind closed doors -- a secret strongly hinted at during the season's opening moments. Meanwhile, Dr. Kreizler is convinced that Isabella Linares' memories might be unlocked via a hypnosis session.

• Gilded Cage: Sarah's assistant at the detective agency, Bitsy Sussman (Melanie Field), goes undercover at the Lying-In Hospital. Isabella Linares is able to identify the suspected baby kidnapper in a photograph.

Disc 2

• Belly of the Beast: The kidnapper is finally identified in a mugshot book of known criminal associates. Sara takes a risk in an attempt to find the Linares baby, while Libby, one of the young nurses at the Lying-In Hospital, fixates on her unfulfilled dreams of motherhood. Also, two of the three lead characters finally do it.

• Memento Mori: Kreizler's lack of attention to ward Paulie McPherson (Lucas Bond), first introduced in the previous episode, leads to an unfortunate turn of events. Meanwhile, Sara and her team return to the boarding house of street criminal -- and Libby's boyfriend -- "Goo Goo" Knox (Frederick Schmidt), where they uncover a horrific sight.

• Last Exit to Brooklyn: Sara and John venture to Brooklyn to learn more about the kidnapper's childhood and track down an estranged mother, Mallory Hunter. Retired police chief Thomas Byrnes (Ted Levine) offers Goo Goo a ransom while attempting to lure the kidnapper out of their hiding place.

• Better Angels: Following up a cliffhanger ending from the previous episode, this season finale delivers another clean-cut conclusion for at least two of its primary characters in shocking, sensational fashion. In other words, there are just far too many spoilers to bother with a real synopsis.

Much like the previous season, Warner Bros. unveils Angel of Darkness as a two-disc set; the A/V presentation is up to snuff, although the lack of real extras is disappointing -- none of its featurettes even break the four-minute mark, whereas the first season at least included a mid-length piece on the series' terrific visual effects and production design.

The Alienist: Angel of Darkness Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Nearly identical to the first season in its source material and overall transfer quality, Angel of Darkness offers another great visual experience that showcases the series' exceptional production value and extremely dark atmosphere. This 1080p transfer plays well on small and large screens alike; both dual-layered discs afford each of their four episodes plenty of breathing room and, like the first season, are nicely compressed with only stray moments of banding and other artifacts -- these are even less of a problem this time around, as the episode count is lower by two. Although the color palette favors muted earth tones and dimly-lit interiors, they're rendered nicely and look anything but subdued. Likewise, shadow details remain excellent with very few signs of black crush. Overall, it's a dense and thick image that, despite its all-digital pedigree, does resemble a film-like appearance save for some of its CGI-assisted backgrounds, a few of which are sporadically a little flat and unconvincing. But considering this small-screen period drama ambitiously attempts to re-create New York City circa 1897 from the ground up, its very specific atmosphere has been served well on Blu-ray by Warner Bros. and once again likely surpasses any available streaming version.

The Alienist: Angel of Darkness Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix boasts a suitably enveloping quality; one that manages to re-create the hustle and bustle of New York City decades before the invention of automobiles. Exterior scenes come alive with street vendors and horse-drawn carriages, distant clocks and mostly non-diegetic music, all of which support the frequently intense atmosphere while backing off for less dramatic moments. Crowded conversations are handled with excellent placement, while quieter exchanges heard towards the front and sound focused rather than cramped or claustrophobic. Volume levels and overall dynamic range are handled particularly well, with only some of the heaviest musical cues overpowering the mix but not distractingly so. Barely an episode goes by without several effective uses of channel separation and panning to draw in our attention in a way similar to the dynamic, period-specific visuals, creating a convincing ambience that, once again, is similar to The Alienist's first season in all the right ways.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature and extras too.

The Alienist: Angel of Darkness Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc release arrives in a dual-hubbed keepcase with appropriately dark artwork, a matching slipcover, and a Digital Copy redemption slip. The bonus features are divided between both discs and are noticeably less detailed (and interesting) than those from the first season... but something's better than nothing, I guess.

Disc 1

• The Hunt for a Killer (2:55) - A very short promotional featurette about Season 2's story with brief comments from key members of the cast and crew.

Disc 2

• Building the World (3:28) - Similar to the previous featurette, this short piece covers the production design with time lapse footage of the set construction and glimpses of visual effect before-and-after shots.

• Dressing a Modern Woman (2:42) - A look at Sarah Howard's character and costume designs.

• Walking the Set 2.0 with Luke Evans (2:17) - Not much actual set footage here -- it's more of a walking tour of Budapest with Luke Evans, who shows off some of his favorite sights and landmarks.

The Alienist: Angel of Darkness Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

TNT's The Alienist continues on with this sophomore season, sub-titled Angel of Darkness, by focusing more intently on ex-NYPD employee Sara Howard and her newly-formed detective agency in New York City, 1897. Featuring a strong serialized core story and tighter pacing than the first season (or at least a smaller episode count), it should appeal to established fans by carrying on the series' reliably potent atmosphere and production design. It's a series well worth watching, although newcomers should obviously start from the beginning. Warner Bros.' Blu-ray package likewise stays the course; its strong A/V presentation is a highlight, but the bonus features are disappointing this time around. Recommended.