The Alienist season 2

I'm not okay.

This was not okay.

This season takes up where the last left off. Sara now has a detective agency of her own, employing only women, but as women detectives aren't really taken seriously in the 19th century she only gets small cases from eccentric rich women whose servants are "stealing" their silverware. That is until the case of a missing baby is given to her. John is now working at the Times and is engaged to the daughter of William Randolph Hearst even though everyone knows he's still in love with Sara. Laszlo carries on like usual with his Institute.

The case of the missing baby leads to a woman who's mentally deranged from having misfortune upon misfortune happen to her over the course of her life. Her mother didn't want a child but had one anyway because it was expected of her (this season delves very much into doing what society expects of you versus doing what you actually want) and her father killed himself when she was very young. Her father's suicide led to her and her mother losing the family estate and most of their money. She was sent to a mental institute and when she left it she had a baby. Her mother had that baby taken from her claiming that she had tried to kill her. The loss of the baby on top of everything else makes her kidnap other people's babies and take them for her own, but every time the baby acts out or doesn't behave like hers did she kills them for being "wrong". It's a very interesting psychological case and this season is a wild ride from start to finish. Several times you belive the case to be wrapped up and finished only for it to continue. 

Laszlo calls upon a female colleague to help with this case since he feels himself inadequate in formulating theories concerning women and children and/or motherhood. This woman later gets an invitation to come work with Dr Freud in Vienna and Laszlo spends the last few episodes trying to decide whether to stay in New York or go with her. 

I loved that this season forced the trio to work alongside Byrnes, which made them all bury the hatchet from the first season. I was very pleased with how that all turned out.

I still want Sara to end up with Laszlo, but any kind of spark they may have had in the first season was purposefully shut down in this season. In the end all three of the main characters seem set on doing what they want instead of doing what society wants from them, but at the last second it all goes awry and they end up going separate ways and I'm not okay. Why would you do this?!

Anyway, I got very invested in this show and I just bought the books.

Watch it.