The Alienist episode 9 review: Who is John Beecham?

Laszlo had finally found love on The Alienist with his housekeeper Mary and although it took him a very long time to admit his feelings, he’s all in. Unfortunately we just saw Mary murdered by Connor in Laszlo’s own home while he was away investigating the case with John. The moment he opens himself up, his world will come crashing down once again. There are only two episode left of The Alienist season 1 (including this one) and there’s a lot left to tie up, so let’s dive in and see what transpires.

Putting Mary to rest

After seeing Laszlo so closed off for much of the first season we were really hoping to see his reaction to what happened to Mary, but instead we jumped straight to her burial where John read some words as her casket was lowered into the ground. This death has brought Sara and Laszlo back on speaking terms as she was in attendance of the burial and perhaps this will be the circumstance in which they will be able to work together in the same room again at some point.

What Mary’s death has done above all else has made Laszlo want to end the investigation now that he’s seen first hand what it is doing to the people he loves. He feels completely responsible for Mary’s death and not even John seems to be able to convince him otherwise.

Connor gets away with murder once again

Ever since he lost his job he’s left a trail of bodies behind him and he’s still looking for revenge on our team. If you were hoping for justice when it comes to Mary, so far it’s looking like we aren’t getting any as the Isaacson brothers can’t get anyone to admit to anything. Tonight Connor threatened Sara with rape (and as we know with Mary that’s not the only time he’s tried to use that to intimidate a woman). Cyrus actually went to Connor’s house to get revenge for Mary, but was interrupted. We still have one episode left and we are hoping that justice will be served – if not thought, wouldn’t Connor make a wonderful villain for season 2?

The case moves forward

Although Laszlo doesn’t want to go on with the case Sara isn’t willing to let this killer go and now that they have a suspect in their sights (John Beecham), she wants to continue on without him and convinces John to stay on board with her and the Isaacson brothers. They only have a short time before the next Christian holiday (the feast of Saint Barnabas) where they suspect their killer will strike again.

After going through the Census, the team learns that Beecham actually worked with the Census team. He’s described as religious, kind and with a facial tick – much like what they already knew about him. What they didn’t know is that he had been fired because Beecham was said to have visited the 12 year old daughter of a family he had collected information from on multiple occasions when he wasn’t scheduled to be there. After speaking to this (now grown) daughter she revealed that he never touched her, they only shared conversation and that there was nothing more than friendship as she told her parents. Everyone they talk to mentions how he was their friend and it seems that these people that considered him a friend also had troubled childhoods, much like Beecham did.

After getting a lead on where John lives they discover his house of horrors and enough evidence to be certain that they are hunting the right man (including a jar of eyeballs and a human heart)… unfortunately he’s out hunting another young boy. Beecham has found and killed another boy, but this time there is a witness and it’s Joseph. We were hoping he was going to stay hidden in his locker, but when the door opened we jumped right out of our seats. If this is the killer that found him, our team needs to really get moving on this or we could lose him in the finale and no one wants that. Like John Moore – we are completely invested in Joseph too.

Related – What to know what’s coming up for the finale of The Alienist?

CarterMatt Verdict

One question we’ve had since the beginning of the series was about Laszlo’s arm – we weren’t 100% sure if this was an actual permanent injury (we assume caused by his mother) or if this was something that was psychological. After watching Laszlo stab himself repeatedly with a broken wine glass that question was answered in full. Outside of that our only question going into the finale is if our team is going to catch Beecham and we can’t wait to find out.

What did you think of tonight’s episode of The Alienist? Leave us a comment in the box below and tell us how you think the first season is going to end.

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