History Series / TheAlienist

* ChristianityIsCatholic: When Kreizler discerns the killer's pattern, corresponding to Catholic Saints' feast days, he refers to it as the "Christian Calendar." It's inaccurate to call it a "Christian" calendar, as not all denominations of Christianity recognize the concept of Sainthood and honor feast days the way Catholicism does.

* DoubleStandardRapeMaleOnMale: Early in the investigation, A brothel-keeper slips a drug into Moore's drink to keep him from asking questions, turns the working boys loose on him, and then has him dumped out on the street half-conscious and half-naked. It's not clear exactly what the prostitutes do to him, but he's definitely assaulted in some way. It's never treated as a crime or a violation by any of the characters; everyone just chalks it up to another of Moore's drunken shenanigans, Moore included. He's more embarrassed by the fact that he wakes up with no pants. This may or may not be DeliberateValuesDissonance.

* AtTheOperaTonight: Played with. Moore and Kreizler spend a part of the finale at the opera, but they're there mainly as decoys to distract the attention of the corrupt cops looking to shut down their investigation. [[spoiler: It's there that Kreizler reveals to Moore that he knows where the killer is, and that they must go alone while everyone else's attention is somewhere else.]]
* AttractiveBentGender: A dark twist, almost to the point of Deconstruction: some of the boys who dress like girls actually make very convincing and very pretty girls...which is, of course, the reason they're being preyed upon. [[spoiler: When the team dresses Stevie up as part of a sting, he turns out to make a pretty girl too, much to his own consternation.]]

* ActionGirl: Sarah Howard, the first woman to work for the New York City Police Department, is determined to join the hunt for the killer, despite the sexist assumption of her male colleagues that, as a woman, she will be in need of male protection and only prove an encumbrance to the group. [[spoiler: Ultimately, she ends up contributing more breakthroughs to the search for the killer than any other group member. When Kreizler quits the group in a fit of heroic BSOD after Mary’s death, Sarah rallies everyone back to action, and takes over as the impromptu leader of the group. In the climactic final scene, she saves the lives of lives of John and Kreizler by shooting Connor.]]

* ChivalrousPervert: Moore gets it on with any willing lady, but he always behaves as a proper gentleman toward Sara. He never really hits on her, except in a fond half-joking manner.

* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler: After Mary's death, Kreizler closes the investigation, and then spends the entire episode sitting alone in his dark quiet house, brooding, drinking, and occasionally breaking things in rage.]]

* AmbiguousGenderIdentity: There is a subtle trans subtext in the series that was not present in the original book; the concept of transgender identity was poorly understood in 1896 and wasn't mainstream in 1994 either. In some cases it's not clear if the boy prostitutes identify as girls or if it's just an act they put on for work. The backstory of at least one of the victims - Kreizler's former patient - points to him having some kind of non-cisgender identity: the child apparently liked to dress and act like a girl, and rather than "cure" him of this behavior, Kreizler advised acceptance and understanding. When the victim's mother learns that her son was most likely targeted ''because'' of his behavior, she blames Kreizler for his death.

* PoliticallyCorrectHistory: Several characters have more progressive opinions than would be expected for their time period, though they do face some pushback. Kreizler, of course, demonstrates a decidedly modern insight and understanding of gender identity. [[spoiler: And after Roosevelt mentions witnessing similar mutilations during skirmishes with Plains Indians, the Docent of the Museum of Natural History demonstrates an atypical knowledge and affinity for Lakota culture. He quite firmly insists that the murders couldn't be the work of anyone from that culture: desecrating the body of a fallen enemy is done to ensure that he's crippled in the Afterlife, and no self-respecting Lakota warrior would ever see a ''child'' as a threat deserving of such treatment. This knowledge is what leads the team to conclude that the killer is imitating acts he may have witnessed or seen images of, without understanding the context behind them.]]

* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler: Connor takes out Willem Van Berger with a single shot right between the eyes.]]

* DirtyCop: Captain Connor. He's on the Van Bergens' payroll, and seems to have dealings with every brothel in New York. Former police chief Burns is also an example; most of what Connor does is on his orders, and it's clear Burns is deep in the Van Bergens' pocket.

* TurnInYourBadge: [[spoiler: After Connor misleads Roosevelt about Willem Van Berger's location, causing him significant embarrassment, a seething Roosevelt kicks him off the force right there.]]

** Moore demonstrates some signs of clinical depression, using alcohol to self-medicate.

* WhamEpisode: "Psychopathia Sexualis": [[spoiler: The team uncover the identity of the killer, and Moore and Kreizler barely survive an assassination attempt. Meanwhile, Connor and his thugs break into Kreizler's house and kill Mary.]]

* DirtyCop: Captain Connor. He's on the Van Bergens' payroll, and seems to have dealings with every brothel in New York.

* AdaptationalWimp: This wishy-washy bureaucrat is ''Teddy Roosevelt?''

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Japeth Drury is killed and his murder spree stopped, but he dies before Kreizler has a chance to talk to him and try and discern his motives, meaning his efforts to find a reason behind his murderous impulses were for naught. In order to quell the rising tide of dissent in the police department, Roosevelt has to whitewash Connors' dirty past and posthumously honor him for bringing down Drury. And of course, Mary is gone. But our heroes have survived and moved past their own defining emotional traumas to become better people and good friends.]]

* ChristianityIsCatholic: When Kreizler discerns the killer's pattern, corresponding to Catholic Saints' feast days, he refers to it as the "Christian Calendar." Not all denominations of Christianity recognize the concept of Sainthood, although Catholicism certainly does.

* DirtyCop: Captain Connor. He's on the Van Bergers' payroll, and seems to have dealings with every brothel in New York.

* SelfMadeOrphan: [[spoiler: Japeth Drury murdered nearly his entire family in his first act of killing. Only his older brother was spared, because he had already left the area. The massacre is so brutal that the locals actually chalked it up to an Indian raid, and the remains of the Drury farmstead has become the local "scary old house on the edge of town."]]

* SelfMadeOrphan: [[spoiler: Japeth Drury murdered nearly his entire family in his first act of killing. Only his older brother was spared, because he had already left the area. The massacre is so brutal that the locals actually chalked it up to an Indian raid, and the remains Drury farmstead has become the local "scary old house on the edge of town."]]

* CannotSpitItOut: Kreizler is really bad at communicating with other human beings. Especially Mary; an attempt to tell her how he feels comes out all wrong and ends up pissing her off.

* ChristianityIsCatholic: When Kreizler discerns the killers pattern, corresponding to Catholic Saints' feast days, he refers to it as the "Christian Calendar." Not all denominations of Christianity recognize the concept of Sainthood, although Catholicism certainly does.

* ScaryTeeth: The main suspect in the case is a regular the prostitutes refer to as "The Man with the Silver Smile." This turns out to be a side effect from contemporary medical treatment: at the time, syphilis was treated with mercury, which could stain the teeth. [[spoiler: Willem Van Berger has such silver-colored teeth. The actual killer does not have the same issue.]]
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: A running theme in the narrative. The Van Bergers use their money and influence to shield their son Willem from the investigation despite him being a prime suspect. [[spoiler: Willem tries to invoke this when Connor chases him down, but it doesn't save him.]]

** John Moore starts out showing some tendencies of this trope— he is a wealthy, hard drinking playboy who only half heartedly dabbles at his job as a crime illustrator for the New York Times, and who, by his own admission, “likes to avoid" what he calls "an honest days work." However, as the series goes on, he begins to take on quite a bit of hard work in an effort to contribute to the investigation. [[spoiler: Midway through the series, moved by his love for Sarah Howard, he begins to change in earnest, giving up alcohol, working harder, and even attempting to learn how to type so he can take up reporting.]]
* ItAlwaysRainsatFunerals: [[spoiler: At Mary's funeral, after the pall-bearers lower her coffin to the ground and the service ends, only Laszlo and John stay, and it immediately starts to rain, turning the ground to mud, and reflecting Laszlo's mood.]]

* ActionGirl: Sarah Howard, the first woman to work for the New York City Police Department, is determined to participate in the hunt for the killer and earn the respect she deserves, despite the sexist assumption of her male colleagues that, as a member of the "weaker sex," she will be in need of male protection, and only prove an encumbrance to the group. [[spoiler: Ultimately, she ends up contributing more breakthroughs to the search for the killer than any other group member. When Kreizler quits the group in a fit of heroic BSOD after Mary’s death, Sarah rallies everyone back to action, and takes over as the impromptu leader of the group. In the climatic final scene, she saves the lives of lives of John and Kreizler by shooting Connor in the head.]]

John Moore starts out showing some tendencies of this trope— he is a wealthy, hard drinking playboy who only half heartedly dabbles at his job as a crime illustrator for the New York Times, and who, by his own admission, “likes to avoid" what he calls "an honest days work." However, as the series goes on, he begins to take on quite a bit of hard work in an effort to contribute to the investigation. [[spoiler: Midway through the series, moved by his love for Sarah Howard, he begins to change in earnest, giving up alcohol, working harder, and even attempting to learn how to type so he can take up reporting.]]

* ActionGirl: Sarah Howard, the first woman to work for the New York City Police Department, is determined to participate in the hunt for the killer and earn the respect she deserves despite the brutal harassment she is subjected to by her colleagues on the force; and the more well meaning sexism of John, Marcus, and Lucius, who assume that, as a member of the “weaker sex,” she must be sheltered and protected. [[spoiler: Ultimately, she ends up contributing more breakthroughs to the search for the killer than any other group member. When Kreizler quits the group in a fit of heroic BSOD after Mary’s death, Sarah rallies everyone back to action, and takes over as the impromptu leader of the group. In the climatic final scene, she saves the lives of lives of John and Kreizler by shooting Connor in the head.]]

* UpperClassTwit: Nearly all of the upper class men presented in this series (save Kreizler, John, and Roosevelt, who are presented as consummate outsiders) fit this description, but Willem Van Bergen, Roosevelt’s “friend” Hobart Weaver, and Jack Astor stand out as particularly apt examples of this trope.

* PsychopathicManChild: Willem Van Berger, one of the team's prime suspects. He likes to drug and rape young boys, and when confronted by it he throws a temper tantrum like a spoiled eight-year-old.
* RedHerring: [[spoiler: Willem Van Berger, the most likely suspect, is not the killer, as evidenced by the fact that another murder is being committed almost at the exact same time that Connor tracks him down and shoots him dead.]]

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Teddy Roosevelt and J.P. Morgan, to name a few.

* DoubleStandardRapeMaleOnMale: Early in the investigation, A brothel-keeper slips a drug into Moore's drink to keep him from asking questions, turns the working boys loose on him, and then has him dumped out on the street half-conscious and half-naked. It's not clear exactly what the prostitutes do to him, but he's definitely assaulted in some way. It's never treated as a crime or a violation by any of the characters; everyone just chalks it up to another of Moore's drunken shenanigans, Moore included. He's more embarrassed by the fact that he wakes up with no pants.

* PoliticallyCorrectHistory: Several characters have more progressive opinions than would be expected for their time period. Kreizler, of course, demonstrates a decidedly modern insight and understanding of gender identity. [[spoiler: And after Roosevelt mentions witnessing similar mutilations during skirmishes with Plains Indians, the Docent of the Museum of Natural History demonstrates an atypical knowledge and affinity for Lakota culture. He quite firmly insists that the murders couldn't be the work of anyone from that culture: desecrating the body of a fallen enemy is done to ensure that he's crippled in the Afterlife, and no self-respecting Lakota warrior would ever see a ''child'' as a threat deserving of such treatment. This knowledge is what leads the team to conclude that the killer is imitating acts he may have witnessed or seen images of, without understanding the context behind them.]]

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Teddy Roosevelt and J.P. Morgan, to name a few.

* LoveTriangle: Moore-Kreizler-Sara and briefly, Moore-Kreizler-Mary.

* PoliticallyCorrectHistory: Several characters have more progressive opinions than would be expected for their time period. Kreizler, of course, demonstrates a decidedly modern insight and understanding of gender identity. [[spoiler: And after Roosevelt mentions witnessing similar mutilations during skirmishes with Plains Indians, the Docent of the Museum of Natural History demonstrates an atypical knowledge and affinity for Lakota culture. He quite firmly insists that the murders couldn't be the work of anyone from that culture: desecrating the body of a fallen enemy is done to ensure that he's crippled in the Afterlife, and no self-respecting Lakota warrior would ever see a ''child'' as a threat worthy of such treatment. This knowledge is what leads the team to conclude that the killer is imitating acts he may have witnessed or seen images of, without understanding the context behind them.]]
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Walking Irish stereotype Captain Connor, DirtyCop who subjects Sara to low-key harassment and intimidation at every opportunity, and has no tolerance for "fairies and sodomites." His attitudes wouldn't be too far afield of what would have been socially-acceptable at the time, but he is an unnecessarily-massive dick about it.