THE ALIENIST Season 2 – dubbed “Angel of Darkness” – is now on Netflix globally after premiering on TNT in the US. The series became rather popular which meant season 2 has a built-in crowd already. Read our The Alienist Season 2 Angel of Darkness review here!

THE ALIENIST Season 2 has the alternative title of The Alienist: Angel of Darkness. It’s out on Netflix in most countries now, so you can watch all eight new episodes. Of course, if you’re in the US, you may have already watched it on TNT where it premiered back in July of 2020.

Then again, the Fall season is surely a better time to watch a series like this, so I’d say this Netflix release is a much better fit. If you’ve watched season 1 of The Alienist, then you know what you’re in for. 

Read more about The Alienist Season 1 here >

Continue reading our Angel of Darkness aka Season 2 of The Alienist review below.

A new season with less blood but much brutality

The story in this new season is a lot less bloody, but still extremely brutal in many ways. Fair warning: It includes the kidnapping (and murder) of babies. I have seen several times that people comment on our social media that they can’t watch anything that involves dead babies. If you feel this way (and I can’t blame you), then you should avoid Angel of Darkness.

It’s not that The Alienist Season 2 is an entirely different creature as such. Not like The Haunting of Hill House was pretty damn scary while The Haunting of Bly Manor was a ghost love story. And for the record, we do love both The Haunting seasons here at Heaven of Horror. In fact, we’re biting our nails waiting for The Haunting season 3 to be announced!

Anyway, the deal with this follow-up season of The Alienist is that we have all the same characters, but still experience a very different vibe. Mostly due to the different nature of the stories in each season. This is always dangerous, but I would recommend that you still give this season a shot. It’s set a year after season 1 which also makes for an interesting time jump.

The Alienist: Season 2 – Netflix Review [Angel of Darkness]

Is Martha Napp a real person?

During the first episode of The Alienist: Angel of Darkness, we meet Martha Napp on her way to be executed at Sing Sing prison in New York. The actual execution will happen by way of the modern and very humane (that’s how it’s described in the series) electric chair. But is the Martha Napp case based on a real person or a true story?

Are we dealing with a “true crime” plot this season? No, we are not.

However, the case of Martha Napp was very much inspired by a real person named Martha Place. She was actually executed in the electric chair in Sing Sing prison. She was even the first woman ever to be executed by an electric chair and it happened two years after the events featuring the Martha Napp character in Angel of Darkness.

There are several other similarities between the Martha Napp execution in The Alienist and the real-life execution of Martha Place since both took quite a long time. Also, I should mention that Martha Place was convicted of something entirely different than Martha Napp.

Essentially, the “only” common denominators are their first name, Sing Sing prison, the way of execution, and the decade in which these stories take place.

The Alienist: Season 2 – Netflix Review [Angel of Darkness]

 IWatch The Alienist Season 2 on Netflix – or HBO!

The story in Angel of Darkness might be very different than that of season 1, but much also seems familiar – in very good ways. Especially the fact that Daniel Brühl, Luke Evans, and Dakota Fanning are still playing the lead roles of the series. They are still giving solid performances and have very intriguing characters.

Supporting actors include Douglas Smith (The Bye Bye Man) and Matthew Shear as the Isaacson brothers, who you’ll know from season 1. Also back for this season is Ted Levine (The Silence of the Lambs) while Alice Krige is another horror icon to join the cast in season 2. You should recognize Alice Krige from Sleepwalkers (1992) or more recently Gretel and Hansel (2020).

This is a TNT production created in a partnership with Netflix – just like the Snowpiercer series – which means it’s released on TNT first in the US. The original premiere of season 2 was on July 19, 20202. Now, a good three months later, the Netflix release means the rest of the world also gets to catch up.

While season 1 had 10 episodes, this second season has “just” 8 episodes. Of course, a lot of time can also be saved by having already introduced most of the characters during the first season. If you enjoyed season 1, then I would definitely recommend you check out this season as well.

The Alienist: Angel of Darkness is out on Netflix in most countries from October 22, 2020. In the US it is on HBO.

Details

Directors: David Caffrey, Clare Kilner
Writers: Stuart Carolan, Gina Gionfriddo, Alyson Feltes, Karina Wolf, Tom Smuts, Amy Berg
Stars: Daniel Brühl, Dakota Fanning, Luke Evans, Douglas Smith, Matthew Shear, Ted Levine, Matt Letscher, Alice Krige, Michael McElhatton

Plot

One year after The Alienist, with Sara Howard, now a private detective, seeking out Dr Kreizler’s help in finding the kidnapped infant daughter of a visiting Spanish dignitary. Dr Kreizler reunites with Sara, John Moore and the rest of the original team, with their search for the missing child bringing them into contact with a mysterious woman with a murderous past who is connected to a notorious gang.

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
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