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The guy who died in the last episode was named Derek. Pray Tell’s boyfriend was Keenan.

Who exactly is contributing to the rent on House Evangelista? Blanca opened her own nail salon and while that’s awesome, she won’t be making money for a while. Blanca smartly deterred Angel from prostitution, but she doesn’t seem to have another job unless she has paid modeling gigs now. (Why didn’t she go back to the peep show? It wasn’t ideal, but it was safer work and she made good money.) Damon just started teaching voguing at a community center, so he contributes a bit. Elektra and Ricky are gone. Does Papi still have his job? Count me in on saying that Elektra has found her calling as a dominatrix. I get the feeling her two working worlds may collide at some point, though. Is Pray Tell still dating the guy he met at the end of last season?

Along with Threads and The Day After, there was a movie along the same lines called Testament that was similarly harrowing but not quite as gory. I grew up just a few miles from a nuclear power plant on the Iowa/Illinois border. I was almost ten when Chernobyl occurred, but a total worrywort kid and I thought about this quite a bit. I had to laugh for Legasov a bit in the naked miner scene. Just two weeks prior Legasov had been a distinguished professor at a top university, doing what distinguished professors at top universities do. In a split second he’s embroiled in the most devastating industrial accident probably to have ever happened, Soviet lies and bureaucracy, a potential environmental catastrophe, life-threatening health risks to himself and millions of others, and a key part of the plan to mitigate it all brought him to talk to a bunch of naked miners in the middle of the night. Kudos to Jared Harris because ALL of that showed on his face.

I loved the look on Heveena’s face when “9 to 5” came on. Just wait until you hear “Jolene,” Heveena.

Isaac was very un-Isaaclike after he was reactivated. He completely disregarded all human feelings post-deactivation, whereas previously he at least acknowledged and accepted them. Isaac would have never discarded Ty’s drawing like that - even if he himself doesn’t possess feelings, he intellectually understood that Ty has them and that the action would hurt Ty. Isaac would have also understood why saying good-bye would be important to Claire and his crew members, yet re-programmed Isaac didn’t seem to grasp that. I’m predicting that Isaac will regain the “humanity” he developed on the Orville and rejoin the ship, cutting himself off from the rest of the Kaylons. It will essentially become a Seven of Nine situation. At least that’s what I hope...

I really like how Bortus has been fleshed out as such a complex character. I get the idea that he’s rather dry, blunt, and regimented even for a Moclan, yet he has a very refreshing open-mindedness that seems completely contrary to his character. Bortus was very morally opposed to Topah’s reassignment, and he obviously knew about Locar’s attraction to females, yet told no one. Bortus isn’t exactly an outspoken advocate for social causes, but I do appreciate that he sometimes sets himself apart in his attitudes not being so black and white.

I don’t think it referenced anything, it was just Ed thinking very quickly so as not to appear to Isaac that they were gossiping about him.

“He’s...my father and he will never be a weightlifter.”

Feodora and Victoria were actually quite close, which is part of the reason I’m having trouble with this storyline. Victoria was just shy of nine when Feodora moved back to Germany, but as Andromeda said above the two kept up their relationship via frequent correspondence. Victoria’s sketches of Feodora’s children still exist, and Victoria refers to those children often in correspondence to other members of the family. The two were definitely far from the strangers being depicted this season. Feodora’s marriage was a very happy one, so I’m not sure why she’d flee without her family. What’s more, she keeps referring to leaving Baden, which is problematic for two reasons. First, Feodora was a Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenberg through her marriage to her husband Ernst. Hohenlohe-Langenberg was a medatized principality, meaning that it had a prince (Ernst), but the actual administration of the principality was handled in Wurttemberg. Hohenlohe-Langenberg had no real ties to Baden, other than being in the same part of Germany. Baden was actually a grand duchy at the time and administered itself for the most part. The Grand Duke was Leopold, who was actually very interested liberalism. While there were indeed protests in Baden in 1848, Leopold quickly agreed to reforms and the protests died down not long after they started. Why the writers are choosing to fictionalize Feodora’s life in this way is a head scratcher. Like Notwisconsin notes above, Victoria’s brother Karl would have been the better choice if they were going with a family connection.

I know that contestants in the balls did and still do include bisexual and pansexual folks. I don’t believe Papi has ever expressly said how he identifies, but he did admit to being an “equal opportunity lover,” and that he’s slept with both women and men. Given that he’s a minority, was likely homeless before joining the house, and is gay/pan, I’d say he fits.

So much goodness tonight. I loved Pray Tell finding some peace with losing Costas and coming to terms with how he wants to live the rest of his life in light of his HIV. (I hope Pray Tell and Blanca can hang on until drug cocktails come about in the 1990s!) I loved Patty finding her voice and starting to find her way as an individual in light of Stan's deception. I loved Stan standing up to Matt, because Matt is a gigantic dickface who needs comeuppance. I loved Angel's speech to Patty about knowing who exactly who she is - and that she doesn't need to "prove it." I loved Blanca seeing herself as a desirable woman again, definitely not desperate enough to slum it with a player like Darius. I loved Papi finally winning a trophy, and a grand prize at that! (I just love Papi, even though he's not the sharpest tool in the shed.) And look! Sandra Bernhard cameo!

Never mind.

He gets even creepier. Kudos to the actor - he can do skeevy all too well.

Oh, Mary! You deserved more and better, and you were about to find it with Kriezsler. Poor Mary. And poor Kriezler, when he finds this out. Moore is this show's punching bag. He's been beaten, robbed, roofied, humiliated, and possibly raped. What's next? So Esther has a baby? Is she married? Where is this B storyline going? Eric Johnson, Gallinger from The Knick, in the same era but a very different role as Beecham's commanding officer. It sounds like Beecham was one hell of a disturbed buy. What is Byrnes covering up? Am I still missing something? If The Alienist returns for a second season, my guess is that Sara will become NYC's first female police officer. It makes sense given the era - the first female police officer in the US started with the Chicago PD in 1891.

I got some major mommy issue vibes from this episode, from the Isaacsons' uncomfortable dinner to Willem's temper tantrum to Kreiszler's outburst about women. And speaking of Kreiszler and mommy issues, does anyone else see any parallels between Kreiszler and Kaiser Willem II? The latter had a disabled arm, a God complex, and a very troubled relationship with his mother. While we don't know anything about Kreiszler and his mother, his outburst at Sarah's suggestion seems to indicate some sort of tension. Holy buckets, Moore's grandmother's place is crazy fussy. I know the decor is standard Victorian, but all of the doilies and plates and plants and knickknacks are visually just too freaking much. I like seeing Grace Zabriskie again, though. She's always a delight. Nice touch having February 19 be such an important date in the killer's timeline. Ha! Sarah got to Kreiszler with the whiskey. He was drinking it again during the scene with Roosevelt. What's up with Willem giving his would-be victim a milk bath?

This episode was all about people feeling massively uncomfortable, audience included. I’ve never seen Kreiszler squirm like he did with that dominatrix. My guess is that she never really “needed” Kreiszler’s psychoanalysis, but she sure liked making him uncomfortable. Kreiszler was all about creeping Sarah out in the park, although at least the aim in that was to make Sarah understand his point from the last episode about putting herself in the killer’s shoes. And in the end, he did it. Connor is icky. I keep thinking he is going to attack Sarah at some point. He practically licks his lips whenever she’s nearby. Well, at least the Isaacsons were able to figure out how the killer is able to scale such great heights. He's got to have a pretty impressive collection of knives and such both for climbing and plucking out his victims' organs and such. Ted Levine was great casting for this, not only because he plays a slimy old Byrnes very well but his role in Silence of the Lambs makes his presence here seem so fitting. Was the killer greasing up his hands so they wouldn’t be stained with blood? Are the killer, the man with the silver smile, and Willem all the same, or are they different people? The letter the killer sent to all of the principals was very reminiscent of Albert Fish, down to the cannibalism of children and not wanting to be associated with having sex with said children (as Fish spoke of Grace Budd). It appears as though the ratings are staying somewhat steady with the show. I'm glad - I think it was a smart turn for TNT.

Smart, intuitive, a bit brooding, and with the looks of Daniel Bruhl? No, there's nothing wrong with you.

It seems that Kreizler surrounds himself with "broken" people - Mary killed her father, Cyrus killed a man who was beating a woman, John has been rejected by a fiancee, father, and dead brother, and Sarah? Well, something seems to be going on in her past as well. I'd like to know what's lurking in Kreizler's history since he seems to be so interested in everyone else's secrets. Is it just me, or did we just sort of breeze past whatever happened to John in the brothel? Re: Sarah's old roommate - I think Sarah probably already knows what it's like to "do it." What in the hell is up with the killer that he seems to be able to fly and slither through weird places?

Watch your drink at all times, Moore! All of the prostitutes climbing onto him at the end was really creepy. I'm guessing that photos will be taken and he'll be blackmailed by the Mafia and the crooked cop.

There actually is some evidence that Leopold was Albert’s father, although it is not conclusive by any means. It’s outlined in a book called The Coburg Conspiracy. I have a copy of it, but don’t have it with me at the moment. Here’s a news article about Albert’s possible parentage that references the book: https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/893279/Prince-Albert-real-father-Queen-Victoria-The-Coburg-Conspiracy-book-Victoria-ITV

I think he's dead, Michonne.

Really, Michonne? Because going off alone worked so well for Sasha.

I think that was Red Machete and the Claimers.

Morgan!

Really? Great you made a statement Maggie, but you could save us all and kill Gregory while you're at it!