Physician, heal thyself!

The Biblical proverb certainly applies to Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, as was readily apparent on The Alienist Season 1 Episode 4.

The patient the alienist is failing the most is himself.

It's obvious that Kreizler cares very deeply for his patients and friends. The problem is that he buries those feelings equally deeply, which makes him seem aloof and callous.

That hasn't helped dynamics for Team Kreizler.

He means well when he's asking Moore and Sara to delve into the mind of the killer. But they each have their own mental-health issues which they have no desire to explore, so Kreizler is asking a lot of them.

Kreizler had no such qualms. First, he interviewed a former madam, who had many trenchant observations about men's foibles. I'm not sure how interrogating the pet killer was helpful unless it was just a way to understand how a killer thought.

I thought Kreizler made a valid point that anyone could kill under the right circumstances, pointing out to Sara, the mother who snapped and killed her two children and now lives in her own world, pushing an empty carriage through the park.

Was Kreizler right that his team had to understand the killer to get ahead of him, that all the clues they had discovered about the killer meant little without that frame in which to put those pieces?

Still, almost despite him, Kreizler's team is coming together. Granted, everyone is mostly doing their own thing, but it's producing results.

Despite being a lush and a womanizer, Moore has developed into the heart of this squad. It's touching how he seemed to be looking out for the boy prostitutes who are the killer's targets.

It was also touching when he took out an upset Mary for a much-needed break from her duties with Kreizler. He gave her the lift she needed. Was there a bit of Moore being jealous Kreizler and Sara were out together? Maybe. Still, it was the right thing to do.

Granted, he does stupid things such as dropping his drawing kit at a murder scene and not giving it a second thought, but he does mean well. He's out beating the pavement looking for information.

Sara is Kreizler's mole inside the police department and Roosevelt's agent inside Kreizler's investigation. She's got her ear to the ground for any pertinent information. She's also the one most likely to think analytically like Kreizler.

Then there's the Brothers Isaacson, who worship at the idol of science. They've had something to contribute every episode. This time they figured out that the killer is a climber. I'll sure that will help to point the finger at the killer ... down the road.

Marcus is the more fun brother. You've got to like someone who uses his religion's holy book to justify his lust. Still, Lucius can be depended upon for a snide comment or two each episode.

The corrupt Irish police force seemed content to bury these murders. Byrnes thinks this upper-crust pervert, Willem, is potentially the killer but warns Willem's mother to get him out of town.

I think it's more protecting the brothel owners who line the cops' pockets. The immigrant prostitutes are seen as disposable, and preventing a scandal among high society is much more important to them.

Fallout continued from Moore's dropped drawing kit from The Alienist Season 1 Episode 3.

First, Connor gave the drawing kit back to Roosevelt, essentially telling him that he was aware that Roosevelt was running his own, off-the-books investigation. It wouldn't take a lot of thought to uncover who else was involved.

Worse yet, the killer knows the members of Kreizler's team, as proven by the dinner which he set up at the vaudeville club. They didn't seem overly alarmed that the killer knew who they were, and they still had no idea who he was. Talk about being one step behind.

The killer's letter to Giorgio's mother revealed that he's a cannibalistic freak. He thinks he keeps his beloved boys with him by killing them and eating their body parts.

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We also learned that he liked to watch and that he feeds off people's horrified reactions, whether those are from Giorgio's family or Kreizler's quintet.

The man with the silver smile also came out of the shadows and into the light, trawling for new victims. He looks just like any other high-society dandy, so no wonder he has blended in so well.

Kreizler's team faces many handicaps: internal friction, having to work from the shadows, and chasing a killer they don't know but who knows them.