Everyone ended up in a better place in this likely series finale. Maybe even the killer.

The investigation of the child killer by Kreizler's team came to a successful but melancholy end on The Alienist Season 1 Episode 10.

That's an appropriate feeling for those viewers who have come to relish these characters and their lives in 1896 New York City. If this is indeed the end, at least the series went out on a high note. Much like those the soprano was hitting in Don Giovanni.

This was a big episode for confessions, as these tight-lipped Victorians let loose some of their deepest secrets.

At last, we finally found the answer to one of the show's biggest mysteries: What happened to cause Kreizler's crippled arm?

It turned out that, like many of his patients, Beecham's victims and even Beecham himself, Kreizler had been damaged by parental abuse. In this case, his strict father had pushed his arm behind his back until it snapped.

What was less clear was if the arm remains the way it is because it was never set properly or if it's a psychosomatic condition resulting from it being caused by a loved one.

It would be interesting to see what effect, if any, his visiting and forgiving his father at episode's end would have on his arm.

Then Sara's secret came out during their cleansing exchange. She had put her depressed father out of his misery following his failed suicide attempt.

Their frank discussion served its purpose, bringing Kreizler back to the land of the living.

Moore, the member of the team who has the least trouble voicing his thoughts, blamed himself for Joseph's disappearance, and Sara consoled him, in her uptight way.

This led to him professing, again, his love for Sara, and her accepting his kisses, before Roosevelt interrupted them.

Was Sara right about John? Was he just in love with the idea of love? Was he better off just renting a fiancee for the night?

She did appear to be succumbing to his charms. Maybe she wants to take on a reclamation project such as John. But I think her career is always going to be first, and Moore recognized that fact.

Even the Isaacson brothers took time off from sleuthing to get into the act.

Marcus had been avoiding Esther since discovering she had a child, fearing that she was trying to trap him into marriage. Even prudish Lucius realized Marcus was being a dick, so he set them up to meet and talk.

Eventually, Marcus came to the error of his ways and apologized to Esther, and they seemed to be back together.

But, since this is a thriller/mystery and not a soap opera, let's turn to the actual capture of Beecham.

Somehow, by visiting Beecham's filthy room, Kreizler divined that the Croton Reservoir, which combined Beecham's twin obsessions of height and water, would be the site of his next killing, Joseph.

Afraid that the police would shoot first and ask questions second, Kreizler misdirected Roosevelt and his troops and even his own team members, including Moore, so that Beecham was less likely to be killed.

Going to the opera with Moore completed the deception. Kreizler seemed to be unaware of the significance of the day, to throw Byrnes off his scent. Too bad he forgot about the wild card, Connor, who was still trying to get back in Byrnes' good graces.

This was where the wheels fell off of Kreizler's scheme. A cripple and a dandy were going to somehow capture Beecham, a man mountain of a killer. Apparently, Kreizler's plan was to psycho-analyze Beecham into surrendering. You saw how well that worked out.

Connor actually came in handy, shooting Beecham in the back before he killed anybody. Sure, Connor robbed Kreizler of the knowledge he sought, but Joseph lived as a result.

Rather than take the win for capturing the killer that was haunting the city, Connor overdid it, attacking the strongest member of Kriezler's team -- Sara -- and getting shot dead for his efforts. Roosevelt knew what he was doing when he hired Sara.

To keep peace in the NYPD, Roosevelt smartly, posthumously honored Connor, the worst of the old guard, as he and Byrnes glared at each other throughout the ceremony.

Kreizer's team seemed to be doing well. Kreizler himself seemed like a giant weight has been lifted. Moore and Sam were in a flirty (in a Victorian way) holding pattern, as she decided what she wanted.

In other words, things are in an ideal place for TNT to convert this limited series into an ongoing series. There's a second Alienist novel by Caleb Carr that could be the basis for a second season.

Where do the characters go from here? Also, it would be a shame to let those plush costumes and gritty sets go to waste. PBS shouldn't be the only network that can air period pieces.