Kreizler's team is going through some growing pains.

The also learned how deep-seated are the forces which are obstructing their investigation into the serial killer of young boys on The Alienist Season 1 Episode 3.

You have to wonder why anyone would hamper solving such heinous crimes.

But the corrupt police, led by ex-chief Byrnes and Captain Connor, are more concerned with protecting those who line their pockets: the illicit businessmen and their affluent clients indulging their vices. What are the deaths of a few children in the bigger picture?

Isn't amazing how much we've progressed in the past century?

That is why Roosevelt approved Kreizler and his team looking into Giorgio's murder. Kreizler has just taken it upon himself to find the serial killer who appeared to have multiple victims.

I understood that the investigation was going to have to be done on the sly. Roosevelt was trying to clean up the corruption which was standard operating procedure at the NYPD at the time.

He needed to stay in the good graces of the business community. He couldn't be seen as threatening their, shall we say, recreational activities.

Roosevelt also couldn't be associated with the alienist Kreizler and his voodoo science. All Roosevelt could do was to provide resources and try to run interference and keep Byrnes, Connor, and company in the dark as much as possible, since the Irish cops seemed to have the press in their pocket.

It was all politics, even back then.

Another point this series is proving is that change comes arduously.

It's intriguing to see the early days of forensics with the Isaacson brothers. They weren't exactly sure what they're doing, but they were more than willing to experiment with techniques such as fingerprints. The possibilities of forensics seemed to fascinate Kreizler as well.

So he had the Isaacsons trying to lift prints off Giorgio's body (which was hard to do with the corpse missing) and taking photos of fingerprints on the new body in the dark. It will be interesting to see how those photos turned out.

In addition to having to work in secrecy (and escape out back doors), Kreizler and his team appear to be facing constant obstruction by the NYPD with hidden files and disappearing bodies. They're going to have to get to the scene first if they are to obtain any evidence.

They face another obstacle as well, as the hidden killer eavesdropped on their evidence gathering and knows Kreizler and company are onto him. Or at least they suspect there is one killer of multiple boys.

By accidentally dropping his sketchbook, Moore himself may become a target, either of the killer, who took one of his drawings, or the cops, who hadn't seemed to find it yet. They don't seem to be big on finding clues, just on controlling the crime scene.

Having Sara and the Isaacsons inside NYPD should prove beneficial for Kreizler, as long as their connections aren't revealed

This episode also provided such much-welcomed character development.

Let's start with Moore. We got a better understanding of why he is how he is.

His brother drowned in a boating accident. His father disapproves of everything he does. His grandmother is convinced the right woman will fix him.

No wonder he regularly drinks and whores.

While Moore wears his psychoses on his sleeve, Sara is just the opposite. She keeps all of her emotions bottled up inside.

Sara wants to be a trailblazer, to honor her late father. But, although she is loathed to admit it to herself, she also wants to find a man, just like her Vassar classmates.

Intellectually stimulated by Kreizler, Sara had set her sites on him. But as she found out, he's not an easy person to love. He's a better mentor than husband material.

Her old friend John could be her fallback plan. Still, she's seen way too much of his act to take him seriously.

Kreizler lives too much in his head to truly connect with other people. If his few friends have stormed off on him at times, then it's little wonder that those who know him less can't embrace him or his wacky ideas.

He seems to have a connection with his maid Mary, though. I don't see that developing, however, since she is his former patient, and I don't imagine he'll cross that line. Even when he yelled at her, he was protective of her in his peculiar way.

Kreizler was correct in trying to get Moore and Sara to get inside the mind of the killer. I also don't blame them for hesitating, for each has their demons with which to deal.

To pick up all the clues so far, watch The Alienist online.

Is Kreizler's team more at risk from the killer or the cops? Is the killer indeed from the upper class? What is the killer's motivation? Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.