‘The Alienist’ Season 1 Spoilers: Episode 2 Synopsis, Trailer, Sneak Peek Released

The probe into the murder of Giorgio Santorelli (Nicolo Borgatti) continues in next week’s episode of “The Alienist.”

According to the synopsis for Season 1, episode 2 of the TNT period crime drama, the investigation heats up as Sara (Dakota Fanning) gets her hands on a clue. While it’s unclear what that clue is, a trailer teasing the rest of the season shows Sara telling Kreizler (Daniel Brühl) that “there is good reason to believe the killer comes from the privileged.”

Sara’s theory appears to have bothered Kreizler as he notes that “[the] privileged has powerful allies within the [police] department.”

Also in the next episode, tensions rise within the police department while Kreizler tries to connect the evidence left behind by the killer. Kreizler also takes Sara, Moore (Luke Evans), Marcus (Douglas Smith) and Lucius (Matthew Shear) to Delmonico’s in New York and informs them that they are going to be working together as a team to catch the killer.

In a sneak peek from the next episode, Marcus and Lucius tell Kreizler, Sara, and Moore the results of their examination on the body of Benjamin Zweig, a boy who was believed to be murdered by the same man who killed Giorgio.

“His torso was grossly violated while the eyes were carefully plucked from the sockets,” Marcus says of Benjamin. “Plus, we asked ourselves what instrument might be found capable of both cutting muscles and tendons, and prying eyeballs from their sockets.”

“Behold, the Arkansas toothpick,” Lucius chimes in, before passing the killer’s potential murder weapon around.

Marcus notes that the blade of the Arkansas toothpick is “strong enough to cause the wounds the Zweig boy suffered to his torso.” Lucius then adds that the heavy dagger could also be used to delicately remove the victim’s eyes.

Marcus and Lucius also present another piece of evidence that could help them identify the killer: a timepiece with a bloody fingerprint on it.

While the newfound evidence does not immediately reveal anything about the killer, Kreizler is confident that they will eventually get to know the man behind the killings.

“There are hints and indications to his identity that he’s unwittingly left behind,” Kreizler says of the killer. “Now our task is to gather those hints and indications to construct an image of the man, his age, his background, his habits, but most importantly his appetites. Look at who his victims are, why he commits his crimes, what exactly he does to them until a pattern begins to emerge. Each and every one of the choices he makes will reveal a hidden aspect of his alienated mind.”

“The Alienist” Season 1, episode 2, titled “A Fruitful Partnership,” airs on Monday, Jan. 29 at 9 p.m. EST on TNT. Watch the trailer and the sneak peek below: