“I wonder how many more people are going to get hurt by what you do?” Hannibal’s veiled threat to Will.
We’re almost at the midway point in the series with things quickly turning against Hannibal Lecter, which was expected thanks to the opening of episode one, where we saw Jack and Lecter fighting. Hannibal was almost successfully killed at the behest of Will Graham, in retaliation to Beverly Katz’s murder. It was actually a build up of many things that prompted Will into doing this, and, of course, opportunity presenting itself. But Hannibal killing Beverly was the straw that broke the donkey’s back, and now it would seem Jack Crawford is slowly becoming a believer. I suppose calling him ‘less skeptical’ would be more appropriate, but the end result is still the same.
“If he waits too long, then the meat spoils;” Will is explaining to Jack the reason the Chesapeake Ripper must kill in multiples and what he’s doing with the missing organs. That alone wasn’t enough to convince Jack of the Ripper’s identity, however, coupled with Hannibal announcing he’d be hosting another dinner party, and the taped conversation between Will Graham and Dr. Abel Gideon, certainly made Jack pay closer attention.
- Hannibal
- Created by
Bryan Fuller - Cast
Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Laurence Fishburne, Caroline Dhavernas - Episode Release Date
4 April 2014 - Ed’s Grade: A
After Hannibal tells Alana Bloom “I need to get my appetite back,” he decides to turn a Councilman into a steak and kidney pie. I think it was the way the body was posed and the attention to detail the Ripper put into this kill, as with all his kills, that finally got Jack seriously considering Hannibal as a suspect. The lab techs have pretty much proven that Will Graham isn’t the Ripper, or indeed guilty of any murders, but, perhaps on its own it’s only seen as circumstantial. Being able to pinpoint where the Councilman was murdered, thanks to the water they found on his body, has gotten Jack one step closer to the truth. When he opened that trapdoor on the floor, I wasn’t sure who to expect. I like the way the show still nods to the books with little touches like this, by having a pit-like hole in the ground like the one used by Jame Gumb in The Silence of the Lambs.
Why did Abel Gideon get beaten up and left in such a way Lecter could get his hands on him, I wonder? Fred Chilton was seriously pissed at Gideon making a fool of him in front of Jack Crawford, and who can blame him after he discovered Chilton had taped his conversation with Will, then played it back for Jack, but I would think that would leave Chilton exposed. Gideon angers him in front of an FBI agent and next thing he’s dead, or soon will be. This was another nod to the source material, where we saw Gideon take the place of Paul Krendler in the scene where Krendler is served his own sauteed brain, in 2001’s Hannibal. Gideon handled it about the way I’d expect him to, but I wasn’t sure about Lecter’s reaction. I don’t know if he was disappointed that Gideon handled it the way he did, without any drama, or if he was happy that Gideon stayed civil about dining on his clay-baked leg. At least Lecter made a beautifully-presented dish with Gideon’s leg, so that’s something I suppose.
Lecter has made sure Will Graham will be released, after including all that traceable evidence he put into the fishing lures, which could mean Lecter wants him out so he can kill him. This wouldn’t solve the problem of Jack thinking he was guilty, however, Lecter may not see him as a real threat compared to Will Graham. Next week sees Will free once again, which puts Hannibal in the frame for all the murders he’s committed. Jack had trusted Hannibal, as did Will, and now both may have to deal with the fact Lecter had them fooled.
TV Review by Lead Entertainment Writer, Ed Blackadder
