“I would like to remain not dead for the foreseeable future.” Frederick Chilton tells Jack Crawford.
(Major Spoilers) This was mostly an exceptionally well-written episode, with Hannibal appearing to be doing everything in his considerable power to pass the buck to someone other than he, however, is it simply too late for our fave cannibal to remove himself from the equation? He presented an abundance of evidence that now points at Doc Chilton, but is it too much evidence, especially with Will Graham making sure the spotlight is shining directly on Hannibal Lecter?
I must say I am somewhat surprised, and a bit disappointed, that Chilton is no longer with us, but I’m also confused at Jack’s behavior. Will Graham made it quite clear to Jack, that Lecter would be a slippery character to catch, and after Jack realised the Chesapeake Ripper was using misdirection as a weapon, he was happy to follow the false trail made by Hannibal, blaming Chilton for the deaths of his fellow FBI agents. Jack is supposed to be a lot more clever than that, yet after this display of being easily led, you have to wonder if the writers got this part wrong. Yes, Jack would be very upset and emotional at his colleagues’ demise, but that isn’t the Jack Crawford we’ve gotten to know. That Crawford would be more detached, prevented from this sort of knee-jerk reaction.
- Hannibal
- Created by
Bryan Fuller - Cast
Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Laurence Fishburne, Caroline Dhavernas - Episode Release Date
11 April 2014 - Ed’s Grade: A
Like the episode where we saw Matthew Brown try to kill Lecter for Will Graham, Miriam Lass appears to have been returned from the dead to serve a single purpose. In some cases this approach is hunky dory, however, Hannibal is a show suited to the long game, and I prefer interesting characters to have a longer expiry date. In my opinion, we’ve now lost two extremely good and important characters in one episode, which feels short-sighted, but the show hasn’t really suffered because of it … thus far. It would also appear Lecter had planned the entire scenario from the getgo, which Graham pointed out to Jack. Will told Jack he was meant to find Miriam, meaning she was meant to kill Chilton. This was quite a gamble on Hannibal’s part, because he may have guessed she would be shown Chilton in an attempt to find out if he was the Ripper, but he couldn’t know the opportunity for her to shoot Chilton would present itself.
The fact that Chilton went to Crawford to ask for protection incase Lecter went after him, should have in fact warned Jack that everything pointing to Chilton’s guilt was not what it appeared to be. This goes back to what I was saying about Jack’s behaviour. Surely we can’t be expected to believe Lecter knew that Jack would overreact at the flood of evidence against the Doc, and surely the doubts would be there if someone suddenly goes against their character to such a huge extent? Was it because of the connection made after Bella’s life was saved by Lecter?
I was surprised at the speed Miriam got her new arm, especially a design like that. I always thought it took a fair amount of time and training on the part of the amputee, before a working limb would be fitted. She’s been missing two-years but recovers substantially? This is another point I question the writers on. Perhaps Miriam will be used in future episodes, however, now that she’s murdered Chilton, I doubt we’ll see much of her again. Hannibal could have created someone he could’ve easily manipulated, giving him eyes and ears in the FBI but not anymore.
I remember wondering what Beverly Katz saw that made her wide-eyed right before Hannibal captured her, and after seeing the mountain of evidence planted in Chilton’s house, I have to assume that is what Beverly was looking at in Lecter’s basement. The narcissistic Abel Gideon was one of my fave characters, but he’ll be seen no more in Hannibal. The same as with Chilton, another great character who’ll be sorely missed. I understand why they bump people off, hell, look what they did to the Stark’s in Game of Thrones! The writers look like they were trying to surprise the viewers, which they certainly succeeded in doing. It doesn’t mean we have to like it. Even so, after the brilliant Game of Thrones, this is still my favorite show.
TV Recap by Lead Entertainment Writer, Ed Blackadder
