“You’re a great friend, Hannibal.” Jack Crawford tells Lecter because he saved Bella.
We kinda knew what to expect this week after the end of the last episode had Beverly Katz being caught by Hannibal Lecter in his underground kitchen, while she was looking for evidence of his guilt. Who knew we’d get to see Beverly on display quite like that, proving once again, Hannibal, shies away from nothing. I mentioned in my review last week, how Beverly saw something that made her stare as if horrified, right before Lecter discovered her in his basement, yet we never did find out what it was. I thought it would be a huge clue to a murder he’d committed, or, perhaps some internal organs being prepared for cooking, proving to Beverly he was a cannibal. We may yet find out in a later episode, as part of a clue, because Hannibal isn’t the sort of show to have loose ends like that.
It would appear Lecter’s motives for saving Bella Crawford were as I suspected, to keep Jack off-balance, but also to keep a level of control over him. Now that Jack’s beholden to Lecter, Hannibal will be more confident and able to concentrate more on the shit-storm that looks to be coming his way. I also keep thinking about all the apologies that will be owed to Will Graham by his so-called colleagues, especially Alana Bloom, who managed to screw up his plan to have Lecter killed. Bloom has managed to cause Graham damage with her “good deeds,” and her trial evidence, and thanks to her actions in this episode, after a chat with the incarcerated Dr. Abel Gideon, who tried to kill her but Will Graham stopped, more people are going to die and be partially eaten. Going by next week’s trailer, Alana makes matters even worse!
- Hannibal
- Created by
Bryan Fuller - Cast
Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Laurence Fishburne, Caroline Dhavernas - Episode Release Date
28 March 2014 - Ed’s Grade: A-
I enjoyed watching Will Graham bating Doc Chilton, and even though he knew he was being bated, the thought of glory was too much for the narcissistic psychiatrist. Will’s offer of helping Chilton catch the real Chesapeake Ripper, using the person Chilton wrongly accused in the first place, would go a long way to helping exonerate Chilton for making that mistake. It was seeing Gideon near Graham, that alerted Bloom to something going on. But Alana also knew about the meeting Graham had with Freddie Lounds, and suspecting this pair would only be interested in seeing what they could get for themselves out of Will Graham, Alana went on to screw it up for Will.
I had hoped for more out of the new killer, who it turned out was only responsible for killing the Bailiff but not the judge. This of course means it was Lecter who was responsible for that one, after the Judge shot him down in court. Perhaps if the Judge had been a bit more polite…?
*****
Once we’d seen the drama of Beverly Katz being found on display, had settled down, we got to see Lecter preparing kidney pie (I think that’s what it was), using Katz’s swapped out kidney. After the usual fanciful preparation of the dish, Lecter begins to eat Beverly’s kidney, with an infuriating smirk on his face, which really said it all. Ever since this series began, I’ve loved Mads Mikkelsen’s portrayal of Lecter, and while I did enjoy Anthony Hopkins’ Oscar-winning performance as everyone’s favorite cannibal, Mickelson is without doubt the right man for the job. From his accent to the way he wears his tailored suits, to the way he sniffs his brandy before each sip, Mads Mikkelsen’s nuanced take on Lecter is quite brilliant.
I’ve never mentioned the music before, but I’ve noticed from the start of the series, how it sounds, to me at least, like the music from Hannibal Rising, which is based on the Japanese theme because his Aunt Murasaki was Japanese. The use of the drums at key moments is particularly effective.
Freddie Lounds has now fully returned, and seeing her used to draw out the new killer by Will Graham, was, of course, very similar to the Francis Dolarhyde setup in Red Dragon, however, Freddie walked away from this without so much as a singed eyebrow. It could be that another killer will take care of Freddie, or, the writers may want to keep her around, as she’s an interesting character.
The writers certainly don’t mind reinterpreting the material, because I definitely never expected to see Will Graham trussed up with that famous mask on, being wheeled about the same way Hannibal was. He didn’t even get to say something cruel, like, “toughened your nipples, didn’t it?” to anyone.
TV Review by Lead Entertainment Writer, Ed Blackadder
