“He’s not a cackling villain bent on world domination, nor a conflicted anti-hero forced to make difficult decisions. Hannibal is all the self-serving evil of humanity in the form of a Danish psychiatrist.” – Jonathan Raeder
Hannibal is the Devil.
Not literally – Hannibal Lector, for all his evil deeds, is still human – but thematically, there hasn’t been such a perfect portrayal of the idea of the Devil in all of television. He’s sophisticated, handsome, intelligent, and most of all, manipulative. He’s a brilliant actor – loved by the people he interacts with, respected by the greater community, envied by many – that rarely drops his mask of humanity, rarely reveals that he thinks of people as nothing more than delicious meals or toys. He’s not a cackling villain bent on world domination, nor a conflicted anti-hero forced to make difficult decisions. Hannibal is all the self-serving evil of humanity in the form of a Danish psychiatrist.
At the end of last season’s finale, Will Graham stood incarcerated, staring out at the monster that had been haunting his dreams, finally unmasked. We all know where this is going – one day this position will be reversed and Hannibal will grin from behind bars like he knows something no one else does. One day he will escape after toying with the mind of another of Jack Crawford’s recruits. We know Hannibal will be found out – but when? How?
The show plays on this foreknowledge in the best possible way – by beginning the season with a fantastically exciting fight scene. Jack and Hannibal are both trained fighters, ruthlessly utilizing every piece of kitchen cutlery they can find. Then, just as Hannibal, bloodied and wielding his signature meat-cutting knife, slams into the door, time rewinds to the true beginning of the season. This is a brilliant juxtaposition – Jack and Hannibal sharing a lovely meal of human flesh, Jack still blissfully unaware, Hannibal still comfortable behind his façade.
As all good season openers do, “Kaiseki” resets the board and shifts the dynamics of the show. Hannibal has become the new Will Graham, working with the FBI to catch another insanely creepy serial killer – this time one collecting human bodies of all hues to craft some elaborate work of art. Will is behind bars, his hallucinations exchanged for dream sequences dripping with Hannibal’s menace and influence. He continues to remember ways in which Hannibal toyed with him, framed him, and made him believe he could have killed Abigail Hobbs. Alana’s investigations into Jack’s “momentary lapse of judgment” will likely pit the two against each other despite their friendship, and will hopefully increase Alana’s presence in the show. One of the few faults of last season was the underutilization of both Alana Bloom and Beverly Katz – both listed as main cast members along with Will, Hannibal, and Jack – and already it seems as though they will have larger parts to play in the upcoming episodes.
One of the most interesting mysteries about Hannibal is the extent to which he is ever honest, even with his therapist, Bedelia. He tells her that he feels like he’s failed Will and counts him as a loss – despite being the reason Will’s in his terrible predicament. Does Hannibal have some shred of affection for Will or is he simply missing his favorite toy? As much as Hannibal would like to distance himself from the other serial killers in the show, he also views people as art. For most, he makes them look and taste delicious on his dinner table, but for some – like Will Graham and Abigail Hobbs – he crafts, shapes, and morphs them into whatever intrigues him, as with every other killer on the show. It will be intriguing to see if his admission of seeing death as Will does has any semblance of truth. Would we accept that Hannibal has any humanity?
Regardless, Bedelia does seem to be growing aware of Hannibal’s dark side – it seems likely that she may play a crucial role in bringing about his downfall, as she knows him better than anyone. Bedelia was created just for this show, so her ultimate fate is not as preordained as the rest of the cast. Will Hannibal kill her if she proves dangerous to his freedom? We know a bit of her backstory with Hannibal and the patient that tried to kill her, but there has to be more. Why did she assume she would be lying for him if the FBI come knocking?
Hannibal’s signature nightmarish cinematography has not lessened during the season break – the entire episode is drenched in the atmosphere of a horror film. Hannibal’s antlered alter ago rising from the waters of Will’s mind-river, Alana Bloom morphing into a dark-tendriled demon and a wheel of bodies forming a giant eye are just a few of the fantastic images in “Kaiseki.”
However, nothing was more horrifying than Will’s memory of being force-fed Abigail’s ear. Will’s mouth gaping open, the jittering black and white camerawork, the sound of plastic and machinery sliding down inside a throat – the entire experience was terrifying and nauseating in the best possible way. This seems to be only a taste of the memories that Will is going to unearth in the coming episodes. How did Will get blood under his fingernails? The answer isn’t going to be pleasant.
“Kaiseki” is a reassurance that Hannibal likely won’t suffer from a sophomore slump. The intense acting, dream-like imagery, intriguing dialogue and general sense of insanity and lurking horror are all intact and better than ever. Bring on the next twelve courses.
Extra Thoughts:
· My heart broke a little seeing Alana with Will’s dogs. Poor, poor Winston.
· The dream scene of the demonic Hannibal at the head of the table was an amazing twist on Hannibal’s meals. The normally beautiful-looking food was revealed to be horrifying and rotted. I especially liked the way the truth was couched in imagery. Hannibal did feed Will the ear – just not like that.
· That moment when Beverly visits Will (he thinks she’s there as a friend, but then she reveals she’s just there for his help) is fantastic. Hugh Dancy does a wonderful job of conveying his hurt and disappointment.
· I don’t like the procedural elements of Hannibal, but I can’t argue that the serial killers this show comes up with are leagues beyond any other serial killers I’ve seen on television.
· Is Hannibal an actual sociopath, incapable of feeling empathy? I still can’t figure out his true feelings and thoughts towards Will.
· Based on interviews with Bryan Fuller and my own speculations, I’m laying this prediction down here. Assuming the show gets to five seasons, season 2 will end with Hannibal being found out, season 3 will end with him finally being caught, season 4 will cover Red Dragon and season 5 will cover Silence of the Lambs – but maybe with Will Graham again.
