Friends
Hannibal proves how his own self-preservation matters more than "making friends".In this week's episode, things got a bit too close for comfort for Hannibal Lecter. Once again he took control of the situation, deliberately moving all players in the game away from him.
It's unfortunate that Jack Crawford has been catching up with Will's help, but was persuaded by Hannibal to believe that a dissociative personality disorder turned Will into a killer.
Will knows from the start how to connect the dots, and he uses his skill successfully to trace the patterns of the copycat killer. Starting with Georgia's death, he even manages to give her the dignity she deserves, refusing to believe she would commit suicide. It was tragic to see her trying to recover in her own way, and instead she falls victim to Hannibal's machinations. In the end, only Will truly understood her.
Personal interests
His firm belief in his own judgment eventually leads Jack Crawford to Bedelia Du Maurier's doorstep, which puts her into a difficult situation regarding patient confidentiality. In fact, I'd say that every character has been trying to solve the puzzle with the help of another person, but personal interests have always mattered more than revealing the truth. Ironically, Bedelia reinforces the idea that Will would do well with more friends like Dr. Lecter as opposed to Jack Crawford. However, Will Graham, Jack and perhaps even Freddie are far more interested in what really happened than any other character looking out for himself. Jack isn't the best friend; far from it. But you don't want to have a friend or father like Hannibal Lecter.
Start where the copycat started
Eventually, Will asks Abigail Hobbs for help, going back with her to investigate the Minnesota Shrike case. He hasn't been himself, and his spatial neglect and loss of time just prove that he should've stayed at the hospital. His ability to empathize with a killer also puts an interesting spin to the ending of the episode. Will doesn't know that Jack is already on his way, thinking that Will might harm Abigail, but he doesn't become Garrett Jacob Hobbs either. He becomes Hannibal.We are left with a cliffhanger, the ominous scene between Hannibal and Abigail, which doesn't bode well for her safety. People who know about Hannibal die, fatherly concern or not.
Isolation
Hannibal's loyalty goes hand in hand with his idea that Will could be like him. In the end, it's easier for him to frame Will, because he simply isn't his friend in the general sense. Will is something else to Hannibal. My impression is that he's an instrument for Dr. Lecter, a person that can become Hannibal. He tried to isolate Will from his friends. Framing him for murder would achieve exactly that, and it would give the serial killer a sense of power and more control over Will's fate.Follow me on Twitter
Excellent review! I loved this episode :) But... the feels... :( Will... </3
ReplyDeleteAnother great one!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit on the fence about Du Muarier's response to Jack Crawford in which she seems to praise Hannibal's friendship. I don't know if she's completely out casting Jack or putting him in the same league has Hannibal 9and if that's a good or bad thing), because I honestly don't know how she feels about Hannibal--If she's his friend, especially when she seems to imply in later scene that Hannibal (or someone else that they both knew?) may be responsible for the attack on her. Like Hannibal, I'm torn about where she'll draw the line in being his friend and preserving her own best interest. (Her name may be a reference to the great French murder-mystery-romance novelist after all!)
I also think that given what has been presented in other film and novel material, does point out this idea that Hannibal is trying to find a way to have it all. I know it seems like he's selling Will out all the time, and clearly what happens in Red Dragon leads to means to an end for this relationship, but I do think Hannibal is trying to have his cake and eat it too and the sicker Will is, the closer he can get to Will. -But at the same time I also see Abigal Hobbs as his Misha and with that being said and knowing how he lives with miss Starling at the end of Hannibal (novel), I'm a little baffled that he chooses not to help Abigal and would choose Will over her. -I don't remember the novel Red Dragon very well (it's been a while since I have read it), but I don't remember if Harris ever expounds what it is about Will Graham that Hannibal is trying to connect with? What part of himself or his upbringing does he see in Will? -Maybe this is all Fuller's exploration, but I have to say I'm intrigued to see how this relationship moves forward...
Thanks for the info! -I figured there would be more of it, (especially if he is following the books, because Red Dragon seems like it would be years from now) I'm just curious how it will continue, because at the moment Hannibal seems to be stuck in a corner...
ReplyDeleteI guess that also means :
SPOILER:
(because I think I caught an interview where he said he has 7 seasons planned) that might explore pre-Silence of Lambs territory, which I think would be neat.
END SPOILER
The only thing that would seem to suggest he is keeping in line with most of the book material is his continuous homage to it. He could have easily just have made another version that had little to do with things the viewers would associate with other Hannibal related material...instead he has been embracing it.
Even in this episode I was intrigued that he gave Georgia the brush as the murder weapon, because Georgia's accent and plain appearance (almost a lack of identity) goes along with Clarice Starling, as the brush is also a cryptic message about civility and/or having taste/dignity...he wanted her to have that before she died! -And then there's "the exotic bird soup" he gave Will (The berries kind of made it like this idea of not just eating the bird, but also eating what the bird had eaten!)--It beautifully paralleled this circles coming to surface in the episode)
And then the copy cat thing also seems to have another level...Du Maurier's kitchen looks a lot like Hannibal's, don't you think? (most likely he is 'mocking' her)
People have caught the similarities between her kitchen and Hannibal's, but they think it's mostly him imitating her, which I find intriguing, but not all that accurate. It is a bit of a mockery in itself and considering how he invades her space and sits down while she stands is also quite symbolic. Like devouring another person by simply breaching spaces. And yes. great catch about the food chain analogy, with Hannibal being at the top of it.
ReplyDeleteYa. I mean on one hand you kind of would have to ask what Mockery means to Hannibal, because this version of him is much more serious than film versions of him--so in a sense it is a kind of devouring, as you say! --But is this also where he is learning from? --Is she kind a of central mother figure to him at the moment, because I would agree it's not imitating in a shallow sense just to hide, but it's wanting to actually be like...
ReplyDeleteMaybe she's his person suit :)
ReplyDeleteIndeed! :D
ReplyDeleteWell it's just my impression, but I guess we will have to wait an see where Fuller puts his chips.
ReplyDeleteOn another note I think Du Maurirer is a rather interesting character and I hope we get more into her story at some point. I kept thinking about some of the work of the French novelist of the same surname such as Rebecca or The Birds! -Her life was hard because she struggled with her own bisexuality, something that sometimes shows up in those works (Mrs. Danvers)...so I wonder if there is going to be some kind dark murder-love story here between her another women and another man (one of which being her patient)???
So did you like the episode? What was your favorite part?