Re: the fish dinner
Hannibal: âhe was a flounder.â
I walked in with such low expectations during season one, only to find myself falling in love with monsters. Such a brilliant, unsettling feast of a show. Every time the camera pans across Hannibalâs dinner table, I find myself thinking of Hadesâs attempts at wooing Persephone.
Season twoâs first episode felt familiar, in the sense that the writers did their best to remain clever and interesting while also showing us where the chess pieces now stand. It wasnât the absolute height of excitement, but I looked forward to every moment. Short of confirmation that Bowieâs been officially cast as Lecterâs uncle, Gillian Anderson getting more screen time is the best thing that could possibly happen. That, and more screen time for Beverly Katz.
Havenât seen this one yetâmay I assume itâs better executed than the later seasons of Dexter?
Well, Iâm trying to guess what in a human could pass for fish. Hannibal doesnât always serve people â he brought Will chicken soup that did look like an actual chicken. Also, I wonder if heâd be taking a little break from homicide since heâs under more careful scrutiny at the moment.
Whatever it was, Iâd probably eat it.
Oh jeez. Dexter spiraled off into a galaxy of suck all its own after season 4, no question.
Hannibal is still in its infancy, but Iâd certainly say itâs strong. Itâs a different type of storytelling vs. Dexter. Weâre not just seeing things from Hannibalâs POV. Dexter had a bright and sunny Miami look to counterbalance all the dark, too, but Hannibal is much more baroque, very different from other shows on TV. Iâd at least give it an episode or two. At least get to the mushroom men. Then decide.
Hereâs the scoop folks - Crawfordâs âprogramâ exists to create serial killers like Lecter. Will Graham is next in line for this process. Crawford and Lecter ware working together to traumatise him to the extent that they can control what he does and, eventually, who he kills. These are, of course, the same set of circumstances that surrounded Clarice Starling.
Being an artist â a painter, I enjoy the arresting visuals of this show so very much.
However, it was the image of the âflashbackâ where Will âremembersâ Hannibal stuffing the ear down the tracheal tube(?) that really gets me.
It was so visceral, but also leaves the viewer with so much more of a feeling of violation than many other things might.
This is what I like so much about the character of Hannibal. He presents himself to the world as the supreme cool-headed, buttoned-down, dapper individual â yet itâs at these times that he allows his ugly, brutal, and sickening side to come out. Itâs not so much that heâs killing people, or even eating them, but that heâs hiding the brutish parts of himself so far down that when they do appear, itâs always something so repulsive that you feel it deep down in your soul.
I keep having the suspicion that Andersonâs character is actually a figment of his imagination. Sheâs exactly the psychoanalyst he would want to have, you know? Like, EXACTLY. A little too perfect a fit to be real.
I have the suspicion that sheâs closer to him than we realize â like perhaps a wonderful entree he once had.
Edit: Although this might not be trueâŚif memory serves, didnât someone from the FBI go to her home to interview her at some point?
We donât know Bediliaâs complacency is in her involvement with Hannibal, she is implicated somehow.
The line, I believe, is âDonât feel guilty for eating anything.â Not âI donâtâŚâ Remember, he has fed Jack before - many many things.
The violence really echoes the violence of familial abuse, the intimacy in which the perpetrator has access to everything and is familiar with everyone. There is no one untouched.
And what is truly powerful about this series is the beauty, the color, the texture, the movement from scene to scene, the timing of movement⌠And the soundscapes match so well. It is beyond beautiful, not just a mental exercise or titillating but using the media in a way I am pleased to be able to enjoy. Which is truly disturbing, we are dining at Hannibalâs table and we donât know what we are being fed but how can one look away from this cannibalistic visual feast?
Yup. Crawford came to question her in regards to Abigail Hobbes and if Hannibal might protect Will by covering up evidence for him. So sheâs definitely real.
Plus, there was a scene from the Season 2 preview just after the episode ended that showed Bedilia talking to Will in the asylum. So, unless Will is having the same hallucinations (which, I guess is not out of the question), sheâs real.
Ah, I forgot about that. Darn it! Thanks for the reality check, knoxblox and tdelucci.
Iâm looking forward to seeing the whole story come out in regard to Bedelia. Meanwhile, the impression I have is that Hannibal saved her from the patient who was once stalking her â rude behavior, and as we know, Lecter abhors rudeness â and that forced a bond between them, much as the murder Abigail Hobbs committed did between herself and Hannibal. Itâs the devil you know, after all, and he is certainly a charming devil.
Do any of you follow the blog of Hannibalâs food stylist? Itâs another fascinating peek into an already fascinating series.
Whoa. They got the right guy for the job, clearly.
You know, they never did find Abigailâs bodyâŚ
Right woman, actually, but agreed either way. Sheâs impeccable at her job.
SorryâŚIâm a Midwesterner: âguyâ is a unisex term for us. I refrain from saying âyouse guysâ, but I do say âyou guysâ on a daily basisâŚto my daughters. Itâs one of those weird regional things.
No worries! It wouldnât be Boing Boing if I didnât learn something new and totally unrelated to the topic at hand. Thanks for the tidbit.
