After the mention of the Chesapeake Ripper in Episode 5, I was very excited to get into this episode. There are a lot of things happening in this episode so it will be a little difficult to keep track if you are watching until things come together at the end of the episode. We are introduced to the Chesapeake Ripper case which as remained unsolved for two years until Freddie Lounds publishes an article saying that the Ripper has already been caught.
We then move to the Baltimore Hospital for the Criminally Insane, which book fans will recognise as the institution where Hannibal was kept after his arrested and even now it is run by Doctor Fredrick Chilton, who is a creepy man even now. The F.B.I. are here after an inmate Abel Gideon murders a nurse in the exact same fashion as the Chesapeake Ripper, however, Will is under the impression that this is a copycat killer. This poses a problem for the F.B.I. as the details of the killings were never released so the only way Gideon could know of the murders is through three options; he is the Ripper, he has been persuaded to believe he is the Ripper, or the Ripper gave him those details.
As they look further in the case, we get some background on what has already happened through Jack and Hannibal. Jack’s memories introduce us to Miriam Less who was working under Jack when the Ripper case started, and he even encouraged her to use unorthodox methods to find information. Jack’s actions lead directly to Miriam being kidnapped by the Ripper and he records her as he kills her which he later plays to Jack. Will is also under the impression that Gideon is definitely a copycat and the real Ripper is going to make sure the world knows he is still out there. This comes true when Jack starts receiving phone calls from the Ripper playing the recording of Miriam, although for a moment he believes that she is alive, leaving her fingerprints and hair in his bedroom. When he gets the third phone call they find the phone attached to a severed arm, belonging to Miriam as they never found her body. This really impacts Jack and it mirrors the relationship he has with Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs and why he works so hard to protect her from Hannibal.
During a conversation between Jack and Hannibal we get a flashback from Hannibal, showing that Miriam came to him about a hunting accident when he work practicing medicine and working in an E.R. While he is looking for a journal with details of his time working there, Miriam finds a drawing of a body with the exact injuries of the Ripper’s victims. At that moment Hannibal sneaks up on her and strangles her into unconsciousness. This confirms to us that Hannibal is the Chesapeake Ripper, however, he has everyone fooled even Chilton. I think the strained relationship between Hannibal and Chilton comes from their friendship at this time and the humiliation Chilton would have felt when Hannibal was revealed to be the Chesapeake Ripper and had been under his nose all along. This episode was amazing as it points to a lot of things that happen later in the series and I can’t wait to see happens in the rest of the series.
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