It has been quite a while since I have done a Hannibal review but due to college and work I took a huge break from the TV show. After reading some recap posts of the second season I refreshed my memory on the cliffhanger regarding Freddie Lounds at the end of Episode 11 but the star of this episode was the return of Bedelia Du Maurier played by the amazing Gillian Anderson. Bedelia has been tracked down by the F.B.I. to provide some insight on Hannibal and how his psychology works and the best way to possible catch him but she just reinforces how tough it is actually going to be for anyone to back Hannibal into a corner.
I remember the opening fight between Hannibal and Jack Crawford in Episode 1 which is meant to take place in the next episode but this episode really demonstrates the moves and countermoves both Hannibal and Will are making in order to “persuade” the other into their way of thinking, or in Will’s case to catch Hannibal for good but all this persuasion ends in a truly gory final product which delighted the horror fans in me. The storyline with Mason Verge in this episode was a great call back to the books which delighted me as this series tends to stray quite far away from the source material at times. Will who has learned about Margot’s accident and the subsequent murder of their child knows that Hannibal’s hatred doesn’t come from a place of empathy like his own but purely the fact that he considers Mason rude, which he is, although he has never been offended by Mason’s treatment of his sister.
Unlike other episode Tome-Wan also saves most of it’s violence for the ending scene which was interesting as it kept me, the viewer, hooked on it’s dialogue and atmosphere alone which Hannibal does extremely well. We know that Jack and Will are planning to catch Hannibal in the act and Mason presents the perfect opportunity which leads to the entire episode being a game of chess between Will and Hannibal, constantly trying to outsmart and outmanoeuvre the other. However, Bedelia warns them all that Hannibal hasn’t gotten away with everything he has because he’s easy to pull a fast one on. Let’s remember that this man convinced Miriam Lass that her torturer was the inept Doctor Chilton and engrained it enough that it held up when she witnessed his own interview with the F.B.I. Bedelia also reveals in this episode what really happened with her patient, we have always assumed that she was attacked, Hannibal killed the patient and she kept his secret for him. However, it turns out that Hannibal convinced her that killing the patient was the only way and she was the one to do the killing, not Hannibal, speaking to the impact he can have on others. Gillian Anderson sells Bedelia’s strange mix of remorse and unapologetic frankness to a tee. She did what she had to do, yet she understands why she had to do it and how her actions bound her to a psychopath.
Bedelia also admits to Will that he has the advantage of being aware when it comes to Hannibal’s manipulations but sooner or later he will ask Will to kill for him and he won’t feel like there is any other way, just like her. Will uses the confession to deduce that Mason will probably attempt to kill Hannibal and when this comes true, Will is placed in the position of power as he could just sit back and let Hannibal die but he doesn’t consider that justice. He earlier told Hannibal that he’s perfectly aware that his isolation from Abby, Alana, and nearly everyone else is his doctor’s doing, a tactic he attributes to jealousy. However, he gains the ultimate vote of confidence when he cuts Hannibal from his restraints rather than acting out the violent daydream he had earlier in the episode.
The ending scene was glorious as well see Hannibal get revenge on Mason as he drugs him and persuades him to feed his own face to Will’s dogs. When Will returns home he witnesses the true level Hannibal’s persuasion can stretch to. Here he asks Will to kill Mason but he refuses telling Hannibal that Mason is his patient and he should do as he sees fit. For a split second, we’re allowed to believe that Will’s succeeded in his entrapment, and that Hannibal was reckless enough to literally snap the hallucinating Mason’s neck in front of his foil. Unfortunately, the surgeon knows exactly what angle will simply break bone. In the final minutes of the episode we see Mason, alive behind a mask to hide the damage done to his face being interviewed by the F.B.I. He tells them that he fell into the pig pen and the pigs ate his face and he is indebted to his sister for saving his life, although we know with Mason in the state he is, Margot finally has a chance for her own revenge, all thanks to Hannibal.
Overall, Tome-Wan was a great throwback episode to the source material and could set up later events like they do in the books when Mason ultimately returns for revenge, however, I am more interesting to watch the evolving dynamics between Will and Hannibal. That said I am eager to see the bloody showdown between Jack and Hannibal in the next episode.
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