In episode 9 we are introduced to another of Hannibal’s patients, this time an ex-patient who has built an animal suit to kill people believing that he is more animal than human. These patients of Hannibal’s seem to be soldiers in the battle between Hannibal and Will and Randall is the third. These soldiers are also leaving a nice body trail behind them and so far the casualties are three for three: the orderly’s dead, Peter’s in jail, and Randall ends the episode sprawled out on a table in Dr. Lecter’s office. “Shiizakana” is the second installment of Will and Hannibal’s new era, one that’s marked by a naked honesty on Will’s part. He’s asked Hannibal not to lie to him, and for the most part, it seems like Dr. Lecter’s honouring his patient’s wishes.
This honesty between them is cold and you can feel the tension between them, especially when Will asks if Hannibal killed Bedelia, which he replies he did. However, he is lying in some form as we know Hannibal went to her home with the intention of killing her, but she had anticipated this and left before he could get to her. She simply got away in time, though not before hinting to Will that he’s not the only patient Hannibal’s manipulated. Will isn’t the only one who caught onto Hannibal as Margot has also managed to connect the dots. Margot herself is in an unusual position as she wants to kill her brother, but her father made sure that she would inherit nothing even if her brother died, so she is dependent on him for her own survival. She also knows that Hannibal’s encouragement to kill her brother isn’t normal and she decides to seek out Will on her own which to me indicates that Hannibal might have a hobby of crafting his patients’ minds in his own image.
Hannibal also seeks out Randall after informing Jack of his existence and tells him to continue his work, even if it kills him which it eventually does. Under the doctor’s tutelage, he’s learned to both disguise and accept his murderous impulses. Randall is a huge call back for Hannibal, the suit he wears to kill people perfectly mirrors the person suit Bedelia tells Hannibal that he wears to hide his true self from the world. Now, Will is back in form it doesn’t take him long to connect the dots and Hannibal sends Randall after him with the intention of killing him. The chase scene in the woods is a great suspense sequence, and we sense that Hannibal never really expected Randall to succeed. He’s expendable where Will is one of a kind, the only person who’s caught on to Hannibal and is well on his way to understanding him. It’s a confession of sorts. Hannibal won’t admit that he’s a serial killer to Will’s face, but he can signal that they’re playing the same game by joining the war in earnest. Will also tells Hannibal they are even, he tried to kill him, and he has also tried to kill Will. In response, Hannibal only smiles, which shows me that this might have been part of his place all along.
Finally, there’s the looming spectre of Will’s growing killer instinct, a development he acknowledges in the black-and-white dream that opens the episode. In therapy, Will tells Hannibal he regrets killing the social worker, not out of a sense of justice but because he enjoys the sensation of power killing gives him. Hannibal confesses here that he gets exactly the same feeling from killing and he feels like a god. Hannibal wants to be the kind of entity so removed from humanity it thinks nothing of murdering dozens of grandmothers in their church pews. It’s that sense of contempt and detachment he imparts to his patients.
Hannibal’s approach works the people like Randall who are willing to accept what they are, but Will’s extreme empathy means that he will never reach that level of separation that Hannibal has between the killer and the victim. This makes him immune to Hannibal’s efforts making him a huge challenge to the good doctor. Their conflict isn’t just a question of who goes to jail; it’s a battle for Will’s soul, and whether he can successfully be converted to Hannibal’s view of the world or whether Will can get Hannibal to finally stop. Considering that Will finally succeeded in killing again tonight, that’s probably more of an open question than we’d like to believe.
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