HANNIBAL (NBC) IS DOING GREAT THINGS

Everyone who's had the distinct pleasure of talking to me within the last two months has heard me talk about Hannibal (and had to answer the question, "Are you watching Hannibal?" and usually the follow-up question, "Why aren't you watching Hannibal??"). I think Hannibal is one of the best shows on television right now - definitely the best on network TV and rivaling shows on premium channels.

on this week's episode Will plays a nice game of Jenga

It feels like every single week the show gets better, but Ep. 9 "Trou Normand" blew me away on Thursday (and during my rewatch tonight). (Each Hannibal ep gets at least one rewatch.) There are four things that jumped out at me that I need to talk about:

1. The only flaw with the episode was that the crime really took a backseat to the continuing characters' stories. There's usually a much nicer balance between character story and weekly-crime-to-be-solved story, and they generally tie in nicely making the procedural cop element of the show feel less prominent. There was a definite disconnect this week. Despite this, the denouement of that storyline was very nicely written, if not crafted (I would've liked more difficulty in locating the killer). The revelation that the killer's son had unintentionally been one of his victims was really satisfying, and continued the trend of this show to not glorify the acts of the serial killers depicted. The viewers are always confronted with the horror of the crimes and they all have importance and weight. As a final note, Lance Henrikson's two thumps on the arm of the chair after the oops-I-murdered-my-son revelation deserve some kind of an award.
2. In the Hannibal/Will storyline things got interesting!!!! The most revelatory line for me was after Hannibal tells Will that he helped Abigail hide Nicholas Boyle's body. Will responds with unexpected anger, "Evidently. Not. Well. Enough." WHOA. I think there have been some red flags waving in Will's head for a while now about Hannibal that he's been ignoring, and this should've got them waving again. But Will isn't surprised that Hannibal is caught up in such an unsavory business. Instead he's angry that Hannibal has put himself in a position where he (and Abigail) might get caught. I tried to understand Will's thought process by asking myself what I would do if someone I really loved had killed someone. I wouldn't want them to go to prison, I would want them to do their best at evading suspicion of the police. This is where Will is at regarding Hannibal and Abigail: he's identified Hannibal as a friend and Abigail as family (and Hannibal as family as well by extension because they've both taken responsibility of being a father to Abigail). Really really interesting development.
3. Brilliant stroke making Freddie Lounds a vegetarian. Everyone loves Hannibal and sees him in a positive light; they gobble up his food, including the meat we are led to believe is human, and love every bit of it. Even the suspicious and protective Alana Bloom has seduced by him. Freddie, though, can't eat the meat he serves because she's vegetarian. She's also the one person in the show who suspects (or at least has the capacity to at this moment) that there is something off about Hannibal. She is the only one who's not drinking the kool-aid.
4. The last thing I feel compelled to mention is the fourth wall. With "Trou Normand" I've now found two instances of Hannibal gazing directly into the camera. The first was in the pilot episode, as we're introduced to Hannibal Lecter and he's taking a bite of human liver:

this lighting is doing insane things for Mads' bone structure

The second is at the end of the episode as Hannibal is comforting Abigail after she reveals she helped her father with all the murders:

Hannibal has a fascinating element wherein the audience knows more than most of the characters right form the get go because we're familiar with Hannibal Lecter from the previous books and movies. But everyone in the show thinks Hannibal's a great guy! He makes yummy food and has impeccable taste in furnishings! But Hannibal is constantly dropping all these cannibal inside jokes. For the benefit of whom? Himself certainly. But also the audience. I see Hannibal breaking the fourth wall as an expression of his power. The only people who are capable of appreciating his full strength right now are the audience. These little looks are Hannibal telling us that he knows exactly what he is doing and he is not afraid of our judgement. He is completely in control.

I, for one, can't wait until that control starts slipping. That's when Hannibal will really get interesting.