"Amuse-Bouche" delved into the idea of murder becoming pleasurable, while also introducing the intrepid blogger Freddie Lounds.

Intrepid might be too strong and positive of a word at this juncture for Freddie. There’s really not much there right now aside from bringing the graphic crime scenes Will and BAU investigate out into the world, and with so much going on, and so much to mull over, it’s harder to visualize where Freddie is going to go or how she will progress in the short term as Hannibal Season 1 continues.

In the long term, the idea of copycat killers (that was alluded to tonight) is very intriguing for Freddie and how Lecter could manipulate that aspect to his advantage. The busier these copycats can keep the BAU, the better off Lecter is.

The gift of time also allows Lecter to look further into Will’s emotional state and dealing with his job; it provides a longer the opportunity for Lecter to pull Will into his own line of thinking and to really sell him on the pleasure of murder. One line from Lecter really caught my attention:

It's the inevitability of there being a man so bad that killing him felt good. | permalink

Not only is it possible foreshadowing, but it’s also heading back to a theme set up in "Aperitif:" getting into the headspace of murder. During each investigation, Will puts his own emotional status on the line as he thinks like the killer would, and Will killing Hobbs pulls him out of the theoretical and into reality. Will isn’t so much worried that he’s killed a man; he’s worried of this slippery slope down to finding pleasure (as Lecter does) in killing bad men.

Jack is slightly better compared to where we last left him. At times last week it felt like he was trying too hard. Now that he has Will on his team, and not actively trying to court him, I like the protector role he’s beginning to slip in to. It contrasts so nicely with his growing friendship with Lecter.

What did you think? Will you be sticking around for the season?

A Few More Thoughts:

• All finely prepared food now makes me wonder if it’s human.
• I’m always surprised at how creative television is with death and bodies.
• Gretchen Speck is clearly Hillary’s cover name when she’s not in Seattle on Kyle XY.
• Did we really need the body to come alive or the face to peel off?