Hannibal Season 3 Episode 5 Review: Contorno
Robin Harry
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Well, that escalated quickly.
As I watched Hannibal Season 3 Episode 5, I was bracing myself to give it a mediocre review as it started winding to an end. However, the last 5 minutes happened, and all was well with the world.
So let's talk about that glorious, wonderful fight scene where Jack Crawford almost literally wiped the floor with Hannibal Lecter.
I did not remotely see that coming. When Jack walked into the courtyard after Hannibal threw Pazzi out the window, I was scared for Jack, not for Hannibal. I actually started yelling at my TV screen, begging Jack to turn around.
However, Hannibal brought up the man's dead wife. That was low, even for Hannibal. That's when I started yelling again, this time for Jack to beat the living daylights out of him. He did not disappoint. That was some glorious television right there.
Laurence Fishburne owned this episode with the few times he was on screen. The fight scene and the scene where he scatters Bella's ashes had me begging for more Jack Crawford.
The theme of the metaphorical living dead continues to run through this show, as everyone Hannibal left bleeding on his floor in Baltimore is struggling with feeling alive. Pazzi asked Will Graham if he was already dead. The warmth that Alana had is gone, and she is left hardened and cold. Her pallor this season is much paler than it was before.
While we thought Jack might have been the only one who escaped the emotional destruction, as it turns out, he wasn't left unscathed. He was quite willing to throw Hannibal out a window after this exchange:
Hannibal: How will you feel when I'm gone?
Jack: Alive.
Is Jack Crawford feeling dead inside because he lost his wife, or because Hannibal destroyed his life and killing him would make him feel better? Maybe all of the above. Whatever the cause, it made for the most satisfying five minutes of the season so far.
Now we can talk about what made me feel this hour was mediocre. First of all, Pazzi. There's ambitious, there's desperate, and then there's just plain ridiculous. For a man who claimed to have the same powers of observation and empathy as Will Graham, he sure was clueless today.
Even if he couldn't tell Hannibal recognized him, shouldn't he have known that questioning a ruthless serial killer about his murders would have put an expiration date on his head? Then to go back on his own with a lame story and turn his back on the very same murderer? Pazzi, what were you even thinking?
Then there was Will and Chiyo. I'm about ready to see the brilliant Hugh Dancy do something else other than pensive brooding, as this version of Will is starting to bore me a bit. I appreciate that he's broken and he's afraid that he'll become Hannibal, but I'm ready for more than this.
Chiyo isn't helping the situation, as her character isn't exactly enthralling me either. She talks in metaphors like every other character, but they're just words when they come from her. She bored me, and until she threw Will off the train, the two of them were killing me slowly. I actually laughed out loud when he got thrown out of the train.
Mason Verger and Alana were much more interesting than Will and Chiyo. It would appear that Alana hasn't completely lost her soul, as she tried to call Pazzi (a bit too late) to warn him about Hannibal. She wants Hannibal dead, but not at the expense of another life. It was impressive how she was able to find out about Bedelia's weekly shopping excursion.
Speaking of Bedelia, I have given up trying to figure out what on earth is going on between her and Hannibal. That first scene with them together was both incredibly sensual and intensely uncomfortable. Hannibal touched her with such intimacy, and the chemistry between them was ridiculous.
(Though, to be fair, Gillian Anderson could create chemistry with a paper bag, and it's probably hard NOT to have chemistry with an incredibly shirtless Mads Mikkelsen.)
It was uncomfortable, though, because the power dynamic between them is still so unclear. Perhaps the element of the unknown is what makes Bedelia and Hannibal seem so connected. Whatever it is, I don't know what I would have done with myself if they had started making out.
Lastly, after weeks of some of the stunning imagery that Hannibal is known for, the shadows, the grey, the fireflies, it really was refreshing to see the streets of Italy in broad daylight.
OTHER NOTES:
- Shirtless Mads Mikkelsen AND shirtless Hugh Dancy?!? Remind me to send Bryan Fuller a card to thank him for the fan service. Much, much appreciated.
- I seriously miss Aaron Abrams and Scott Thompson. I also missed Frederick Chilton this week.
- Today in cannibalism jokes, this is how Hannibal negotiates with captives:
It would be convenient for me to leave without my dinner.
Hannibal
So you have it, a seemingly mediocre installment of Hannibal saved in the last five minutes by Jack Crawford becoming my favorite person and beating the puns out of Hannibal Lecter.
What did you guys think? Did you see that ending coming? How are you feeling about Will and Chiyo? Have at it in the comments section. Remember you can always watch Hannibal online if you need an extra serving.
