Hannibal Review: Perceptions
Nick McHatton at . Updated at .Perception is everything.
On Hannibal Season 2 Episode 2, everyone confesses to having their own perceptions about Will, Hannibal, urges, conclusions and pawns.
First, I'm mostly numb to Hannibal's gore at this point, but, in a word: wow.
Watching the victim in the beginning try to escape by literally ripping his own flesh off and breaking free from the other preserved bodies made my stomach turn. His one final moment of escape is fleeting as he ends up jumping to his death.
Hannibal pulls no punches, there's no heroic moment for the man. His final moments are gruesome and horrifying. It reiterates just how prevalent and quickly death can happen: sometimes alone and terrified.
Maurier's interactions with Hannibal do not miss a beat. It's clear that she no longer trusts a word that comes out of his mouth and her analysis of him puts Hannibal squarely in the category of avoid at all costs.
In that moment, Maurier is much in the same position as the man in the opening: she's ripping herself away from Hannibal and it is a matter of life or death for her.
Maurier talks in non specifics - and it's never black and white that the aggressive patient of hers is Hannibal - but even if Hannibal isn't the patient in question Maurier recognizes how dangerous he is:
And the conclusion that I've drawn is that you are dangerous.
Maurier
Maurier's final scenes with Will are just what he needs. Will has been mostly alone in his convictions against Hannibal. Maurier affirming Will's conclusions, not just thinking he's a memory lapsing murderer like everyone else does, lends credence to his case.
It elevates Will to his next level because it gives him a social tie; so far all those Will knows refuse to believe him. Will knows who the real "eye" is and it's about building his case and getting out of his prison cell. His contact continued with Beverly, asking her to wipe the slate clean with him and draw her own conclusions is the first step.
Hannibal has a very powerful quote and it highlights one of the bigger themes of Hannibal Season 2 and the series overall:
Those in the world around him are a means to an end. He uses them to do what he is driven to do.
Hannibal
Hannibal's talking about the murderer, but he is knowingly talking about himself too. The FBI is a means to an end for him; mere pawns so he can continue to select people to murder so he can satisfy his cannibalism urges.
On the other side of the coin is Will; he is trying to use Beverly as a means to an end to begin his exit out of the cage to satisfy his urges to expose Hannibal and the atrocities he commits. Will's willing to put on a show for Hannibal by breaking down in front of him.
When Katie visits Will and lays out his options, both end up boiling down to death. Either he dies sooner with the death penalty, or he dies in his cell of old age. Will is rolling the dice, no matter the outcome he's going to die, so he might as well go out trying to prove his own innocence.
Finally, Jack's beginning to find the cracks in his own armor. He's wanting to follow the evidence and see it through to move on past his guilt, but his gut is telling him something different.
Jack's situation is a bit different from Will's but his career is close to death, and he too is rolling the dice by letting Beverly continue contact with Will. He's willing to follow his gut albeit by proxy for now.
What was your favorite moment?
