Hannibal Season 3 Episode 10 Review: And the Woman Clothed in the Sun
Robin Harry
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The search for the Tooth Fairy continues on Hannibal Season 3 Episode 10, and we saw more of the life of Francis Dolarhyde. This was another strong hour, and Richard Armitage is just killing it every week.
The moral was easy enough to decipher: telephones are dangerous in the hands of serial killers.
We need to keep telephones away from Hannibal Lecter. First of all, his phone call with Francis Dolarhyde at the beginning was incredible. Hannibal had him figured out before he even started talking.
I loved that Dolarhyde broke into Hannibal's home to make the call. It was wonderfully poetic that Hannibal counseled him there; Hannibal's mind palace likely had put him there as well.
Then there's the fact that Hannibal somehow managed to turn an incoming call into an outgoing call and charmed Frederick Chilton's secretary into giving him Will Graham's address. That can't possibly end well for Will.
I'm not exactly sure why Will needed to visit Bedelia Du Maurier. Not that I wasn't pleased to see her; I had been wondering what became of her after Italy. She apparently had been doing the lecture circuit, having had an insider's and survivor's view of life with Hannibal Lecter. Will was very quick to call her out on her victim play.
Poor Dr du Maurier. Swallowed whole, suffering inside Hannibal Lecter's bowels for what must have felt like an eternity. You didn't lose yourself, Bedelia, you just crawled so far up his ass you couldn't be bothered.
Will
What insight did Will need to get from her? Did he simply go to reminisce about the good old Hannibal days? Was he hoping for insight on himself, for reassurance that he was indeed separate and different from her and from Hannibal? As grateful as I am for that conversation between them, I'm still unsure as to the point of it in the context of this case.
That said, Will's conversation with Bedelia revealed more about her than we've known all season. Bedelia is of the same mind as Hannibal – she just has restraint. Her plan all along was to observe Hannibal, and she allowed him to believe that he was in control of her, when really, that's exactly what she wanted.
I find it hard to believe that Hannibal was not aware of her intentions, given that he has always been two steps ahead of everyone. I am inclined to believe that he was completely aware, and the circumstances just changed too quickly for him to act on her duplicity. That's also probably why he mails her recipes.
We also found out what happened with that fateful patient, Neal Frank (played wonderfully by Zachary Quinto). Poor Neal didn't stand a chance with those two psychiatrists. It's unclear whether Bedelia, at the time, believed that Neal was actually psychotic or whether she knew Hannibal was manipulating him and didn't care. Either is plausible. She's always known that Hannibal's worn a "person suit."
Francis Dolarhyde, on the other hand, doesn't have a "person suit" quite like Hannibal's. Unlike Hannibal, Francis seems quite capable of feeling genuine care and desire for another person without manipulation. His relationship with Reba McClane is actually quite sweet.
He brought her to experience the sleeping tiger as a beautiful gesture. It was also apropos; when Francis is with Reba, he's also a dormant predator, much like that anesthetized tiger. So it's no wonder that he was so moved by her reaction and acceptance of the beast within her fingers.
Francis seems to genuinely care for Reba, and has not manipulated her at this point. He was able to suppress the dragon's urges because of her presence. She grounds him.
However, he saw her as The Woman Clothed in Sun, which is not a good sign for her. It will be interesting to see how this relationship continues. I've read the books, so I know the general direction in which this is all heading, but I'm quite excited to see how it will all play out on the screen.
The confrontation between Dolarhyde and Will was interesting. Will now knows what he looks like, which is bound to put a wrench in his plans. Also, Dolarhyde consumed the painting of The Great Red Dragon and The Woman Clothed In Sun, which is all part of his becoming the Red Dragon.
The theme of "becoming" is an important one in the novel, and I'm glad that it was touched upon. Francis Dolarhyde is becoming the Red Dragon. However, what is Will becoming? At his last visit with Hannibal, he saw himself in Hannibal again, as he did three years ago when he was most lost. Is Will becoming what he wanted to avoid?
Other Notes:
- My favorite visual of the night HAS to be the tiger. The way Dolarhyde described it was perfect; the orange was radiant and was such a beautiful contrast to the rest of the scene.
- Hannibal Lecter dancing at someone's wedding – I'd kinda pay to see that.
- Does anyone else miss the food on the show?
- Bedelia saying that she obfuscates just has to be a shout out to one of Gillian Anderson's most memorable closing sentiments on The X-Files: "...deceive, inveigle and obfuscate."
- And the cannibalism joke of the week comes from Bedelia Du Maurier – it's more like a joke at her expense, but I couldn't stop laughing at this one:
Will: Have you had any contact with him?
Bedelia: He sends me greeting cards on Christian holidays and my birthday. He always includes a recipe.
Will: If he does end up eating you, Bedelia, you'd have it coming.
Another excellent episode, with strong performances by EVERYONE, and with a great look into the lives of Francis Dolarhyde and Bedelia Du Maurier. What did you all think?
Also remember you can always watch Hannibal online.
