UK TV review: Hannibal Season 3, Episode 5
Review Overview
Speed
5Satisfaction
5Sock it to him
9Jo Bromilow | On 11, Jul 2015
Already seen Episode 5? Read on at the bottom for additional, spoiler-filled comments.
A mixed bag of meat as well as pacing greets us this week, as the wheels are set in motion for Hannibal’s capture. Or so his would-be captors think. The accepted statement that a cornered and wounded animal is the most dangerous type has never run truer: Dr. Lecter likely tear his them limb from limb should they get too close.
But, like his hunters, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Despite the new alliance of Alana Bloom and Mason Verger – and the unlikely unofficial crime-fighting duos of both Inspector Pazzi and Jack Crawford and Will and Chiyo – Hannibal and his glamorous assistant, Bedelia, continue to style their way through their paths to capture and retribution.
A word of advice for viewing Episode 5: don’t watch it in daylight. This isn’t just about increasing the drama; it’s more that in certain scenes (mainly those with Will and Chiyo, a dim pairing at the best of times), it is actually impossible to see what’s going on. Within the world of the show, this darkness is also preventing Will from being able to see exactly what is in front of him. There’s a reason why the story of Hannibal is told from his – the victim who got closest – perspective, in that he is able to maintain a sense of it. How will his latest poor decision play out?
Likewise for Alana, partnering with Mason Verger exposes her not only to his lewd sense of humour (the change of actor has certainly led to a change in the character, which, given how slowly the rest of the show moves, is weird but not entirely unwelcome) but also to danger from multiple fronts. Using her knowledge of Hannibal’s unusual dining habits to track his movements (to be honest, we imagine anyone could track Hannibal down based on his wine orders intersected with the trail of bodies), she exposes herself directly to Hannibal’s revenge, but also to Mason and his more able sister Margot, who is still on the scene, albeit off-camera. We’re not sure about you, but the Vergers are one family we wouldn’t want to disappoint.
Speaking of disappointment… for a show that is supposedly set to die a sad and unwanted death with this season (in the world outside the show, things also aren’t looking rosy for our red-meat-loving friend), Hannibal is making a graceful yet infuriatingly sedate amble to the exit that has meant drama and action are infuriatingly sparse. The show’s initial format of Murder of the Week, interlaced with some more of Hannibal’s back story, gave way to more of this story in Season 2, and we’re now almost overwhelmed with eking out every marginal detail of Hannibal’s history to fill the show’s languid episodes. This one is a fine example of that, thankfully offset by a good final five minutes, when one of our protagonist pairings finally track down Hannibal (although not in a way that benefits them). Given that this show has just hours left to live in its current form, do we really have the time to waste remarking on how pretty the operating table looks and how well-spoken the doctors are? Let’s hope we get to the meat of this story before it’s too late.
Hannibal: Season 1 to 3 is available to watch online on Amazon Prime Video as part of a Prime membership or a £5.99 monthly subscription.
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Photo ©2014 NBCUniversal Media, LLC
Additional notes (contains spoilers)
– Following on from last week’s note, it is now definitely implied that Jack aided Bella from this world. Hannibal’s taunting while he allows Jack to take revenge on him (likely a form of transference for the beating Jack would probably want to give himself) seems to hit the mark just as well as Jack’s punches do. Hannibal’s wounded beast sure can take a beating. The scene’s various, excellent punches, juxtaposed with the upbeat backing track made for some dark humour, combined with the shock value of the fact that, for once, Hannibal is actually taking a beating.
– I was too busy trying to focus on what was going on in his scenes I didn’t even wonder where Will’s boat had got him to. Aside from on a sleeper train with the perplexing Chiyo – a little break from her again would be welcome. But who is Will now limping off to find?
– Snails are definitely a prominent and dominant theme this time around, as are insects in general (that beautifully presented body in the guise of a giant glowing dragonfly just gets weirdly prettier the more we see of it). Not that I’m complaining; they do make for very pretty close-ups.
Photo: 2014 NBCUniversal Media, LLC