Wait… so she really did throw him from the train? The fifth episode of this third season of “Hannibal“, titled “Contorno“, was a weird one for me. For one I appreciate the fact we’re all caught up, but at the same time I don’t feel as if aspects of what we’re dealing with entirely work. That said, once Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen) gets rolling it’s impossible to say anything negative about this show, as you’d much rather just sit back and watch.
This week’s episode begins with Will (Hugh Dancy) and Chiyo (Tao Okamoto) heading to Florence to hunt Hannibal. Their scenes are overly dramatic and begin spelling things out we are already more than aware of. Chiyo says to Will, “If you don’t kill him, you are worried you are going to become him.” Is anyone not clear on this yet? In fact, scratch that, how the hell is Chiyo so dialed into Will’s psyche? Then, a midnight stroll to the back of the train leads to a kiss and Chiyo tossing Will from the train. What?!?
Just before Will ate train track he had a vision of a bloodied Chiyo hanging above his head, so I wasn’t immediately sure if what I just saw happen actually happened. Return from commercial break and a silly vision of Will doing a somersault in the air reveals that yup, she tossed him from the train. My only assumption is that when she told Will, “There are means of influence other than violence,” she’s speaking strictly for Will, but not for her as she intends to go 100% violent on Hannibal. She’s unwilling to kill Will, but more than willing to participate in the race to catch Hannibal assuming Will will take him alive while she wants him dead. Too bad for her, we know how this is going to turn out and I suspect Bedelia (Gillian Anderson) might have a little more blood on her hands soon enough, though I have theories there as well.
Next we’re reunited with Jack (Lawrence Fishburne), teaming with Inspector Pazzi (Fortunato Cerlino), both also on the hunt for Hannibal from the ground in Florence. Jack meets Pazzi’s wife, played by the lovely MÃa Maestro, and we learn Jack first met Bella (Gina Torres) in Florence… or at least I learned that for the first time today, maybe it was revealed previously?
Either way, Pazzi decides it would be a good idea to go visit Hannibal, posing as Dr. Fell, on his own. The two bat a few words back and forth, Hannibal reveals he knows more about Pazzi than Pazzi could possibly imagine and the fear it incites is more than evident. Cue the phone call.
Back in the States, Mason Verger (Joe Anderson) and Alana Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas) are working together, serving up a bounty on Hannibal’s head. Upon receiving Pazzi’s phone call they require a fingerprint to confirm he has in fact found Hannibal. Pazzi, playing the patsy, just waltzes right back over to Hannibal hoping to trick him into giving up his fingerprints easily. No wonder he’s never caught Hannibal before… it’s almost a wonder he’s ever caught anyone.
Hannibal tosses on some gloves, inspects the family heirloom Pazzi brought with him and, before you know it, has Pazzi taped up and dangling from a window with his bowels splattering against the cobblestones below. A classic moment from the Thomas Harris books brought to life and done in a slightly different way than Anthony Hopkins performed the deed in Ridley Scott‘s Hannibal. A big difference, in fact, is who just so happens to be on the street below… Jack!
Jack runs up and beats the ever living shit out of Hannibal, tosses him out the window and, whoa, what, wait! He holds on to Pazzi and slides down to the ground? Okay, sorry, this moment was just about as dumb as Chiyo tossing Will from the train. Then they show the preview for next week’s episode and Will asks Jack why he didn’t just kill him and he says, “Maybe I need you to.” Ugh, this show is so much smarter than that! Especially when we also hear Jack say, “Well, here we are, outside the law.” *Fart noise* If you’re going to make that statement then that means someone has to die, they have to. If you’re outside the law then you don’t answer to the law, but once again, we know they aren’t going to kill Hannibal… Now, if they (meaning Jack or Will) kill someone else that might make me eat my words, otherwise…
You can’t go against character like this, it’s silly and just a delaying of the inevitable, attempting to tease us as if anything other than Hannibal’s capture is in the offing. Before the season ends I predict Hannibal will be captured and imprisoned. The only real question I have left is what will happen to both Bedelia and Mason, and when will we be introduced to Francis Dolarhyde (aka the Red Dragon)?
Will Mason die before the season is over? How will he die? Will Margot (Katharine Isabelle) get her ultimate revenge? Will Hannibal make his way back to the States before Mason captures him? Hell, will Mason capture him at all?
Then the biggest question, will Bedelia survive? We know Hannibal will be caught because that is one of the most fascinating aspects of the character, the time he works with Clarice Starling as well as Will Graham from the confines of his cell, but will Bedelia survive all that is to come? I’m not so sure, and if she does die what will that do to Hannibal’s psyche?
As much as this episode annoyed me with some of the character decisions, I’m still incredibly hooked simply out of my love for the Hannibal Lecter character and how they’ve handled so much of his story so far. I’m also incredibly intrigued by Bedelia’s character, even if her soft whispers are growing a bit tiresome.
Just below is the preview of next week’s episode, “Dolce”, and if you click over to the next page I have thesynopsis for next week’s episode as well as a batch of preview pictures.
