Slovenly Muse

I think in the kitchen, Hannibal was using his knowledge of Will to manipulate him. He knew that by threatening him or attempting to defend himself, he could give Will a reason to shoot him. By turning his head away and closing his eyes, he appeared as non-threatening as possible, submitting to his fate, putting the decision to shoot him squarely on Will's shoulders, knowing that as much as Will hated him, he would not be capable of gunning him down in cold blood. By seeming to submit, he actually takes away Will's power to shoot him. Will uses the same strategy in his own kitchen when Chilton pulls a gun on him. He is not afraid; he understands Chilton well enough to know that there is no chance that Chilton will shoot him, so long as he does not provoke him. It kind of delightfully highlights the "food chain" on this show. Hannibal is at the top, the most effective at controlling those around him. But Will is climbing fast.

But Hannibal was not on the list of doctors she was investigating. IIRC, she went to see Hannibal because he had been on duty in the ER on the same night that someone with an unusual wound was brought in, and since she couldn't track down the doctor on the list that had treated the wound, she went to see Hannibal (a doctor who had absolutely nothing to do with that patient), to see if he remembered the man being brought in that night and had any impressions of him. It was such a long shot that it raises Miriam considerably in my estimation that she was able to find Hannibal this way. First, she had to doggedly track down every nigh-meaningless lead she could find, then investigate every tiny little probably-nothing clue in excruciating detail. Her investigative instincts led her to Hannibal (not as a suspect, but as a potential source of information about a suspect or victim) even though there was almost no thread tying him to the situation, because she couldn't leave a stone unturned. Then, she noticed the Wound Man drawing and put the pieces together quickly enough to figure out what she'd stumbled on, but not quickly enough to get out of the office in time. She was sent out on something of a fool's errand by the FBI with no help and no backup, but was able to track down and identify the Chesapeake Ripper because she did her job EXTREMELY WELL. Better than most other trainees would have done. Even Hannibal was impressed enough with her to not just slaughter and eat her like any other pig. The potential she gave him for messing with Jack was a big part of that, but that wasn't all. She earned his respect that day.

I loved that Chilton was wearing a plaid suit jacket while he was being framed (Subtly being dressed in something Hannibal's style while suspicion falls on him for Hannibal's crimes). If he had been wearing a paisley tie with it, I honestly believe the frame job would have been 200% more successful. There's something about that combination that just screams "madness!"

Wow, what an episode. The scenes between Will and Hannibal were downright electric. I can't wait to see this play out! I don't blame Alana for believing the evidence presented to her (especially since it was presented so thoroughly), and I understand how hard it would be for her to side against Hannibal (a colleague and friend she's known for years) when she has so many emotional ties to him that predate the ones she recently began forming with Will. I do, however, find it reach-through-the-TV-and-shake-her FRUSTRATING that she is so closed to the truth, and tosses off serious warnings like a joke. On the other hand, the more thoroughly she believes in Hannibal's innocence, the safer she likely is. The trap didn't close around Will or Chilton until after they'd figured out the truth about Hannibal (same for Beverly, Gideon, and to a lesser extent, Abigail). So maybe it's for the better. I agree wholeheartedly with the poster upthread who enjoyed watching Will express his displeasure with her doubting him in gentle but uncompromising terms. That was lovely and necessary. As for Jack, well... after opening the episode by apologizing to Will for not listening to him or believing in him, he sure jumped right back on to the train of false evidence speeding towards the wrong man! I think he actually recognized that, at the end. The moment when he's holding his gun on Chilton and appears to want to shoot him... you can see him change his mind. There was something in his face, when he decided not to kill Chilton, that was a little surprised, I think. Like he was ready to shoot and kill the brilliant and psychotic Chesapeake Ripper for all the havoc he'd caused, and then he looked again at his "enemy" and saw feeble, smarmy, intellectually clumsy Doctor Chilton blubbering and begging in the snow, and I was sure I could see the realization register on his face that this did not really add up. I think now that Jack is aware of how deeply and thoroughly he is being manipulated, he is not quite so willing to accept the answer he's been conveniently led to as the truth. Of course, with his emotions running about as hot as they can possibly get, seeing that he's being manipulated and resisting it are two different things. If he finally does start listening to Will for real, though, then those two could seriously get some shit done. Regarding the difficulties inherent in setting up the physical evidence against Chilton, I can't pick nits. This show operates on dream logic and artistry to weave its stories. Like I believe the AV Club said, you don't watch this show so much as give yourself over to it and luxuriate in it. Hannibal is a Lucifer-type character, and if the general story logic is sound, I have no problem accepting some of Hannibal's improbably supernatural feats. After all, it's his ability to do these things (and the mystery of how) that make him so terrifying and formidable a character. Just remember: Book Hannibal once talked a man into swallowing his own tongue - something which is physically impossible to do. So his exploits which require suspension of disbelief are actually canon! ;)

That's what I really love about this show. People who don't know the story are being drawn in and introduced to it in the same way the readers of the books were. People who DO know the books and think they know what's coming are seeing the story they know completely turned on its head. Events from the books are already being played out on the show, just in different ways, or involving different characters. Many aspects of the books from Hannibal's incarceration have been re-purposed for Will this season (such as Chilton's inability and desperation to figure him out). The scene from Red Dragon, where Hannibal uses Freddy Lounds and The Tattler to send a message to his admirer (The Tooth Fairy) asking him to kill Will Graham and his family... that was a major plot point from Red Dragon, and we saw that on the show just two weeks ago, only it was Will using Freddie and tattlecrime.com to send his admirer after Hannibal. The way Will caught Lecter was re-purposed for Miriam Lass, who was supposed to be a Clarice-type character, and has just returned (can't WAIT to see what her story is!), so there's no telling what will happen with her. The show seems to be taking major events from the books and twisting them up to surprise, delight and horrify us in new ways! I know Bryan Fuller wants to start covering the books in later seasons, but honestly, I bet Season 4 (the Red Dragon season) will be the characters hunting Dolarhyde, but in a completely different framework than the one the books provided. Because he seems to be not re-telling the story from the Harris books, but rather telling the story hidden between the lines. It's a very interesting way to stay faithful to the events from the books, without becoming stuck in the pattern of having to re-tell them as written. And since I'm enjoying the series WAY more than I did the books, I say, Bryan Fuller, have at!

Do we need to use spoiler tags in here? Or is the fact that it's a spoiler thread warning enough to those who don't want to know? Publicized info about how Gracepoint will go: (spoiler tagged to be safe)

One of my favourites by cosplayers "Not Literally" - An ode to all the characters who died in Season 1. Funny, brilliant, and really well done.

Nice ep to ease us back into things! I am really excited to see how Brienne will fit in (or not) at King's Landing and what her role there will be. I am wondering this season, since both Oberyn and Sansa are regaling Tyrion with tales of the Lannisters inviting burning, generations-lasting hatred by going beyond what is neccessary to win in order to humiliate and degrade their enemies (plus his fear for Shae), between that and Jaime the Golden Boy getting a taste of how it feels to be on the outside of his family's inner circle (and finding that his bond with Brienne is more powerful than his family's loyalty to him), if we might not see the Lannisters start to break ranks and turn on each other. The Lannisters have sniped at and manipulated each other throughout the series, but have we ever seen a Lannister act against the family's interests? IIRC, they've always seemed fairly united as to their larger goals. As those in power become more arrogant AND more paranoid and desperate to keep their power, there could be some really fun political and familial implosions on the horizon! Jaime has basically become the new Tyrion, and like Tyrion, he may not be exactly "good-hearted," but he definitely doesn't take pleasure in the suffering of others the way certain of their family do. I wonder how much cruelty it would take to turn Tyrion and/or Jaime actively against the family. I wonder if this is the season we'll find out! I could not love the Tyrells more if I tried. That is all.

Actually, I think you're half right. Hannibal was fascinated to meet and talk with another killer, someone he could have considered a friend. But I don't think he considered Tobias an equal. Tobias didn't plan or manipulate, he just killed. He didn't share Hannibal's taste for theatrics. When asked what he would do when the police came, Tobias's plan was to kill whoever was sent, and then kill whoever came next (not a long-term solution that Hannibal could respect). He liked to toy with people and trick and control them, but in a way that was more primal and simple-minded than Hannibal's own methods. Once Hannibal figured this out, he realized that Tobias could perhaps be his equal in terms of brutality, but Will was his equal in comprehension, in intelligence, in scope and depth of vision. The only one worthy of being his "friend." From that point, Tobias was nothing more to him than a pawn on the chessboard. He sent Will after him to see what would happen, but I believe he intended all along for Will to beat him. He was more interested to see Tobias' effect on Will than Will's effect on Tobias. Or perhaps he really did respect them both and intended their encounter to be a sort of cage match for the right to be his "friend." But I'm pretty sure he was pulling for Will all along. In any case, the fact that he didn't eat Tobias could have indicated respect, but more likely was because Hannibal confessed to having killed him, claiming self-defence. It would have been too dangerous for that kill to share any similarities with the kills by the Chesapeake Ripper. It's interesting, though, that Hannibal eats the rude (people he considers "pigs") in order to give them some of the value he perceives they lack, but he also eats those he respects (like Beverly and Abigail) seemingly as a way of honoring them. I wonder if he picked the latter up from Garrett and Abigail Hobbs, or if he has always behaved this way.

This show. This show! I've noticed that these last few episodes, I begin the show lying prone and relaxed on the couch, and by the end I have recoiled into a ball so tightly that my muscles are cramping, my hands are clapped over my mouth and... I am leaning ever closer toward the television. I, too, am loving Badass Will. Bryan Fuller said this season would be Will's turn to come back swinging and boy is he shaping up to be right. We're only at the halfway point (Guys! WE'RE ONLY AT THE HALFWAY POINT!) and Will is controlled and rational, able to finally give almost as good as he gets in this twisted "friendship" with Hannibal. And while the other characters might think of Will as being psychopathic or sick for trying to kill Hannibal, we see that he is in total control of himself, and that his attempt to kill Hannibal was not a monstrous act of vengeance, but rather a cold necessity. Hannibal is not human, and he cannot be allowed to continue to do what he was doing. It doesn't make Will a monster to do what he knew had to be done. (Thinking of the incarcerated "psychopath" using Freddie Lounds to ask his murderous admirer to kill his rival, I also think it's funny that I've heard people complain it's going to take too long to get into the book canon at this pace. But the events from Red Dragon are happening now! They're just happening to the wrong characters! The series is actually covering ground pretty quickly and I'm really excited to see how the expected events will be turned on their heads when we get there!) Jack's faith in Hannibal has been shaken, finally (I wonder what Bella told him about her encounters with Dr. Lecter. Does she realize how he essentially manipulated her into killing herself in his office and then prevented her from suceeding? That would have been an interesting conversation to have with her husband), and Hannibal himself has been shaken badly enough to be making mistakes now in his desperation to reassert control. This is going to be a wild ride! Alana - What can I say? I'm not surprised she was taken in by his not-inconsiderable charms, but I do feel sick thinking about how she'll react when she learns the truth. She rejected Will because although he was intelligent and fascinating, he was also unstable. Hannibal is the model of stability and steadiness, even in the face of great trauma. She perceives him as "safe." Which makes his betrayal all the more devastating. I assume he drugged her to get her to sleep the night like a good little alibi, but why did he wipe her wine glass with that cloth? Covering his tracks, or collecting her DNA for future dastardliness? (We know how he loves to tamper with evidence.) Also, my god, Caroline Dhavernas is a beautiful woman. Miriam Lass is alive. Why did he keep her alive for so long? What has he done to her in the meantime? What has she become in his care? I am turning myself inside-out with anticipation here! Final thought: "You intend me to be my own Last Supper?" "Yes." Sleep on that. If you can.