Fen

It's weird how subjective chemistry is - I find Jon and Dany totally flat. I wonder whether Missandei might put that theory about Daenerys allowing her to leave to the test? It felt foreboding-y. On Jaime's failure to react immediately and effectively to the dragon threat - given his traumatic past with the Mad King - well, it's hard to predict what would happen. Look at the Hound on the battlefield. He was frozen for a good minute or two by the sight of all the fire. Likewise Theon during Euron's attack. Aside from that - this is the first time any of these people have ever seen a dragon before. It would probably take a couple of minutes for your brain to start working again - more, to make it work in a calm way, and not just scream RUN! at you.

I think she was realising that Arya was not only serious about having a kill list, but that it was also very likely the people who were 'dead now' were dead by her hand. On top of that - I think she was genuinely uncertain as to whether Arya might decide to kill Brienne in that fight - maybe as revenge for the Hound, or some other reason Sansa was unaware of.

I It was implied when he talked to Robert and Brienne that Jaime saw terrible things in the Mad King's court, and is fairly traumatised by it. 'Ever heard of Wildfyre? The Mad King was obsessed with it. Loved to watch people burn - the way their skin blackened and blistered and melted off their bones....finally the day of reckoning came....I urged him to surrender peacefully....he turned to his pyromancer ' "burn them all - he said - burn them in their homes, burn them in their beds"' When he sees that dragon coming - he knows what it's going to look like when his men burn alive.

Ehhhh. Just finished watching these episodes having caught up with the last two seasons over the space of three weeks, and need to vent Season 4 had problems, but things started to go seriously off the rails this season. Writing issues. Writing issues all over the place. The pacing was dreadful. The main part of the season was like protracted torture getting to the election - and then with no real resolution there. I started to sympathise with Conway, and I'm relatively sure that was unintentional. Then everything was just flung at us in the last few episodes. They also seemed to have real difficulty doing two things: juggling characters, and providing satisfactory resolutions. Seth, for example, did do things this season - but it felt like they lost a grip of him by the end of the season: we needed another encounter between him and Doug - or a more sustained look at their relationship. Similarly - why bother killing off Frank's ex from military school at all if you're going to do precisely nothing with it? What did happen to Conway when he was on duty? You've managed to get me to the point where I care enough to want to know - so why leave me like this? Tom. Good God. I have never been so profoundly bored by a character in my entire life. All he did was make obvious and mediocre observations about Claire - delivered like they were profound insights (you have... a face. And... hair. You're.... 60% water. You want.... things. ) - or spout 'fact of the day' type trivia (no, Tom - I don't care that you feel warm again just before you freeze to death. Please feel free to sod off). Also - he mumbled so much I had to turn on closed captioning. More broadly speaking - his big fascination before was really with Frank, and I'm not convinced that he simply dropped that. A more interesting story might have been if he had been sleeping with Claire as a twisted way to get closer to, and understand more about, Frank - and all the emotional fallout that would have resulted. Although - actually - still would just have preferred that he never appeared. His death was pretty silly, too. Indecisiveness over Claire. I feel - at this point - that the writers just desperately want me to see Claire as better than Frank. More worthy. But they can't make up their minds how - and it's making her inconsistent. I see her having fits of conscience - presumably so I see her as a more compassionate and moral person. But they're equally insistent that she's actually colder and more merciless than Frank. They want to have their cake and eat it. Couldn't stand Davis - far too all-powerful, as well as bubbling over with quirks and eccentricity. I have no idea why anyone would ever want to rely on her - she's like a walking red flag. The big twist at the end felt too abrupt.

Some good things: Ser Jorah might yet survive! Arya and Nymeria met up The sea battle was fun to watch Theon managed to escape. I know some people might see his leap overboard as cowardice - but no. He's still incredibly fragile, and - from a modern pov - suffering from PTSD. His glance round at the battle was very similar to the Hound's way back at the Battle of the Blackwater, when his fear of fire kicked in. What would have been accomplished by running towards Euron, other than a slit throat, or maybe more Ramsay-esque torture to amuse Euron during the voyage back to Kings' Landing? On top of that, it means Theon gets his own story again Some silly things Given that they are in open rebellion against the crown, the pro-Daenerys Ironborn fleet apparently took a pretty relaxed attitude to life, given how easily Euron was apparently able to sneak up on them. What kind of defensive tactic was Yara employing, exactly? This is almost on a par with Dragonstone being ungarrisoned (bad enough), and Cersei apparently failing to take advantage of a strategically important and conveniently empty castle (worse again). I'm sure it's sweet and all that, but I don't really care much about Grey Worm and Missandei, and that was a very long scene in a very short season.

From what I've read in other interviews, he means a little hint to the viewers that one or both of Hannibal and Will survived. It would play out from there if/when season 4 or a film ever arrives.

I agree, Captanne - what Fuller said was intended in the scene is what I took from it. Will takes them both over the cliff. 'Can't live with him, can't live without him'. I thought it worked well. Will finally acknowledges that he has this kinship and bond with Hannibal, but cannot allow either of them to live for the greater good. I'm by no means a shipper - but it was romantic. Dark, but romantic. It's as much of a consummation of their relationship as you were ever going to see on screen. Word of God in interviews is that Bedelia did not in fact remove and cook her own leg as an offering to perhaps win survival (this is totally what I thought happened). Fuller has said someone else removed it and cooked it, and the table is set for three... From the HitFix interview:

Yep - I subsequently read interviews with Fuller saying that Alana had a happy ending. I dunno - my original response to it just wasn't a happy one. But then, I've disliked s3 Alana - so maybe my take on it was coloured by that? I did think she had a glance at Margot before looking back at the security guys. Alana is a killer. She killed one of the men guarding Hannibal at Muskrat farm, and she assisted in Mason's murder. I like that Alana and Frederick got a good scene together at the end. Their relationship went from 'I'm friendly with the new Chief of Staff' and klutzy flirting from Frederick, right through to slinging accusations, utterly despising each other, then reluctant anti-Hannibal allies - right through to that last scene. It's sometimes hard to see any relationship on the show that isn't Hannibal and Will - but theirs was definitely interesting and worth looking at. Chilton most definitely called her out at the end, and she did seem shaken. His line about her wearing Hannibal's skin was spot on. It's a shame we didn't have more time before the end to see her grapple with that. MisterGlass said: I respect Bryan Fuller's commitment to not showing sexual violence against women on the show - given how prevalent it is in other shows and movies. However, I felt that - post-Beverly - this sometimes broadened out to a guarantee of safety for female characters which could be detrimental to tension? For example, I knew Frederick was going to get the tooth fairy treatment, because he'd never show Freddie going through that. I didn't really fear for Alana at any point. Even knowing that the show would deviate from canon, I was never truly worried about Reba. Bedelia survived Florence, and she's still alive as the curtain falls. I think that affected how engaged I felt by their storylines.

I've read that post too - and it is pretty convincing. Like you - I'd be happy with either, and it's testament to the show that it can believably offer so many possible interpretations, all of which are satisfying.

I don't think Chilton's back was broken. In the video that Dolarhyde made, he has Frederick say that he will break Will Graham's back. It seemed a very specific promise to Will, and that's what Will was referring to, I think. I still think the back pain Frederick referred to was the glue Dolarhyde had used to bind him to the wheelchair. He mentions it being a burning pain - probably some kind of chemical burn going on. I hid my eyes during the 'previously'. Not watching that again! It's interesting that the show made no attempt to give us Dolarhyde's backstory. Too much of a risk of making him sympathetic, maybe?

Wow. Well - it certainly wasn't what I was expecting - but was perhaps inevitable, in many ways. Hannibal and Will's relationship has been the focus of the show for three seasons. In season three, we got to see what it looked like with Hannibal behind bars, and Will with a life and family. It was not portrayed as a satisfactory conclusion, mostly because Will did not actually catch Hannibal. Hannibal chose to be caught in order to remain in Will's life. What little we saw of Will's homelife showed Will seemingly disconnected, his relationships with his wife and step-son superficial - full of gaps and silences where Will had omitted important details of his past and personality. Over the next three years, the other characters' lives all still circled around Hannibal in some way: guarding him, or writing about him. Will coming back into contact with Hannibal was what was required to break the tension of that situation - much like he broke Chiyoh's status-quo. So - Hannibal going back to prison would not have worked dramatically - given what the show has done so far. Been there, done that. Equally, we've seen what happens when they try to kill each other. That doesn't work either. Bedelia called it. 'Can't live with him, can't live without him.' Will's not entirely 'gone' morally. He had his moment of remorse about Chilton in the previous episode to signal that to us. He attempts to console Reba. While he was able to kill Dolarhyde here, that was a survival moment, and also what we already know Will can do: enjoy killing 'bad' people. But long-term? Would he be able to countenance what Bedelia could in Florence? Killing the rude, or the inconvenient? No. Equally, it's been made obvious that he cannot break his connection with Hannibal, and has never been able to match the intimacy of that relationship. So what can he do? Kill them both. Can't live with him, can't live without him. It was also heavily sexually charged. Toppling over a cliff together is basically this show's equivalent of the old 1940s tropes of showing waves crashing on a beach, or a train going through a tunnel. It was as much a sex scene as a death scene. I read the post-credits scene as Bedelia cooking her own leg and waiting for them both to arrive. She knows trying to escape is futile - so she'll try to negotiate survival. Why not? It worked for her before. I didn't see that as a happy ending for Alana. Not only is she on the run, now, but she's sold just about every aspect of her professionalism and morality out here. She looked tearful and guilty when talking to Chilton. Not only that - but Chilton, a man she despises, saw through her and called her out. She's wearing Hannibal's skin, and has been for three years. There's a patheticness to that fate that we don't see for anyone else. Hannibal also reminds her that she owes her wife and child and home to him. Her final scene looked cold to me. She looks at Margot, but Margot does not look at her, say anything, or acknowledge her. She might as well have been walking down those stairs on her own. Their only connection is through holding their son's hand. Likewise, the Verger estate behind them looked monstrously huge, oppressive. Frederick is still sassy and spiteful and telling inconvenient truths even when covered in burns and undergoing painful skin grafts. Jack is maybe the worst FBI agent in the history of forever, I missed Price and Zeller!! The way is open for a continuation - but I honestly don't know what form it could take or how you follow on from that. It's a pretty perfect conclusion to the story we've been told. The finale song is like a Bond theme. Broader observations on the season as whole - now that we've had the finale: This episode felt tightly plotted and clearly thought-out. There are even parallels to Mizumono: uncertainty regarding Will's intentions, offering Hannibal freedom, betrayal, blood everywhere, heavy sexual allusions. However, while I can now look back and appreciate how previous episodes got us here, I still think that substantial tightening up and filling in of certain gaps would have made everything feel more coherent and cohesive. There's too much that felt loose, or superfluous.

I remember that scene too. Like you - I found it had real impact. It's character-defining for Will. He can empathise and sympathise with the unhappy child, while still recognising that the adult is an intolerable threat. He's compassionate, but he's practical. I think this ep just had too many of the features I found iffy in season 3. Characters stylised to the point of bizarreness, and a lot of explanatory material removed in favour of artiness.

I actually delayed watching this episode for several days, because I knew what was coming. In terms of what actually happened - it was horrible. Hard to watch, and I like horror films. In seasons 1 and 2, when you could still justifiably call Jack, Alana and Will 'good guys' (albeit conflicted) - Chilton and Freddie are presented as generally morally contemptible. They're not Hannibal - but they're usually looked down on by the other main characters for their self-interest. That still seems to be in place in season 3 - we saw Will, Jack and Alana all reject Chilton's attempt at an alliance early in s3, with varying degrees of sneeriness. But it now seems really discordant given how far our main characters have sunk. Jack tried to murder Hannibal. Will tried to murder Hannibal, and forced Chiyoh's hand. Alana murdered a guard, aided Mason while being fully aware he wanted to torture Hannibal, and eventually helped to murder Mason himself. They're all killers. For them all still - then - to view Chilton as somehow beneath them, and eminently disposable seems absurd, and utterly hypocritical. Crucially - as a viewer - it makes it much harder for me to care about them going into the finale than it should. I simply don't like these peple as much as I used to. As it stands, I'm feeling a bit meh about their collective safety. I think Hannibal's comment to Alana about putting Will in moral dignity pants was accurate. Will - more than anyone - knows that Chilton is not a killer. Even when under extreme duress, being chased by the FBI and in fear of his life, he didn't have it in him to pull the trigger on Will. For Will to knowingly offer him up to Dolarhyde - which he admits he did - is abhorrent. I think what was notable about that moment, too, was that everyone else in that room was only thinking about how to lure Dolarhyde out, like an animal to be trapped. What Frederick said humanised him. Dolarhyde is a broken and damaged man, and this was probably caused by a horrendous childhood. His observation demonstrated empathy and compassion - which Will thought was 'his thing' - just like being right is 'his thing' - and it shamed him. Not enough, imo, but it shamed him. I found it pretty upsetting. Chilton might be sleazy and self-serving, but he's generally been presented as ridiculous - comic relief. While everyone else has become progressively darker, he stays pretty harmless. Chilton is endearing. To see that level of violence and fear meted out on him was really jarring. I found it really off-putting, to be honest. For me, Will has a really long road to travel back to become anything like heroic. Or even likable, at this point. If I compare s3 Will with s1 Will - the character is almost unrecognisable. You could argue that's due to his experience with Hannibal - but I'm finding him heavily dislikeable now. Yes! They're moral hypocrites, every last one of them - and I'm finding it increasingly hard to give a damn about them. At least Hannibal is honest. Frederick is incredulous with Hannibal because like you say - he is sincere, and he can't quite grasp the level of sheer nastiness Hannibal is capable of. Why would he turn on him after Frederick fulfilled his end of the deal? He simply can't wrap his head around that logic. Likewise - the thought that Alana, Will and Jack might actually not care very much about whether Dolarhyde goes after him doesn't cross his mind, because who would be so dreadful as to risk someone's safety like that? I think Chilton is also sympathetic in that he has often acted as the audience proxy. When he find Gideon's body in S2, we look through Chilton's eyes as he passes out on the floor, watching Hannibal open the door to the FBI guys. He's the one who eventually believed Will when he was incacerated - realised Hannibal was up to no good - putting him in the same position as the viewer at that point, too. He's also more relatable than the other characters. By and large, the audience isn't likely to be made up of genius psychiatrists, serial killers, unique empaths, coldly pragmatic FBI chiefs. However, I'm sure we've all managed to be petty, jealous, ridiculous, vain, foolish and needy at various points in our lives. There's a humanity to Chilton that our other main characters lack - especially this season, where they've become increasingly stylised and unnatural. Other random observations: Bedelia and Will's pause-ridden conversations are stretching incredulity. It's nice to hear lines from the book if they can be worked in effectively, but sometimes they simply don't work. Couple that with Bedelia's whispery, stilted delivery and wow - they seriously don't work. 'Is Hannibal in love with me?' Thought you were meant to be empathic, Will? Jeezy Creezy. And is Bedelia jealous? That's one screwed up room full of people right there. Likewise, the degree to which Dolarhyde is stylised is starting to aggravate me. Yes - his behaviour is supposed to be bizarre, but it has to be balanced with some attempts at normality (even though they are severely socially awkward). The guttural utterances and flexing are a bit too much. I sympathised to an extent with both film versions of Dolarhyde. I'm keenly anticipating this one getting shot. No Molly and Walter. It was always going to be difficult to 'sell' these character given the degree of build-up Will and Hannibal's relationship has had. For my money - we'd have had to see more of them to even begin to do that. At the moment, while the characters seemed individually pleasant, I don't really feel any emotional investment in them. Does Jack answer to anyone at this point? Overall - Chilton was done wrong, and I hate everyone else. I've just realised that sounded like I hate the show - and I don't - but that episode just pressed too many buttons.

I kind of felt that had that been the case, his first comment to Jack when he left the room might have been about how scared Walter was, or how worried he was for his mum, instead of 'I just had to justify myself to an 11 year old' - which really jarred, for me.

Freddie was the vegetarian, and then Frederick stuck to veggies after his impromptu surgery.