Dr. Alana Bloom: This is Kind of All Her Fault

[Lisin]

Since she brought Lecter into the dynamic I'm blaming her for everything. No really though, I like her. Especially the fact that she's taking care of Will's dogs. She's good people. 

[MisterGlass]

She is good people, and possibly the only 'normal' on the show.  She is still trying to color inside the lines when no one else is; even Jack is starting to bend.  I thing after episode 2.05 she must feel doubly betrayed by Will.  After she was so accepting of his supposed encephalitis driven killings, trying to get him legal help and offer ways of defending himself, he decides to deliberately attack Hannibal, something she did not believe he was capable of in a conscious state.

[Actionmage]

She had best not let Hannibal around those dogs of Will's! That is the line in the sand for me.

[AimingforYoko]

Heh, if Alana sleeps with Hannibal it's going to be like that girlfriend of Seinfeld's that was dumped by Newman. Will will never look at her the same.

[MisterGlass]

She will never look at Will the same, so perhaps it should be mutual.

Hannibal and the dogs got on well.  Perhaps Hannibal and Alana will take them out together for a walk while he's recovering.

[hardy har]

Girl's dating life will be forever fucked. She was crushing on a guy who she eventually believed to be a murderer and may possibly start sexing up a legit murderer. Who eats people.

Could you imagine being her next boyfriend? Heh.

[annlaw78]

Could you imagine being her next boyfriend? Heh.

At least the bar has been set incredibly low. As long as your brain is not on fire and you don't kill and/or eat people, you're a big set in the right direction.

[Snookums]

Here's what I wrote about her over at TWoP (the quote's from there too)

 

Quote
Seriously, Jack's been having emotional bonding breakfasts and talking about how good a friend Hannibal is to him. I don't see why we should require Alana to be more tormented than anybody else. No matter what happens, this is all going to ruin her life, but I don't think she's been so specifically blind as to bring it on herself.

 

I don't think so either, and I think a big part of it is Alana's role as the sensual/caretaking person, and more importantly, WOMAN,  in this drama.

Jack's all ego and rationality, and while he's sexy and sexual, his love for his wife would preclude any seduction by Hannibal, even if he'd been presented as bi or bi curious. Viewers would be mad for him cheating on Bella, but not so much that he "should" have known anything others haven't picked up on, despite his job as head freakin' profiler for the FBI. He is caring towards his employees, but not presented as an empathetic listener. He was devastated by Miriam Lass' end, but the guilt did not destroy, nor did it deter him. His rationalistic blinders weren't knocked askew but neither was his intelligence.

Alana, on the other hand, has been presented from day one not only as a warm, emotional listener, but as a very specific type of female--the caregiver. She's very sensual and colorful and feminine in her dress (but not sexualized.) She's in contrast to Dr. Du Marier's chilly glass of wine take on the human psyche, to Bella's crumbling, narrowing life, to Beverly's analyzing, one of a trio physical evidence searchers. She takes in seven dogs at the drop of hat to relieve Will's mind, she screams to the heavens in her car when he was first arrested, she has not stopped searching heart first for some way not only to save Will, but redeem him. When Will hallucinated during their session, he saw her as an inky mermaid--threatening in color but soothing, sirenlike in voice, in attitude. It's the only hallucination he's had that I can recall where someone touched him.

So for Alana, who's been used as our emotional passageway into this world from the beginning, to be the one to "fall" for Hannibal is something we take very, very personally. She's, through both her character and her gender, supposed to be our safety, our warm hand guiding us away from any real danger. To see her seduced or tricked leaves us bereft of a Good Mommy to help us cross the street and send us safely on our way and the resentment of her "abandoning" us, and Will, for Hannibal (even though she's got no more reasons to suspect him then Jack does) is very instinctual. Woodcutters may be fooled, stepmothers may be evil, but the Good Fairy is supposed to see and defeat the Big Bad Wolf before he eats us, not go to his house for dinner and sex.

[annlaw78]

 

Seriously, Jack's been having emotional bonding breakfasts and talking about how good a friend Hannibal is to him. I don't see why we should require Alana to be more tormented than anybody else. No matter what happens, this is all going to ruin her life, but I don't think she's been so specifically blind as to bring it on herself.

Completely agree with this.  Frankly, Jack is perhaps more enchanted and enamored with Hannibal than anyone else.  Suggesting Alana should feel any worse about herself for sleeping with/being in a relationship or whatever goes down with Hannibal in the coming eps than Jack should is unfair.  Will and Jack have been just about as intimate with Hannibal as they can be, given that those three appear to be hetero men.  There's no need, in my opinion, to heap and extra helping of "shame" on Alana because she, as a woman, was intimate with Hannibal in a different way. 

[Joystickenvy]

Girl's dating life will be forever fucked. She was crushing on a guy who she eventually believed to be a murderer and may possibly start sexing up a legit murderer. Who eats people.

Could you imagine being her next boyfriend? Heh.

Not gonna end well Alana. Just ask Debra Morgan.

[Aqli]

One thing I'll say about Dr. Bloom is that she pulled off the most perfect 'girl run' I've ever seen when she and Jack were looking for Hannibal in the Public Pool of Convenient Desertion. This is one of the best dressed female characters I've ever seen on television. Who needs a gun when you have a fierce outfit?  

As to her having slept with Hannibal, I feel like the greater violation may be felt in having eaten with him. At least half of the cast have been fed human flesh by this man. There won't be enough Bella slaps in the world once that comes out.

[Neurochick]

Completely agree with this.  Frankly, Jack is perhaps more enchanted and enamored with Hannibal than anyone else.  Suggesting Alana should feel any worse about herself for sleeping with/being in a relationship or whatever goes down with Hannibal in the coming eps than Jack should is unfair.  Will and Jack have been just about as intimate with Hannibal as they can be, given that those three appear to be hetero men.  There's no need, in my opinion, to heap and extra helping of "shame" on Alana because she, as a woman, was intimate with Hannibal in a different way. 

I agree with this.  I believe that if everyone were so inclined, both Jack and Will would have slept with Hannibal already.  

[lulee]

What do you make of Alana noting to Hannibal, "how often funerals make us want sex."

Have I been going to the wrong funerals or is that an odd statement?

[Tabbyclaw]

It's actually a fairly common reaction, from what I understand. Being confronted with death makes people want to do something that says "Yes, I am alive," and sex is way up there on that list. It's also apparently a comment that comes up in one of the novels.

[annlaw78]

Chazz Reinhold would certainly agree with Alana. 

[MisterGlass]

The part I find interesting is that Hannibal is the one that suggests that they have a wider basis for a relationship than just a shared trauma.  And he's right, they have a great deal in common.  At least, she has a great deal in common with the person suit that he presents to her.

[MacGuffin]

I hope they give her more to do besides be all righteous and wrong all the time.

Has she been right about anything yet?

[DittyDotDot]

She was right that Jack shouldn't put Will out there and let him get too close to his cases. She was right that Abigail was hiding something. She figured out Will's illness because of the clock drawing tests...I think that she's been right about quite a bit, but she's been wrong about the bigger things, like Will being a killer. I think they set her up to be right about things in S1 because they knew she was going to be very wrong this season so they didn't want her to be perceived as so incompetent. It's just that what they had her be right and wrong about didn't really serve this properly and we silly viewers don't always remember things from a year past as much as we do things from a week ago. They probably could have had her be right about something this season so she doesn't seem so naïve.

However, I don't really see her as being foolish or anything (but can understand why others do). She represents how manipulative Hannibal is and is kinda like one of Jeffery Dahmer's friends or neighbors who stated that they never saw him as creepy or weird, instead they characterized him as a nice, quiet neighbor and seemed like a good guy. I would be a lot more disappointed in her if Hannibal had ever let his person suit crumple in her presence...but he hasn't, so I'm cutting her a little slack right now. I do think the fallout is going to be epic and tragic for her though.

[FormerMod-a1]

She was right that Jack shouldn't put Will out there and let him get too close to his cases.

 Yeah, she has been right about a number of things, but this one I'm not so sure of.  Yes, Will did end up with issues, but that was because of the encephalitis and because of Hannibal manipulating him.  It had nothing to do with Jack and the cases.  

[DittyDotDot]

I guess I more saw it as not Jack's fault or anything, but I don't think that he was really taking any care to see what was going on with Will until it was too late--which is, I think, what Alana's concerns were. I think she felt like Will needed someone to look out for him a bit and she knew it couldn't be her and probably wouldn't be Jack since his priority would be to solve cases rather than worry about his profiler. Ironically, wasn't is her that recommended Hannibal?

[MacGuffin]

 She was right that Abigail was hiding something. She figured out Will's illness because of the clock drawing tests...

Yes, I had forgotten that in season 1. But I am with aquarian1 on the fact that it was Hannibal and the encephalitis that caused Will's breakdown, not Jack pushing him.

[Epeolatrix]

Jack pushing him did cause great stress, though, which affected Will's immune system. The compromised immune system issues led to the encephalitis, just as it did with real-life profiler John Douglas.

[DittyDotDot]

Jack pushing him did cause great stress, though, which affected Will's immune system. The compromised immune system issues led to the encephalitis, just as it did with real-life profiler John Douglas.

That's more what I was getting at...there were a lot of factors that led to Will's breakdown and being out in the field for the first time in years did not help in the least.

[Melgaypet]

Poor Alana. I don't blame her for anything, but having her do nothing but be (understandably) mistaken about so much and so cruelly manipulated by Hannibal is making her hard to watch. I so often cringe on her behalf.

[MisterGlass]

I like that Alana is calling Hannibal on how utterly bizarre it is that he could continue therapy with will.  I'd like it if that was what led her into believing him capable of what we know he does in his private hours.

[Actionmage]

Mister Glass, that would be cool; in his own way Will "convincing" Alana simply by being in therapy with Hannibal again. Will gaining an ally back simply by doing his own legwork and getting out of his own way.

[MisterGlass]

Well, at least now Alana knows where everyone stands.

 

I thought the confrontations between Alana and Will, and later Alana and Jack, were excellent.  I am glad she saw that she was being played in some way, and would not accept Jack's attempt to wave her away.

[DittyDotDot]

I'm really feeling satisfied with where they're heading with Alana--she's really the outsider-looking-in on the show so I've not had an issue with her not questioning things yet, but I think it's really nice to see her starting to put things together. Plus, it puts her on the team now.

[Fable]

I can't believe Jack let Alana see Freddie.  I'm not quite on the Alana hate train, but seriously, she has not crossed over to Hannibal-is-a-killer mindset.  It seems premature to believe that she would side with them against him.  

[MisterGlass]

I'm not sure that Alana will survive, but I would like her to live.  She had the courage to call the police, walk through the door, produce a gun, and pull the trigger, but sadly no realization that she was still being blinded by Hannibal.

 

I was glad that she and Will had a few moments to speak, and that she tired to convince Kade Purnell that it would take more than legal means to catch Hannibal.

[LittleIggy]

Geeze, Alana, always check your weapon before you go into a serial killer's house!

[Fen]

I didn't really enjoy Alana much in season 2.  I know that she's supposed to be wobbly after Will's arrest, but she seemed really passive and colourless.

[GreyBunny]

Imagine what must have gone through her mind when Hannibal came out of the house (and stole the jacket) and Will didn't.

[Nanrad]

I can't fault Alana for her thinking because, we the viewers, know way more than she knows. Hannibal presented himself as sane and Will looked like the crazy one. Understandably, one should expect more because she's a psychologist/psychiatrist, but she's human as well and I don't think she wants to doubt (all of) her colleagues. Hannibal is someone she knew for years and it's a hard time accepting that someone you knew for that long is a serial killer and not only is that, he's a notorious one that has been under your nose, blamed his killings on another colleague, and convinced you to date him. Not only is he a colleague that she trusts/trusted, he was someone she believed could take care of Will and a guy that she dated after telling Will she was bad at relationships. She needs to believe that people are wrong about Hannibal besides the overwhelming evidence that says otherwise because of all that has happened and emotional investment. I may have disagreed with her and wanted her to open her eyes, but I understood her behavior. 

 

Keep in mind that she fought for Will until he tried to kill Hannibal. She's known Hannibal longer, I believe, so she'd fight for him too, especially when it didn't look like he had done anything and the investigation turned up nothing.

[Actionmage]

convinced you to date him

 

That turn of phrase makes it sound as if Alana needed coaxing. She'd had a crush on/ sexual feelings for Hannibal for a while He used that as protective covering.  Hannibal is a predator and is always looking for the next mark.

 

After Hannibal, she may be off men, romantically, for a while. If Alana was feeling that she chose bad men previously, having a demonstrable Bad Guy as your last intimate partner is going to leave you not very eager to test the waters.

 

I hope, if Alana survives and is allowed to participate in the hunt for Lecter, that we see Alana as a focused scientist trying to stop a pernicious virus/disease/whatever other metaphor. She is a well-known psychologist. Let's see her also get a chance at getting some self-respect back. Will had Season 2.

[Actionmage]

I was glad to see Alana  so fierce. Hannibal left her to die. She is no 'woman scorned'- she's looking for some payback or more. Alana has also seemingly decided just how far she's comfortable going, if teaming up with Mason Verger is a-ok in her book. 

 

I hope that Freddie has an off-the-books, honest friendship with Alana. Since they have both survived Hannibal, surely Freddie is more human/less throwing accusations around to get a rise/angle out of Dr. Bloom?