John Lucking reviews the eighth episode of Hannibal….
This week’s episode of Hannibal is brought to you by the sense of sound, and Will’s mental degradation is first under the microscope as we see him relaxing at home (by fixing things of course) before hearing the sound of a wounded animal from outside. The sound is tracked to an open field with nothing to be seen, and it’s already clear that there is no animal to be found. In animals Will finds solace, but his mind also uses them against him -as with the stag- and so it’s only fitting that his subconscious would torture him further with the cries of an innocent creature. Alana is called to help him search for the animal in distress, but what follows is the biggest step towards romance the show has taken thus far as they discuss Will’s dating credentials. Unfortunately this reads somewhat clumsily, especially given that Will’s reason for calling her was his crumbling grip on sanity, but it also becomes clear later in the episode why this small interaction was so necessary.
Before the opening credits have rolled we’re also introduced to this week’s killer, and his entire raison d’être is made instantly apparent as we watch him prepare and treat human intestines for use as strings on a cello. It’s a beautifully shot scene, and his motivation for murder as art means he fits instantly into Hannibal’s world of principled serial killers, but it’s not until after the opening credits that his masterpiece is unveiled in the human cello. Bonus points for imagination yet again to both the writers and those who made this idea a reality. The reason for the specific victim is his his failings as a musician – a poor brass player who was only capable of producing a beautiful sound in death. Hannibal’s stock-in-trade isn’t necessarily in horror, but rather horror as art. Its aim is to have you unable to look away from something that you don’t want to look at, and in that it succeeds yet again. The identity of the killer does, however, raise certain issues – Tobias was introduced last week as a friend of Franklin (one of Lecter’s patients), and it’s for this reason that the decision to use him as this episode’s murderer is both brave and potentially problematic. There are numerous positive aspects to this decision, one being that rather than a faceless somebody this is a person previously established, and so the drama is heightened. It also works within the internal logic of the show as Lecter suggests that Franklin may be attracted to psychopaths, and so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he has found two of them to be close with. The problem comes with the concern that any new character introduced will be a serial killer; with that character being sacrificed to the procedural aspect of the show and discarded with almost as fast as they appeared. Given the show’s consistent quality so far and the almost transparent self-awareness when it comes to the procedural elements of the show, the former is much more likely than the latter. More importantly it earns this story; through Franklin’s unconscious penchant for danger and Tobias’ unhinged psyche, the notion of another killer finding his way to Lecter’s door is not a stretch, certainly not in the world established thus far.
Will also manages to inhabit the role of a musician as he makes use of his criminal empathy and imagines playing this human cello, emitting a beautiful sound while his second most frequent hallucination -Gareth Jacob Hobbs- looks on and applauds. The idea of a musician obsessed with perfection isn’t necessarily a parallel within the episode as Tobias’ aim is precisely just that – it’s merely his preferred choice of human intestines over catgut that separates him from a typical maestro. Communication between Lecter and Tobias is established via Franklin’s therapy as he tells Lecter about the dark things his troubled friend has been saying, with Franklin smart enough to know that Tobias wants these things to be told. This leads to two scenes of almost pure fun as Lecter first approaches Tobias in his store before then inviting him to dinner. There is an initial assessment between them, with Lecter dropping enough subtext to let Tobias know that he knows everything, but it’s their second meeting that provides the best line of the episode as all pretense is dropped and both men reveal their murderous natures, with Lecter nonchalantly stating: “I didn’t poison you, Tobias – I wouldn’t do that to the food.”
Lecter is looking for a friend -one who sees him for what he is- and while Tobias almost fits this role, he reveals himself to be not just a murderer but absurdly delusional. His plan to avoid jail involves killing any FBI agent that comes his way, and his future hobbies include killing anyone within his immediate vicinity. Friendships require trust, and there can be no trust between Lecter and Tobias. Lecter later realises this during a session with Gillian Anderson’s Dr. Du Maurier as she makes her welcome return, helping him to better understand his nature. Lecter considers her a friend and a colleague, but Du Maurier considers him a patient first and foremost. Instead it is in Will that Lecter realises he has a true friend; someone he can engage with on a very specific level, but one who is of no physical danger to him. During Lecter’s sessions with Du Maurier we are also given our first glimpse into her life; learning that her reason for retirement was due to an attack from a patient. Mads and Gillian have quite an amazing chemistry – icy exterior on icy exterior seems like a tough sell, but both manage to project enough with their body language as to hint at so much more beneath the surface. Mads’ micro-smiles are met with an almost invisible curiosity on Anderson’s part, and neither character gives away enough to allow the other any concrete conclusions regarding their thoughts. What is clear are Lecter’s protective feelings towards Du Maurier, including the implication that whoever attacked her suffered a painful death at his hands. That this idea has been so thoroughly established and made believable in a handful of brief scenes makes the potential for their relationship almost limitless, and having hinted at a previous tragedy hopefully means it’s one we will be exploring at some point, if only to see more of Anderson.
Opposite but equal to this is Will and Alana, with Dr. Bloom making a spontaneous visit to Will’s house, finding him hammering a hole into his chimney after hearing an animal trapped inside. It is this sound that again signals Will’s mental attenuation, marking animals as Will’s weakness in both sight and sound. The episode’s opening discussion about dating reveals itself to be foreshadowing as they share a kiss, but Alana prevents things from going any further, citing her innate professional curiosity of Will as the reason they could never be a happy couple. This is a rather abrupt development, especially given Alana’s somewhat mother-like protectiveness of Will, and even more so in light of Lecter and Du Maurier’s subtle-yet-complex relationship. Will is left with a hole in his chimney and his heart as Alana leaves, but this is most likely not the end of this thread, even if it should be.
While Lecter does want for Will as a friend, Du Maurier proposes that Lecter is looking for someone capable of scaling the walls he has built around himself, and it’s perhaps this that leads to him sending Will to question Tobias – a means of testing his worthiness. How sure Lecter is that Will may pass this test is uncertain, but the best outcome would presumably be in eliminating a person who knows Lecter’s secret while proving Will to be worthy of his affections. Will finds Tobias’ dungeon of horrors -again, special note goes to the production team for this episode- and a struggle ensues with Tobias escaping. Will’s method of survival is entirely episode appropriate as he fires a gun towards Tobias’ ear, temporarily deafening both men in the process and taking a large chunk Tobias’ ear off. Tobias then seeks out Lecter -who happens to be in a session with Franklin- and a fight to the death begins (after Franklin is summarily disposed of as a formality). The beginning of this confrontation is somewhat unfortunate as Tobias begins spinning his weapon à la Gogo Yubari in Kill Bill Vol. 1, with a look on his face that implies we’ve just entered the Thunderdome. Once the fight begins realism is again adhered to and Lecter of course is victorious, with the statuette of a stag being used to club Tobias to death. The sound design however throughout this moment proved to be distracting. The discordant sounds of a cello being used to help emphasise the thematic nature of this fight meant that the literal, physical sounds were dampened, but as such meant they were robbed of any impact. Much preferable would have been to drop out the physical sounds entirely, or simply give them equal significance to the score. The sound design elsewhere is outstanding, with a keenly observed instrument-appropriate score throughout helping provide insight into all characters; specifically helping to enhance Mads’ reserved fury after learning he was followed during one of his kills.
With the FBI arriving Crawford makes his contribution to the episode, expressing doubt as to why a murderer on the run would head straight for Lecter’s office. This concern is rationalised by Lecter, but clearly not satisfactorily enough for Jack as he leaves with a scowl. Jack’s scepticism is another piece of evidence suggesting that he may soon begin suspecting Lecter of something truly sinister, but with eight episodes now completed what’s not clear is exactly who will pay the price.
John Lucking
