Danko

I recently started watching Hannibal, and I couldn't stop. Season 1 was great, but season 2 was unbelievable. Mads Mikkelsen makes the character of Hannibal his own, and he portrays him incredibly well. The fact that Hannibal is trusted by the FBI and Jack Crawford makes this a gripping story, and the idea of knowing who the criminal is for the whole show is something that can be a disaster if not done correctly, but in this case it only serves to add suspense. I watched season 2 in about a day and a half, and hardly got any sleep over the night. It is the only show I watch right now, and I'm curious to see how season 3 will pan out.

However, after season 2, (of which the finale was incredible, by the way) I had a few issues nagging me. I tried to brush them off, tried to find ways to explain them, even resorted to looking online for answers, maybe some small details in the show I missed, but the answers I received didn't really do it for me. And that isn't because the fan-base can't answer it, but because I don't see there being an answer. As well as this, the beginning of season 3, of which I have seen episode 1 and 2 so far, has been sub-par to me, and I will be discussing that below. Here are the main issues I have with Hannibal.

For me, by far the biggest one, is how easily swayed Crawford and others are to believe Will that Hannibal is the Chesapeake Ripper. Can anyone tell me what evidence was discovered to prove to Jack Hannibal's true identity? I understand why perhaps Jack would have doubts at first, as when Will is released without charge when everyone believed he was the killer, naturally Jack might feel Will is on to something. So when Jack helps Will form his killer identity to trick Hannibal, I understood that. But what followed afterwards was more Hannibal toying with Will, never truly admitting that he was the killer, and leaving Will doubting his sanity, even just a little bit (this kind of thing is why I like Hannibal). Even Will admits to Jack at one point in season 2 that Hannibal is giving him nothing, and is playing his cards very close to his chest. So how on earth does this lead to Jack trying to kill Hannibal? Let's look at the facts. When Miriam is found alive, she looks at Hannibal and blatantly states that he is not the man who abducted her, and when she sees Chilton, she instantly recognises him. Prior to this, Chilton is found in his home covered in blood and with a gun on his lap, with the dead Abel Gideon in his home. He is expertly framed by Hannibal, and it seems even more convincing when Miriam shoots Chilton, thinking she recognised him as the ripper. All Jack has to go on is Will's comment saying that all the evidence will point away from Hannibal, but you have to ignore that. What FBI agent, never mind one in Crawford's position, would take that as advice. To add to this, Will and Jack's plan to bait Hannibal doesn't hold up in a court of law, as was said to them many times by many different people. Even when Jack finally confronts Hannibal, what proof does he have? Imagine he arrested Hannibal and took him to a court, what kind of case would that be? Which by the way, Jack never tried, and attempted to kill him instantly, which I suppose can be justified considering how dangerous Hannibal really is. I just don't see, even after watching the season 2 finale, how Jack was convinced that Hannibal was indeed the ripper. This I found annoying as I liked the idea that Hannibal thought of everything, left no evidence, and was almost the perfect killer. Yet he was discovered for no apparent reason. Also, Dr Du Maurier's statement that the only way to cathc Hannibal is when he is caught up in arrogance and self-congratulation ends up meaning nothing, so what was the point of that? Why not just arrest him in the first episode?

Another small problem I had, was that no one seemed to cared about Will's encephalitis, even after Alana found out. Did no-one really bother to treat it, and does Will even know about it?

And now, the first two episodes of season 3. It was always going to be difficult to follow up the incredible season 2 finale, yet these were still let-downs to me. The first episode, I feel like it is just the story recycled again, Hannibal got away and the FBI and Will Graham are going to be looking for him again. Episode 2 left me scratching my head, and not in a good way. Look, I understand Will felt a connection to Hannibal, they were even friends at some point, but the idea that Will forgives Hannibal for killing Abigail, possibly killing Alana Bloom, possibly killing Jack Crawford, stabbing him in the gut, lying to him about his mental health and generally manipulating Will throughout the whole show is slightly stretching it to me. I understand they are trying to show the complexity of Will and Hannibal's love/hate relationship, but this to me is a step too far. If I were Will I would be angry, not forgiving. It leaves me watching in a state of frustration, questioning if Will is really going to come back to Hannibal. I hope that this is part of Will's plan to catch Hannibal, I really do, then I will gladly take back this last point. But if it isn't, then this series is starting to stretch beyond any measures of realism.
From watching the first two episodes of season 3 I realise just how much I miss Crawford's character. I hope he is not dead and plays some part in the show, as I feel like something is missing when it is just Hannibal and Will together, almost like the voice of sanity and control is gone. But that's just a personal thing.

One small thing as well, if Jack was so convinced that Hannibal was the killer, why not just search his house? Will kept telling Jack that Hannibal was a cannibal, and Jack is not a stickler for the rules, so surely he could have sent agents to raid his home on a suspicion?

As I said at the beginning, I really do like Hannibal, and the show so far has been superb. However I had to write this for the reasons that I had to get this off my chest, and also I hope someone can provide me with answers. If not, I worry for the future of the show.

If anyone does have any answers, please do respond as I would like to be proved wrong.

Persephone

Hi there .

We have here on our board, threads where we can discuss and share our points of views on each season. Feel free to post on any of these:

General Season 1 Thread #1

General Season 2 Thread #1

Hannibal General Discussion ~ Questions, thoughts & speculation


That said, i´m closing this thread .