EPISODES 6: Entrée
THE MENU: Our team of profilers believe they may have finally discovered the identity of the infamous Chesapeake Ripper. But when Jack Crawford is hit with a mysterious voicemail from a trainee from his past, the situation once again gets a bit more complicated.
THE MAIN COURSE: I absolutely loved the many nods to Silence of the Lambs this episode sported. It was great to see the well-known big house for the criminally insane, and the guest stars we had on this episode were the best part of the proceedings. Eddie Izzard jumping on board as Dr. Gideon was a very chilling show, he nailed the sociopathic personality to a T…not a hint of remorse or guilt for what he’s done. Anna Chlumsky (of My Girl fame) had a bit part here as a former trainee from Jack Crawford’s past and I dug her intelligent and determined demeanor. Would have liked to see more of her actual performance but she was a character that was felt throughout and it made for an emotional hour, thanks to another moving performance from Fishburne. Seriously that man is becoming one of the best things about the show.
My favorite character interaction of this show comes with the introduction of Dr. Frederick Chilton himself played by Raul Esparza. Chilton had moments to shine with Will Graham in a moment that gave us some insight into how much of a douchebag we all know he is, and a dinner date with Hannibal. The latter encounter of which had my favorite line of the episode in Hannibal telling Chilton that he had a “fierce tongue.” More and more we’re getting to the core of who Hannibal really is and it pays off beautifully in the end of the episode as it’s revealed just what became of Chlumsky’s Miriam Lass. It was great to finally see with our eyes Lecter’s evil shining through. Lecter has the entire department wrapped around his diabolical little fingers and has to be reveling at being one step ahead of them.
One thing I wish we were getting more of is the development of the relationship between Lecter and Graham. It seems to me that when the sh*t hits the fan, if there will be any emotional impact to be had it will be from Crawford feeling more betrayed than anything else. As last week’s episode and tonight’s proceedings paint what is developing into a pretty touching “friendship” between Crawford and Hannibal. I really wish Ceuf had been aired, because that seemed to be where we got a Graham-centric episode and more of Abigail Hobbes…another character I’m missing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m digging Crawford being the only character thus far that seems to allow himself to wear his emotions on his sleeves and it makes for emotional moments but come on. I want more of Lecter psychoanalyzing Graham.
So how did “Entrée” fare as far as the horrific goodies presented? We get more of Hannibal’s M.O plastered all over the episode with a few close-ups of gouged out eyeballs for good measure. Also, in what I believe is Graham’s most disturbing crime scene mind’s eye reenactment yet…was a very slow and methodical attack on a nurse that Dr. Giddeon committed. Seriously I have a thing about my eye area, and thumbs coming in contact with that area the way they did here…yeah…bad form indeed. Not as disturbing as last week in the gore department, but there was dread plentiful.
DESSERT: All in all, by tonight’s end it felt like business is finally picking up for Hannibal. Lecter finally got hands on in a way that feels close to home for the rest of the team and I can’t wait to see the culmination of all this and how Crawford and Graham react to the discovery. I geeked out having Chilton involved and all the Silence of the Lambs influence the episode sported in terms of sets and the cast. I forgot to mention Chlumsky’s character introduction felt heavily like Clarice Starling’s introduction and that was cool to see. Graham was put on the backburner a bit but I think his development will pick up from here on out, they’ve introduced a lot and I think they’ll do an okay job giving every angle the attention it deserves.
Next weeks episode looks like it brings yet even closer to the big discovery and sports the best guest star yet in Gillian f*ckin Anderson! The episode is entitled "Sorbet" check the promo here
RATING ON 10
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