Hannibal 2x03: "Hassun"
oh my God this recap is so late and the NBC promo people need to reconsider their choices but finally here we are
YOU GUYS.
(Aromaleigh.com) (omg) (we did a thing!)
@DireRavenstag: I feel pretty, oh so pretty. So much pretty, and gritty, and FRIGHT. RT @cleolindajones: DIRE RAVENSTAG EYESHADOW
Here are the pictures I took of Ravenstag in person, on three different primers; it's hard to get across what this looks like in person, other than "fantastic." (People who have gotten it are saying it works well as eyeliner.) Tattler, inspired by the "you've been terribly rude" scene in "Amuse-Bouche," went up on Friday, and I'll swatch it when it arrives. Freddie and I (fourth wall? what fourth wall?) put together A METRIC TON of pictures/suggestions, and Kristen seems as excited as we are, so we'll see what she comes up with this week. It may be a little something called MURDER TIE.
One more thing: Freddie asked Bryan Fuller what Bedelia's perfume was. Imaginary, it turns out. Based on my suggestion that it should be "gardenia with a cold edge," tenebris suggested BPAL's Lady of Shalott.
@winston_Graham: it's funny how two of my favorite shows, Hannibal and breaking bad, are about dudes cooking things they shouldn't be cooking
@NBCHannibal: You know you want a bite *pretends fork is airplane*
PREVIOUSLY ON: EMPATH AND CANNIBAL: Will is the Puppet Master now, suckaaaas; Jack decided it was time to play out Miriam's doom all over again with Beverly; Hannibal gave his Tender Murder Caress to the Killer of the Week, then sewed him into a mural of people and ate his leg; this was preceded by cornfields, craquelure, and plastic murder suits; Bedelia told Hannibal that he's dangerous (I can't imagine why!) and he was NOT HAPPY; and then ahahahahaha Bedelia fled the show and left him only her perfume to remember her by. Also: Sesame Street. Man, that was a great episode.
So this week's Claw Your Face and Scream opener begins with... Will dreaming that he's in the electric chair. Regarding this method of execution, supposedly, "the first jolt of electric current was designed to cause immediate unconsciousness and brain stem death; the second one was designed to cause fatal damage to the vital organs. Death was frequently caused by electrical overstimulation of the heart." Currently, you can choose between electrocution and lethal injection in Alabama (sigh), Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Oklahoma; the last U.S. state to use electrocution as the only method of execution was Nebraska, home of "Old Sparky"--which ended the practice entirely in 2008. (For further reading, please consult "How does the electric chair work?" and "In Virginia's death chamber, a rare death by electrocution," because I don't really want to think about it any further.) I'm guessing that Virginia is the state applicable to Will, insofar as dreams have jurisdictions. And we know it's a dream because the scene actually runs backwards--the clock ticking five minutes back to midnight, smoke descending to his convulsing body, veins in his arm relaxing, a guard removing a leather face mask that is deeply old-fashioned creepy--then the clock ticks forward to midnight again, and Will himself throws the switch and electrocutes the Will sitting in the chair, again, but this time without the creepy mask. Why a mask?
@neoprod: Little known fact about electrocution-- [NNNGAHHHH MY EYE SQUICK]
So that's upsetting. Fortunately, we don't see realistic effects, just emotionally disturbing ones, as Will stands off to the side in his nice court suit and watches his other self convulse amid the sparks. And it's interesting--he doesn't imagine Hannibal, or a grim Crawford, or even a disappointed Alana throwing the switch. He imagines himself. I'm wondering if this relates to "darkness" that has taken up residence in Will's mind, based on the Hugh Dancy interview I linked last week: "Hannibal is like a virus. When [Will] returns to Hannibal's circle, he is at least 50 percent at risk of being drawn back in, because it's a place as comfortable to him--that darkness--as the other life he forged himself. Just like Hannibal, [Will] is drawn to that connection that they have.... It's like going back to a really bad relationship again and again.... [There's] a psychological risk for Will to re-engage with Hannibal.... [He] had a fear of the potential within himself for darkness." Unlike Hannibal, Will doesn't want that darkness to be there. But it is. Does he feel like he ought to kill it off before anyone else gets hurt?
I feel like the theme of uncertainty runs pretty strongly through this episode--not only "What the hell just happened and who did it?" but "How do I feel about that, and am I morally compromised by those feelings?" A lot of reactions to this episode focused on Hannibal's behavior, that he comes on so strong as to possibly be out of character? But this opening scene makes me think the episode's more about Will's uncertainty as to how he should feel about that, possibly a fear that a darkness in him is responding to a darkness in someone else, and maybe a certain disturbed surprise that he feels any emotional uncertainty towards the man who, you know, framed him for serial murder. As such, it may also be significant that hassun "sets the seasonal theme" in the kaiseki menu. But you'll see.
@MrAaronAbrams: Thank goodness getting the electric chair was only a dream, he must be de-lighted. See what I did there omg I am adorable.
And then Will wakes to find a guard bringing him that suit. In the waking world, soothed by the cultured strains of Così fan service--
@neoprod: Join Hannibal/Will getting dressed-for-court montage to the cue of Mozart's "Dalla Sua Pace" ...Of your peace #EyeCandy
--we watch Will and Hannibal, respectively, get dressed for court; as Will gets his handcuffs, Hannibal adjusts his cufflinks. Side note: that particular aria is from The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni. Originally, "Dalla sua pace" was added to the opera as a replacement for the more diffficult "Il mio tesoro": "Given the circumstances, Ottavio is convinced that Giovanni was the murderer of Donna Anna's father (the deceased Commendatore) and swears vengeance." Just throwing all that out there.
(#*waits for Tumblr to reverse GIF* #*taps fingers patiently on table*)
(#*slides GIF under the door* #[sounds of small hooves scampering away echoes in the hall])
This sequence takes (*checks watch*) forty seconds of actual screentime, because because Bryan Fuller loves you and wants you to be happy. Sometimes. For real, I actually heard Tumblr melt down as it happened.
@BryanFuller: INSIDE HANNIBAL'S CLOSET [ concept illustration]
@tenebris: The clothing porn in the opening reminds me of Will talking about " at times I felt like I was doing what Hobbs was..."
@cleolindajones: ooooh... nice catch.
@tenebris: Thanks! That one stuck with me, gave the best feeling of Will's mind being torn in places.
You know, let's take that a step further: in each set of actions, we see Will first, and he doesn't seem terribly focused on what he's doing. Hannibal seems much more intent, and he's putting on an uncharacteristically sober emsemble that he's not wearing when he walks into the courtroom. Is he the one imagining that they're doing the same things? Which puts a, uh, slightly different spin on Hannibal totally checking himself out in the mirror.
(kissthefuture.tumblr.com)
@BryanFuller: YES, HE WAS. #HANNIBAL [screencap]
Either way, if you listen carefully, you'll hear gleeful chortling in the background.
@NBCHannibal: *buttons up person suit*
And thus, Will's trial begins. Here's prosecutor Marion Vega to tell you "the story of a mild-mannered FBI instructor who was asked to create a psychological profile of a murderer--Garret Jacob Hobbs, the Minnesota Shrike. He killed young women that looked just like his daughter. He killed them... and he ate them." CUT TO: FANCY CANNIBAL, not to put too fine a point on it. "Will Graham understood the way Hobbs thought--that's how he caught him. He shot Hobbs dead while he cut his daughter's throat." ( Flashback thereunto, while Will sits there stoically.) "So Will Graham was able to save Abigail Hobbs' life, but the profile" (Hannibal looks over at Will now) "that he created of her father was so vivid that he couldn't escape it." (Flashback: "See? See?") "And in an unconscious state... he killed four more women." And now, a slideshow! Maybe Will feels more at home now? " Cassie Boyle. Marissa Schuur. Georgia Madchen... Abigail Hobbs." Wow, Vega is a little more upbeat about the grisly death photos than I would be. And poor Abigail has a sweet smiling picture from when she was alive because we still don't know where the rest of her body is, HANNIBAL. "He was able to save Abigail Hobbs from her father, but he wasn't able to save her from himself. He killed her and he ate her. At the very least, he ate her ear." And we know that, because here's a picture of what Will threw up (that's a slide I could have lived without seeing). "What happened to the rest of Abigail Hobbs is locked away in the recesses of Will Graham's traumatized mind--or so he would have you believe." Yes, she says it exactly as sarcastically as you're imagining. Also, she's basically standing in front of the defense table opening-statementing at him now: "Something else you should know about Will Graham: he has remarkable visual memory. He's keenly insightful to the human condition. And... I would argue... the smartest person in this room." And there's Hannibal, just beaming in Will's general direction.
@neoprod: HANNIBAL IS ENJOYING BEING UPSTAGED. The Circus has added another ring
@cleolindajones: So proud of his BFF
@valaripradiks: "SO PROUD OF MY BB LOOK AT HIM ON TRIAL FOR THE MURDERS I COMMITTED. YOU LOOK GREAT WILL."
@cleolindajones: Well, that too. RT @jjloa: @cleolinda I saw part of that smirk also as a ‘no, I fooled him so I’m the smartest! naah naah’ too.
@MrAaronAbrams: "He is the smartest person in the room." "I OBJECT!" "...Um. Sir? You are not a lawyer." Begrudgingly, Zeller sits.
@DireRavenstag: She called my Will the smartest! I like her! *grazes quietly on Will's hair*
"He's capable of creating a psychological profile of a completely different kind of murderer. One that would become his alibi." And Will kind of has this look like he would vastly prefer Old Sparky right now.
Outside in the marble hall, a pacing Jack is intercepted by Kade Prurnell. "Moment of truth," she says: he's about to take the stand. "If only I knew what the truth was," he says. Prurnell: "There's nothing wrong with your instincts." See, though, that's the thing-- Jack's been starting to doubt them: "My instincts have not yet arrived at conviction." "Mine have, with the benefit of no previous involvement and no personal connections to the accused or his chef/psychiatrist." "Meaning I can't be impartial?" "Of course you can be impartial, but right now you're not. You have to believe something, as long as there is reason and evidence to believe. You've got reason; you've got evidence. Will Graham is playing a game. I understand why that might be hard for you to accept," she says. You know, we're not supposed to like Prurnell, and she's a little too concerned with the Bureau's image, but I get why there is absolutely no reason in the world she would, or should, believe Will's protestations of innocence. "It's easier to be a man who missed his friend's suffering than it is to be the head of behavioral sciences at the FBI who missed a killer standing right in front of him," she continues. "There's a reason that you're a witness for the prosecution, Agent Crawford." Ohhhhh noooo.
"Remind me what that reason is," says Jack. "If you can't represent your own beliefs," she says, "represent the Bureau's. Let yourself off the hook, Jack."
"How did you meet Will Graham?" Vega asks, once Jack's on the stand. "I met him at the opening of the Evil Minds Research Museum," he says, which was mentioned at the beginning of the very first episode back when I wasn't including as much of the dialogue. You know, when Jack was like, "Hey, can I borrow your imagination and ruin your life? Won't take but a moment." "He didn't agree with what we called it," says Jack (which they also mentioned). "He told me that the title mythologized banal and cruel men who didn't deserve to be thought of as supervillains."
COUGH.
"And what was your first impression?" "He was intelligent. And arrogant. And very likely on the spectrum." "Which is why he wasn't real FBI," says Vega ( as Beverly immediately pointed out back in the day, God bless), "he didn't pass the screening procedures. But you felt that he was qualified to work in the field." "Under my supervision." "And you believed that he was valuable because he could think like a killer?" "He could think like anybody," says Jack. "Sounds like a supervillain," smarms Vega (Crawford gives her a supremely unimpressed look). "Five horrendous murders," she continues, gesturing to "over forty different pieces of forensic and physical evidence"
@BryanFuller: PLENTY OF EVIDENCE AGAINST WILL GRAHAM [evidence table 1] [evidence table 2]
(wow, Hannibal was a very busy cannibal)
"that tell us that Will Graham can think like a killer because he is one. Rather than feel tormented by the work he did, Will Graham enjoyed the cover his role at the FBI gave him to commit his terrible crimes." Hey, Hannibal, how's that consulting going?
@HettiennePark: Hannibal's suit is so dope #HANNIBAL #sweetthreads
(arielmh.tumblr.com)
Good God, Fancy Cannibal, that is the loudest suit you have ever worn. And it's screaming HERE FOR YOU, BB MONGOOSE. Also: MURDER TIE!
@BryanFuller: DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID: Considering Fabrics for #HANNIBAL's Signature Season Two Suiting [swatches]
ANYWAY: "Will Graham enjoyed the cover his role at the FBI gave him to commit his terrible crimes," Vega concludes, grandstanding like whoa.
"I DON'T BELIEVE THAT TO BE TRUE," says Jack Motherfucking Crawford, hell yes.
(Out in the gallery, Prurnell executes a textbook 45-degree head tilt, like an incredulous barn owl.)
"...Agent Crawford...?" "Will hated every second of the work. He hated it. He didn't fake that. He hated it and I kept making him do it." YES, YOU DID. Marion Vega, losing control of her witness: "Why, then, it is that when you offered him an opportunity to quit, he refused?" "BECAUSE HE WAS SAVING LIVES," says Jack. (Exasperated, Prurnell closes her eyes. You know that look: THE LORD IS TESTING ME.) "I had been warned by more than one person that if I pushed Will, I'd break him. I put those checks and balances in place, then ignored them. And here we are."
Prurnell storms out, and Will's lawyer
@cleolindajones: EAT THE LAWYER
looks somewhat cheered. Jack sits quietly on the stand. And Hannibal just smiles at him.
As the courtroom empties, a courier comes in--and here's an interesting idea as to who she might be--with a packet for one Leonard Brauer: Will's aforesaid lawyer. "What does Jack Crawford drink? Whatever it is, I need to send him a very expensive bottle," he says. "He said I'm a killer because he drove me insane," grumps Will-- "No, he paved the road for your defense." "Well, he didn't say I'm innocent." "Innocence isn't a verdict, Mr. Graham, but 'not guilty' is. This isn't law; it's advertising." "Advertising trivializes; it manipulates; it's vulgar," says Will Graham, the kind of man who uses semicolons when speaking. "BOO HOO, SO'S THE LAW," retorts his lawyer. "We have to create desire to find you 'not guilty,' which is nonexistent in this courtroom right now. We're manipulating people into buying something they don't need." You know, I want to say Brauer's sleazy, but... he's right? In fact, Will seems to be having a bench trial--judge only--not a jury trial, because it's going to be hard enough to convince one person that he didn't kill and/or eat a bunch of people, much less twelve. "They don't want your innocence," Brauer goes on, as the courier hands him the packet. "Unconsciousness in a pretty package, that I can sell." (Okay, that came out a little sleazy.) "If I take the moral high ground with you, I'll get you killed."
@DireRavenstag: He called my Will pretty! I LIKE HIM BEST!
And then Brauer opens the envelope and pours out a shower of dried blood flakes. In piano-cascading slo-mo--BOMP!--a severed ear hits the table.
"I think I opened your mail," says Brauer.
(Red wine scaryface credits, while Will just sits there 1000% unblinkingly done with life and everything in it.)
@HettiennePark: What happened? I was still stuck on the shirt-buttoning-up part. #dayum #HANNIBALhotties #thankuBryanFuller
@BryanFuller: @HettiennePark I'm still on the shirt-buttoning-up part. Hitting rewind so they're unbuttoning. Like how Benjamin Button lives.
As always, Tumblr is here for you.
Over at The Best Office Ever, Hannibal pours Jack a slosh of armagnac: "That was a good and brave thing you did for Will today." "It may have cost me my job," replies Jack, but, Hannibal observes, "The prospect doesn't seem to trouble you as much as I would have thought." "Haven't felt better in weeks," Jack says--clinking glasses, smiles all around. "Clarity will do that," says Hannibal. "Tell me, Jack--was your testimony meant to be a resignation?" "There is something appealing about walking away from all of the noise. I'm... content... to let the chips fall." Set that car on fire and don't look back, Jack Crawford! "The magic door is always attractive. Step through and leave all your burdens behind," says Hannibal (magic what? Have you been drinking shrooms again?). "I've given my life," says Jack, almost indignantly, "to death." "And now, death has followed you home," says Hannibal. "Come to live in your house." Oh my God, could you not? After a long breath, Jack nods. "Bella has kept our bedroom from looking too much like a sickroom. There are flowers, but not too many... you know. She insists that there are no pills in sight. So I've been thinking about taking her to Italy where we met. We could..." A long, loaded pause. "She could die there." Oh God, my heart. "Jack," says Hannibal, leaning in, "you're not sick. You don't have to go into the ground with her. When Bella's lost to you, the FBI could still be there."
It's hard to tell what's going on with Hannibal here, and now that I have seen the next episode because I wasn't able to finish the recap first--I really don't know how to interpret his actions towards the Crawfords. I do believe he has genuine sympathy and respect for Bella--even for Jack, except for the times he's pissed at him for Ripper reasons. It's like Hannibal's able to compartmentalize a ton of different feelings and motives simultaneously, and he just chooses to follow the ones that he finds most interesting at that moment. When it was interesting to torment Jack with Miriam's arm, he went with that; when Bella's courage and dignity impressed him, he respected that. Right now? Maybe he feels genuine respect and sympathy for Bella's husband, while also thinking, "If you leave, I'll have to cultivate a new section chief all over again, and I'm running low on foie gras as it is."
Jack smiles. "You're telling me not to commit professional suicide." "As a friend, I'm telling you not to force an issue... for the short-term emotional satisfaction it can have." Well, if Hannibal Lecter knows about anything, it's playing the long game, I guess.
Over at the BAU lab, though, Jack is having trouble giving a fuck. "... shrunken capillaries," he finally hears Brian saying: "The ear was cut from a corpse no more than forty-eight hours ago." "We fumed it all," says Jimmy. "Ear's clean, no prints on either of the envelopes, besides the courier, paralegal, and lawyer." "We know Will Graham didn't do it," adds Beverly. (Brian, sassy: "It wouldn't surprise me." Zeller, you gonna get et one of these days.) "The timing's deliberate," says Jack. "It was choreographed to drop the ear at the beginning of Will's trial."
Oh, look, the murder tie's made it all the way to the forensics lab: truly, the pinnacle of menswear irony. "Such a gift has great significance," Hannibal observes (of course he views it as a gift; he lives in a world where a Colombian necktie is considered " flowers and chocolate before a first date"). But a gift from who? "Will claimed someone else committed the crimes he's accused of," says Hannibal. Beverly looks at him in astonishment, that he would even bring this up--indeed, Jack gently points out, "He said that person was you." "Perhaps he was half right," says Hannibal.
(raymukada.tumblr.com)
Now, at the Baltimore State Dungeons, Hannibal lurks wistfully at the bars of Will's cell: "It seems you have an admirer." "You think someone sent me an ear because they admire me?" asks Will (oh, come on, you personally could just about write a monograph about the Language of Severed Body Parts after last season). Hannibal (perhaps now understanding the disconnect that led to Will not fully appreciating being framed for murder) replies, "The boundaries of what's considered normal are getting narrower. Outside those boundaries, this may be intended as a helpful gesture." "How far would you go to help me?" asks Will, because he's thinking exactly what we're aaaall thinking.
"It hadn't occurred to me to send you an ear." I think most of us (from what I've observed) continued to think that Hannibal was the one who did it, which means that lines like this just don't make sense unless he's completely lying. But I think Fio is right--Hannibal doesn't tend to flat-out lie. The example that came to my mind was when Abigail accused him of being " a serial killer like my father," and he retorted, "I'm nothing like your father," because technically, yes, Hannibal is a much snappier dresser and does not actually use antlers in all of his decorating. So when he explicitly says, It did not occur to me to kill someone to help you get a good verdict, I think we should actually believe him. Not the least because he sounds a little sorry that he didn't think of it first.
"But I'm grateful someone has," he adds, because of course he does.
"Gratitude has a short half-life," retorts Will (I'm sure that's a line from one book or the other?). "So can doubt," says Hannibal. "I have new thoughts about who you are." And now I'm confused again. I guess he's having to proceed from a position of "I'm totally a harmless psychiatrist who didn't kill people, you did, and also, Chilton's listening"? "There may very well be another killer."
And that's the thing: there is. Bryan Fuller flat-out says that Hannibal did not do it:
[This episode is] very much about the false hopes, and it was also a way for Hannibal Lecter to be able to tell Will that he is worthy of love and admiration, and he is saying, “Here is this person out there that loves you enough to do this act.” We should absolutely think that it’s Hannibal at that stage of the plot, and Will should think it was Hannibal at that stage of the plot, and it was a way to express Hannibal’s affection for Will, regardless of everything that’s happened between them, regardless of Hannibal manipulating Will into incarceration. There is still affection for him, and it is a very tough, ugly love that Hannibal feels for Will.
So at this juncture, Will believes it's Hannibal, but it's not. Hannibal did not do it, and is even jealous that "someone else cares for Will." I keep restating this because it is hard as hell to understand what's going on even if you do know that. This is essentially a conversation at cross-purposes:
Will whispers, "I want there to be." (It's okay if you did it! WE'LL JUST LOOK THE OTHER WAY THIS TIME.)
"Some part of you still suspects me," Hannibal says quietly. The part of Will that remembered you crammed Abigail's ear down his throat, yes. "I don't know what anyone is capable of anymore, least of all myself," says Will, looking genuinely overwhelmed. "But... I know there is no evidence against you." (That said, apparently Will is still "rather convinced" that Hannibal is the original Copycat Killer.)
"There never was." (Much the way "not guilty" is not the same as "innocent," "no evidence" is not the same as "no guilt.")
"And accusing you makes me look insane." Will shakes his head and smiles: "I'm not insane. Not anymore." (I'm not saying I don't think you didn't do it. I'm just saying that I'm not going to say it out loud anymore.)
"And you may not be guilty," Hannibal tells him. "This ear you were sent is an opportunity. If someone else is responsible for your crimes, perhaps he now wants to be seen."
"Why would you he want to be seen now?" (AFTER ALL THE SHIT YOU PUT ME THROUGH?)
"He cares what happens to you," says Hannibal. (♥_♥)
@Tattle_Crime: Can't tell if fear or attraction. Common problem with this show.
@cleolindajones: This feels like one of those rom coms where it's like WHY CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I'M THE ONE WHO LOVES YOU, I'M THE OOOOOOONE
@aMoTPodcast: You are both playing a dangerous game that's going to blow up in your faces. It will be awful and hilarious
After the break: "The prosecution calls Freddie Lounds to the stand."
@DeLaurentiisCo: And Madame Libel has arrived. #Hannibal #FreddieLounds Boooo.
@BryanFuller: THAT'S RIGHT. @Tattle_Crime HAS BEEN CALLED TO THE STAND. #WHOLETRUTH #NOTREALLY
@zoeowow: @cleolindajones freddie lounds' fashion is pippa middleton meets the entire cast of american horror story
@justinjhyman: @BryanFuller it looks like @Tattle_Crime is doing her best Carmen San Diego impression.
@icymilo: @Tattle_Crime Hat game too strong this episode #Hannibal #Hassun #isitfullofsecrets
@Tattle_Crime: icymilo Filled to the... brim.
(nbchannibal.tumblr.com)
@BryanFuller: @LaraJeanC Another hat angle behind the scenes [set pic]
(tattle-crime.com)
Will gives her the look that he always gives Miss Freddie: the Pallas cat look.
"I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth," she lies. That is a fantastic outfit though--she is one hat veil away from being a film-noir widow. Vega's opening question: "Could you please describe your relationship with Abigail Hobbs?" "We were very close. I was helping her write a book about surviving her father," Freddie says softly, solemnly, from under the shade of her badass hat. Anything else you happened to talk about? "Abigail told me she believed Will Graham wanted to kill her and cannibalize her like her father wanted to do." I mean, as you do. "She was right. I should've listened to her." I cannot link you to the recap in which this happened because:
@cleolindajones: what that's some bullshit
@aMoTPodcast: Abigail told me *LIESSUCHLIESLIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEESSSSSS*
Like, even the judge looks shocked by this. Poor Will, though stoic, kind of looks like he's afraid Abigail really believe that. "Do you blame yourself for her death?" Vega asks. "I blame Will Graham," says Freddie.
You know what? I think Freddie really does believe Will is a sociopath, since she's been blowing that trumpet since " Amuse-Bouche," and must believe he really did kill Abigail, and so maybe she feels entitled to lie her ass off in order to get him convicted? We boo and hiss at her, but... she's not the only person this episode who's going to feel entitled to lie on the stand. So bear that in mind while you gather up the torches and pitchforks.
It's pretty easy, however, to undo Freddie's testimony: "Miss Lounds," Brauer says pleasantly, "could you please remind me how many times you've been sued for libel?" "six" "SORRY?" "Six," Freddie admits. "Six. And how many times did you settle?" "... six." (I came to really enjoy the judge's reaction shots throughout the episode.) "Six. Thank you. Nothing further," says Brauer, smiling.
And thus, now that six no longer looks like a word, "the defense calls Dr. Alana Bloom." "I believe Will's empathy disorder... combined with the effects of viral encephalitis..." But Alana can't go on: "Do we have to do this--like this?" She's not actually on the stand, it turns out--she's practicing her testimony while sitting in front of Will's cage, because that's not hella awkward. Well, but better here and now than later there: "I don't want the first time you do this to be in court," Brauer says patiently. "Dr. Bloom, weren't you and the accused romantically involved?" "How is this relevant to the case?" "It's relevant to your testimony. In that court, your feelings, your emotions, your pro-everything-Will-Graham will be on trial--you get all starey and non-blinky like that, it'll undermine you and me, but mainly him." "My testimony is based on my professio--" "You are smitten with the accused, Miss Bloom" [EXCUSE YOU, THAT IS DR. BLOOM] "and it is ~adorable,~ but not our brand of defense. And Ms. Vega will smell it on you like you stepped in Young Adult and tracked it into the courtroom!" says Brauer, leaning down into Alana's face, and while that seems unfair to the young adult genre, I also spent too much time in the sparkle mines not to laugh my ass off.
@cleolindajones: Maybe the lawyer can live a little longer.
@redheadedgirl: no he can’t.
"Were you and Will Graham involved romantically?" Alana (she mad): "I HAVE NO ROMANTIC FEELINGS FOR WILL GRAHAM I HAVE A PROFESSIONAL CURIOSITY." About his tongue, yes. Alana, we are women of action, and you have been All Up In That since episode one. Lies do not become us. "I like that," smarms Brauer. "'Professional curiosity.' It seems so--it seems so indifferent. Unless you look like you're lying when you say it." (*GLARE*) "But you didn't," adds Brauer, possibly because he wants to live.
Over in his cage, Will looks like a dozen pictures of Pallas cats.
At the lab, coming out of (yet another) spiraling closeup of an ear: Brian tells Jack that they've identified the knife used to sever it. In fact, it's... somehow Will's, Beverly tells him: "The blade matches the cuts on Abigail Hobbs's ear and on this one." Wait, what? Will didn't pass the Murder Wizard tests, so I'm pretty sure he wasn't issued the standard teleportation powers? Jimmy explains, "It was presented in court as evidence"-- voilà--"then it was sent to the courthouse evidence room, where it was checked out by the bailiff in Will's trial, Andrew Sykes, and it never went back." We should all have some questions about that, even after this episode is over, but for the moment, Brian feels they have triumphed: "Pretty good, right?"
(wolfmasters.tumblr.com)
So this is how Jack ends up sitting in an unmarked car outside the bailiff's house in Millford Mill Ford, Maryland, that night, with a SWAT team ready to bust in. "Go."
CONTINUE: PART TWO.
YOU GUYS.
(Aromaleigh.com) (omg) (we did a thing!)
@DireRavenstag: I feel pretty, oh so pretty. So much pretty, and gritty, and FRIGHT. RT @cleolindajones: DIRE RAVENSTAG EYESHADOW
Here are the pictures I took of Ravenstag in person, on three different primers; it's hard to get across what this looks like in person, other than "fantastic." (People who have gotten it are saying it works well as eyeliner.) Tattler, inspired by the "you've been terribly rude" scene in "Amuse-Bouche," went up on Friday, and I'll swatch it when it arrives. Freddie and I (fourth wall? what fourth wall?) put together A METRIC TON of pictures/suggestions, and Kristen seems as excited as we are, so we'll see what she comes up with this week. It may be a little something called MURDER TIE.
One more thing: Freddie asked Bryan Fuller what Bedelia's perfume was. Imaginary, it turns out. Based on my suggestion that it should be "gardenia with a cold edge," tenebris suggested BPAL's Lady of Shalott.
@winston_Graham: it's funny how two of my favorite shows, Hannibal and breaking bad, are about dudes cooking things they shouldn't be cooking
@NBCHannibal: You know you want a bite *pretends fork is airplane*
PREVIOUSLY ON: EMPATH AND CANNIBAL: Will is the Puppet Master now, suckaaaas; Jack decided it was time to play out Miriam's doom all over again with Beverly; Hannibal gave his Tender Murder Caress to the Killer of the Week, then sewed him into a mural of people and ate his leg; this was preceded by cornfields, craquelure, and plastic murder suits; Bedelia told Hannibal that he's dangerous (I can't imagine why!) and he was NOT HAPPY; and then ahahahahaha Bedelia fled the show and left him only her perfume to remember her by. Also: Sesame Street. Man, that was a great episode.
So this week's Claw Your Face and Scream opener begins with... Will dreaming that he's in the electric chair. Regarding this method of execution, supposedly, "the first jolt of electric current was designed to cause immediate unconsciousness and brain stem death; the second one was designed to cause fatal damage to the vital organs. Death was frequently caused by electrical overstimulation of the heart." Currently, you can choose between electrocution and lethal injection in Alabama (sigh), Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Oklahoma; the last U.S. state to use electrocution as the only method of execution was Nebraska, home of "Old Sparky"--which ended the practice entirely in 2008. (For further reading, please consult "How does the electric chair work?" and "In Virginia's death chamber, a rare death by electrocution," because I don't really want to think about it any further.) I'm guessing that Virginia is the state applicable to Will, insofar as dreams have jurisdictions. And we know it's a dream because the scene actually runs backwards--the clock ticking five minutes back to midnight, smoke descending to his convulsing body, veins in his arm relaxing, a guard removing a leather face mask that is deeply old-fashioned creepy--then the clock ticks forward to midnight again, and Will himself throws the switch and electrocutes the Will sitting in the chair, again, but this time without the creepy mask. Why a mask?
@neoprod: Little known fact about electrocution-- [NNNGAHHHH MY EYE SQUICK]
So that's upsetting. Fortunately, we don't see realistic effects, just emotionally disturbing ones, as Will stands off to the side in his nice court suit and watches his other self convulse amid the sparks. And it's interesting--he doesn't imagine Hannibal, or a grim Crawford, or even a disappointed Alana throwing the switch. He imagines himself. I'm wondering if this relates to "darkness" that has taken up residence in Will's mind, based on the Hugh Dancy interview I linked last week: "Hannibal is like a virus. When [Will] returns to Hannibal's circle, he is at least 50 percent at risk of being drawn back in, because it's a place as comfortable to him--that darkness--as the other life he forged himself. Just like Hannibal, [Will] is drawn to that connection that they have.... It's like going back to a really bad relationship again and again.... [There's] a psychological risk for Will to re-engage with Hannibal.... [He] had a fear of the potential within himself for darkness." Unlike Hannibal, Will doesn't want that darkness to be there. But it is. Does he feel like he ought to kill it off before anyone else gets hurt?
I feel like the theme of uncertainty runs pretty strongly through this episode--not only "What the hell just happened and who did it?" but "How do I feel about that, and am I morally compromised by those feelings?" A lot of reactions to this episode focused on Hannibal's behavior, that he comes on so strong as to possibly be out of character? But this opening scene makes me think the episode's more about Will's uncertainty as to how he should feel about that, possibly a fear that a darkness in him is responding to a darkness in someone else, and maybe a certain disturbed surprise that he feels any emotional uncertainty towards the man who, you know, framed him for serial murder. As such, it may also be significant that hassun "sets the seasonal theme" in the kaiseki menu. But you'll see.
@MrAaronAbrams: Thank goodness getting the electric chair was only a dream, he must be de-lighted. See what I did there omg I am adorable.
And then Will wakes to find a guard bringing him that suit. In the waking world, soothed by the cultured strains of Così fan service--
@neoprod: Join Hannibal/Will getting dressed-for-court montage to the cue of Mozart's "Dalla Sua Pace" ...Of your peace #EyeCandy
--we watch Will and Hannibal, respectively, get dressed for court; as Will gets his handcuffs, Hannibal adjusts his cufflinks. Side note: that particular aria is from The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni. Originally, "Dalla sua pace" was added to the opera as a replacement for the more diffficult "Il mio tesoro": "Given the circumstances, Ottavio is convinced that Giovanni was the murderer of Donna Anna's father (the deceased Commendatore) and swears vengeance." Just throwing all that out there.
(#*waits for Tumblr to reverse GIF* #*taps fingers patiently on table*)
(#*slides GIF under the door* #[sounds of small hooves scampering away echoes in the hall])
This sequence takes (*checks watch*) forty seconds of actual screentime, because because Bryan Fuller loves you and wants you to be happy. Sometimes. For real, I actually heard Tumblr melt down as it happened.
@BryanFuller: INSIDE HANNIBAL'S CLOSET [ concept illustration]
@tenebris: The clothing porn in the opening reminds me of Will talking about " at times I felt like I was doing what Hobbs was..."
@cleolindajones: ooooh... nice catch.
@tenebris: Thanks! That one stuck with me, gave the best feeling of Will's mind being torn in places.
You know, let's take that a step further: in each set of actions, we see Will first, and he doesn't seem terribly focused on what he's doing. Hannibal seems much more intent, and he's putting on an uncharacteristically sober emsemble that he's not wearing when he walks into the courtroom. Is he the one imagining that they're doing the same things? Which puts a, uh, slightly different spin on Hannibal totally checking himself out in the mirror.
(kissthefuture.tumblr.com)
@BryanFuller: YES, HE WAS. #HANNIBAL [screencap]
Either way, if you listen carefully, you'll hear gleeful chortling in the background.
@NBCHannibal: *buttons up person suit*
And thus, Will's trial begins. Here's prosecutor Marion Vega to tell you "the story of a mild-mannered FBI instructor who was asked to create a psychological profile of a murderer--Garret Jacob Hobbs, the Minnesota Shrike. He killed young women that looked just like his daughter. He killed them... and he ate them." CUT TO: FANCY CANNIBAL, not to put too fine a point on it. "Will Graham understood the way Hobbs thought--that's how he caught him. He shot Hobbs dead while he cut his daughter's throat." ( Flashback thereunto, while Will sits there stoically.) "So Will Graham was able to save Abigail Hobbs' life, but the profile" (Hannibal looks over at Will now) "that he created of her father was so vivid that he couldn't escape it." (Flashback: "See? See?") "And in an unconscious state... he killed four more women." And now, a slideshow! Maybe Will feels more at home now? " Cassie Boyle. Marissa Schuur. Georgia Madchen... Abigail Hobbs." Wow, Vega is a little more upbeat about the grisly death photos than I would be. And poor Abigail has a sweet smiling picture from when she was alive because we still don't know where the rest of her body is, HANNIBAL. "He was able to save Abigail Hobbs from her father, but he wasn't able to save her from himself. He killed her and he ate her. At the very least, he ate her ear." And we know that, because here's a picture of what Will threw up (that's a slide I could have lived without seeing). "What happened to the rest of Abigail Hobbs is locked away in the recesses of Will Graham's traumatized mind--or so he would have you believe." Yes, she says it exactly as sarcastically as you're imagining. Also, she's basically standing in front of the defense table opening-statementing at him now: "Something else you should know about Will Graham: he has remarkable visual memory. He's keenly insightful to the human condition. And... I would argue... the smartest person in this room." And there's Hannibal, just beaming in Will's general direction.
@neoprod: HANNIBAL IS ENJOYING BEING UPSTAGED. The Circus has added another ring
@cleolindajones: So proud of his BFF
@valaripradiks: "SO PROUD OF MY BB LOOK AT HIM ON TRIAL FOR THE MURDERS I COMMITTED. YOU LOOK GREAT WILL."
@cleolindajones: Well, that too. RT @jjloa: @cleolinda I saw part of that smirk also as a ‘no, I fooled him so I’m the smartest! naah naah’ too.
@MrAaronAbrams: "He is the smartest person in the room." "I OBJECT!" "...Um. Sir? You are not a lawyer." Begrudgingly, Zeller sits.
@DireRavenstag: She called my Will the smartest! I like her! *grazes quietly on Will's hair*
"He's capable of creating a psychological profile of a completely different kind of murderer. One that would become his alibi." And Will kind of has this look like he would vastly prefer Old Sparky right now.
Outside in the marble hall, a pacing Jack is intercepted by Kade Prurnell. "Moment of truth," she says: he's about to take the stand. "If only I knew what the truth was," he says. Prurnell: "There's nothing wrong with your instincts." See, though, that's the thing-- Jack's been starting to doubt them: "My instincts have not yet arrived at conviction." "Mine have, with the benefit of no previous involvement and no personal connections to the accused or his chef/psychiatrist." "Meaning I can't be impartial?" "Of course you can be impartial, but right now you're not. You have to believe something, as long as there is reason and evidence to believe. You've got reason; you've got evidence. Will Graham is playing a game. I understand why that might be hard for you to accept," she says. You know, we're not supposed to like Prurnell, and she's a little too concerned with the Bureau's image, but I get why there is absolutely no reason in the world she would, or should, believe Will's protestations of innocence. "It's easier to be a man who missed his friend's suffering than it is to be the head of behavioral sciences at the FBI who missed a killer standing right in front of him," she continues. "There's a reason that you're a witness for the prosecution, Agent Crawford." Ohhhhh noooo.
"Remind me what that reason is," says Jack. "If you can't represent your own beliefs," she says, "represent the Bureau's. Let yourself off the hook, Jack."
"How did you meet Will Graham?" Vega asks, once Jack's on the stand. "I met him at the opening of the Evil Minds Research Museum," he says, which was mentioned at the beginning of the very first episode back when I wasn't including as much of the dialogue. You know, when Jack was like, "Hey, can I borrow your imagination and ruin your life? Won't take but a moment." "He didn't agree with what we called it," says Jack (which they also mentioned). "He told me that the title mythologized banal and cruel men who didn't deserve to be thought of as supervillains."
COUGH.
"And what was your first impression?" "He was intelligent. And arrogant. And very likely on the spectrum." "Which is why he wasn't real FBI," says Vega ( as Beverly immediately pointed out back in the day, God bless), "he didn't pass the screening procedures. But you felt that he was qualified to work in the field." "Under my supervision." "And you believed that he was valuable because he could think like a killer?" "He could think like anybody," says Jack. "Sounds like a supervillain," smarms Vega (Crawford gives her a supremely unimpressed look). "Five horrendous murders," she continues, gesturing to "over forty different pieces of forensic and physical evidence"
@BryanFuller: PLENTY OF EVIDENCE AGAINST WILL GRAHAM [evidence table 1] [evidence table 2]
(wow, Hannibal was a very busy cannibal)
"that tell us that Will Graham can think like a killer because he is one. Rather than feel tormented by the work he did, Will Graham enjoyed the cover his role at the FBI gave him to commit his terrible crimes." Hey, Hannibal, how's that consulting going?
@HettiennePark: Hannibal's suit is so dope #HANNIBAL #sweetthreads
(arielmh.tumblr.com)
Good God, Fancy Cannibal, that is the loudest suit you have ever worn. And it's screaming HERE FOR YOU, BB MONGOOSE. Also: MURDER TIE!
@BryanFuller: DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID: Considering Fabrics for #HANNIBAL's Signature Season Two Suiting [swatches]
ANYWAY: "Will Graham enjoyed the cover his role at the FBI gave him to commit his terrible crimes," Vega concludes, grandstanding like whoa.
"I DON'T BELIEVE THAT TO BE TRUE," says Jack Motherfucking Crawford, hell yes.
(Out in the gallery, Prurnell executes a textbook 45-degree head tilt, like an incredulous barn owl.)
"...Agent Crawford...?" "Will hated every second of the work. He hated it. He didn't fake that. He hated it and I kept making him do it." YES, YOU DID. Marion Vega, losing control of her witness: "Why, then, it is that when you offered him an opportunity to quit, he refused?" "BECAUSE HE WAS SAVING LIVES," says Jack. (Exasperated, Prurnell closes her eyes. You know that look: THE LORD IS TESTING ME.) "I had been warned by more than one person that if I pushed Will, I'd break him. I put those checks and balances in place, then ignored them. And here we are."
Prurnell storms out, and Will's lawyer
@cleolindajones: EAT THE LAWYER
looks somewhat cheered. Jack sits quietly on the stand. And Hannibal just smiles at him.
As the courtroom empties, a courier comes in--and here's an interesting idea as to who she might be--with a packet for one Leonard Brauer: Will's aforesaid lawyer. "What does Jack Crawford drink? Whatever it is, I need to send him a very expensive bottle," he says. "He said I'm a killer because he drove me insane," grumps Will-- "No, he paved the road for your defense." "Well, he didn't say I'm innocent." "Innocence isn't a verdict, Mr. Graham, but 'not guilty' is. This isn't law; it's advertising." "Advertising trivializes; it manipulates; it's vulgar," says Will Graham, the kind of man who uses semicolons when speaking. "BOO HOO, SO'S THE LAW," retorts his lawyer. "We have to create desire to find you 'not guilty,' which is nonexistent in this courtroom right now. We're manipulating people into buying something they don't need." You know, I want to say Brauer's sleazy, but... he's right? In fact, Will seems to be having a bench trial--judge only--not a jury trial, because it's going to be hard enough to convince one person that he didn't kill and/or eat a bunch of people, much less twelve. "They don't want your innocence," Brauer goes on, as the courier hands him the packet. "Unconsciousness in a pretty package, that I can sell." (Okay, that came out a little sleazy.) "If I take the moral high ground with you, I'll get you killed."
@DireRavenstag: He called my Will pretty! I LIKE HIM BEST!
And then Brauer opens the envelope and pours out a shower of dried blood flakes. In piano-cascading slo-mo--BOMP!--a severed ear hits the table.
"I think I opened your mail," says Brauer.
(Red wine scaryface credits, while Will just sits there 1000% unblinkingly done with life and everything in it.)
@HettiennePark: What happened? I was still stuck on the shirt-buttoning-up part. #dayum #HANNIBALhotties #thankuBryanFuller
@BryanFuller: @HettiennePark I'm still on the shirt-buttoning-up part. Hitting rewind so they're unbuttoning. Like how Benjamin Button lives.
As always, Tumblr is here for you.
Over at The Best Office Ever, Hannibal pours Jack a slosh of armagnac: "That was a good and brave thing you did for Will today." "It may have cost me my job," replies Jack, but, Hannibal observes, "The prospect doesn't seem to trouble you as much as I would have thought." "Haven't felt better in weeks," Jack says--clinking glasses, smiles all around. "Clarity will do that," says Hannibal. "Tell me, Jack--was your testimony meant to be a resignation?" "There is something appealing about walking away from all of the noise. I'm... content... to let the chips fall." Set that car on fire and don't look back, Jack Crawford! "The magic door is always attractive. Step through and leave all your burdens behind," says Hannibal (magic what? Have you been drinking shrooms again?). "I've given my life," says Jack, almost indignantly, "to death." "And now, death has followed you home," says Hannibal. "Come to live in your house." Oh my God, could you not? After a long breath, Jack nods. "Bella has kept our bedroom from looking too much like a sickroom. There are flowers, but not too many... you know. She insists that there are no pills in sight. So I've been thinking about taking her to Italy where we met. We could..." A long, loaded pause. "She could die there." Oh God, my heart. "Jack," says Hannibal, leaning in, "you're not sick. You don't have to go into the ground with her. When Bella's lost to you, the FBI could still be there."
It's hard to tell what's going on with Hannibal here, and now that I have seen the next episode because I wasn't able to finish the recap first--I really don't know how to interpret his actions towards the Crawfords. I do believe he has genuine sympathy and respect for Bella--even for Jack, except for the times he's pissed at him for Ripper reasons. It's like Hannibal's able to compartmentalize a ton of different feelings and motives simultaneously, and he just chooses to follow the ones that he finds most interesting at that moment. When it was interesting to torment Jack with Miriam's arm, he went with that; when Bella's courage and dignity impressed him, he respected that. Right now? Maybe he feels genuine respect and sympathy for Bella's husband, while also thinking, "If you leave, I'll have to cultivate a new section chief all over again, and I'm running low on foie gras as it is."
Jack smiles. "You're telling me not to commit professional suicide." "As a friend, I'm telling you not to force an issue... for the short-term emotional satisfaction it can have." Well, if Hannibal Lecter knows about anything, it's playing the long game, I guess.
Over at the BAU lab, though, Jack is having trouble giving a fuck. "... shrunken capillaries," he finally hears Brian saying: "The ear was cut from a corpse no more than forty-eight hours ago." "We fumed it all," says Jimmy. "Ear's clean, no prints on either of the envelopes, besides the courier, paralegal, and lawyer." "We know Will Graham didn't do it," adds Beverly. (Brian, sassy: "It wouldn't surprise me." Zeller, you gonna get et one of these days.) "The timing's deliberate," says Jack. "It was choreographed to drop the ear at the beginning of Will's trial."
Oh, look, the murder tie's made it all the way to the forensics lab: truly, the pinnacle of menswear irony. "Such a gift has great significance," Hannibal observes (of course he views it as a gift; he lives in a world where a Colombian necktie is considered " flowers and chocolate before a first date"). But a gift from who? "Will claimed someone else committed the crimes he's accused of," says Hannibal. Beverly looks at him in astonishment, that he would even bring this up--indeed, Jack gently points out, "He said that person was you." "Perhaps he was half right," says Hannibal.
(raymukada.tumblr.com)
Now, at the Baltimore State Dungeons, Hannibal lurks wistfully at the bars of Will's cell: "It seems you have an admirer." "You think someone sent me an ear because they admire me?" asks Will (oh, come on, you personally could just about write a monograph about the Language of Severed Body Parts after last season). Hannibal (perhaps now understanding the disconnect that led to Will not fully appreciating being framed for murder) replies, "The boundaries of what's considered normal are getting narrower. Outside those boundaries, this may be intended as a helpful gesture." "How far would you go to help me?" asks Will, because he's thinking exactly what we're aaaall thinking.
"It hadn't occurred to me to send you an ear." I think most of us (from what I've observed) continued to think that Hannibal was the one who did it, which means that lines like this just don't make sense unless he's completely lying. But I think Fio is right--Hannibal doesn't tend to flat-out lie. The example that came to my mind was when Abigail accused him of being " a serial killer like my father," and he retorted, "I'm nothing like your father," because technically, yes, Hannibal is a much snappier dresser and does not actually use antlers in all of his decorating. So when he explicitly says, It did not occur to me to kill someone to help you get a good verdict, I think we should actually believe him. Not the least because he sounds a little sorry that he didn't think of it first.
"But I'm grateful someone has," he adds, because of course he does.
"Gratitude has a short half-life," retorts Will (I'm sure that's a line from one book or the other?). "So can doubt," says Hannibal. "I have new thoughts about who you are." And now I'm confused again. I guess he's having to proceed from a position of "I'm totally a harmless psychiatrist who didn't kill people, you did, and also, Chilton's listening"? "There may very well be another killer."
And that's the thing: there is. Bryan Fuller flat-out says that Hannibal did not do it:
[This episode is] very much about the false hopes, and it was also a way for Hannibal Lecter to be able to tell Will that he is worthy of love and admiration, and he is saying, “Here is this person out there that loves you enough to do this act.” We should absolutely think that it’s Hannibal at that stage of the plot, and Will should think it was Hannibal at that stage of the plot, and it was a way to express Hannibal’s affection for Will, regardless of everything that’s happened between them, regardless of Hannibal manipulating Will into incarceration. There is still affection for him, and it is a very tough, ugly love that Hannibal feels for Will.
So at this juncture, Will believes it's Hannibal, but it's not. Hannibal did not do it, and is even jealous that "someone else cares for Will." I keep restating this because it is hard as hell to understand what's going on even if you do know that. This is essentially a conversation at cross-purposes:
Will whispers, "I want there to be." (It's okay if you did it! WE'LL JUST LOOK THE OTHER WAY THIS TIME.)
"Some part of you still suspects me," Hannibal says quietly. The part of Will that remembered you crammed Abigail's ear down his throat, yes. "I don't know what anyone is capable of anymore, least of all myself," says Will, looking genuinely overwhelmed. "But... I know there is no evidence against you." (That said, apparently Will is still "rather convinced" that Hannibal is the original Copycat Killer.)
"There never was." (Much the way "not guilty" is not the same as "innocent," "no evidence" is not the same as "no guilt.")
"And accusing you makes me look insane." Will shakes his head and smiles: "I'm not insane. Not anymore." (I'm not saying I don't think you didn't do it. I'm just saying that I'm not going to say it out loud anymore.)
"And you may not be guilty," Hannibal tells him. "This ear you were sent is an opportunity. If someone else is responsible for your crimes, perhaps he now wants to be seen."
"Why would you he want to be seen now?" (AFTER ALL THE SHIT YOU PUT ME THROUGH?)
"He cares what happens to you," says Hannibal. (♥_♥)
@Tattle_Crime: Can't tell if fear or attraction. Common problem with this show.
@cleolindajones: This feels like one of those rom coms where it's like WHY CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I'M THE ONE WHO LOVES YOU, I'M THE OOOOOOONE
@aMoTPodcast: You are both playing a dangerous game that's going to blow up in your faces. It will be awful and hilarious
After the break: "The prosecution calls Freddie Lounds to the stand."
@DeLaurentiisCo: And Madame Libel has arrived. #Hannibal #FreddieLounds Boooo.
@BryanFuller: THAT'S RIGHT. @Tattle_Crime HAS BEEN CALLED TO THE STAND. #WHOLETRUTH #NOTREALLY
@zoeowow: @cleolindajones freddie lounds' fashion is pippa middleton meets the entire cast of american horror story
@justinjhyman: @BryanFuller it looks like @Tattle_Crime is doing her best Carmen San Diego impression.
@icymilo: @Tattle_Crime Hat game too strong this episode #Hannibal #Hassun #isitfullofsecrets
@Tattle_Crime: icymilo Filled to the... brim.
(nbchannibal.tumblr.com)
@BryanFuller: @LaraJeanC Another hat angle behind the scenes [set pic]
(tattle-crime.com)
Will gives her the look that he always gives Miss Freddie: the Pallas cat look.
"I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth," she lies. That is a fantastic outfit though--she is one hat veil away from being a film-noir widow. Vega's opening question: "Could you please describe your relationship with Abigail Hobbs?" "We were very close. I was helping her write a book about surviving her father," Freddie says softly, solemnly, from under the shade of her badass hat. Anything else you happened to talk about? "Abigail told me she believed Will Graham wanted to kill her and cannibalize her like her father wanted to do." I mean, as you do. "She was right. I should've listened to her." I cannot link you to the recap in which this happened because:
@cleolindajones: what that's some bullshit
@aMoTPodcast: Abigail told me *LIESSUCHLIESLIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEESSSSSS*
Like, even the judge looks shocked by this. Poor Will, though stoic, kind of looks like he's afraid Abigail really believe that. "Do you blame yourself for her death?" Vega asks. "I blame Will Graham," says Freddie.
You know what? I think Freddie really does believe Will is a sociopath, since she's been blowing that trumpet since " Amuse-Bouche," and must believe he really did kill Abigail, and so maybe she feels entitled to lie her ass off in order to get him convicted? We boo and hiss at her, but... she's not the only person this episode who's going to feel entitled to lie on the stand. So bear that in mind while you gather up the torches and pitchforks.
It's pretty easy, however, to undo Freddie's testimony: "Miss Lounds," Brauer says pleasantly, "could you please remind me how many times you've been sued for libel?" "six" "SORRY?" "Six," Freddie admits. "Six. And how many times did you settle?" "... six." (I came to really enjoy the judge's reaction shots throughout the episode.) "Six. Thank you. Nothing further," says Brauer, smiling.
And thus, now that six no longer looks like a word, "the defense calls Dr. Alana Bloom." "I believe Will's empathy disorder... combined with the effects of viral encephalitis..." But Alana can't go on: "Do we have to do this--like this?" She's not actually on the stand, it turns out--she's practicing her testimony while sitting in front of Will's cage, because that's not hella awkward. Well, but better here and now than later there: "I don't want the first time you do this to be in court," Brauer says patiently. "Dr. Bloom, weren't you and the accused romantically involved?" "How is this relevant to the case?" "It's relevant to your testimony. In that court, your feelings, your emotions, your pro-everything-Will-Graham will be on trial--you get all starey and non-blinky like that, it'll undermine you and me, but mainly him." "My testimony is based on my professio--" "You are smitten with the accused, Miss Bloom" [EXCUSE YOU, THAT IS DR. BLOOM] "and it is ~adorable,~ but not our brand of defense. And Ms. Vega will smell it on you like you stepped in Young Adult and tracked it into the courtroom!" says Brauer, leaning down into Alana's face, and while that seems unfair to the young adult genre, I also spent too much time in the sparkle mines not to laugh my ass off.
@cleolindajones: Maybe the lawyer can live a little longer.
@redheadedgirl: no he can’t.
"Were you and Will Graham involved romantically?" Alana (she mad): "I HAVE NO ROMANTIC FEELINGS FOR WILL GRAHAM I HAVE A PROFESSIONAL CURIOSITY." About his tongue, yes. Alana, we are women of action, and you have been All Up In That since episode one. Lies do not become us. "I like that," smarms Brauer. "'Professional curiosity.' It seems so--it seems so indifferent. Unless you look like you're lying when you say it." (*GLARE*) "But you didn't," adds Brauer, possibly because he wants to live.
Over in his cage, Will looks like a dozen pictures of Pallas cats.
At the lab, coming out of (yet another) spiraling closeup of an ear: Brian tells Jack that they've identified the knife used to sever it. In fact, it's... somehow Will's, Beverly tells him: "The blade matches the cuts on Abigail Hobbs's ear and on this one." Wait, what? Will didn't pass the Murder Wizard tests, so I'm pretty sure he wasn't issued the standard teleportation powers? Jimmy explains, "It was presented in court as evidence"-- voilà--"then it was sent to the courthouse evidence room, where it was checked out by the bailiff in Will's trial, Andrew Sykes, and it never went back." We should all have some questions about that, even after this episode is over, but for the moment, Brian feels they have triumphed: "Pretty good, right?"
(wolfmasters.tumblr.com)
So this is how Jack ends up sitting in an unmarked car outside the bailiff's house in Millford Mill Ford, Maryland, that night, with a SWAT team ready to bust in. "Go."
CONTINUE: PART TWO.