Hannibal’s episodes have been largely stand-alone so far; “killer of the week” plotlines dominating the slowcooking larger arcs. “Entrée” embraces a more serialised approach – along with the Hannibal backstory, filling the hour with re-appropriated quotes and visual quotes from the films. It’s made very clear that this isn’t a straightforward prequel, but a reinterpretation;…
“Coquilles” is the first episode of Hannibal to disappoint me. This is less a failing of the episode than the circumstances surrounding it. Without knowing the full details of the fourth episode, unscreened in the wake of the Boston bombings, the show’s narrative opacity became a liability; the brief “previously on” segment did little to…
The third episode of Hannibal conjures a dreamy, indistinct mood. The soundtrack is almost oppressively melodramatic, shifting from quiet tension to a soaring orchestra of screeching violins – it’s over the top, but suits the show’s expressionist tone. “Potage’s” meticulously constructed atmosphere came at the expense of narrative clarity; some omissions are to be expected,…
“Does anybody see the clue?” “There isn’t one.” The above quote tells you a lot about the kind of show Hannibal is trying to be, and the kind of show it isn’t. The show could’ve easily been a serial killer procedural; instead it has no interest in solving mysteries. A murderer’s grotesque garden is found,…
Like last week’s premiere, “Dark Wings, Dark Words” is largely a place-setting episode. But where “Valar Dohaeris” felt accomplished, thanks to a consistent tone, this episode felt clumsy. I think this is because “Dark Wings, Dark Words” fell victim to the ‘clunky pilot’ curse that I spoke about in my Hannibal review. We’re in the…
It’s taken me a while to collect my thoughts on the pilot of Hannibal, a show that’s simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar. On its surface it’s of a piece of many other shows – it’s an investigative procedural (thankfully avoiding any fancy-schmancy forensic technology) and certainly concerns serial killers, like the critically-reviled The Following. Like Bates…
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