“I didn’t poison you Tobias. I wouldn’t do that to the food.” Hannibal delves into the Dexter wheelhouse this week, pairing Dr Lecter with his mirror: another cultured murderer named Tobias, who uses his victims to create music rather than fine cuisine. On Dexter the two would spend a season becoming friends, then rivals, before…
This week’s episode has the same problems as last week’s – predictable, drawn-out plot developments – but some gorgeous cinematography and crisp writing made for a more engaging hour. The best two scenes of the episode had much in common. Both were precisely photographed and both pertained to a verbal power struggle between two imposing…
Despite its title, Hannibal has spent little time with its eponymous serial killer sophisticate. Precisely captured by Mads Mikkelsen in an engaging, restrained performance, Dr Lecter has spent most of the season as a supporting character, someone for Will or Jack to bounce their thoughts off. Seven episodes in, the show takes the opportunity to…
The title of “The Climb” refers to the precarious ascent of Ygritte and Jon Snow up The Wall and a key phrase in Petyr’s speech about chaos (a speech which wasn’t half as meaningful as the show believes). It’s also an effective description of the purpose of this episode. Game of Thrones regularly reaches dazzling…
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;…
“And Now His Watch Has Ended” was an excellent example of why Game of Thrones, allowing for the difficulties presented by the impossible density of its plotting, is such great television. It can take Jaime, a sneering, hateful character, and render him so wretched it’s impossible to view him without pity. Or provide a payoff…
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,…
When Spartacus and Crassus finally face off on a sandy summit above a swirling, immense battle, “Victory,” the finale of Spartacus, isn’t afraid to be emotionally manipulative. It’s hard not to be overcome with dismay as Crassus grasps Spartacus’s sword and swings it towards him (from “Enemies of Rome”), or stunned delight as Spartacus blocks…
“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,…
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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