2.1 Kaiseki I should not have worried. Fuller’s problem has never been his creativity; it’s been that the powers-that-be have stepped in and cut it off. So once we knew that Hannibal’s showrunner was going to get a second series from NBC, we should have known that it would be everything we’ve come to expect. Except… It’s also a great way of showing a new audience that whatever they may see of Hannibal’s always cultivated, always polite behaviour, he is dangerous, not just intellectually but physically. Fishburne may have a good three or more stone on Mikkelsen, and yet they are clearly evenly matched – Lecter fights exactly like someone used to subduing others. And what made it even better was the visceral quality of the fight. It didn’t come off as overly choreographed nor did it suffer from the temptation to turn a character with no reason to be a martial arts expert into one. Instead it was an old-fashioned anything-goes slugfest—which is hard to choreograph precisely because it needs to look like it wasn’t. To then top it off by letting us know that this is what will happen in twelve weeks sets off the entire series with an energy unlike the first one, creating an entirely new kind of anticipation: how will we get to that deadly confrontation? First, although much of the joy of the first series was bound up in not knowing (how much of this mayhem was Lecter’s doing, whether his meats were self-procured, how much of Graham’s rapid loss of touch with reality was the direct result of Lecter’s interference), now that we’re pretty clear on most of those issues, this knowledge doesn’t seem like it will limit the show. We largely know the outcome and who and what most everyone is in our cast of characters. Now we find out how they learn the truth and how that affects them. It’s more overtly about the journey than the destination this series. In fact, it seems like Fuller is going to be actively leveraging the difference between what we know and what various sets of characters know in order to heighten our experience of that journey. It was hard not to laugh, for example, when Dr. Chilton (Ra úl Esparza) says he can’t enjoy Hannibal’s culinary treats so fully now that he has to limit his protein after losing a kidney. “You didn’t lose it, Frederick; it was taken from you.” Never mind (or rather, giggle ironically) that Gabriel took his kidney in response to something Chilton and Lecter are both guilty of (“pushing”). It’s even funnier when you realize that it’s only a matter of time until Frederick’s host eats the rest of him. Probably the best change is that the playing field on which series two will occur is now far more level. Yes, Will Graham is in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. But we have to remember that Graham prefers to be isolated. Isolation helps him block out everything that torments him. And we have to assume that it’s only a matter of time before the neurologically-based reason for his breaks with reality is diagnosed. We can already see, however, how Will’s change of circumstance has changed him. Last series, he behaved like a caged rat most of the time, scurrying about nervously, as though he would be attacked at any moment. He may be literally in a cage now, but his clarity over the source of his misfortunes and the quiet of the hospital has allowed him to find a center he lacked. Last season’s Graham was ripe for Hannibal’s manipulations. This series, the empathetic agent is resolute, clear-headed, and no longer feels out of his mental weight class. The prospect of the conflict between newly empowered Graham and an almost-revealed Lecter has us practically salivating. The one thing that concerns me looking ahead is the possibility that the women on the show will continue to be largely wasted. Aside from Kacey Rohl’s Abigail and the all-too-brief appearance of Ellen Muth’s Georgia, there’s been little for the female actors to work with thus far. They have primarily been used to explicate the men around them rather than as characters in their own right, which is a real shame. It would be lovely, for instance, to see Gina Torres return so we can watch her and Jack struggle with her terminal illness. Or even to get a real glimpse behind the curtain that is Lara Jean Chorostecki’s Freddie Lounds. But as to the rest, series two of Hannibal looks prepared to deliver on the promise of Fuller’s work last year. He evidently has seven series’ worth of story to tell. Here’s hoping that the show finds the audience it so richly deserves and we get to see all seven. Read Laura’s review of Hannibal’s season one finale, Savoureux, here.
