3.2 Secondo And yet, we also knew one other important thing: that Lecter gets caught. No matter how smart he is, someone manages to outsmart him and he ends up subject to imprisonment and the not-so-tender mercies of Dr. Chilton. So we had to assume that the man who put him there – FBI profiler Will Graham – was not just Lecter’s equal, but his superior intellectually. So it was more than a little confusing when it turned out that, for all of Graham’s much touted empathy, the character portrayed by Hugh Dancy initially seemed entirely incapable of the kind of cleverness necessary to bring about the feat we already knew he must. Feeling what another person feels and basing one’s conclusions on that shared emotion is not the same as having a precise and calculating mind capable of dissecting someone’s psyche (or body, really). And Graham’s inability, during that first season, to see the true nature and psychotic mind of the man standing next to him, while it fleshed out the storyline, seemed to undermine the possibility that he ever could see it, let alone outsmart the man himself. Either this was bad writing (which seemed impossible given how well done everything else was) or something else was going on. But it is only the third season – the one we are currently enjoying – that we begin to see how Graham will win, and Secondo lays some groundwork. Because it’s all fine and good for Will to follow the breadcrumbs that Hannibal (certainly consciously) dropped. In doing so, he is merely doing as Hannibal wishes. But in this week’s episode, we see something new in Will. When the cannibal clearly fails to respond to Will’s own invitation in the catacombs, rather than wait for Lecter to return or make the next move – or even deduce what city he’s hiding in as Inspector Pazzo or a very alive much Jack Crawford do – Will does what his opponent would do, and has been doing all along. He digs into the psyche of the man and, like a good psychologist, sets out to uncover the cannibal’s genesis, the trauma that lies at the heart of the monster. Chiyo (played adequately, but not yet competitively by Tao Okamoto) reveals not only why Hannibal is the way he is, but how that barbarity has enslaved her. Indeed it, would seem that Lecter decided early upon his favorite game (“Create a Killer” – in stores now!). He has made Chiyo the keeper of that particular monster, solely to see if she will kill in order to gain her freedom. After Graham loses the man, we learn that she will, but only when provoked by a more immediate need for self-preservation. It is not the outcome Hannibal hoped for, nor does he foresee, at this point, how clever Will is in not only developing a greater understanding (we know that Hannibal has a hard time forgiving Will for seeing even as little of him as the profiler has already) but in acquiring an ally who knows even more. And he leaves his nakama a gift… or a warning. It’s unclear which. It’s probably both, to be honest. But while all this moves the plot forward, it is not nearly as revealing as the parallel storyline where Hannibal is busy exposing even more to his [we still don’t know what: accomplice? psychiatrist? hostage? lunch?]. Bedelia calls attention to the fact that Lecter is acting in a way that endangers himself, that his attraction to Will and the lack of self-control when it comes to the profiler means that he will eventually be caught. But he seems unconcerned. He seems equally unconcerned that his former therapist seems interested in recreating that relationship: Would he like to talk about his first spring lamb? What can’t he go home? How did his sister taste? He appears fairly comfortable answering her questions, though we must suppose that, like everything else about him, his answers are multi-layered and essentially only the truth when refracted through his own consciousness. Again, the cinematography earlier in the episode, during a similar therapy session between Hannibal and Will, silently but strongly reinforces the narrative, as we see Hannibal himself refracted through, and eventually shattered like, glass. Which leads us to the most intriguing line of the episode. Bedelia, alerted to the nature of her own diet, continues to dine on foods that will make her more pleasurable to Lecter’s palate. This seems odd since they both know it’s no longer a secret. Is it a sign of faith on her part? Defiance? Or just a way to keep him entertained, since boredom seems to be one of his triggers for murder? Faith seems to be too naïve an answer, and her assurance earlier that “we can all betray – sometimes, we have no other choice,” reads a lot like a warning. Certainly, it seems that some sort of betrayal is in the works between the two of them, but it’s doubtful that it will be quick, and even more doubtful that it will be simple. But the lovely thing about Bedelia is that she is fighting in her own weight class. So when she tells him “I know exactly how I will navigate out of whatever it is I’ve gotten myself into,” I think we have to believe it. Read Laura’s review of the previous episode, Primavera, here. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
