As you're probably aware, the fourth episode of Hannibal was pulled from NBC's schedule because of unease about the Boston Marathon bombings (from creator Bryan Fuller) and the Newtown massacre from last December. The episode centred on a character played by Molly Shannon who was training children to kill other children. The uncut episode will likely air in he UK once Hannibal begins on 7 May, so I'll catch-up with the episode in its entirety next month. Meanwhile, I caved in and watched NBC's six-part "webisode" they released online--which essentially contains all of episode 4's serialized scenes, unrelated to that week's individual story, but helpful to understand the episode 'Coquilles' that aired in its place. So here are some very brief thoughts about 20-minutes of 'Œuf':
First, we seemed to get more scenes of Lecter (Mads Mikkelson) simply talking to Will (Hugh Dancy) about his mental state and feelings about the Garrett Jacob Hobbs case. I really enjoy these two-handers, perhaps because I also enjoy In Treatment, so hope more is forthcoming. A whole episode of Will just talking to Lecter would be fine by me.
'Œuf' also made me realise that Will and Lecter are in a fight for Abigail's (Kacey Rohl) soul; a teenager who's finding it tough being the mistrusted daughter of an infamous serial killer. She can't get into any local schools because her father killed one of their students, and now she's entertaining ideas of joining the FBI. Will and Lecter both feel paternal towards Abigail; but as Will is seeking to atone for what he considers his mistakes in her father's case, I keep getting the impression Lecter's after a protégé. Maybe he thinks Abigail has the capacity to understand his nature, even if her reaction to her father's exposure suggests otherwise? Or is there a big twist coming, with Abigail soon to admit she was complicit in her dad's crimes?
It was also interesting to note that Will trusts Lecter enough to visit his house to feed his many stray dogs. Anyone else get a feeling those dogs aren't long for this earth? This shows give me bad thoughts. Jack Crawford (Lauren Fishburne) being fed "rabbit" (i.e. human flesh) during one of Lecter's dinners also continues to amuse me in a very bleak way; as did the sequence where Lecter gave Abigail an mind-altering mushroom broth to aide in her treatment.
Overall, I can't wait to see the full episode in late-May (or perhaps before earlier if it's made available online), but for now this was a fun taster. I'm slightly puzzled Abigail isn't afraid of Lecter, as he all but admitted he was the one who tipped off her father last week, but perhaps we're just supposed to believe she's attracted to his darkness... or that he's just so charismatic and fascinating as a replacement 'father figure', she can't help but be drawn to him?
written by Jennifer Schuur / directed by Peter Medak
