Hannibal S03E01 "Antipasto" Review

Daddy is back kids and kittens, "Hannibal" kicks off Season Three after an incredibly brutal finale that saw all of our main characters (with the exception of the big cheese himself, Dr. Lecter) in peril. Jack suffering a massively bleeding neck wound in the pantry, Alana Bloom slowing dying after being pushed out the window by Abigail Hobbs, who's dying in Hannibal's kitchen next to a slowly bleeding out Will Graham, do finales get any darker than this? Maybe. Anyway, we join Hannibal and Dr. DeMaurier (in what appears to be) 8 months in Italy. So what's up with the good doctor now? Find out after the break;

Bryan Fuller is making some very interesting choices in which sections of the Hannibal Mythos he chooses to adapt and how exactly he goes about adapting them. For those of you outside the know, Hannibal doesn't assume the identity of Dr. Roman Fell until after his escape in "Silence Of The Lambs", and despite the fact that Buffalo Bill hasn't made an appearance yet, Fuller managed to blow 2 familiar tableaus from the Hannibal Mythos (The Flaming Wheelchair Of Freddie Lounds from "Red Dragon" & The Attempt To Feed Hannibal To The Pigs by Mason Verger from "Hannibal", the film). So these out of sequence tableaus are interesting but really makes me wonder just where exactly Fuller is going.

But regardless of where he's going, I have a feeling it'll be stellar if the previous Seasons are any indications of where this Season is going. So Hannibal is in Italy gallivanting as Dr. Fell along with Dr. DeMaurier as his "wife", and apparently, the cannibal has found "peace"...or what peace can be found when you're a fugitive. Nevertheless, seeing Hannibal content with his circumstances is interesting as he said (paraphrasing) "He hasn't killed anyone since his time there.". This implies that Hannibal isn't reckless although this episode certainly begs the question of how he's managed to survive all this time. With the introduction of the Mr. Dimmond character.

Hannibal's decision to allow Mr.Dimmond to leave after dinner, not only that but invite him to "Dr.Fell's" lecture was in deed reckless, and despite Mr. Dimmond's disdain for Dr. Fell, Hannibal could not have foreseen that Mr. Dimmond wouldn't immediately go to the authorities. Was Hannibal looking to get caught? Not only that but Mr. Dimmond not only didn't want to go to the authorities but wanted to aide Hannibal in continuing the ruse. This is luck on a level so insane Walter White couldn't even pull it off. Dr. Fell must have been a real asshole for someone to not give a crap if he was murdered. But nevertheless, Hannibal did the right thing (did I just say that?) and killed Mr. Dimmond.

Not that kinda party. LOL

This brings me to Dr. DeMaurier and just what exactly her role is in all of this. What purpose does she serve for Hannibal? I doubt he intends to kill her (providing she doesn't pose a threat, previously he had full intentions to kill her) but he's not using her sexually (at least I don't think so, Hannibal doesn't come off as a guy who'd be all that interested in sex) and he doesn't really need her for cover (since he's done so well on his own). But like Dr. Gideon said, perhaps Hannibal just hates eating alone. After all, what's the point of being a badass chef if no one but you gets to enjoy your skills? Hence, why Hannibal continued to keep Dr. Gideon alive so he can witness just how he was prepared (were I Dr. Gideon, I'd have killed myself at the dinner table). Speaking of which, it was an absolute delight to see Eddie Izzard back. The man is a stellar actor and Mads Mikkelsen & Eddie have a wonderful chemistry that is too much fun not to exploit.

Quit playing with yourself, Abel.

Getting back on topic, Not sure what Dr.DeMaurier's deal is and what Hannibal's deal is with her. I'm not entirely sure how she will play out in the grand scheme of things, but I'm getting WAY ahead of myself, this Season is only just beginning, and hopefully her utility to Hannibal will be made clear. All in all, I'm excited for this Season, Bryan Fuller said we'd be getting much more Hannibal than FBI which is good, we can finally shift focus from "generic serial killer of the week" to really getting into the Hannibal Mythos. Francis Dolarhyde is coming up later on this Season, along with Mason Verger (and again, it'll be interesting to see what Joe Anderson does with this role after Michael Pitt left massive craters as footprints) and Bryan will also be pulling from "Hannibal Rising" as Lady Murasaki.

I can't imagine Bryan would pull too much from "Hannibal Rising", after all that was almost universally panned and Mads Mikkelsen is a little young (to say the least) to witness his sister being eaten by Nazis. It'll be interesting to see just where and how Mischa Lecter fits in. I'm excited to see all the old players, Dr. Chilton, Jack Crawford and of course our boy Will Graham. Will Hannibal be behind bars this Season? Will Bryan even get to use Clarice (Good gravy, I hope not!). Can't wait to see what's next, gang! Bon appetite.