HANNIBAL “Roti” Review


Plot, characterization, status quo shifting, and huge ideas are all here this week on Hannibal. This episode is a major turning point that felt like a huge finale, but there are two more hours left! The progression really showed how far the core concepts can be stretched without giving way to the roots of the show. The ground floor that has been established here is slipping, and things are starting to crumble everywhere. This feeling that anything can happen and nobody is safe, has been a prominent factor since the first episode. So far not a body here has even been killed yet! Homeland has been tackling a main character that has completely gone off the rails, but it was not established with as much finesse as was shown here. Another aspect of tonight’s episode that was dialed up a huge degree was the gore. The blood and guts still had a purpose in the episode. Roti had so many twists and turns that this episode deserves a giant magnifying glass to be shown on it. As is the case with the best hours of this show, the plot twists payed off.

Dr. Lector brought back the returning guest Frederick to his dinner table and huge ideas were crafted. One such idea is the psychic driving method enforced on Dr. Gideon. This is a wild idea that is consistently toyed with all episode to great degree. Hannibal was once again dancing around the scenes in sinister fashion. Due to the fact that his motivations have not been completely fleshed out, viewers have no idea what the hell he is ever going to do. This is the strongest part of the show, as having true wildcard can completely manipulate the plot into a horde of new directions. The parallels between the scenes here were drawn fantastically. This show does demand a lot from this audience, but if they are willing to seek out some bigger themes the viewing experience will be enriching. In the third act of the episode the plot took some major twists. Graham was being manipulated into a bevy of different directions by all of the characters. The question resides in what exactly the two doctors talked about in this episode off screen. The biggest moment for the resident serial killer this week was with Jack Crawford. It showed how deep the doctor is manipulating Will and how he just seems truly curious about all facets of his patient. This is one psychiatrist that should not be screwed with!

[springboard type=”video” id=”736967″ player=”ulfb001″ width=”480″ height=”400″ ]

On the flip side of the coin Graham was at his breaking point this week. The man in question was sleepwalking through the 42 minutes. Hugh Dancy and the writers of the show did a great job showing him at a complete breaking point. A new direction is also hinted at towards the end of the episode that will lead toward some big plot moments. Active hallucinations lead the audience toward a huge question, can Will last two more episodes? His mental state is more than cause for concern at this point. The mystery of the moose horns are also slowly starting to unfold here, many definitive hints were placed. This may seem redundant to say at this point, but how can Jack continue letting the profiler work at this point? Hopefully in the next episode this will be addressed. This character was also made something of a saint at the end of the episode. The last point to address is how Garrett Jacob Hobbs is seen constantly. If this plot thread is payed off in a satisfactory manner, this could be one of the greatest seasons of television ever.

Any huge fan of this property should be required to check this show out. You would be hard pressed to find better writing anywhere else on network television. This is a huge show that is chock full of great characters and a moody background. Viewers should prepare themselves for the finale, and then thoroughlyenjoy the fact that Lector will be back next year!

5/5