Age of The Nerd
Just when Will Graham’s brains were about to become sushi, Mason Verger’s enforcers, who we find out are actually the Italian police that were bought off, stormed the dinner party and captured Lecter and Graham. Jack Crawford, bound to a chair at the end of the dining table, was about to receive the same treatment from Verger’s team when suddenly sniper shots rang around the room, hitting them all with uttermost accuracy! Predictable to us, the viewer, but not to Crawford, Chiyoh made herself known and received gratitude from him, even going as far as telling her where Graham and Lecter were going to be taken. Verger’s pig farm!
Arriving back in the US, bound upside down, Mason could not have been happier to see them both. Producing the same knife that was used to heavily damage Lecter’s therapy chair in season 2, he lightly sliced Lecter, although one would not notice had we not been shown a closeup of the deed due to the indifference shown by him. Later, after Graham and Lecter were prepped for the ultimate plan, Verger divulged that he would wear his face while consuming Hannibal! Losing his temper as Cordell bent down to finish laying the table, Will bit a chunk from his face, blood spattered everywhere around his mouth!
In what was a surprising revelation, Mason disclosed to Margot that they, in fact, have a heir! Asking where the baby is, the only about response was that it was on the farm and resting. But where, exactly?
Alana Bloom visited Will, who was awaiting the removal of his physiognomy. Will wanted to know why she would play a part in Mason capturing Hannibal and was told that the FBI failed and there was little hope any other way. Not only that, but she wanted to save Will from himself because she knew that he would try alone. Will said that she needed to “spill blood,” either with her own hands….or to influence somebody else to. No prize for guessing who he was referring to.
Nude and restrained, Hannibal was visited by Margot in the pig pen and told him about the mysterious heir. This was his chance to use some of his magic on her to influence her to kill her evil brother once and for all, and he wasted no time doing so when he stated that one more murder wouldn’t make much emotional impact on him. But would for her. Alana appeared on the scene and shot the pen guard with a tranquilizer dart. She said she would release him on the condition that he saved Will. Although his tone suggested that he was not being entirely truthful, he agreed.
In the operating room, Cordell drugged Will so his body would remain paralyzed but would feel everything when his face was to be cut away. Meanwhile, Alana and Margot found the baby. Inside a wired up pig! But unfortunately, they both realise that it is sadly deceased. Coming to, Mason quickly took the hand mirror only to see that he was wearing Cordell’s face! Outside, Hannibal carried Will away while Chiyoh shot pursuing guards.
Mason, now irate, was confronted by Alana and Margot. Alana told him that while he was unconscious, they extracted his sperm with the use of a cattle prod to stimulate his prostate. Ew. Sensing things were now out of his control and with a gun in his hand, he tried to cock it but Margot wrestled him which resulted in him falling into the eel tank. With both women holding him under the water and Mason’s mouth agape, the eel wasted no time in heading into the dark orifice, ending Mason Verger for good!
The next day, Chiyoh and Hannibal met head to head for the first time in years. She asked him if he ate his sister, Mischa. Although admitting to this, he categorically denied killing her. Will found himself in his home, waking from a well earned sleep. Hannibal, sitting in a chair by his side, said that Will now has a new memory palace, full of new things. Will said that the fragmented pieces of the “teacup” are forever so. Meaning that their relationship will never be as it once were. He misses his dogs but he won’t miss Hannibal. Aware that he will most likely go on the run, Will said that he will no longer go searching for him. Hannibal up and left, seemingly for good.
Later on during the night, law enforcement vehicles approached Will’s house, one containing Jack. Graham exited and told him that Hannibal was gone. But watch this very small space! A familiar voice called Jacks’ name. It was Hannibal, arms aloft! Chiyoh, hiding and with her trusty sniper rifle aiming at the happenings, decided to let him be where he deserves the most. Behind bars.
Maintaining that aura of mystery, she walked slowly off into the night.
Digestivo finally marked the end of Hannibal’s freedom, and in spectacular fashion. Bryan Fuller using elements from the Hannibal novel and movie and integrating them into the pre-Red Dragon time frame was a clever move considering that it was something that ended up involving most of the characters. A simple Will vs Hannibal scenario probably would not have been anywhere near as memorable or effective. The last three episodes have given season 3 a lot of its integrity back after the long, drawn out initial opening.
And so now, we head into the second and final part of season 3. The much awaited Red Dragon segment.
There is no stopping now!
