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By: Baby Z
Since I will begin covering “Hannibal” for the upcoming season in a couple weeks and had not yet seen the show, over the last week I have marathoned the first season. I’m not going to recap its entirety, but rather point out some key points of the show and some of my viewpoints.
I am going to assume you, the reader, have already seen the first season and know the main story lines. That being said, I found it interesting that even I, knowing full well as most of us do what Hannibal is/becomes, at first found myself believing that he really was trying to help Will Graham, even to the point of considering Will a friend as he pointed out to his psychiatrist a few times. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t until the episode that he has his neurologist colleague lie about Will’s encephalitis prognosis that I began to question Hannibal’s intentions where Will was concerned.
For an episode or 2 following, I questioned why he was hiding Will’s prognosis, perhaps in denial that his intentions all along were to set Will up, or perhaps wanting to see some bit of humanity in Hannibal’s character. Either way, when I finally came to grips with what he was really doing, I found myself despising him for it.
For the first half of the season, I found fragments here and there that I liked about Hannibal. For example, it really was often mesmerizing watching him prepare meals and prepare his dishes’ presentations. I found his “proper” mannerisms almost somewhat distinguished.
And, again, I believed he was trying to connect with Will on a friendship level. Obviously knowing who Hannibal is and becomes, there was always that piece of me that didn’t like him, but it didn’t stop me from finding qualities here & there that I did liked. (Although, I have to say, most wine connoisseurs do not hold wine glasses by the stem when it’s red wine….the reason behind holding the glass by the stem is so that the temperature of your hand doesn’t warm the wine as it would with whites/pinks/etc.., however red wine is most often served at room temperature, and is in each of the cases I witnessed Hannibal drinking it, therefore eliminating the necessity to hold it by the stem. For someone as “refined” as he is in virtually every other aspect of his life and very much so in the culinary world, this was something that bugged me.)
Also? Even though it’s “THAN” - - yes to this too:
By the end of the season, I couldn’t stand him. After realizing his true intentions with Will (and Abigail for that matter) I went from being intrigued by him to despising him. This is in stark contrast to many “bad guys” in TV shows & movies that I absolutely love and sometimes even root for, and the only real difference that I can figure out is that the antagonist characters I do like have a sometimes completely upfront “honesty” about who they are and no shame with regards to it, whereas Hannibal was deceiving and conniving with his ways. A true sociopath, I suppose, so does that mean that for me it comes down to sociopaths vs. psychopaths then?
Take for example, some of my favorite “bad guys” in TV shows such as Red Reddington from “The Blacklist”, Eric Northman from “True Blood”, and even Frank Gallagher from “Shameless”. All 3 are indisputably “bad guys” in their respective shows, but all 3 really don’t try to hide this fact. People KNOW they are bad and they almost revel in their badness, and I find that to be kickass. Whereas shows such as “Hannibal,” Bill Compton from “True Blood,” and someone whom I believe to be bad even though it isn’t confirmed yet - Agent Ressler from “The Blacklist,” who mask their villainous ways or try to pretend to be someone they aren’t, characters who lie and deceive, etc.., and in almost every instance - I can’t stand them.
Even in movies, I love “Devil’s Rejects” and was actually sad that they (spoiler alert) died at the end, and I adored Mickey & Mallory Knox in “Natural Born Killers,” happy that they broke out of prison and got away to presumably live happily ever after, even knowing they were just as guilty of murder as Hannibal is.
So, if this was the show’s writers’ intentions with “Hannibal”, to give the viewer glimpses into what we think is some piece of honesty or humanity in the character only to have that proverbial rug pulled out from under us - then it was a job well done. The show is well written, definitely kept my attention and intrigue, and is one I’m looking forward to seeing more of, for sure. I guess I’m just Team Will and not Team Hannibal, and that makes me wonder for just how long I’ll be excited to watch it, especially knowing Hannibal certainly doesn’t get any “better” with regards to his criminal activity.
If nothing else, I’ve learned that I’m more Team Psychopath than Team Sociopath with regards to media antagonists. At least I’ve confirmed I prefer honesty over deceit - even if that honesty reveals a dark side, it’s not pretending to be something it isn’t.
–BZ
P.S. In keeping with my “Kickass Reddington Quotes” from The Blacklist, I’ll also be doing “Kickass Hannibal Quotes” as well. I’ve compiled a few from the first season to be posted shortly.