Wednesday, August 26, 2015

082: Hannibal 3x12 " The Number of the Beast is 666(...)" - If You Play Chicken With The Abyss...

(Cue fingersnaps and Dolarhyde getting ready to rumble with some Sharks)


SPOILERS UP TO (and including) HANNIBAL 3x12 and RED DRAGON (Book, Movie, whaddaya got), SILENT HILL (Movies and games), SPAWN (Todd MacFarlane gives good cape), SINISTER, SINISTER 2 (No real spoilers, just that it's terrible)

In this episode:
  • CHILTON'S LIPS FOR THE LOVE OF THE NINE BLOODPISSING HELLS
    • So, that happened.
  • Chilton has layers in this adaptation. Get out your Shrek jokes now.
    • All the love to Raul Esparza
  • Nah, but for real, we spend a lot of time talking about the Dolarhyde/Chilton scene so... you know... strap in for that.
  • Bedelia has moved into a very sinister, alien place in the Hannibal mythos
    • Also, I didn't think we were gonna compare Bedelia to Scully at all, but whatever, here we are, everything's Hannibal and everything Hurts.
  • We also talk about the origins of the Bedelia character as we know her.
  • Will's character progression and how his somewhat-regression-y-motions during this episode are super really important.
  • How certain are we that Will's responsible for Chilton's predicament and how conscious was he about this happening?
  • The fact that Armitage has managed to make his performance so distinct from Fiennes while walking a lot of the same ground is frankly astonishing.
  • Our (super-vague, unsatisfying) predictions for the way the finale is going to shake out.
  • How exactly do you read the last scene between Dolarhyde and Reba?
THERE'S ALWAYS AN ADDENDUM:
  • We're running lean this week this folks, so no real notes from timestamps to speak of, which is a shame, we know you love our sloppy excuse for wit.
  • Lots of thanks to @princess_starr for reminding us how cruel Bryan Fuller can be and to @munin_and_hugin for pointing out the staples (to me at least).
  • Ian delivers "I was lying... on yOUR BEHALF!" really well, if anybody's looking to audition voice actors, give him a ring.
  • Ian mentions Bedelia talking about being Hannibal's bride, but I'm pretty sure she's making a Bluebeard reference in that scene.
    • Just poking you with this one, Ian.
Music:

1 comment:

  1. South Park is a comedy, so Kenny's deaths are intended to have little weight. Hannibal is horror, where deaths should have weight, but bringing Chilton back repeatedly (without significant changes to the character) undercuts this.

    Back in season 2, Will had that dream in which the stag decapitated Hannibal with ropes. Hannibal in the dream spoke about how we must love someone to understand them. So now it seems like Will's asking Bedelia about something he already knew back then.

    You say Bedelia sets up the rest of the episode, though it's really more about Chilton and Will's attitude toward him. But Will doesn't care that much about him. Will still has his motivation for animosity toward Lounds, but the show didn't use that.

    Bedelia didn't want to "keep Hannibal" around, since she knew he was preparing to kill & eat her. That's why when they parted he said this wasn't how he saw them saying goodbye, and she replies that it was how she did.

    The show could have gotten the utility of a "Wybie" just through Will talking in his imagination (which it likes doing anyway). I would have preferred that to this version of Bedelia. There's less to Wybie's character, as he's just a sounding board (as would Will's hypothetical imaginary conversation partners). I think it's unfortunate Angela Lansbury wasn't available, as all the previous seasons' discussions of the patient that attacked her turned out to be lies.

    Hannibal didn't give Bedelia the participation vs observation line in order to push her into doing anything. During the whole course of their European vacation, he pushes, extorts or manipulates her into doing anything. Or even attempt to.

    If you want more people burned alive, watch season 3 of The Americans. And don't forget what happened to Georgia Madchen in that oxygen tank. Speaking of which, since that was stated to be for burn victims, why wasn't Chilton in one?

    Will gets his faced somewhat messed up in the films (moreso in Manhunter than Red Dragon, I think), but it is still milder than in the book.

    Will's marriage was more strained in the novel than any adaptation. She's deciding to stay with her family near the end (which Will had been resenting), an indicator that the wheels are falling off.

    Reba is completely aware that Francis is dangerous. She's just trying to stay alive.

    Even Hannibal doesn't have reason to hate Chilton on the show, so his fate being part of "Hannibal's agency" doesn't work very well.

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