043: Hannibal 2x13 "Mizumono" - It Was Weirdly Upsetting

SPOILERS FOR THE HANNIBAL SEASON 2 FINALE

In this episode:

• Cleolinda Jones returns!
• ...so we can all sob together.
• Discussion of Hannibal 2x13 "Mizumono," including why, God, why.
• From Fio: "So much of this episode is just us commiserating via emotional vomit cleansing."
• Blood. So much blood.
• srsly why.
• what's even the point of description bullets.
• Life advice: If you hear the theremin, just stay downstairs.
• The AV Club Interview with Bryan Fuller for "Mizumono" 
• This is My Design eyeshadow collection from Aromaleigh
• As we said on the episode: Between now and the fall, we'll be covering general horror topics (and possibly more movies!). Let us know here or through one of the ways listed in our sidebar if there's anything in particular you want us to discuss.  
• You can expect the next episode of A Matter of Taste in two weeks' time on Thursday, June 12. Prospective topic: Horror video games.

THERE'S ALWAYS AN ADDENDUM:

• The song from Inception is "Non, je ne regrette rien" by Édith Piaf
• "Dear Sister," the SNL (Lonely Island) sketch I reference which features "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap
• Despite us backtracking through the episode several times, we managed to completely gloss over the scene between Bella and Hannibal this episode where they talk about forgiveness. Will you forgive us?
• Highlights from Fio's timestamps:
• 19:46 - “At the Breakfast Dinner Table” is like a lighthearted palate cleanser version of our podcast
• 46:26 - Price and Zeller’s Bed and Breakfast spin off is my dearest dream and I refuse to let it die.
• 48:03 - Hah hah. Yes, fifteen other serial killers living in Baltimore who are not me, not at all even a little bit in any way shape or form. Hah hah. Cleo, you kidder, you slay me, which is entirely different from the way that I, a normal human creature, interact with other people. Hah.

Music:

• Opening: "Sirens - Air Raid Siren - CU - Rise, Steady, Fall"- SoundDogs.com
• Intro: "This is My Design" - original song, music by Ian. More on this as it develops.
• Outro: "Mosquito Song" - Queens of the Stone Age | YouTube | iTunes |

(Header image taken from this post: http://watson-sighs-and-tuts.tumblr.com/post/86707139009/watching-hannibal-finale-in-a-nutshell)

http://archive.org/download/AMOT043/AMOT043.mp3

042: Hannibal 2x12 "Tome-Wan" - A Matter of Interpretation

SPOILERS UP TO (and including) HANNIBAL 2x12, as well as MAJOR SPOILERS for the Hannibal novel/movie.

In this episode:

• Discussion of Hannibal 2x12 "Tome-Wan," including the most horrific thing we've ever seen, ever, Hannibal's amazing reaction to Mason trouncing around his office with an utter lack of respect, the plot points and details cherry-picked from Thomas Harris' Hannibal, Bedelia's return, and where we think things might go in the finale. 
• We dive right into the super-upsettingness of the Mason scene, the uncanny valley (drink) nature of his mask, and how we can see the Vergers featuring into the rest of the series.
• How much of the books/movies the show is burning this early in its run, so where do we go from here? (drink)
• C'MON, STEVE LIGHTFOOT. GIVE US A FLASHBACK. PRETTY PLEASE WITH PEOPLE SUGAR ON TOP.
• Who will live? Who will die? How fucked up will it really be?
• If you're trying to minimize your spoilers for future storylines, the biggest spoilers for the Hannibal novel/movie begin around the 54:00 mark.
• Next week: A special guest will be joining us for the finale! Hint: It's Cleo. ...I may not entirely understand the whole concept of "hints."

THERE'S ALWAYS AN ADDENDUM:

• Made it through the whole episode without making a Hitchhiker's Guide reference. I'm...slightly disappointed in ourselves.
• Bryan Fuller's AV Club interview on this episode. Just as fair warning: He makes a few vague comments about the season finale near the end. 
• The Wikipedia article for the novel Bedelia by Vera Caspary 
• The point I think I was trying to make RE: Bedelia and Hannibal's role reversal as patient and psychiatrist, and what Fio basically comes to on the podcast: The way she characterizes her relationship with Hannibal draws connections to Randall Tier, Margot Verger, and of course Will, and back to the major themes of Shiizakana in general. That's where I'm getting this whole "teacher/acolyte" idea from. Bedelia, like Randall, Margot, and Will seems to have at one time been one of Hannibal's "students"--a "student of predators," as Will comments about Randall. Interestingly, it also possibly casts Will's bringing up Bedelia in the whole "How many are there?" conversation in Shiizakana in an entirely new light.
• You in danger, girl. (As if anyone who's spent a modicum of time on the Interwebs needs a link.)
• The production still of Bedelia from the season finale that I bring up. EDIT: As an anonymous Tumblr user brought up, the post actually says 113, not 213, meaning it's from Savoureux, not Mizumono. Doesn't mean she can't be in the finale, but yeah. My mistake, and my most sincere apologies.
• Highlights from Fio's timestamps:
• 9:55 - I’m stumbling over my words a lot around here, care to clean this up and make me not sound like an idiot? I know it’s a tall order, but I trust you, Ian. I trust your judgement. I trust your ability to judge the heat and texture of a poorly cooked ravioli and I trust that you would stop a well meaning manticore from losing an argument with a storm drain.
• 17:22 - I’m pretty sure that with that Gaiman quote it’s originally used to reference retellings and I’m just bogarting it to talk about adaptations. But I guess you could make a very reasoned argument that adaptations are just retellings with a bit of a medium shift. Blah.
• 31:51 - Mason whips out... test the meat... heyoooooooooo
• 46:10 - A Matter of Interpretation is our spinoff podcast where we’re even more obtuse and pedantic

Music:

• Intro: "This is My Design" - original song, music by Ian. More on this as it develops.
• Outro: "March of the Pigs" - Nine Inch Nails | YouTube | iTunes |

(Header image taken from this post: http://ninthdoctorsbutt.tumblr.com/post/86010252406)

http://archive.org/download/AMOT042/AMOT042.mp3

041: Hannibal 2x11 "Ko No Mono" - Useless Prognostication

SPOILERS UP TO (and including) HANNIBAL 2x11, as well as mild spoilers for the novel Hannibal.

In this episode:

• Discussion of Hannibal 2x11 "Ko No Mono," including the fate of Freddie Lounds, religious symbolism, how Hannibal perceives the people around him, the Vergers, and Alana's journey this episode and beyond
• What does all of this mean for Will's slide into darkness?
• Hannibal as manipulator vs Hannibal as lifetroll. Ian concludes: Hannibal, you fucker.
• Also according to Ian: Bryan Fuller is basically Hannibal. Minus the cannibalism and the murder and all that jazz, but you catch my drift.
• Lots of religious symbolism.
• We talk about how serialized this season has been, and the way the writing reflects elements of Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs.
• Who's in on what? What's the end game?

THERE'S ALWAYS AN ADDENDUM:

• There's definitely a bunch of stuff we didn't dig deep into here--feel free to bring things up in the comments.
• Highlights from Fio's timestamps:
• 33:08 - Does anyone want to join my Nerdcore Shoegaze band Useless Prognostication?
• 39:37 - So we’re talking about Hannibal’s religious beliefs here, but quick aside. A Gay Christian and a Straight Atheist debate horror movies. You realize this is a sitcom, right? We live in a sitcom right now and it’s all our fault.
• 52:47 - WHY IS SOMEONE FROM KENTUCKY CALLING MY PHONE IAN? I KNOW THIS IS YOUR DOING IAN.
• How sincere is Hannibal? Like, at any point in time? Ever?

Sounds/Music:

• "Previously On" clips taken from AMOT 012 & 013. 
• Intro: "This is My Design" - original song, music by Ian. More on this as it develops.
• Outro: "I Want to Conquer the World" by Bad Religion | YouTube | iTunes |

 (Header image taken from http://mongoosewillygraham.tumblr.com/post/85291482730/bless-you)
 
http://archive.org/download/AMOT041/AMOT041.mp3

040: Hannibal 2x10 "Naka-Choko" - Theremins, Harpsichords, Glass Harmonicai

SPOILERS UP TO (and including) HANNIBAL 2x10, as well as spoilers for the novels Red Dragon and Hannibal.

In this episode:

• Discussion of Hannibal 2x10 "Naka-Choko," including the so sexy, so confusing 2-way-by-2-way-which-turned-into-a-3-or-4-way-and-then-somehow-became-a-5-way-except-not-since-the-wendigo-represents-Hannibal-but-kind-of? ...What the fuck, Bryan Fuller.
• Mason and Margot: model siblings.
• Here's the Hannibal meta from Tumblr user dignityisforotherpeople, concerning the parallels between Margot and Will's backstories and how they might factor into their relationship.
• So what DID happen to Freddie? (Featured above is Ian's current headcanon.)
• How long before we start to see the whole story, and not just the version of the truth we're seeing now?
• No one is going to be happy at the end of this season. Not Will, not Alana, not Hannibal.

THERE'S ALWAYS AN ADDENDUM:

• Here is the Wiki article on Franz Mesmer, the inspiration for the term mesmerize. Witness how bad I am at recalling history! EDIT: Also, listening back to the episode--in my excitement to bring in Dr. Mesmer, I didn't actually say "Dr. Mesmer would play the glass harmonica for his patients." Which was the whole point of bringing him up, and why the glass harmonica is often associated with being a "psychological" instrument, as evident from its use in...
• The Mad Scene from the opera Lucia di Lammermoor, featuring glass harmonica. The improvisation and echo I mentioned on the podcast begins around 10:11.
• Highlights from Fio's timestamps:
• 10:05 - Let’s just take a moment to reflect on how upsetting the use of the word “tore” is here. Like why. I get that we like cherrypicking lines from the books and all, but fucking why.
• 38:10 - You say “we’ve had some awkward dinner conversations” and for a second I forgot you were going to say “on this show” and my brain immediately went to “yeah, we have had some awkward dinner conversations. Like remember that loud conversation about whether or not having sex on top of a dead body would count as a necrophiliac threesome? Or about how squid-people were the future of intelligent life on earth and somebody posted the whole thing on Facebook like ‘what is wrong with these people?’”

Music:

• Intro: "This is My Design" - original song, music by Ian. More on this as it develops.
• Outro: "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts III-IV)" - Pink Floyd | YouTube | iTunes |

(Header image drawn by me, Ian. I imagine them holed up in a bunker somewhere getting sick of each other as they wait for word from Will or Crawford. It's much more pleasant to imagine than the alternative.)

http://archive.org/download/AMOT040/AMOT040.mp3