When Hannibal premiered last season it was at the tail end of an onslaught of serial killer shows. Dexter was still huge on Showtime, Fox had just premiered its version of the genre in The Following and A&E tested the waters with a prequel to Psycho with Bates Motel. Prior to the premiere, many brushed it off as unnecessary and simply piling on to a genre that had already been exhausted. Essentially, everyone was wrong. Hannibal's first season was mesmerizing, beautifully rendered, heartbreakingly performed and one of the finest first seasons of any network drama I've seen. The show wasn't exactly a ratings juggernaut but NBC's renewal confirmed what everyone was beginning to see – this show was something very special and to kill it prematurely would be the ultimate sin.
Tonight's second season premiere,"Kaiseki," opened up in media res. A filming technique that is often abused but used masterfully here. The fight between Hannibal and Jack was unexpected, thrilling and so very uniquely choreographed. It begins with menacing reflections in each of the men's weapon of choice – touching on the show's theme of reflection – and then soars into the fight without a word of dialogue. An escalating dance of punches and knife slices, it's truly one of the better fight scenes I've seen staged for television and then of course...
"Twelve Weeks Earlier..." Ahhhhh!
"Kaiseki" expertly set the table (pun intended) for what's to come in Season 2. Will Graham is behind bars for murders he didn't commit – and tortured as ever – while Dr. Lector is free of any charges and has now joined the FBI as the new consultant. One of the more fascinating aspects of the series is Dr. Hannibal's relationship with Will and how we never know exactly what he is thinking or how deep his obsession with Will runs. Although we do get a better hint when he returns from his first day assisting the FBI and proudly proclaims "I got be Will Graham today." I really didn't understand how truly fucked up that is until I just typed it. With Hannibal assisting newfound killers instead of capturing them, the FBI are in for a tough road ahead and so is Will Graham.
Left alone in prison with his frayed wits and horrifying visions, Hugh Dancy is doing award-winning work as Will. Behind bars, battling demons of his past to fight for his future. The scene where he simply asks about his dogs was heart wrenching. He needs to be with his dogs. He just does. Even though he's alone, Will still got to share plenty of scenes with mostly everyone tonight. The most tense of course, being with Dr. Lecter, a man who betrayed him after being his main source of compassion and understanding all of last season. I can't imagine what that feels like, but it can't feel good. I also really enjoyed the visit from Beverly, one of the CSI techs, as she briefed him and asked for guidance on the current case. It was as lighthearted as Hannibal gets and it helped break up the darkness of the premiere.
Of course, this wouldn't be an episode of Hannibal without some of the most arresting visuals in the medium. The image of the ink black face of the human / deer slowly rising out of the rushing river will never leave my mind. Never. Not to mention, the final shot of the episode as the camera slowly zooms out to reveal a swirled canvas of bodies, stitched together, all while the center body is still alive slowly realizing the hell he has awoken too. And all of this on top of gorgeously framed scenes and tableaus that are par for the course. It's dreadful and horrifying – really this show actually frightens me! – but in the process it's beautiful and truly awe-inspiring.
Hannibal's creator, Bryan Fuller, is known for having a clear vision for his series and running with it. While watching "Kaiseki" tonight, I found myself surprised just how clear that vision has gotten. While Season 1 was truly remarkable television, I feel like Season 2 has already set a new precedent. I loved that he didn't cater to new viewers and focus too much on a new case of the week but instead spent the time developing new shades of these characters. It's the rare network drama that takes the time to truly dig into exactly who its characters are and why we should care about them, and it showed tonight. The show feels assured and determined and more urgent than ever before. Hannibal is off to a dark, twisted, and damn brilliant start and I can't wait for more.
GRADE: A
Hannibal airs Fridays at 10/9c on NBC.
No comments:
Post a Comment