At its heart, Hannibal is one of TV’s best examinations of the nature of evil, but it’s also a dark pulp thriller, with a rich sense of momentum and spine-tingling fun. Hannibal never forgets that for all of the emotionally rich scenes of two people sitting together and talking about their weaknesses, it’s a horror tale first and foremost, and these two episodes are rich with disturbing images, as well as moments when Will or another character has a realization that creates heart-thumping terror. The series is also more comfortable with spreading out its “case of the week” structure, with the season’s first case—revolving around a large number of bodies found caught in a stream in odd states of decomposition—taking up the first two episodes and falling largely away in favor of advancing the horror, not the logic, of the story.
The words “dream logic” can be a kind of epithet to some TV fans, often used to excuse stories where the events don’t make rational sense, because there are cool images or plot twists. What’s unique about Hannibal is that it actually becomes better the further it leaves logic behind. It’s careful to always keep one toe in reality—the ways that Hannibal manipulates and casually destroys those around him more or less make rational sense—but for the most part, it feels far more comfortable to pursue the idea that Hannibal is almost a demonic force, sent from hell to corrupt the world.
Thus, the second season creates an emotional battleground even more rife with conflict than season one’s. The question becomes less whether Will is guilty or innocent of the crimes he’s accused of—nearly everyone has at least a vague sense that he might have been framed—and whether they’ll pursue that vague sense to its logical end, which must insist that Hannibal is as evil as Will says he is. Making that leap doesn’t just mean accusing a colleague of being a serial killer; it also means excusing the fact that everyone who worked with him was at least somewhat complicit in his crimes by never noticing the monster that stood before them, by missing any obvious clues because of the surface he presented to the world, by eating at his dinner parties (where they surely consumed human flesh). Fuller has always been canny about using things the audience already knows about Hannibal against it, and he does the same to his own characters here, as everyone from Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) to Bedelia Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson) becomes a potential pawn in a game of chess by mail played by Hannibal and Will.
Hannibal has always been beautiful, and that’s still the case. (The image that closes episode one is especially memorable for its raw, gorgeous horror.) It’s also always featured dialogue and plots that stay just on the right side of being too pretentious, and that remains the case. If there are any notable steps up from season one, it’s both in the tension that mounts thanks to the great game played between Will and Hannibal and in the better use of the show’s supporting cast. Characters like Caroline Dhavernas’ Alana Bloom matter so much more now, and the series makes the most of a great performance it was often sidelining last year. (The rest of the acting, particularly from Dancy and Mikkelsen, is typically great.) Most of all, though, Hannibal follows the lead of that teaser: What was a dull roar in season one is now an existential howl out of the demonic dark. The monsters are out from under the bed, and there’s no putting them back there.
Developed by: Bryan Fuller, from the character created by Thomas Harris
Starring: Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas, Laurence Fishburne
Returns: Friday at 10 p.m. Eastern on NBC
Format: Hour-long horror drama
Two episodes watched for review
