Hannibal - Recap: A Serenade for a Psychopath

What do you see behind closed eyes?

Hannibal puts us as viewers in a particularly interesting position, does it not? As “Fromage” depicted quite well, so much of the show is about human anomalies living as islands, sometimes desperate for some sort of genuine companionship or, at least, someone who understands. We do understand, though, don’t we? We bear witness to both Hannibal Lecter’s (Mads Mikkelsen) sessions with patients and his own private sessions with Dr. Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson). We’re right there with Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) as he zaps in and out of the minds of psychopaths, as well as when he dreams about it later. The reason why we feel so connected to these characters, after just a few hours of screen time, is because we’re essentially giving them what they need by tuning in.

Episode eight opened with yet another weird occurrence surrounding Will Graham and his sleepless nights and eerie mornings. If the poor guy manages to even make it through a few hours of sleep, he wakes up in a pool of sweat. This week, Will found himself drawn outside to the sound of an animal in pain. After a bit a searching, he called Alana (Caroline Dhavernas) in for backup, but the two came up short. With not even a pair of tracks to be uncovered, the pair gave up. More importantly, talk turned to their dating lives. Will continued to harp on his broken being, prompting Alana to step in and correct him. In truth, Will isn’t broken. He’s just a mental mystery with a fantastic gift that doubles as a terribly crippling curse. Alana, on the other hand, doesn’t date either, explaining that she thinks too much to allow herself the chance to let go.

NBC "Hannibal"

The episode’s crime centered on a master class musician’s quest to serenade someone special. Crawford’s (Laurence Fishburne) team was alerted to the displayed corpse of an orchestra trombonist. The body had been intricately arranged to represent a working cello, morphing the man into a working instrument. Will’s analysis of the scene revealed the nature of the heinous murder. This killer was looking to call out, to put on a show, and to share his talent with someone. Of course, we were introduced to Tobias’ “talent” prior, witnessing him coach an unknowing student using homemade instrument strings, strings carefully designed from human guts.

Meanwhile, Hannibal continued to see Franklin (Dan Fogler), who had grown increasingly obsessed with our titular star. It seemed as though Franklin’s pining for friendship had grown into an actual desire to be Hannibal. If Lecter refused to befriend him, he would instead see the world through the eyes of Lecter, analyzing others the way Hannibal analyzes him. Franklin’s first target was Tobias, his closest friend, who was beginning to give Franklin, yes Franklin, the creeps. Franklin thought it wise to call up a list of psychopathic qualities and characteristics on Google, and he found himself sufficiently shocked by how “crazy” Tobias was. Hannibal was quick to correct him. Psychopaths aren’t crazy, they’re intelligent and aware of what they’re doing. Hannibal also suggested that Franklin could be projecting some of his own flaws onto Tobias, skewing his test. Franklin wondered if he was, indeed, a psycho. No, Franklin, you’re just a bit bizarre. Still, he let it slip to Hannibal that Tobias had mentioned that he wanted to play a man’s vocal chords like a human cello, sending up the bloodiest red of red flags.

Hannibal, recognizing that this was in actuality a message sent to him, decided to pay Tobias a visit at work. The scene was set like two stags looking to protect their territory, as both Hannibal and Tobias refused to come out and admit to knowing the truth. Instead, they spoke of music, and the intricacies of Tobias’ work. Hannibal, of course, has a very similar love for the culinary arts. That evening, Tobias would join Hannibal for a homemade meal. At this point, the truth came out. Hannibal accused Tobias of the crime, to which the man could do no denying. There was, however, a large twist. True, Tobias planned on rising to the challenge, thwarting the police team before murdering Franklin, but he decided against killing Hannibal. He had discovered our antihero’s secret after trailing Hannibal on one of his hunts. In the end, Tobias asked for a friendship, to which Hannibal declined. Was Hannibal being serenaded? Lecter was on the brink of killing Tobias as well, even forcing Tobias to call his meal into question. Don’t worry, though. Hannibal would never disrespect food with poison. Luckily for Tobias, Will Graham arrived just in time to allow him to fly the coop.

Will had, once again, heard animal sounds. This time, the cries came from inside of the wall of his chimney. Will, looking to free whatever was inside, broke his wall apart. When Alana arrived to help him reason with what had happened, the look on her face revealed the truth. Will Graham had begun to hear things that weren’t there. Maybe that’s what pushed him to kiss Alana for the first time. The kiss looked fantastic, but Alana refused to give in to Will. She would ruin their relationship psychoanalyzing him, whether he asked for it or not. Will is too unstable for love, it seems. He has been unraveling for a while now, but this week things truly began to snap. He would refer to himself as the killer in the first person, he seemed extremely more aggressive, and Garret Jacob Hobbs was always there in the back of his mind to encourage him to continue this transformation. Hannibal Lecter was the only person Will trusted. Over dessert, Will explained all. It was Hannibal, however, who revealed the most important piece of information. He told Will the truth about Tobias, breaking his confidentiality agreement with Franklin.

Will and two men confronted Tobias at his shop. Luckily for Will, the sound of a dying animal in the street took him out of the line of fire just in time. Tobias killed the two officers who'd arrived with Will while our frantic lead meandered into the street. Will would discover the bodies of the two men before catching a glimpse of Tobias, unfortunately. The murderer attempted to kill Will using some of his handcrafted wire, but Will’s gun blew a deafening shot through his ear. Freeing Will, but allowing Tobias to escape.

Hannibal had been continuing his sessions with Dr. Du Maurier, first venting about Franklin’s unhealthy fascination with him, but later turning the conversation to a potential new friend. Not in years had Hannibal found someone who had the potential to see him for who he truly is. No, this was not Tobias, but Will Graham. I thought this scene was very important because the message, a point that this show explains very well, is that true friendships aren’t so much about being similar, as opposed to having a deeper sense of emotional and psychological understanding. Will can, essentially, be Hannibal. He has that special gift that allows him to pry into inner workings of the mind of another. I'm sure Franklin would be very jealous. Then again, how much more time did the man have to be envious of anything?

Later, Hannibal would attempt to let Franklin go with a referral to another doctor (The ninth one, whoa!), but Franklin was not at all happy with yet another failed relationship with a psychiatrist. Meanwhile, Tobias was heading straight for Hannibal’s office, looking to put an end to things once and for all. Franklin attempted to reason with his bloodied buddy, pleading with him to confess and get help. It was Hannibal who killed Franklin in the end with a quick snap of the neck. Another necessary casualty, I say. The true brawl to the death was about to begin. The fight that ensued certainly was one for the books; two psychopaths doing what they do best. It appeared as though Tobias had an edge on Hannibal, which is exactly why Lecter died. No, of course not. With a quick breaking of Tobias’ arm and an awesome blow to his throat that completely took the wind out of the lesser psycho (I rewound that part a few times), Hannibal had rendered Tobias ready for death. A heavy blow to the head with Lecter’s stag statuette would do the trick.

NBC "Hannibal"

The episode closed with Will and Crawford questioning Hannibal as to how everything ended up going down. Hannibal, of course, had quite an easy faux-truth to dish out, considering that Franklin was the man’s friend. Will felt partially responsible for Hannibal’s involvement, feeling as though he dragged his friend(?) into his work. In truth, it was Hannibal who’d exposed Will, whom I believe is safe to call a friend of Lecter’s at this point, to his dark side. Lecter would chat with Dr. Du Maurier, Bedelia, about his newfound understanding of her reason for early retirement. She too had been attacked as a result of her work, driving her to leave her work behind. Hannibal, though, would return to his office chair in no time at all, and thank goodness for us!

What did you think of Hannibal Season 1 Episode 8, “Fromage”? Do you appreciate the budding friendship between Will and Hannibal? Will feelings for Alana get in the way of it? Do you think Will actually uncovers the truth about Lecter next episode?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Hannibal Season 1 Episode 8, “Fromage”!