Hannibal Season 3 Review

Lucas Versantvoort / 21 Sep 2015

With Hannibal apparently over (unless another company picks it up somewhere down the line), I thought it's time to reflect on the wild ride Bryan Fuller and his team have taken us. Though the season as a whole has its flaws, it all ties together in the end and the feeling you're left with is one of extreme satisfaction.

Back in the Season 2 finale, Hannibal left everyone for dead in his house and fled to Europe with Bedelia. Now, as everyone (except Abigail) recovers and tries to remember what happened, the chase begins anew. Hannibal kills during his travels and Bedelia correctly deduces that the body count, not to mention the modus operandi, are supposed to lead the FBI--and Will--to him. The first episodes use Italian words for food and the later episodes are all biblical references and titles taken from William Blake's watercolor paintings. This basically splits the season in two: the first part takes place in Europe and the second in America where the Great Red Dragon makes his appearance. 

Either Fuller knew beforehand NBC would shut down Hannibal after this season or he suspected it. Either way, he would have to cram as much story into this season as possible. One would think this would make the season feel rushed, but it's not. In fact, it's quite the opposite, at least as far the Florence part is concerned. If anything, that section tends to feel very slow-paced, even for Hannibal standards. Personally, I found the scenes involving Chiyo to be quite uninvolving. The fact that her storyline isn't resolved at the end doesn't help matters either. 

The dynamics between Hannibal and Bedelia are another story, however. We're constantly questioning why Hannibal keeps her with him. Is it because she's one of the few who could understand him, or wants to? Is it because of his respect for her intelligence? And why does she stay with him? Does she feel escape is impossible? Or did her professional curiosity get the best of her?

Another complaint (besides the one I mentioned earlier) I'd level at this season is its treatment of the Great Red Dragon, aka Francis Dolarhyde. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with Richard Armitage who plays him very well. It's the treatment of the character. (Please remember I haven't seen Red Dragon with Anthony Hopkins nor have I read the books.) The problem is basically that we never understand who he is or where he's coming from. We first see him contemplating his knuckles, the movement of his hands and a bit later he discovers Blake's painting. The air of mystery adds to the tension, but since he's also shown struggling with his feelings for Reba, the lack of insight into his roots hurt our understanding of him and his struggle. Speaking of Reba, that was another mishit. The way she and Francis got together was utterly unrealistic. 'Yes, by all means step into the crazy guy's van in the evening when you're waiting for your bus.' 'Yes, by all means invite him in for pie'. I get that their respective situations are the foundation of a mutual understanding, but I'd have liked it if their getting together didn't involve unmarked vans. As it is, it's hard to take her fascination with him seriously. 

Other than that though, Season 3 is great and, like the other seasons, it all builds to a stunning finale. A great ending makes it easy to forgive any previous flaws and this is most definitely the case here. So much had to happen in roughly 40 mins that I worried if they could pull it off, but they did. The final scenes in particular are probably the crowning achievement of the series. ......

Of course. I can't fail to mention the acting. Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen rise to the occasion as usual and the finale is no exception. Hugh Dancy in particular has had to run the gamut of emotions throughout the series and Mikkelsen continues to be today's master of understatement. Casting him as Hannibal was such a stroke of genius, it's impossible to imagine anyone else playing him now. 

I was concerned about how the show would end. Given the show's uncertain future, the ending couldn't be completely 'closed', but it couldn't be so open as to infuriate fans who'd then have to wait indefinitely for season 4 to hopefully show up sometime in the future. Yet, what Fuller and his team have crafted is miraculous. It's been haunting me for days now. It's open to interpretation in all the right ways. Should finding funds for season 4 or a film prove impossible for Fuller and co, then at least we'll be left with this utterly majestic and poetic ending.