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hilsI don't even know if anyone else here is watching this show but I just got done with the latest episode and it made me have lots of thoughts and feelings so I wanted to write them down
I think the thing that I found most interesting about this episode is that the murder the FBI is trying to solve is pretty much a background event. I know it's not the first time this has happened in an episode but this one really was about the characters to the point where the murder being 'solved' (I'm not sure if it counts as being solved if the killer wanted to be caught) felt like an anticlimax rather than a resolution.
So instead I want to talk about the characters since that was the whole point of the episode.
A question I posed on Twitter tonight was 'Am I supposed to like Jack Crawford'? Because honestly at this point I don't know. I warmed to him a little in the episode where we found out his wife had cancer, but he seems to be getting worse with regards to his treatment of Will (and Abigail now too). Will he very much sees as a tool at this point I think. In the very first scene Will is swallowing pills like they're sweets and Jack doesn't even address the issue. He pushes Abigail with little to no regard for her psychological well being (although he did suspect her so I can sort of let this one slide, especially considering she did actually kill the guy). I'm just finding that the more time passes the more I dislike him and I think it's a pretty safe bet at this point that regardless of how closely they stick to the events of Red Dragon, Jack is going to wind up on Hannibal's dinner table. And I am willing to bet that when it happens it's going to be his treatment of Will that puts him there.
Will. Oh, Will. You are like the stray dogs that you continually adopt. I just want to take you home, feed you a good meal and look after you. And, honestly, I think that's part of the reason Hannibal has grown to like him. Will is brilliant at what he does, of course, but as Hannibal has already said it's his morality and the fact that he is almost the total opposite of Hannibal himself that makes Hannibal want to be Will's friend. Will is pretty much 100% emotion whereas Hannibal is the total opposite, viewing everything with logic and clinical analysis.
That hug that Abigal got at the end of this episode? Will needs one of those.
What I found fascinating about this episode (well, one of several things) is the parental roles Will and Hannibal have taken on in regards to Abigail. It's pretty much what would happen if two messed up gay men adopted an equally messed up girl.
There's no way this is going to end well, especially now that Will knows what Hannibal and Abigail did to Nick. I have to say I was actually surprised when Hannibal fessed up to Will about that. This is what I love about this show. It never does what I expect.
And, I'm sorry, I didn't go into this show with any sort of slashy expectations and, in fact, I feel like the worst sort of person for shipping them but how can I not when they look at each other like this
And then with the touching
Lastly I'm not even going to pretend that I'm intelligent enough to understand the character of Hannibal himself but here's what struck me about this episode. There has been a definite change in the way he acts around Will following the realisation that he actually likes him and wants to be his friend. That smile of relief at the end of the last episode when he realised Will was still alive was, I think, the first time we've seen Hannibal view someone as more than a plaything in his game. Even Abigail, who I do think he cares for, to me seems to be more like someone he sees something of himself in. I suspect we're going to possibly see this develop into a storyline where he starts grooming her to help him but I could be wrong on that.
But I think his feelings for Will are different. And I'm not talking slash here. I just think for the first time he genuinely cares about another human being. I loved the scene where Will confronts Hannibal about his part in what Abigail did and for a brief moment Hannibals hand hovers over his scalpel before he pushes it away and engages Will in a conversation. He clearly thought about killing Will for a split second, which probably would have been easier all things considering, but he rejects that almost as soon as he thought of it. He's completely honest with Will about everything and makes a plea on a human emotional level to keep the secret. Now, it's possible he was just manipulating Will by speaking to him on an empathetic level that he knew Will would accept. But there was something so open and raw in the way he looked at Will (see above) and I think the hand on the shoulder was an expression of thanks for being worthy of the trust Hannibal placed in him.
It's all absolutely fascinating and I really can't wait to see these characters and their relationships develop.
I'm not sure what to make about Alana at this point. I do love how her relationship with Will is being handled. Again, everyone in this show is so subtle and complex. It's wonderful. I love that Alana is keeping Will at a distance because she can see how badly messed up Will is and that a relationship with him will be damaging to them both. I'm not sure where she's going to be at the end of this. I'm pretty sure everyone bar Will is going to end up getting eaten at some point, especially given Alana's vocal defence of Hannibal to Jack. I think she's probably be safe until pretty close to the end though.
Freddie on the other hand I am amazed she's still even alive after Hannibal caught her recording his psych sessions with will. When she gets killed I think it's going to be messy.
Phew! And I think I'm done.
Thoughts? Comments? I need to talk about this show with people because it's the best thing I'm watching right now and I need people to flail at
I think the thing that I found most interesting about this episode is that the murder the FBI is trying to solve is pretty much a background event. I know it's not the first time this has happened in an episode but this one really was about the characters to the point where the murder being 'solved' (I'm not sure if it counts as being solved if the killer wanted to be caught) felt like an anticlimax rather than a resolution.
So instead I want to talk about the characters since that was the whole point of the episode.
A question I posed on Twitter tonight was 'Am I supposed to like Jack Crawford'? Because honestly at this point I don't know. I warmed to him a little in the episode where we found out his wife had cancer, but he seems to be getting worse with regards to his treatment of Will (and Abigail now too). Will he very much sees as a tool at this point I think. In the very first scene Will is swallowing pills like they're sweets and Jack doesn't even address the issue. He pushes Abigail with little to no regard for her psychological well being (although he did suspect her so I can sort of let this one slide, especially considering she did actually kill the guy). I'm just finding that the more time passes the more I dislike him and I think it's a pretty safe bet at this point that regardless of how closely they stick to the events of Red Dragon, Jack is going to wind up on Hannibal's dinner table. And I am willing to bet that when it happens it's going to be his treatment of Will that puts him there.
Will. Oh, Will. You are like the stray dogs that you continually adopt. I just want to take you home, feed you a good meal and look after you. And, honestly, I think that's part of the reason Hannibal has grown to like him. Will is brilliant at what he does, of course, but as Hannibal has already said it's his morality and the fact that he is almost the total opposite of Hannibal himself that makes Hannibal want to be Will's friend. Will is pretty much 100% emotion whereas Hannibal is the total opposite, viewing everything with logic and clinical analysis.
That hug that Abigal got at the end of this episode? Will needs one of those.
What I found fascinating about this episode (well, one of several things) is the parental roles Will and Hannibal have taken on in regards to Abigail. It's pretty much what would happen if two messed up gay men adopted an equally messed up girl.
There's no way this is going to end well, especially now that Will knows what Hannibal and Abigail did to Nick. I have to say I was actually surprised when Hannibal fessed up to Will about that. This is what I love about this show. It never does what I expect.
And, I'm sorry, I didn't go into this show with any sort of slashy expectations and, in fact, I feel like the worst sort of person for shipping them but how can I not when they look at each other like this
And then with the touching
Lastly I'm not even going to pretend that I'm intelligent enough to understand the character of Hannibal himself but here's what struck me about this episode. There has been a definite change in the way he acts around Will following the realisation that he actually likes him and wants to be his friend. That smile of relief at the end of the last episode when he realised Will was still alive was, I think, the first time we've seen Hannibal view someone as more than a plaything in his game. Even Abigail, who I do think he cares for, to me seems to be more like someone he sees something of himself in. I suspect we're going to possibly see this develop into a storyline where he starts grooming her to help him but I could be wrong on that.
But I think his feelings for Will are different. And I'm not talking slash here. I just think for the first time he genuinely cares about another human being. I loved the scene where Will confronts Hannibal about his part in what Abigail did and for a brief moment Hannibals hand hovers over his scalpel before he pushes it away and engages Will in a conversation. He clearly thought about killing Will for a split second, which probably would have been easier all things considering, but he rejects that almost as soon as he thought of it. He's completely honest with Will about everything and makes a plea on a human emotional level to keep the secret. Now, it's possible he was just manipulating Will by speaking to him on an empathetic level that he knew Will would accept. But there was something so open and raw in the way he looked at Will (see above) and I think the hand on the shoulder was an expression of thanks for being worthy of the trust Hannibal placed in him.
It's all absolutely fascinating and I really can't wait to see these characters and their relationships develop.
I'm not sure what to make about Alana at this point. I do love how her relationship with Will is being handled. Again, everyone in this show is so subtle and complex. It's wonderful. I love that Alana is keeping Will at a distance because she can see how badly messed up Will is and that a relationship with him will be damaging to them both. I'm not sure where she's going to be at the end of this. I'm pretty sure everyone bar Will is going to end up getting eaten at some point, especially given Alana's vocal defence of Hannibal to Jack. I think she's probably be safe until pretty close to the end though.
Freddie on the other hand I am amazed she's still even alive after Hannibal caught her recording his psych sessions with will. When she gets killed I think it's going to be messy.
Phew! And I think I'm done.
Thoughts? Comments? I need to talk about this show with people because it's the best thing I'm watching right now and I need people to flail at
no subject
Date: 2013-05-27 03:23 am (UTC)IS
THE
BEST
SHOW
ON
TELEVISION
!!!!!
At least at the moment. :P For real though, I agree with every single thing you said here. And I so didn't want to ship anything, but OMG WILL AND HANNIBAL YOU PRACTICALLY SHIP YOURSELVES, WE DON'T EVEN HAVE TO TRY, DAMMIT ALL TO HELL. WE DIDN'T STAND A CHANCE.
I swore I was going to avoid this fandom like the plague. Yeah. Not so much.
I am still flailing about the last episode, I have SO MANY FEELS. I especially agree with you about Jack...I wanted to like him, I feel like I should be more sympathetic to his character, but the more I see of him, the more I want him to end up on Hannibal's dinner table. Freddie, too, I've hated from the beginning (although it's pretty obvious we're meant to hate her), but I think Hannibal might be...intrigued by her? Or, if not that, I think it's possible he sees the potential to use her and her articles to his own benefit. Also, he might feel that killing her could draw too much attention, especially after the things she's printed about Will.
UGH, this show. It's SO HORRIBLE. I love it, I feel like I'm drowning in feels, but I know it can only end in pain and tears and badness all around and I'm SO MAD AT MYSELF for getting caught up in it. ;____;
no subject
Date: 2013-05-27 12:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-28 07:06 am (UTC)I have also stopped liking Jack. So much so it almost made me stop watching, more scenes with his wife would help like you said, but I bear his scenes in order to get to the Hannibal / Will ones. That's what's best about the show.
Jack
Date: 2013-06-05 08:11 pm (UTC)I think they are working on Will to be so messed up that he will doubt himself when he starts to see what Hannibal really is, and I do think he will (or maybe even has...but discounted it because of what his mind is doing to him)
In any case, a very deep show with lots of places to go.