Mark Watches ‘Hannibal’: S03E03 – Secondo

In the third episode of the third season of Hannibal, NO, WILL. NO. Intrigued? Then its time for Mark to watch Hannibal. 

Trigger Warning: For manipulation, gore. 

Holy shit, y’all, I WAS SO WRONG ABOUT WHERE THIS WAS HEADED.

Will

I’ll split this based on the three major stories here, and I have to start with Will because I need to talk about his transformation. On the surface, his plot in “Secondo” seemed quite easy to figure out: he traveled to Lithuania in the hopes of using Lecter’s childhood home in order to figure out where Lecter was hiding. Upon arriving, he meets Chiyoh, who reveals the unsurprising news that Hannibal Lecter would never return home. Ever. But it’s more layered than that. Will’s creepy stalking and manipulation of Chiyoh is part of something greater. I now suspect that Will knew that Hannibal was never going to hide in Lithuania. He knew he wouldn’t find Lecter there. He wanted something else.

And that someone else is Chiyoh.

Her story is unreal, y’all. Aside from the unnamed prisoner, she appeared to be the only remaining person left at the estate. I’m unsure how she was compelled to stay for so long, but it’s clear that Hannibal did something to ensure she would remain behind, keeping the prisoner alive for as long as possible. She might have things to entertain her, but her life has been in service of this torment and nothing else for years. Even worse, we don’t even know if this man ever did anything. Hannibal later lies to Bedelia about it, but we all know that he was the one to eat his sister, not the prisoner.

Thus, Will figures out the best way to manipulate Chiyoh so that she can be freed of this task and coming running to him. That’s what I got wrong about all of this: Will has already transformed into Hannibal in a lot of ways. Already. To her credit, Chiyoh figures out what Will has done to her almost immediately, and after being manipulated by Hannibal herself, I’m sure that’s why she was so quick on the uptake. I still wish I had a few more details about Chiyoh, though, as I feel like the show avoids many of them in order to immerse us in the atmosphere of the home. (Which is done beautifully, I might add.) Where did Chiyoh come from? Does she have any family? How long has she been there, separated from the rest of society? How is she going to help Will find Hannibal Lecter?

Jack 

AHHHHH, I FINALLY HAVE CONFIRMATION THAT HE’S ALIVE. I’m guessing from clues in this episode that Jack hasn’t spoken to Will in some time. However, he’s dedicated to finding his former colleague for… what? To join up with him? To unite and catch Hannibal? Oh god, if it’s the latter, Jack might be disappointed to find out that Will is seeking out Hannibal for another reason: to feel whole and complete. But Jack’s return signals the beginning of the next chapter of this story, one that Bedelia speaks into existence.

Why do I say that? Because after Hannibal murders the professor who is so certain that Hannibal is an undeserving fraud, Bedelia realizes that Hannibal is purposely calling Will and “the rest of them” to him. He’s got a need for Will, too, and now, Bedelia’s been pulled into it all, too. Am I concerned for her? Of course I am, and Hannibal’s increasingly reckless behavior puts her at even more risk. Like… I can barely fathom that he killed that professor so suddenly and then FED HIM TO HIS COLLEAGUES. Nothing about the murder itself is uncharacteristic for him, but the impulsiveness of it is what scares Bedelia. AND ME. (Again, I can’t ignore all the parallels and story beats borrowed from the Hannibal novel!!!)

But again: where is this heading to? Does Hannibal want to be caught as if this would be the kind of display to make Will seem worthy in his eyes? I’m drawn back to that conversation Bedelia had with Hannibal about betrayal when I consider this, especially since I don’t know how Jack fits into this. I suspect that Jack doesn’t matter to Hannibal in the long run, and Jack’s survival was more of a bout of good luck than an intentional thing like it was with Will. (WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO ALANA, PLEASE TELL ME.) Can Jack be worthy to Hannibal, or am I actually asking the wrong question here?

I dunno, I feel like Hannibal has been deliberately vague in this sense over the previous two seasons, and part of the fun came from filling in the blanks. That’s what I’m doing here, too, except I feel like there’s even less dialogue to work from than usual. Bedelia and Hannibal have scenes that visually and thematically reference the therapy sequences from seasons one and two; we get brief procedural vibes from scenes with Pazzi, Jack, and Will; but the setting changes everything. This is a much more expansive Hannibal world, and images spill forth to provide much more of the storytelling than usual. There’s a lot of silence in these three episodes, and I wonder what will fill them as Jack, Will, and Hannibal converge at some point in the future.

You know, I also haven’t asked this question yet: Where are Jimmy and Brian? WHERE ARE THEY?

The video for “Secondo” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

Mark Links Stuff

– I am now on Patreon!!! MANY SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR YOU IF YOU SUPPORT ME.
– I will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be Death Note and Neon Genesis Evangelion. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards series will replace the Emelan books.
- Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook! I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!