Hannibal Episode 111
“Releves”
Written By: Chris Brancato & Bryan Fuller
Directed By: Michael Rymer
Original Airdate: 13 June 2013
In This Episode...
Will has been bonding with Georgia while they are both in the hospital. When Georgia is released from the oxygen tube, she will get shock treatment. Her memories of her “killing spree” are hazy. She knows she killed her friend, but doesn’t actually remember it. Of Dr. Sutcliffe’s murder, she dreamed it was Will. When Hannibal comes to visit, Will mentions Georgia’s fear of remembering. (The ironic thing is that ECT usually destroys memories - it doesn’t reveal them.) So then it should be no surprise that a plastic comb appears mysteriously in Georgia’s tube. With no other means of entertainment, Georgia picks it up and starts to brush. She doesn’t make it one stroke before a charge of static sparks the pure oxygen environment into a fiery inferno. The FBI pulls a charred female form out of the oxygen tube. She wasn’t wearing her grounding bracelet. Jack suggests it was suicide; Will insists it was murder. That comb was placed there on purpose.
Will checks himself out of the hospital and sleeps at home. He dreams that Georgia is there and leads him outside with a jittery J-horror walk. Outside, she says, “See? See?” She is impaled through with antlers then is set on fire. Will wakes. In the morning, he goes to Jack, who is not happy to see Will outside of the hospital. Will is there to tell him that he thinks Georgia’s murder is connected to Dr. Sutcliffe’s murder, and the Hobbs copycats. Jack still believes - perhaps more than ever - that Abigail is the copycat killer, and now thinks Will is protecting her. Hannibal assures him he would never hide something criminal from him.
Jack has the techs track every movement Hobbs made surrounding his kills. All the girls came from schools that Abigail had attended and Hobbs always travelled with someone else. While he has no proof, this fuels Jack’s theory that Abigail was her father’s accomplice. Convinced of Abigail’s guilt, and that she now has a taste for killing, Jack goes to see Abigail - but discovers Will has already checked her out. Jack consults with Hannibal, who finally admits that he thinks Will’s loss of time may have been him waking from a dissociative personality state. He didn’t say anything because he wasn’t sure if this was a mental illness or merely stress. Hannibal plays a recording for Jack, just a few seconds of one of Will’s sessions, in which he says he felt like he killed Marissa, clearly setting Will up to take the fall. Will felt like he was becoming Hobbs, and now he has his daughter.... Hannibal apologizes to Jack for not speaking up sooner. They head out to Minnesota in pursuit of Will and Abigail, whom they now believe is in danger.
Arriving at the Hobbs cabin, Abigail and Will go straight to the attic. She is anxious being there; he is growing sicker by the minute. The pair debate hunting and fishing as being two sides of the same coin: in one you stalk, the other you lure. Abigail brings this all up to address her role as her father’s lure, and is surprised that Hannibal didn’t tell Will this already. Will is overwhelmed and his headaches return. Despite fevered chills, he grabs Abigail and impales her on a pair of antlers. This is all in his mind, for seconds later we see Will shaking the cobwebs from his head and Abigail alive and well - albeit scared of Will, who seems to be growing agitated and erratic. Suddenly, in a blink, Will is being woken by a stewardess. He is on the airplane, at Dulles, and it is time for him to leave - he is the only one left on the plane. Will isn’t sure if he was coming or going.
The audience knows that he was coming, for Abigail is in Minnesota. She lets herself into the family home, and sees Hannibal waiting for her in the kitchen. They hug. Hannibal came to Minnesota because he was worried about her. She is glad to see him because she didn’t feel safe with Will anymore. But then, suddenly, she is no longer feeling safe around Hannibal as all the pieces start to fall into place. “Did Will kill Marissa?” she asks. “They will believe he did,” Hannibal assures her as she backs away. In textbook sociopath speak, Hannibal explains that called the Hobbs house that fateful day to warn him simply so he could see what happens. He was also curious as to what would happen if he killed Marissa, and he wanted to see what Abigail would do. “I was hoping to see how much like dad you are.” “Are you going to kill me?” “I’m so sorry Abigail. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.” And with Abigail’s fate obvious but not blatant, we cut to black.
Also of importance: When Jack goes to see Bedelia, we find out that the patient Hannibal referred to her would have killed her had he not swallowed his own tongue and died. What she didn’t tell him was that Hannibal was the one who cut his tongue and saved her life.
Dig It or Bury It?
This was a surprisingly sedate episode. It was one of those, “we have a few more block to add to this castle before we destroy it” episodes. The final act, from about the time that Will and Abigail enter the cabin, that is when the tension was really ratcheted up. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t see Georgia’s ghost again. I am assuming/hoping she will appear next week. I don’t care how many times it is used, that jittery, The Grudge, ghost-girl walk is always effective.
I found it very interesting that tonight was the first time Hannibal vocalized his murders. It’s not like it was a secret - we have seen him kill before - but this was the first proof that was offered that he killed Marissa in the Hobbs cabin. It was pretty clear before that scene that Abigail was not long for this world, but it was almost like Hannibal saw Abigail as his confessor. Hannibal has clearly never felt guilty for any of the murders he has committed - I think he is feeling guilty for framing Will. He genuinely likes Will, perhaps sees something of himself in Will, but in the interest of self-preservation, Hannibal has few options.
Bon Apetit
Hannibal brings Will some homemade chicken soup while he is still in the hospital. Will seems to like it, but Hannibal used some super-rare type of bird that actually looked like a big, black Cthulhu tentacle.
Prophecies?
Next week is the season finale, and with the evidence stacked up against him, Will is charged with murder.