Hannibal Episode 203
“Hassun”
Written By: Jason Grote & Steven Lightfoot
Directed By: Peter Medak
Original Airdate: 14 March 2014
In This Episode…
Will’s trial begins. The prosecution says that the profile Will created when investigating Hobbs was one he couldn’t escape. “He saved Abigail Hobbs from her father, but couldn’t save her from himself.” She says that he is the smartest person in this room and as such was able to create a psychological profile that would become his alibi.
Jack is called as a witness for the prosecution. Even though Will didn’t pass the tests to become a full-fledged agent, he thought he would be okay in the field under Jack’s supervision. He admits that Will hated every second of the work but didn’t quit because he was saving lives. “I had been warned by multiple people that if I pushed Will, I would break him.” By saying this Jack is essentially committing professional suicide, but his conscience is clear. Will’s attorney, Brower, is pleased with Jack’s testimony, but Will is not. He didn’t say he thought Will was innocent. A package arrives for Brower. In it is a human ear.
Hannibal seems to think the ear was sent from an “admirer,” and intended to be a “helpful gesture.” The forensic team discovers that the ear was removed before the trial began - and it was cut off with the same knife that cut off Abigail’s ear. Will’s knife. Will has been in custody, and his knife bagged as evidence. The last person to have the knife was bailiff Andrew Sykes. The FBI storm Sykes’ house and find it booby trapped - the whole thing goes up in flames. Once the fire is extinguished, the forensic team moves in. Inside, Sykes is dead, impaled on a pile of antlers.
More people are brought in to testify. Freddie Lounds claims that Abigail told her that Will said he wanted to kill her and cannibalize her like her father wanted to. Beside the fact that this is ridiculous, Freddie’s credibility is shot when Brower brings up the fact that she has been sued six times for libel - and settled each one. Chilton is also brought in to testify, and he believes that Will’s empathy disorder and his “confused persona” are a facade. “I believe he would kill again if given the opportunity.” According to Chilton, Will caught other killers to prove he was smarter than anyone else. “He likes to play god.” During this testimony, Will recedes into his “happy place.”
Hannibal brings Will the report from the Sykes crime scene. He does his “put himself in the killer’s shoes” thing and sees “himself” shooting Sykes, then impaling him on the antlers, and finally mutilating him - after he is dead. This isn’t the same killer - he mutilated his victims while they were still alive. Hannibal is disappointed - he was hoping this new murder would dispel Will’s doubts in him. “I want you to believe in the best of me, as I do in you,” Hannibal insists. He thinks this crime offers reasonable doubt, but Will says it is merely a distraction.
Hannibal testifies for the defense, saying he was never “officially” Will’s psychiatrist; he was merely meant as stability. And he failed. He consulted on the Sykes case and right there, under oath and in open court, says that he believes the same person who killed Sykes committed the crimes Will is accused of. Under cross examination it is mentioned that the cause of death in the Sykes case and “Will’s” crimes is completely different. Hannibal defends his stance by saying that no two crimes by any killer will be exactly the same. After Hannibal’s testimony, Brower hopes that the judge will allow a change in defense, from a not guilty be reason of mental disease, to not guilty by reason of he-didn’t-do-it. The judge says no.
The next morning, the janitor is buffing the floors in the courthouse, an he moves on to the courtroom. The judge is there, hanging from the ceiling, very very dead. His skull has been sawed open like a coconut, the heart and brains balanced on the scales of justice in the judge’s hand. He was killed in his chambers, then positioned out here. Like the bailiff, the judge was shot dead before the mutilation began. Hannibal assesses this as a means to a very particular end. Whoever killed the judge wanted a mistrial. (No shit.)
Dig It or Bury It?
This episode was as engrossing as any, and yet when I recap it and look at it more analytically, I feel like ultimately we ended up where we began. A new trial will have to commence. These new crimes shed only a hint of doubt; they were trying to save Will, not admit guilt. I don't know that a new defense strategy will be employed, or even if that is a good idea.
Chilton is an interesting character. He has never been the "warm and fuzzy" type, but he was also never so maliciously aligned against Will. There was real vitriol dripping from his voice when he took the stand, more than a supposedly impartial, clinical doctor should have. I feel like there is more going on with Chilton that we have yet to see.
Chef’s Specials
The second course of a kaiseki dinner, it sets a seasonal theme and usually consists of a piece of sushi and a few small sides.
Prophecies?
Will remembers Hannibal inducing his seizures; and Beverly seems more and more inclined to believe that Will is innocent… and Hannibal may be guilty.