One of the best shows around is back for its intense second season. If you aren't watching Hannibal, you are missing out. Spoilers ahead! You have been warned.
The first few minutes start off with an intense fight scene between Jack Crawford and Hannibal Lecter, which, to my surprise, didn't cut away to reveal a dream sequence. Instead, the words "Twelve Weeks Earlier" get splashed on the screen in the next scene.
Which means that Lecter is going to get found out this season. Ah, a flash forward and a bit of in media res always kicks things off nicely, wouldn't you say? Both work well here. Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal Lecter are so ingrained in pop culture that the only way for this story to be told is to take what you know and make those mere transitions to the larger story going on. In this TV show, knowing what will happen just makes it better.
There is so much going on in this episode that I can hardly describe it all. Hannibal is a dense show, layered with meaning that I can never catch just on the first viewing alone. That isn't to say that it requires repeated watching to enjoy. Not at all. The story is tight and intense from the get-go, even when there aren't major fight scenes.
Or I should say, especially when they're aren't any fight scenes. Horror is back, baby, and Bryan Fuller and everyone else working on this know just what to do. Gore doesn't make for intense scares. Tension does. From the acting to the cinematography to the dialogue and to the music (anyone catch those menacing church-like bells that play whenever someone is on the edge of knowing just what Hannibal is?) everything serves a purpose.
What's more, it makes a grand case for "short form" television working quite well on a major network rather than just something like HBO or Showtime. This is television adults can watch and enjoy.
2014 is going to be an excellent year. Let's savor this vintage all the way through.
![[Image: 2ld8vbr.jpg]](http://i61.tinypic.com/2ld8vbr.jpg)
Season 2, Episode 1: Kaiseki
Air Date: 28 February 2014
Air Date: 28 February 2014
The first few minutes start off with an intense fight scene between Jack Crawford and Hannibal Lecter, which, to my surprise, didn't cut away to reveal a dream sequence. Instead, the words "Twelve Weeks Earlier" get splashed on the screen in the next scene.
Which means that Lecter is going to get found out this season. Ah, a flash forward and a bit of in media res always kicks things off nicely, wouldn't you say? Both work well here. Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal Lecter are so ingrained in pop culture that the only way for this story to be told is to take what you know and make those mere transitions to the larger story going on. In this TV show, knowing what will happen just makes it better.
There is so much going on in this episode that I can hardly describe it all. Hannibal is a dense show, layered with meaning that I can never catch just on the first viewing alone. That isn't to say that it requires repeated watching to enjoy. Not at all. The story is tight and intense from the get-go, even when there aren't major fight scenes.
Or I should say, especially when they're aren't any fight scenes. Horror is back, baby, and Bryan Fuller and everyone else working on this know just what to do. Gore doesn't make for intense scares. Tension does. From the acting to the cinematography to the dialogue and to the music (anyone catch those menacing church-like bells that play whenever someone is on the edge of knowing just what Hannibal is?) everything serves a purpose.
What's more, it makes a grand case for "short form" television working quite well on a major network rather than just something like HBO or Showtime. This is television adults can watch and enjoy.
2014 is going to be an excellent year. Let's savor this vintage all the way through.
"I can feed the caterpillar, I can whisper through the chrysalis, but what hatches follows its own nature and is beyond me."
-- Hannibal (TV show)
-- Hannibal (TV show)