Hannibal

[marmalade]

It's been renewed for a second season, so I think it deserves its own thread. Let's just hope it survives Bryan "never more than two seasons" Fuller's curse, and gets the full seven.

[Yossarian]

Good move! I am addicted to this show but have to wrangle time to watch it as my wimpy husband finds it too disturbing. Speaking of disturbing, is it wrong that I find Mads Mikkelsen ever so attractive as Hannibal?

[kostgard]

Jun 2, 2013 4:03:21 GMT -4 Yossarian said:

Speaking of disturbing, is it wrong that I find Mads Mikkelsen ever so attractive as Hannibal?

Go check out tumblr - you'll find that you are nowhere near alone in that! The man does have exquisite cheekbones. And I dig Hannibal's kinda retro style.

But I am kinda disturbed at some of the fans who see Hannibal as their hero, and lose sight of who/what he is. Over on TWoP there were people expressing their disappointment at the way Hannibal lied to Will about his medical condition and then killed that doctor. They were all, "What is my Hannibal doing?! Where is the man who hugged and protected Abigail last week?" Dudes, he was being Hannibal Lecter. He's not a charming anti-hero, he's a straight-up villain. A truly fascinating villain, yes, but a villain none the less. He's charming and it can be fun to root for him in a way, but don't forget that he's a monster who is fucking with Will because he can.

But maybe this is a sign that Mads is playing the character so well that his Lecter is able to seduce and manipulate people even through the TV screen.

[FotoStoreSheila]

Jun 2, 2013 4:03:21 GMT -4 Yossarian said:

Speaking of disturbing, is it wrong that I find Mads Mikkelsen ever so attractive as Hannibal?

While watching the latest episode where Hanniabal and the neurologist decide to conceal Will's encephalitis, I actually said out loud, "You are the WORST. I can't believe I am attracted to you". This, after he's been serving his guests people since episode 1.

[marmalade]

I think there's this sort of expectation, since he's been quite likeable despite doing horrible things, that he's some kind of anti-hero. The "eat the rude" twitter trend indicates to me that people are meant to view him as a character who does bad things, but for noble/understandable reasons (rude people, ugh). And we didn't see him actually kill anyone until the sixth episode, so it was easy to distance him from the food. I think Fuller's doing an excellent job startling the audience with Hannibal's actions, so we sort of understand the other characters better. He's so charming and urbane and intelligent that when you suddenly see him in a plastic suit carving someone up you're like "wait, that's not right, I like this dude."

I also love the way other characters react to him physically. It's really subtle, but it's like they all subconsciously know something's not right and lean away from him when he gets near them. The most pronounced was the last episode with Will on the ladder. Hannibal gets in his space and he shrivels away from him. Of course he's also doing a very good "my body is ready" impersonation, but that's for another forum.

[bklynred]

I was hoping he switched up and sometimes served bacon and pot roast but no, even the beer is made of people. And the guests absolutely love it. Sigh.

Just to be clear, did Lechter kill Sutcliffe to keep him from telling Will his diagnosis? Or just because? Will's losing time is really disturbing to me b/c it's a personal fear... This show taps into a lot of creepy stuff. I love Fuller's twitter though, it's chock-full of madness.

[Deleted]

Another rec for Bryan Fuller's twitter feed if you are a fan of the show. He posts lots of behind the scene stuff on the set design, food and special effects. Also he is pretty generous with RT fans if you like that sort of thing. I know he has a 7 year plan, I would love to see the whole thing play out. Hell, I'd love to see him get to do his own version of Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs.


Speaking of the set design I love the visuals of this show so much. You know how Tom and Lorenzo do that excellent costume analysis of Mad Men each week? I would love someone to do the same for Hannibal but focused on the set design.

Jun 2, 2013 16:42:35 GMT -4 bklynred said:

Just to be clear, did Lechter kill Sutcliffe to keep him from telling Will his diagnosis? Or just because? Will's losing time is really disturbing to me b/c it's a personal fear... This show taps into a lot of creepy stuff. I love Fuller's twitter though, it's chock-full of madness.

I think he killed him because he was a loose end. I don't think he was really worried about him telling Will about his diagnoses but because he didn't want to have to "share" his experiment on Will with anyone else. Mads is great as Hannibal but I am really impressed with Hugh Dancy as Will. I never really thought much of him as an actor before but he is really killing it on this show. He gives his wife a run in the brilliant but mentally unstable federal investigator role.

[bklynred]

Since I'd only known him as Clare Danes' hubby till now, I was just thinking when they fight they must completely melt down. Sobbing, on their knees, trembling, spontaneous weight loss...

[lea1977]

Still surprised what can make it on main networks now, still waiting for the dreaded S word to make an appearance. Since when did NBC become HBO?

[marmalade]

The spoilers for the next few episodes are super intense.  Bryan Fuller's said from the beginning that the season ends on a cliffhanger, and I do not like cliffhangers.  The things I put up with for you, Fuller.

On another note, while he is clearly an accomplished actor, I feel like not enough people know about Hugh Dancy's very important life as an airport carpet enthusiast.