I have just been devouring Hannibal episodes like it’s my job (it’s not) and I couldn’t be more happy with how the story is progressing! In a much shorter amount of time, I have finished the second season and I am fully anticipating the third and final season and what that will bring. Because a lot of stuff went down in this batch of thirteen episodes. SO. MUCH. BETRAYAL.
The second seasons opens right where the first left off, with Will in a hospital for the criminally insane. He’s escaping a lot into his thoughts, but they’re never very far away from Hannibal and his true nature. Despite the constant pleas from Will to Jack Craford and Alana Bloom, no one takes him seriously, mainly because of the abundant amount of evidence against him…not Hannibal. There is a turn when Beverly takes Will’s pleas and investigates further into Hannibal, but that just ends up getting her killed in the process.
All of Will’s time incarcerated is part of Hannibal’s master plan. He wants his friendship with Will to flourish, so eventually he throws out enough stuff to exonerate him and get him released. At first Will is still furious with Hannibal and tries to kill him (for the second time), but finally concedes to his new killer nature and asks to continue his therapy with Dr. Lecter. As much as I think Will thinks he’s not different, it’s pretty clear that he is. I feel that the latter half of the season is him trying to combat his true and murderous nature by still trying to do good by Jack and the FBI’s standards.
Intertwined into their lives are a pair of siblings, Margot and Mason Verger, who are both equally disturbed but in different ways. They have staying power throughout the season, with a pretty gruesome face mutilation scene that I can’t un-see. Margot tries to have a child with Will so she can inherit the family fortune, but Hannibal convinces Mason to make sure that doesn’t happen. Aside from this story line, Will tries all season to prove his loyalty to Hannibal while also working with Jack to try and catch Hannibal in his lies.
This all comes to a head at a final dinner with everyone. Jack’s had it and is convinced Hannibal is responsible for all the murders, but Hannibal is quite possibly a ninja and ends up leaving Jack in a pantry bleeding out. Meanwhile, Alana makes her way to the house, also now convinced that Hannibal is far more dangerous than anyone (besides Will) thought. Her gun has been emptied, so as she runs for her life up the stairs, she’s surprised by an ALIVE Abigail Hobbs who pushes her out the window. Will finally shows up, calls an ambulance for Alana, and makes his way inside to find Jack. Hannibal also surprises Will with Abigail and as he’s making a speech about the family they could have been, Hannibal guts Will and slits Abigail’s throat. We see him leave the house and board a plane with the fates of our main characters totally up in the air.
So much material was covered this season! Thinking back, it’s sort of crazy to think that it wasn’t two season’s worth of content. Everything was so distinctly split between Will’s time in prison and Will’s time out of prison. It has also become more clear that there is a very deep and strangely romantic connection between Will and Hannibal. Friendship just doesn’t seem to cover what they mean to each other. In a sick way, trying to kill each other is basically their brand of foreplay, and even though we see Will bleeding out at the end of the episode, I would highly doubt that Hannibal made a cut to kill. I guess I’ll just have to see what happens in season three! Excited!