Last night something incredible happened. News was coming out. Shows were falling to the mighty axe of their studios. Community, a grand sitcom; a fallen hero. Lesser shows like Dads laid upon the trenches as the television guide became a bloody battleground. With a large viewership dropping and a niche market for lovers of gore, Hannibal was always going to be worried about cancellation. Wrought hands slavered over each other in fright; could our beloved cannibal find himself underneath the chop that he so loving gave out? Could he be serving his final dish?
In short: no. And to celebrate NBC and the team behind one of the most delicious shows gave us an exciting episode.
This episode seems to have stripped back a lot of the gore despite the badly burnt bodies and grim post mortems. There isn’t as big an elaboration of the bodies and that’s a good thing, the gruesome needed to take a step back this week for the story to breathe. The crux of this episode was on the dawn finally peaking on Alana’s horizon and her attempts to protect herself. Acted strongly by Catherine Dhavernas, Alana’s position is faltering and as she battles against herself and Will’s pseudo-confession, Hannibal’s mask must surely come crashing down for her. The plot is twisting right in her hand, and it feels as though there is another snare for Hannibal to get hooked on.
After the final act came crushing down, and the plots juices are flowing like tidal waves, there are only two stellar episodes left. Now at this point, we know where it is headed which makes the renewal such a welcome presence for us. Ko No Mono was daring and beautifully executed episode that nodded so much to the prior series and yet still stood on its own. Bryan Fuller is a genius and his intellect oozed off screen with this one. Brilliant, exciting and wonderful, Hannibal was certainly a feast this time.