by Cookie N Screen
Naturally with a television show, there are a few episodes that don’t pack the similar punch as before. As a critic, it is natural to pick up on these more disappointing plots and note how some may fall beneath the bar of the entire series. NBC’s Hannibal has had some wobbly episodes, especially at the beginning, never really realising its full potential of the juicy emotions bubbling underneath the plot. However, Shiizakana is one of those incredible powerful episodes that has so much goodness happening. It packed enough punch for me to feel utterly bad I’d ever doubted Fuller and his television series. It packed enough punch for me to go “oh shiiz (akana!)”
Naturally with a television show, there are a few episodes that don’t pack the similar punch as before. As a critic, it is natural to pick up on these more disappointing plots and note how some may fall beneath the bar of the entire series. NBC’s Hannibal has had some wobbly episodes, especially at the beginning, never really realising its full potential of the juicy emotions bubbling underneath the plot. However, Shiizakana is one of those incredible powerful episodes that has so much goodness happening. It packed enough punch for me to feel utterly bad I’d ever doubted Fuller and his television series. It packed enough punch for me to go “oh shiiz (akana!)”
Basically, troubling is a-brewing for Will Graham. Not only has he been released from prison but he has chosen to continue his therapy with psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter. Let’s not forget that Lecter is the guy who framed Graham for a bout of murders and Graham is fully aware that Lecter’s taste buds reach human flesh. So as Graham tries to deal with his emotions, Lecter is desperate to control him as well as persuading his other client, Margot Verger, to not feel bad for trying to kill her brother. Add to this melting pot a spate of killings that look like the work of a wild beast…
If you'd told me about a year ago that we’d get to a stage like Shiizakana, then I wouldn't have believed you. But we have travelled with this group of cannibals, murders and mentally damaged people , arriving at this exciting, thrilling and unique place. All of this because the chemistry between Lecter and Graham is so exquisite. Played superbly by Mikkelson and Dancy, the pair have toyed with their relationship and pecked away at it like a vulture. One framed the other, the other had ordered a killing, it makes for a very interesting therapy session. As they mentally spar against another, the tension gradually builds to a head and the playing field thrives on this genius psychological warfare. Will it lead to blood, guts and murder? Yes. And it is oh so brutally good.
If you'd told me about a year ago that we’d get to a stage like Shiizakana, then I wouldn't have believed you. But we have travelled with this group of cannibals, murders and mentally damaged people , arriving at this exciting, thrilling and unique place. All of this because the chemistry between Lecter and Graham is so exquisite. Played superbly by Mikkelson and Dancy, the pair have toyed with their relationship and pecked away at it like a vulture. One framed the other, the other had ordered a killing, it makes for a very interesting therapy session. As they mentally spar against another, the tension gradually builds to a head and the playing field thrives on this genius psychological warfare. Will it lead to blood, guts and murder? Yes. And it is oh so brutally good.
Usually, Hannibal focuses on one side of their excellence, the characters or the creepy ass murdered roaming the streets of Baltimore. This week Fuller and the team have balanced both. The villain here is a man who believes he is a beast, creating a boned monster suit to attack and eat people. So the Hannibal series may often create a serial killer with a flair of theatricality; one that would rather put on a show than shoot a gun. But this week, the psychiatry of the murderer and his beast like suit made him more compelling, terrifying and intriguing. Used as a ploy for both Graham and Lecter, the killer becomes a pawn and it is magnificent to watch.
Shiizakana has flipped everything and turned the table. It’s has stepped up from its tedium and brought a meatier episode that spells excitement coming towards the season end. Yes there is praise to the canon (despite, now, bulldozing through it to stand on its own creative merit,) and the speak as though they are reciting Poe (which is not a flaw at all.) But Hannibal has become, even more so, a triumphant horror show. If it continues down this path, there is no reason why it should not come back for a third series, to play with new characters and gruesome nightmares. Shiizakana is one of the best episodes of season two.
Shiizakana has flipped everything and turned the table. It’s has stepped up from its tedium and brought a meatier episode that spells excitement coming towards the season end. Yes there is praise to the canon (despite, now, bulldozing through it to stand on its own creative merit,) and the speak as though they are reciting Poe (which is not a flaw at all.) But Hannibal has become, even more so, a triumphant horror show. If it continues down this path, there is no reason why it should not come back for a third series, to play with new characters and gruesome nightmares. Shiizakana is one of the best episodes of season two.
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