I think it may be the best show on TV right now, and that includes cable. Every single scene is shot with care and attention to the tiniest details. It’s extremely intelligent, and takes incredible risks for network TV.
They certainly took risks in the last episode.
Is there a thread on it? I did not find one.
I agree. The story arcs are well-constructed and the visuals are amazing. Definitely the best drama on the big networks.
I only watch a handful of shows, but this is one of them. I absolutely love it–it keeps me entertained (and yes, it entertainment), and I really like seeing how the characters play on each other. Hannibal is like a layer of an onion…every time I think there’s a smidgen of humanity in there, he proves there isn’t. And Will…poor Will. I really feel for him, as he’s one screwed up guy who everyone wants a piece of, including Jack (SOB that he is–in some ways he’s just as bad as Hannibal).
And besides, it freaks me out (in an entertained way) every time Hannibal prepares a meal for someone.
It is the most twisted show on TV. More violent, sick and twisted than any cable show.
The violence on the show thoroughly creeps me out, which is a high hurdle to clear considering how desensitized I’ve become to “normal” violence on TV. Every time Hannibal cooks something it’s so beautiful and so nauseating. I love it.
Mrs. Plant (v.3.0) believes this is a prequel to the novels we’ve read.
I disagree, Will never met Hannibal until he interviewed him as an expert and saw the Wounded Man drawing in his office, and knew (magic beam sweep) that he was the serial killer Will sought.
This.
I wouldn’t have believed that anyone could ever hope to step into such an iconic role and sniff the taint of Hopkins but I was stunned by just how awesome he is in this role. He plays it like a young Hopkins and is believably the same person that were attached to from the movies. Hell, after a season and a half of the show I’d have a hard time watching a new Lecter movie with Hopkins. Mads is great.
Wills psychic power shit is really annoying and I’ve started pointing it out to my wife who tells me to shut up because we like this show and only have one or two other shows we actually watch during their run on TV. I killed sons of anarchy for us because I was constantly pointing out how unbelievable the whole thing was each episode we watched till we gave up.
Will also seems WAY over acted. Constantly grimacing like an angst teen. Clenching his jaw while he speaks looks completely unnatural. And the female doctors attraction to him is entirely unbelievable.
With that said we really enjoy the show. Good story and very we’ll shot and gory. Agree with the poster who said any one of these gruesome murders would have been front page news around the world, especially the one from last week in the courtroom but they’re treated like local mini cases.
I think this is a reboot of how Will caught Lecter, so it is a prequel to RD, SOTL, & H, but a totally revised back-story.
I’m also wondering if this is a revision back to the original view of Lecter as a sociopath with no traumatic past to “explain” him.
They are preserving his being Central European, are they not?
He is certainly some sort of European. However, the series seems to be happening in the modern day, and WWII ended 69 years ago, though he certainly isn’t that old. In fact, Mads is just 49.
David Bowie has been rumored to be cast for the role of Hannibal’s uncle (consistent with Harris’ prequel book), but that won’t be a part of the show until Season 3.
Unless I’m forgetting a flashback or two, Hannibal’s past hasn’t been touched on yet. I’m guessing they’ll have him fleeing some sort of Eastern European Soviet repression instead of Nazi repression if they go that far with a backstory.
I’ve been watching pretty closely & we definitely have not SEEN any of his past. I may have missed a comment about it. But that is a good idea on how to retrofit his background with the timeline.
Btw, I was amazed to find that Mads is actually three years younger than me.
Just FYI: The man is very good-looking, intelligent, kind to animals, and deeply troubled. This is like catnip to many women, esp. women like Alana who have said out loud that they’re interested in the way his mind works and want to save him.
Whew. Glad to know it wasn’t just his “rescue” vibe that was making him so damn attractive to me. Guess I overlooked the obvious very good-looking (those eyes! those curls!), intelligent, and kind to animals things.
Will, I want you.
Yeah, it’s not like Hugh Dancy has made a career of playing the romantic lead in romantic comedies, while modelling in campaigns for Burberry and other high-end designers, or anything completely unbelievable for such an ugly dude. Man’s fugly, is what I’m saying, with that tousled hair, big clear grey eyes, sculpted mouth, fine hands, and other stuff like that. 
n/m
those traits gallowsfodder & others mentioned about Hugh Dancy could have factored into why Clare Danes married him.
I didn’t watch the show in its first season; the Torture Porn vibe didn’t attract me.* So my level of expertise is about as low as it gets.
Nevertheless, I would bet cash on the possibility that Bryan Fuller does not intend to follow the story of Hannibal’s background that Thomas Harris laid out. And my guess comes from Fuller’s obvious propensity to include the supernatural as the prime mover or initiating premise in the shows he’s created/produced.
Almost certainly Hannibal’s character won’t be explained as being the result of childhood trauma, as in Harris. Almost certainly he will be revealed to be a supernatural entity of some kind. (Or possessed by one.) Or so I’d speculate.
*I realize that fans DO find the show to be something other than torture porn. And now that I’ve started watching, I can see that there’s more to it. Still, I find the show’s inevitable focus on pain and mutilation to be unpleasant.
There’s a supernatural element to the show? When does that start happening (or become obvious)?
Naw.
I hope not, that would pretty much be a deal breaker for me.
:dubious: