Review: Hannibal ‘Kaiseki’

I would like to start out by saying that within the first 4 minutes of sitting down to watch the newest episode of Hannibal, the writers already had me about to pull my own hair out. Not from horror or disappointment, but from the fact that they decided to jump right into the story in such a way that I will have no choice but to tune in religiously every week. ‘Kaiseki’ starts on an unforgettable note and then jumps backwards in time so that the viewer gets to wonder how everything got from point A to point B. Thankfully, the ride is still just as intriguing as ever.

We begin with Jack Crawford and Hannibal facing off. There’s something happening but we can’t quite tell. Crawford looks pissed and Hannibal is getting ready to fight. And fight they do. The first four minutes of this episode are Jack and Hannibal going at each other in a life-or-death struggle. And then… it stops. To be replaced by those most tormenting words “Twelve weeks earlier.”

Yes, something is going to go down. And the writers are all-too-willing to let us know that the end (?) of this season will bring the revelation that Hannibal is a bad guy. Not to say they haven’t already been pretty open about this in the trailers, but now we know for certain.

So meanwhile, during those “Twelve weeks earlier”, Will Graham is stuck in prison awaiting trial and trying to prove his innocence to anyone that will listen. Alana is putting pressure on Jack and asking that there be an investigation concerning the way he pushed Graham and his potential part in making him go crazy. Hannibal gets to jump into the role of Graham by taking over his place on the FBI investigation team. Graham is sifting through his memories and trying to find something that he can use against Hannibal. And Hannibal is seeing Bedelia more and more, their shared secret reaching new levels, levels that might end up becoming dangerous for Hannibal’s poor psychiatrist.

The first episode of the new season slips right back into the rhythm and does not disappoint. Mikkelsen is doing his usual brilliant job as are all the other actors. The many storylines are each going their own way with the promise of some convergence in the future. And while we do know that Crawford and Hannibal will have their confrontation at some point during the season, we still have no idea who will live and who will die in the meantime.

Once again, I remember why I love this show so much. I only wish I could watch the entire thing in one sitting, because I’m going to have a helluva time being patient until each Friday arrives. Next week, ‘Sakizuki’ promises to bring some interesting twists and turns as well as more than one revelation. Head to this site to check out what’s coming up next.

Photo Credits -           

Kaiseki courtesy of hannibalcafe.com