The Return of Hannibal

The good Doctor is finally back. For those uninitiated to Bryan Fuller’s vision of Hannibal I would say hop on Hulu or wherever you can to catch up before tomorrow; I’ll try to keep this as spoiler free as possible but some slips may occur. The third season of the underappreciated show is returning and I’m hoping the audience continues to grow. Mads Mikkelsen returns as the cannibal we have a love/hate relationship with. Everyone that’s survived up to this point is also set to return as their respective characters. This means Hugh Dancy, Caroline Dhavernas, and Laurence Fishburne among others. How they all survived Hannibal Lecter’s assault at the end of season 2 is beyond me. I have to say each character has grown tremendously since season 1, but I’d have to go with Will Graham as my favorite. The way they wrote him each of the previous seasons  is commendable. From his false accusation as the Cannibal to his attempts to prove it was Hannibal while in a jail cell was smartly done. The show writers really know how to keep the audiences in their palms. Now I can’t speak for those who have read the books, but for those who haven’t, it is really well written. They really make you feel attached to all the characters. Now with a story about a cannibal, blood and gore is a definite that couldn’t be avoided. However, in every case that Jack Crawford and the FBI come across the scenes come off as artful. The set design for each crime scene makes it look as something more. The symbolism and spiritual meanings behind everything was carefully planned out. What’s even more amazing for me is that none of the gore seems gratuitous. Then the actual scenes are art pieces in themselves. The color schemes, use of time lapses, scene setup and just everything makes it one of the most beautiful shows on television. The 10pm air time might not be working in its favor when it comes to retaining high audience numbers, but I understand why they can’t be a primetime show. I know this isn’t much of a recap of the past seasons, but I would rather new watchers go back and binge the first two seasons. As Will, Dr. Bloom, and Jack recover from the events of season 2 to chase Hannibal and his bride I can only hope they continue the great storytelling that we’ve come to expect.