Hannibal S2 (2014) Review

 

Hannibal S2 (2014)

Hannibal Season 2 once again follows Will Graham, now in prison for the Chesapeake Ripper murders, where he will stop at nothing to prove that Hannibal is the real killer. 

So much of the last season’s focus was on Will’s gradual decline into insanity. The madness of the first season though, is swapped out for maddening clarity this season. We get a whole new Will; a Will who is sharper, more mentally aware, and as confidently concise as ever. It’s rightfully shocking at times because you truly can’t tell if he is becoming more like who Hannibal wants (a serial killer) or more what Jack wants (a good agent). 

Anytime the main character goes to jail at the end of a season, they essentially paint themselves into a corner, and that was especially evident here. The season is cut into two distinct parts, which feel really disjointed because of Will’s complete 180 from trying to murder Hannibal to *seemingly* killing and eating people for him. Whether or not he meant it, it just goes to show how close to the edge he is to becoming a serial killer. That said, the prison section was otherwise very compelling. It gives new perspectives on Will and Hannibal and how, as friends or as enemies, they are horrifying and compassionate sides of the same coin. 

The gory yet artistic beauty of death returns this season as well, and a picture really starts to form for Hannibal, as he slowly starts to feel more and more like the living, breathing, incarnation of Satan. Not just in his cold command of life but his astounding ability to manipulate anyone into anything. 

I will add that the inclusion of the Mason Verger storyline, while true to the books and a really neat (and bloody as hell) addition, it felt really out of place and seemed to have been thrown in to just fill time. 

The show continues to sport a terrific cast, including Laurence Fishburne, Gillian Anderson, Raúl Esparza, Caroline Dhavernas, Hugh Dancy, and Mads Mikkelson. Mikkelson and Dancy are fucking stellar again, with their love/hate relationship reaching deeper and more profound levels that make this season truly about their evolving connection, in life and possible death. 

Hannibal Season 2, directed by Bryan Fuller, is in some ways, a darker and more engagin season (somehow) that leaves Hannibal and Will in compromising positions ahead of

their Season 3 showdown, leading us right up to the events of Red Dragon.

8.9/10