Raul Esparza needs a Guest Star Emmy for Hannibal last night

HOLY SH*T! Bryan Fuller is putting me through the ringer this season. I was screaming like a crazy person at the TV and my jaw dropped during the final five minutes. I firmly believe that Hannibal is one of the best shows on network television.

Obvious SPOILERS if you haven't watched last night yet...


I can't believe Raul is dead, especially since his character is in Silence of the Lambs, but I am holding out hope against all odds that he is alive and Jack and Will are hiding him somewhere.

It was bad enough watching Beverly die a few episodes ago, and I hadn't fully recovered to deal with this.

Raul has been INCREDIBLE all season. That cane! His testimony during Will's trial! The jokes about not wanting to be Hannibal's next meal!! I can't bear to see him part ways with the show. When Hannibal showed up in that plastic suit I was yelling NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOO!! And then the chase in the woods that followed, and of course Miriam shooting him...it was all too much to handle.

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Good.

So good.

Just so good.

I mean, the man survived being disemboweled, so maybe being shot in the face is not too difficult to survive for him.

I have loved Dr. Chilton this season, but I was beginning to suspect that Bryan Fuller would consider him expendable in his artistic vision of this story, regardless of how long he is in the original stories and movies.

As for the season as whole, I wish they had not started it with Jack and Hannibal's fight. So far, the only people who have believed Will are not around (Bedelia. Where you at?) or have died shortly after. Still, you know that Jack will eventually see the truth. For me, instead of it being a "Ooh, I wonder how they get to that." feeling, it gives me a "Okay, when will they get to that?" feeling.

But Raul... Dr. Chilton... So good.

Esparza has been killing it this season. The show, as a whole, has been mind bogglingly good.

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I am determined to believe that Chilton will survive. Bryan Fuller has tweaked the Hannibal Lecter canon in some clever ways but Chilton is still around for SILENCE OF the LAMBS so that Lecter can continue to disparage him, so I think Chilton survives. It leaves too big a gap in the original arc to kill him off now. On the other hand, I do not know how they will handle the entire story if the series is not renewed for another season. But - Esparza really, really deserves an Emmy nom for some of the most intense characterization on TV for years.

Fuller's been on the record as saying he's using the source material as a "template," which does suggest he's gonna mess with it how he sees fit.

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Hmm, I stopped watching this show in Season One, since it seemed kinda boring, so all the raves here are making me wonder... did you all like season one as much? Or did the show really find its groove in season two?

I love SOTL, so I was on board for this, but it just wasn't doing it for me. I think I watched... maybe 6-7 episodes before bailing. Would definitely consider re-upping, if it found its stride, many shows don't find it initially...

I wasn't a crazy fan of season one; at times I was downright frustrated by what was going on. Season Two is on FIRE though, haha! It's like Season One was just a prelude for all the insanity that is going on this season and it truly is a joy to watch each week.

I am in complete denial that Chilton is dead. As Wynbish pointed out, he made it through disembowelment so what's a little gunshot to the face?

I loved when Raul through down the cane and just started running. Such a nice darkly comedic touch- the man is a phony on every level possible.

Re: the media res opening, I liked it. We needed something thrilling and that scene really delivered. Season One lacked focus and this showed us there was a clear road map to where this season was going.

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I loved the writing and the delivery of "I have corpses on my property. You just threw up an ear."

I am, however, starting to think I'd be more than fine he didn't survive, really showing that Fuller is going so off-book, because it brings slightly more excitement and suspense to it. It's like all the life-threatening scenes Legolas had in Desolation of Smaug, where the audience thinks, "Of course he survives. He's in the later books/movies!" Killing Dr. Chilton solidifies to this show's audience that no one is safe in this interpretation of it.

Fuller is being careful to change things that add to the story rather than detract from it. Classic example:
SPOILER




Making Dr. Bloom a woman so that there could be a sexual relationship with Lechter. The creepiness of Chilton in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is that he has a unique relationship/dependency with Lechter. Replacing Chilton with just another psychiatrist eliminates exactly the subtle backstory elements that Bryan Fuller is turning into an art form. I guess we will have to wait and see. (Or check to see if Esparza is flying up to Toronto any time soon...)

I re-watched this episode last night. SPOILERS (again):





Am I the only one who thinks that will Graham looks a little like Chilton, after he gets out of Baltimore Psych. and goes to see Lechter at the end of the episode? Something about the hair, the hint of a beard?