SCP41 - Hannibal – S3E8 & 9 – The Great Red Dragon And The Woman Clothed with the Sun

Second Course: A Hannibal Podcast

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Hannibal S03E08 – The Great Red Dragon

It’s the beginning of a new chapter in Bryan Fuller’s Lecterverse and Francis Dolarhyde is taking the stage while Hannibal languishes in his memory palace. The second half of the season begins with the events of the Red Dragon. Just as Mr. Dolarhyde is becoming something else, it appears three years have helped the Hannibal crew morph into something else, both collectively and individually. Jamie and Jenny share their reaction to a storyline we may not see the end of and Jamie shares his experiences at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where he got to see a sneak peak of The Great Red Dragon and meet Bryan Fuller.

The Great Red Dragon Recap

The Great Red Dragon fast forwards time three years and was an episode in which what was not said was just as important as what was said. The first 8-10 minutes are devoid of dialogue as we see Richard Armitage, as Francis Dolarhyde, make himself into The Red Dragon from the famous William Blake painting. There is the back tattoo, the snaggle tooth dentures, and the rigorous physical conditioning.

While Francis is unsuccessfully fighting off his “becoming” and gaining the nickname “The Tooth Fairy” after killing two families, Hannibal is living inside his memory palace. Bryan Fuller and crew made an excellent style choice in allowing the audience into the palace and see Hannibal’s surroundings as he sees them. We begin with a conversation between Hannibal and Alana, who is now administrator of the Baltimore Hospital for the Criminally Insane, during which Hannibal explains he avoided the death penalty with an insanity plea in order to keep his promise to kill her. Later he has a meal with Dr. Chilton who explains that he will be writing a book about The Tooth Fairy because Hannibal’s appeal is too niche.

While Hannibal is busy entertaining himself with those from his past, Dolarhyde is fighting off hallucinations and scrapbooking about both his own crimes as well as the crimes of Hannibal. It is Dolarhyde’s criminal activity that brings Jack back to Will to ask him for his help. Will, who is now married and has a step son, is reluctant to go back and work with the FBI, but after being urged to by his wife, Molly, he eventually decides to go.

Will travels to Buffalo, NY to investigate the crime scene at the Leeds’ family home. Once again there is 3-5 minutes of silence before Bryan Fuller and crew resurrect the visual effect used in the first season to show Will recreating the crime in his mind. Through his investigation, Will determines that Dolarhyde must have touched Mrs. Leeds with his bare hands.

Cue Jimmy Price and Brian Zeller, who arrive to gather prints and create a mold of Dolarhyde’s mouth from the bite marks left on Mrs. Leeds. It’s at this point that Will realizes he needs a special frame of mind to solve this case and find The Tooth Fairy. The episode ends with Will and Hannibal greeting each other once again.

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Hannibal S03E09 – And the Woman Clothed with the Sun

Fancy Camera work this week revealed that they the theme for this episode is estrangement and the dialogue revealed another theme, family. Will and Hannibal keep things impersonal because they are estranged and Will would like to keep it that way. Will and Alana catch up in her office because it’s apparent that they have become estranged over the past three years as well. When we last saw Freddie, Will seemed to have warmed up to her since she allowed herself to be used to help catch Hannibal. That is no longer the cause as he photographed his junk in the hospital after the event of Mizumono. Finally when Jack comes to visit Hannibal, Hannibal stresses the distance between him and Jack by pointing out his new attire and making guesses at what he is currently doing in his life. It appears that that the only ones that are not estranged are Alana and Hannibal because Alana wanted it that way. Now even though this little twisted crime fighting and committing family is estranged from one another they have created their own families to help them heal from the atrocities they committed together and against one another. Listen as Jamie and Jenny discuss all these personal dynamics, and the hunt for Francis Dolarhyde.

And the Woman Clothed with the Sun Recap

Will visits Hannibal to ask for his help in finding The Tooth Fairy, and Hannibal acts reluctant because he fears what it may do to Will. The prospect of Will leaving makes him decide to look at the case file and give Will his assessment. While Hannibal becomes familiar with all things Francis Dolarhyde, Will and Alana catch up. Will learns of Alana’s son and Alana shares her reasons for taking the job at the Baltimore Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

Through a flashback we see Hannibal and Abigail discuss how they are going to fake her death and take a piece of flesh.

During Hannibal and Will’s discussion of The Tooth Fairy, we see Hannibal and Will back in Hannibal’s office just like old times. As the scene moves to the Jacoby’s home Hannibal prods Will for information about his life, trying to find an angle with which to weasel his way back into Will’s life. Will doesn’t take the bait. Later, Alana visits Hannibal to give him a warning: “Don’t hurt Will or I’ll take everything you love and leave you with indignity.”

In another flashback, Hannibal and Abigail engage in a therapy session in which he has her slash the throat of her dead father.

Later we get to see Jimmy Price and Bryan Zeller again as they reveal that the latest family to be killed buried their cat a few days before they were murdered. They found a link between this and the dog that had its abdomen punctured before the last murder. Will then goes to the crime scene and finds Freddie Lounds. They have a heated discussion over how she photographed Will while in the hospital after Hannibal gutted him. She threatens to spin recent events as the FBI using one psychopath to find another and, eventually, does just that with an article. Francis Dolarhyde reads the article and now knows about Will and Hannibal.

Francis goes to see Reba McClain, the blind film developer at the company where he works. He asks her for infrared film and she offers to develop it for him. Later, he gives her a ride home and she invites him into her house. They have a discussion about his speech impediment and her blindness.

Will talks over the phone with Molly about dogs and missing one another. It appears that Will has an active imagination like Hannibal, since Molly was in the room with him until she made Will uncomfortable. Jack goes to visit Hannibal and, during their discussion, Jack expresses that he needs Hannibal to help Will so they can find The Tooth Fairy. As always, Hannibal tries to make Jack feel responsible for anything that may happen to Will.

In the third and final flashback of the episode Hannibal remembers receiving the phone call from Will on the night of Mizumono. He has a quick discussion with Abigail about hunting together and asks her to wait upstairs.

The episode ends with Dolarhyde calling Lecter in prison and telling him that he is becoming the great red dragon.

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