Even if Hannibal ended with "Digestivo," the series would be remembered as a masterful prequel to one of literature’s most beloved horror thrillers.
"Dolce" gives us food for thought as we prepare to say our goodbyes.
Hannibal is a show about the pain of empathy, and "Mizumono" hurts. The finale brings the Ravenstag story arc to a conclusion in a brutal way.
When it comes to understanding exactly what to expect from Hannibal, the two most important characters are symbolic representations of who Will Graham and the titular serial killer are not. At least not anymore.
“Tome-Wan” is Hannibal at its most distilled and sustained. Showcasing the series’ underlying dark humour, this is the tightest, most mesmerizing hour of the series. To use the words of Mason Verger: I am enchanted and terrified.
“Ko No Mono” shifts to an unreliable narrator, allowing us to experience the first truly heartbreaking moment in Hannibal. Using the most iconic image from Red Dragon, we also get a glimpse at who’s really pulling the strings in this show.
In addition to being Hannibal’s most self-reflexive hour, “Naka-Choko" features a really steamy sex scene that takes place in two separate rooms and involves four humans, a theremin, and a Manstag.
In “Shiizakana” we are asked to forget the fast paced, twisty-turny, Will Graham-on-trial arc that velocitized our television watching appetites earlier this season, and to get used to the emotional and psychological contemplation of the now classic Hannibal as an episodic nightmare format.
In “Su-Zakana” the cocoon constructed of mystery novel pages, fond pop-culture memories, Hollywood disappointments, and countless other symbols that once encased Hannibal has cracked open, and out of it has come a new and unpredictable kind of butterfly.