This, ladies and gentlemen, is what a slasher movie looks like on TV. But let’s back up.
“Shiizakana,” directed by longtime Hannibal vet Michael Rymer, begins with a dream of Will’s, shot by James Hawkinson in beautiful black and white. That dream is of Hannibal tied to a tree, while Will controls the tightness of the ropes by whistling at a now-familiar stag, one of the best recurring images on any show right now. “I promised you a reckoning,” Will tells Hannibal. “Here it is.” He whistles again, the ropes tighten, and from our viewpoint from behind the tree we see an eruption of blood, so red and bright that it seems obscene, intrusive. Hannibal‘s stag has long been used as a symbol of the title character, or at least of his toxic presence in Will’s life. When Will awakes, he looks more like a man who has just received a vision, rather than a man jerked out of a nightmare.
In therapy, Will confesses to Hannibal that he regrets not killing Clark Ingram, the murderous social worker from last week’s “Su-zakana.” Will says it would have brought him the same satisfaction he felt when he thought he’d killed Hannibal, a “quiet sense of power.” He’s starting to think more like his cannibalistic therapist in his desire to play God. The theme of transformation is a big part of “Shiizakana” (as stated above, although it’s a dream, Will kills Hannibal by more or less becoming him – he controls the stag, the stag is Hannibal).
Nowhere is this theme more evident than in the case of the week, a trope that Hannibal thankfully eschews most of the time. Bodies have been piling up, looking like the work of a wolf and a bear working in tandem. Of course it isn’t that; it’s the handiwork of Randall Tier, who has a case of body dysmorphia so severe that he thinks he’s an animal. He’s fashioned a truly creepy bear suit and is responsible for the maulings.
That brings me to my main problem with “Shiizakana” – the resolution is too neat. For a show that thrives in gray areas, Hannibal seems all too willing to wash its hands of Tier as soon as possible, which is a shame, because while his method of killing it outlandish, it’s also morbid and surreal enough to be right in Hannibal‘s wheelhouse. Here’s a rough transcript of the conversation that leads to Tier’s capture:
Jack: So we think it might be a man who thinks he’s an animal.
Hannibal: Well, I don’t know if this helps, but a few years ago I had a patient with that exact same condition.
Viewers: Okay, yeah, that’s the guy.
The most important development to come out of this is that Hannibal sics Randall Tier on Will. Of course Will gets the best of Tier, but it’s a bold move nonetheless. Now that Will is out of prison, his back and forth with Hannibal is much more deadly – so many loaded conversations. It’s great to see Will regain a modicum of power now that he and Hannibal are more or less on equal ground.
It sounds like I’m being hard on “Shiizakana,” and maybe I am. Maybe I’m too interested in the over-arcing narrative to care too much about a killer we’ll never see again (Randall Tier is no Abel Gideon). But it gets a pass nonetheless. This is not because I’m a Hannibal apologist, but because at the end of the day there’s no show like it on TV.
A Few Thoughts
– How much time has passed since the premiere? I want to see the lead-up to that fight between Jack and Hannibal
– More great work from Jeremy Davies, playing Peter Bernardone. Davies often gets called upon to play creepy weirdos – like in Rescue Dawn or Justified – but he’s a great actor, capable of evoking the audience’s empathy in only a few scenes
– Margot Verger to me is like a Chekhov’s Gun. Her presence heralds the arrival of Mason Verger, played by Gary Oldman in the film Hannibal, and who will be played by Michael Pitt on the show
– “Memory gives moments immortality” – Hannibal Lecter
– One last thing: thanks to Margaux and Samir for filling in for me last week while I was in London. Their review of “Su-zakana” was brilliant
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