So was anyone else fooled by that wonderful opening sequence? Cooking and Hannibal’s “specially-prepared” meals have become such hallmarks for this show that when we see a flame and what appears to be water and cooking oil, everyone assumes Dr. Lecter is about to host one of his infamous feasts. And, with the production team being masters at imagery and scenery, it doesn’t take much to make the viewers believe we were about to see the same ole Hannibal carried over from the last season but on a different continent. However, as Executive Producer Bryan Fuller said a while back, we will see a brand new Hannibal in the 1st part of Season 3, and boy, do we ever.

The flame and the water that we see in this opening scene actually turns out to be a motorcycle with the driver being Dr. Lecter but clad not in one of his tailor-made exquisite suits but rather black pants and a leather biker jacket. Not exactly the elegant Dr. Lecter we all know and love, but then again, Hannibal is a fugitive and so, masking who he really is has become a necessity. The setting is Paris, France, and while we don’t know for sure how much time has passed since the events of of the season 2 finale, it becomes clear very quickly that he’s still looking for the perfect mark, the one person whose identity he will assume so that he can start a new life.

OUT WITH THE OLD HANNIBAL AND IN WITH THE NEW DR. FELL

Hannibal makes a pit stop at some benefit for writers in the heart of Paris, and within minutes he finds his mark. Meet Dr. Roman Fell (Jeremy Crutchley), a writer and poet whose inflated opinion of himself grossly overshadows his actual talent — at least if you believe the words of Anthony Dimmond (Tom Wisdom), another attendee of the benefit who strikes up a conversation with Hannibal about the merits, or lack thereof, of Dr. Fell. If you believe what Dimmond says, he was a TA for Fell at Cambridge and doesn’t think much of the man. Hannibal seems to like Dimmond and finds him interesting, and if weren’t for some very unfortunate circumstances, they may have become friends. Quite possibly a Will Graham surrogate? However, that wasn’t meant to be because Hannibal’s search for his new face and identity would end up getting in the way. Stay tuned as you’ll see exactly what I’m referring to in a moment.

Before we barely have time to blink, we see Hannibal waiting outside on his motorcycle for Dr. Fell, and when he finally comes out, Dr. Lecter merely says “Bonsoir,” (French for “Hello” but in a night setting). At this point, I think most of the viewers knew — Hannibal had found his mark, and this was especially fitting since as we know Dr. Lecter likes to kill and eat people who are mediocre in their profession anyways. Dr. Fell, you are so screwed.

The next time we see Hannibal, he’s outside Dr. Fell’s residence, and just like before, simply addresses Dr. Fell with a polite “Bonsoir.” The expression on Dr. Fell’s face — priceless. He never would have seen it coming. We don’t see it actually happen, but we can make a pretty good guess because in the next scene, the Mrs. Fell arrives home and finds Hannibal eating in her dining room. “Bonsoir,” Hannibal says once again. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such good, respectful word become so bad so quickly. I think it’s fairly safe to say that it isn’t steak on Dr. Lecter’s plate and that Mrs. Fell is likely next on his menu. After all, Hannibal also needs an identity for his new “bride,” Bedelia Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson), right? But there was one major screw-up, one that will force Hannibal to have to kill again.

Fast forward X months/years. Another time jump, and once again, we don’t have many clues on how much time has passed. With Hannibal and Bedelia having assumed the identities of Dr. Fell and his wife, they are now living (and very well I might add) in Florence, Italy, and Hannibal has taken a position as the Curator of the famous Palazzo Capponi, all due to the credentials of the real Dr. Fell. We all know that Hannibal is doomed to getting caught, but I think the timetable for that was moved up dramatically when he runs into Anthony Dimmond again, the same fellow he made acquaintance with in Paris and right before he killed Dr. Fell — the same Dr. Fell that Dimmond supposedly knows. Initially Dimmond doesn’t connect the dots and doesn’t realize that the man before him is posing as Dr. Fell and so, Hannibal invites him to dinner. Is Dimmond about to become that dinner?

You would think so, but no — at least not yet. They have some awkward conversations with Dimmond making a point that what was being served included oysters, acorns and marsala, a special menu normally fed to animals that are about to be killed and eaten. I think the latter is a hint that Hannibal has plans for Dimmond, but for now, he lets him go.

That changes the following day when Dimmond visits the Palazzo Capponi and finally puts 2 and 2 together.

A BROKEN HEART AND A SPECIAL INVITATION FOR WILL GRAHAM

Once Dimmond realizes that Hannibal/Dr. Fell is one big fraud, if he were smart and had even a clue who he was dealing with, he would have walked away — and pray to God that he doesn’t end up in Hannibal’s freezer. He doesn’t out Hannibal to his boss, Sogliato (Rinaldo Rocco), and instead, makes him what appears to be a business proposition I.E. a very subtle (and stupid!) blackmail attempt.

What wickedness has your attention, Mr. Dimmond? — Hannibal/Dr. Fell

Yours. I’m here to help you untwist to our mutual benefit — Dimmond

Of course, this isn’t going to work. You just don’t blackmail Dr. Hannibal Lecter and get to live to tell about it. And, Dimmond doesn’t. A statue to the back of the head, with Hannibal finishing him off by breaking his neck. This is all while Bedelia is standing by, completely horrified.

Here comes the good part, and in my opinion, the best part of the premiere because it zones in on Hannibal’s state of mind. If Hannibal had stayed under the radar and had been more concerned about maintaining appearances, there is a very good chance he might not have been caught (of course, he hasn’t been caught yet, but as I said earlier, it’s a foregone conclusion). But what Hannibal does next and with Dimmond’s body pretty much seals his fate.

In the end Hannibal couldn’t leave the past in the past, and most importantly, he wouldn’t — actually he probably couldn’t — let Will Graham go. While Will did make Hannibal vulnerable and ultimately deceived him (which nobody had done before), there is still a connection between Will and Hannibal and one that can not be denied.

So, what Hannibal does with Dimmond’s body in fact becomes an open invitation to Will Graham. He takes Dimmond’s body, dislocates the joints, skins him, and then, manipulates his body into an image of a broken heart — a symbol of Hannibal’s broken heart after being betrayed by the 1 person in the world he thought he could trust. He poses it in the middle of the museum and leaves a paper broken heart crafted out of a piece of paper from a book on human anatomy. All of this designed to get Will Graham’s attention and draw him back to Hannibal.

ANOTHER SERVING OF ABEL GIDEON, PLEASE

You’re not dead yet, Abel. You have to eat — Hannibal

At this point, there isn’t anything I have to do. But, I shouldn’t spoil the fairy tale. You and your little gingerbread house — Abel

As was promised, we also got some deliciously good Abel Gideon flashbacks, all taking place during the time when Hannibal held him captive and before he disposed of Abel’s “scraps” in Dr. Chilton’s guest room. I have to admit that my stomach turned quite a few times while watching these scenes (and it also makes you wonder how they managed to get them past the network censor Nazis!), but I couldn’t resist watching anyways because they were so well-written. Every last sentence of their dialogue was so spot-on, and of course, Eddie Izzard gives an amazing delivery as always. Just some really great stuff.

One other purpose these flashbacks served was to demonstrate that while Abel may be the one without any legs and confined to a wheelchair, as long as he’s still alive, **he’s** actually the one in control. Kind of ironic. As Abel pointed out, he doesn’t have to do a damn thing. What is Hannibal going to do? Kill him? So what because he’s already dead anyways. So Abel takes the liberty to do whatever he can to push Hannibal’s buttons. His clanging of the snail forks. Smacking his lips as he eat the snails. And, of course, mentioning Will Graham at the most inappropriate times. Abel may be dying, but at least he’s having fun. Good for him.

Besides Abel Gideon, we also got some flashbacks with Bedelia that explains — at least partially — why she fled with Hannibal and appears somewhat loyal to him. We may remember that Bedelia killed a patient, an incident she claims was self-defense. Well, as we see in the flashback (with the dead patient portrayed by Zachary Quinto, no less!), maybe it was self-defense, or maybe it wasn’t. Or maybe Hannibal brainwashed her to some extent into believing it wasn’t. Either way, it was enough to rattle Bedelia to the point where she asks Hannibal for help in cleaning the crime scene so that it matches the story she wants to tell to the police. Of course, now she owes Hannibal.

However, I wouldn’t be too quick to count Bedelia out. When I talked with Bryan Fuller a couple of weeks ago, he made clear that Bedelia was not dumb, and she definitely has a plan. We don’t know what that “plan” is yet, but in the meantime, Bedelia continues being a partner to Hannibal’s crime, even though it’s clear that she’s horrified by them.

THE VERDICT

All in all, I thought this was a fantastic start to the new season. As much as it pained the fans, I especially liked how they held off addressing the fates of the characters targeted by Hannibal in the season 2 finale. That finale ended with Dr. Lecter presumably flying away to a new life with Bedelia, and because of that, the premiere needed to start at that point. The episode was well-crafted with the writers doing a stellar job in giving us an overview of where Hannibal has been and how he got there in present day. But, at the same time, the final scenes were strategically placed to provide a perfect lead-in to bringing Will Graham (and quite possibly Jack Crawford) back into the picture. And, as disgusting and appalling as it was, I absolutely loved the killing and posing of Dimmond as a broken heart. It was an excellent metaphor to what happened to Hannibal in the season 2 finale and what continues to happen to Hannibal even as he is given the perfect opportunity to move on and leave his old life and all of the hurt and betrayal behind. Kudos and plaudits on all counts.

I also have to say that the Abel Gideon flashbacks were just genius. They were totally unexpected, provided the much-needed comic relief (albeit very dark comic relief!) to the episode, and most importantly, provided a great segue into the re-introduction of Will Graham into the storyline. Abel knows Hannibal is just playing with him, like a cat does with a mouse right before it is about to deliver the final blow. But, he also knows that he’s a very unwelcome guest at Hannibal’s dinner table, and he would much have Will Graham sitting in that chair. Did you see Hannibal’s face when Abel made that point?

The only negative thing I can say about the episode (and even this is not that big of a deal) is that it was hard to follow at times. Several new characters — Dr. Fell, Sogliato, Anthony Dimmond — were introduced very quickly, and it was difficult to keep up with who was who. In fact, it wasn’t until I watched the episode for a 2nd time that I was able to nail down the role of each new character and their relevance to the overall plot. But as I said, not really much to complain about.

Given Hannibal’s very bold broken heart display, it’s not surprising that next week we go back in time and begin to see the moments following that season 2 bloodbath for each of the characters, and it all begins with Will Graham.

Hannibal airs on Thursdays at 10/9c on NBC.

Critic Grade — A

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