Amuse-Bouche (Hannibal)

"Amuse-Bouche" is the second episode of the first season of the psychological thrillerhorror series Hannibal. The episode was written by Jim Danger Gray, and directed by Michael Rymer. It was first broadcast on April 11, 2013, on NBC. The series is based on characters and elements appearing in Thomas Harris' novels Red Dragon and Hannibal, with focus on the relationship between FBI special investigator Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen), a forensic psychiatrist destined to become Graham's most cunning enemy.

"Amuse-Bouche"
Hannibal episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 2
Directed byMichael Rymer
Written byJim Danger Grey
Produced by
Featured musicBrian Reitzell
Cinematography byJames Hawkinson
Editing byStephen Philipson
Production code102
Original air dateApril 11, 2013 (2013-04-11)
Running time42 minutes
Guest appearance(s)

The episode revolves around Will Graham, who is now a special investigator for the FBI. He is then recruited by Jack Crawford in order to inspect Garret Jacob Hobbs' cabin in the woods when they are assigned to a new case: nine bodies that were buried alive and the killer made mushrooms grow from their bodies. Upon finding evidence that the killer used medication to induce diabetic coma, the team realizes they may be looking for a pharmacist. However, their attempts are getting thwarted by Freddie Lounds, a tabloid blogger who wants to get information at any cost to post at her blog. Meanwhile, Graham's therapy with Lecter continues to evolve.

The episode received positive response from critics, who praised Dancy's and Mikkelsen's chemistry in the episode as well as the writing and character development.

Plot

Graham (Hugh Dancy) is shooting in a range when Garret Jacob Hobbs's (Vladimir Jon Cubrt) corpse replaces the target, which is gradually getting closer to him. He is then awakened by Crawford (Laurence Fishburne), revealing that they are in Chippewa National Forest in order to investigate a murder. Graham, Crawford and the FBI arrive at Hobbs' cabin in the woods to find dead animals and filled with antlers. Crawford adds that Abigail is a suspect in the case, with possibility that Hobbs used her to attract the girls. Graham discovers a lock of hair in the floor, confirming someone else than Hobbs was there. Elsewhere, a red-haired woman (Lara Jean Chorostecki) is revealed to possess pictures of the cabin and uploads it to a blog named "Tattlecrime.com".

After lecturing in the FBI Academy, Graham is informed by Crawford and Alana (Caroline Dhavernas) that he will need psychiatric help from Dr. Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen). Despite Crawford's insistence, Lecter has Graham declared sane so he can return to work. Nine bodies are discovered in Elk Neck State Park; the bodies were all buried alive while comatose and used to grow mushrooms. While Graham uses his ability in the crime scene, the red-haired woman appears taking pictures of the scenes and interrogates an officer to reveal information. During the use of the ability, Graham discovers one of the bodies is still alive.

Graham returns to therapy with Lecter, who states that Hobbs may not be a problem for him and claims that maybe the killer wants a "connection". Their meeting is recorded by the red-haired woman, who is Lecter's next appointment. Despite using a false identity, Lecter correctly guesses that she is Freddie Lounds, a tabloid blogger. He then finds she recorded Graham's meeting with him and makes her delete the conversation. In the BAU's labs, autopsies reveal that the bodies had kidney failure along with diabetes thanks to a change in medicines, deducing the killer must be a pharmacist. Detecting a pharmacist where patients have gone missing, Graham and Crawford lead an FBI raid in a market to confront a pharmacist named Eldon Stammets (Aidan Devine). Stammets has escaped but left a woman in his car covered with dirt.

Checking into Stammets' Internet browser, the FBI discover that Stammets discovered all the information from Lounds' blog and managed to escape thanks to the blog. Crawford has his team raid Lounds' hotel room and confront her, ordering her to stop writing about Graham, or she will be arrested for obstruction of justice. The next day, Lounds is confronted by the officer that she lied to at the scene when the officer is killed by Stammets, who demands to talk to Graham. The police arrives and Lounds reveals that Stammets wants someone who thinks just like him to understand him (Graham) and will lure him with Abigail's (Kacey Rohl) body. Eldon tries to take out Abigail from the hospital when he is shot by Graham, who replies that "he does not understands him." During his next session with Lecter, Graham states that he didn't see Hobbs' ghost this time and Lecter notes that it must be because he may feel that the killing felt good, and that killing Hobbs felt "just". Lecter likens it to a feeling of being God, who kills people to feel "powerful".

Production

Chelan Simmons, who portrays Gretchen Speck-Horowitz in Fuller's show Wonderfalls, appears in the episode, reverting to her maiden name after her divorce. This is the second time Simmons and Dhavernas collaborated as Dhavernas was the main character in Wonderfalls.[1]

Reception

Viewers

The episode was watched by 4.38 million viewers, earning a 1.7/5 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale, ranking first on its timeslot and seventh for the night in the 18-49 demographics.[2] This is a slight improvement over the pilot, which was watched by 4.36 million viewers with a 1.6/5 in the 18-49 demographics.[3] This means that 1.7 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 5 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it. With DVR factored in, the episode was watched by 6.74 million viewers with a 2.8 in the 18-49 demographics.[4]

Critical reviews

"Amuse-Bouche" received positive response from critics. Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode a "great" 8.5 out of 10 and wrote, "While the second episode of Hannibal did introduce a new 'killer of the week', I was also very happy to see plenty of fallout from what occurred in the pilot, as it became clear there was no easy 'well, that's all over' procedural vibe here."[5]

Molly Eichel of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" and wrote, "The overall sentiment of Hannibal, even from those critics that didn’t like it all that much, is that it's a visually stunning piece of television. Frankly, it's gorgeous: the oversaturation, the soft-focus dream sequences, the constant juxtaposition of Hannibal's pronouncements of creepiness with shots of delectable food (shooting food, by the way, is incredibly difficult so hats off to Hannibal DP James Hawkinson for making everything Lecter makes look so good). What got me in 'Amuse-Bouche,' though, was the growing fungus that is, in the mind of killer Elden Stammetz, meant to reach out and touch Will."[6]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "It's a potent combination. The mushroom imagery is haunting enough that it maybe could have carried the episode on its own, but as just one element in an hour featuring lots of fallout from the Garrett Jacob Hobbs killing, the on-camera introduction of Fuller's version of Freddie Lounds(*), it's dynamite."[7] Laura Akers of Den of Geek wrote, "This week's Amuse-Bouche, for instance, provided a morbidly fascinating crime: the perpetrator buried people alive (and kept them alive) to serve as fodder for fungus. The setup was intricate, and in a sense, beautiful - I looked forward to understanding the psychology of a man who would do such a thing."[8]

References

  1. Roots, Kimberly (September 27, 2012). "Hannibal Casts Chelan Simmons – Season 1". TVLine. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  2. Bibel, Sara (April 12, 2013). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Hannibal' & 'American Idol' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  3. Bibel, Sara (April 5, 2013). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'The Big Bang Theory', 'American Idol', 'Grey's Anatomy', 'Two and a Half Men', 'The Office', & 'Wife Swap' Adjusted Up; 'Scandal' & 'The Mindy Project' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  4. Bibel, Sara (April 29, 2013). "Live+7 DVR Ratings: 'Modern Family' Leads Adults 18-49 Ratings Increase, 'Smash' Earns Biggest Percentage Increase & 'The Following' Tops Total Viewership Gains in Week 29". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  5. Goldman, Eric (April 11, 2013). "Hannibal: "Amuse-Bouche" Review". IGN. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  6. "Hannibal: 'Amuse-Bouche'". April 11, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  7. Sepinwall, Alan (April 11, 2013). "Review: 'Hannibal' - 'Amuse-Bouche': Serial killer or fun guy?". HitFix. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  8. Akers, Laura (April 4, 2013). "Hannibal episode 2 review: Amuse-Bouche". Den of Geek. Retrieved June 17, 2017.

See also

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