Best to Worst Episodes of Hannibal
The Hannibal series had a few high points. Regardless, I found the season finale episodes to be a let-down as they concentrated on the emotional aspect of the series that dealt with the relationship between Lecter and Will Graham as opposed to the criminal angle. The first and third season were constructed with a stronger premise in mind as opposed to the second season, which dealt with pinning murders on Will Graham and was in a sense, filler. The ending of the second season was rather dull as well and accomplished very little for the plot itself; the major highlight of that season being the fate of the Beverly Katz character and Matthew Brown in the following installment. Episodes dealing with Inspector Rinaldo Pazzi and Mason Verger were the absolute pinnacle of the series run. Another amazing guest role was that of Tobias Budge, albeit being short-lived; it greatly made the series more compelling. From my perspective, these were the strong highlights of the series. The following is a list of the best to worst episodes of this series, respectively in the order of my preference.
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- DirectorGuillermo NavarroStarsMads MikkelsenHugh DancyCaroline DhavernasJack and Will along with Chiyoh arrive in Florence with different agendas for Hannibal while Detective Pazzi gets close.
- DirectorTim HunterStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasLecter's patient Franklin Froideveaux worries that his friend Tobias may be a psychopath, but Franklin's growing obsession with Lecter is what concerns the latter more. Graham investigates the murder of a Baltimore musician who had his throat opened and a cello neck inserted through his mouth. Graham, with Lecter's guidance, interprets this as one killer serenading another. Graham's mental stability deteriorates further when he begins having auditory hallucinations of animals in pain and when his romantic feelings for Alana Bloom are rejected.
- DirectorDavid SemelStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasThe FBI is called in when a dead body is discovered, the skull converted into a beehive. Meanwhile Beverly Katz finds a clue about the mural killer that sends her down a deadly path.
- DirectorMichael RymerStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasFreddie Lounds finds Beverly's sectioned corpse; Will meets the copycat killer and orders him to kill Hannibal. Gideon overhears this and gives Alana the chance to save Will from becoming a murderer.
- DirectorDavid SladeStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasFollowing his strange trip to Minnesota, Graham is taken into custody by Crawford for the probable murder of Abigail Hobbs. They find her severed ear in his kitchen sink and her blood under his fingernails. Alana is left devastated by the arrest and is determined to find the cause of Graham's dementia, despite Crawford's insistence that there is no underlying cause. She has him draw a clock when he tells her that Dr. Lecter had him perform a similar test, and the results solidify her belief that there is a physical explanation for Graham's instability.
- DirectorVincenzo NataliStarsMads MikkelsenHugh DancyCaroline DhavernasBedelia and Hannibal feel their time in Florence is coming to an end; Jack questions Will's loyalty.
- DirectorAdam KaneStarsMads MikkelsenHugh DancyCaroline DhavernasCaptured in Italy, Hannibal and Will are brought to Muskrat Farm, where Mason awaits.
- DirectorMichael RymerStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasFollowing an offhand comment by Graham, a comb left in the chamber of Georgia Madchen, who accidentally sparks a fire inside her hyperbaric chamber and is burned to death. Angered, Graham deduces that several recent murders were all the work of a copycat patterning after recent serial murders, and that Georgia was killed because she may have remembered the face of whoever had killed Dr. Sutcliffe.
- DirectorJames FoleyStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasThe BAU is called in when a man is found in a hotel room bathtub with his kidney removed and Graham must determine whether this is the act of an organ harvester or if the Chesapeake Ripper has claimed his first victim in two years. Meanwhile, Crawford continues to be haunted by the discovery of Miriam Lass's arm. Dr. Bloom suspects that Crawford has become obsessed with catching the Ripper, and is putting Graham in danger by making him chase the Ripper.
- DirectorVincenzo NataliStarsMads MikkelsenHugh DancyCaroline DhavernasAfter the devastating bloodbath at Lecters home Hannibal establishes a new life for himself in Italy along with the company of his own psychiatrist Bedelia.
- DirectorGuillermo NavarroStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasDr. Abel Gideon escapes from custody and begins targeting the psychiatrists who attempted to treat him, displaying their bodies with a Colombian necktie. While Alana Bloom is put under protective custody, Gideon kidnaps Dr. Frederick Chilton and lures Freddie Lounds into a trap, forcing her to write an article about him. Meanwhile, Graham's undiagnosed Encephalitis drives his temperature up, causing severe hallucinations.
- DirectorMichael RymerStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasA nurse at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane is brutally murdered by a patient, Dr. Abel Gideon, in a manner reminiscent of the "Chesapeake Ripper", who hasn't committed a murder in two years, the same number of years Gideon has been incarcerated. While Graham tries to discover whether Gideon truly is the Ripper, Crawford receives a phone call, apparently from the real Ripper, who plays the recorded voice of Miriam Lass, a trainee Crawford had consulting on the Chesapeake Ripper case two years previously when she suddenly disappeared.
- DirectorVincenzo NataliStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasWill Graham awakes from his coma and begins to piece together the events that took place after the bloodbath at Lecter's home.
- DirectorMarc JobstStarsMads MikkelsenHugh DancyCaroline DhavernasDr. Fredrick Chilton is alive and well, if not somewhat reconstructed, urging those wronged by Hannibal Lecter to use Will Graham as bait to flush him out.
- DirectorVincenzo NataliStarsMads MikkelsenHugh DancyCaroline DhavernasWill travels to Lithuania where he gains a new ally in his search for Hannibal Lecter while Jack Crawford makes his way to Italy with some searching of his own
- DirectorGuillermo NavarroStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasA totem pole of human bodies ranging from freshly killed to decades old are found on a beach and while Graham is investigating the crime scene, he suddenly finds himself in Lecter's office, three and a half hours away, with no recollection of how he got there. Lecter theorizes that Graham's mind is trying to escape from having to investigate such brutal murders.
- DirectorDavid SladeStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasThe head of the FBI Behavioral Science unit, Jack Crawford, calls on profiler Will Graham to assist them catch a serial killer. The killer has now kidnapped eight women, all similar in appearance and always on a Friday. His most recent victim is Elise Nichols. Graham has been teaching at the FBI academy and isn't too keen on going out into the field. He is particularly empathetic and has a tendency to get far too involved in these types of cases. Crawford arranges for a well-known psychiatrist, Hannibal Lecter, to work with him and ease the stress. It seems Lecter has his own plans for Will.
- DirectorMichael RymerStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasWill and Jack hunt a killer who is burying his victims alive, so they will become fertilizer for his garden of fungus. While the tabloid journalist Freddie sets targets in on Will.
- DirectorDavid SladeStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasDetermined to give Abigail closure, Will and Hannibal take Abigail back to the scene of her father's crimes. But things take a turn for the worse when the copycat killer strikes again.
- DirectorGuillermo NavarroStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasA murdered couple is found in a motel room, posed in praying positions with the flesh of their backs opened and strung to the ceiling to give them the appearance of wings. Using hairs collected from the motel pillow, the BAU team discover several medications used to treat brain tumors in the killer's bloodstream. Graham surmises that the killer is transforming his victims into guardian angels to watch over him because he is afraid of dying in his sleep.
- DirectorGuillermo NavarroStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasThe FBI enlists the help of Dr. Fredrick Chilton in hope of drawing Francis Dolarhyde into an ambush; Will's empathy for Dolarhyde impacts his psyche.
- DirectorMichael RymerStarsMads MikkelsenHugh DancyCaroline DhavernasWith a full moon approaching, Jack and Will are certain that Francis Dolarhyde will strike again but they lack a solid lead; Alana gives Hannibal a chance for redemption.
- DirectorGuillermo NavarroStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasCarvings symbolizing the Great Red Dragon are retrieved from crime scenes, casting light on Francis Dolarhyde's warped psyche. Meanwhile, both Dolarhyde and Will seek the wisdom of Hannibal Lecter.
- 2013–201544mTV-148.3 (4.4K)TV EpisodeDirectorJohn DahlStarsMads MikkelsenHugh DancyCaroline DhavernasThe search for serial killer Francis Dolarhyde heats up as Will delves into dangerous territory. He envisions himself in Dolarhyde's psyche and contacts Hannibal Lecter for help in profiling the killer.
- DirectorMichael RymerStarsMads MikkelsenHugh DancyCaroline DhavernasWill hatches a cunning plot to slay Francis Dolarhyde, using Hannibal Lecter in his ploy. Bedelia voices concern about the perilous plan as Will continues his game with Hannibal, though Will may have to face his darkest fears.
- DirectorNeil MarshallStarsMads MikkelsenHugh DancyCaroline DhavernasHannibal has been imprisoned for three years at the Baltimore State Hospital when a new villain emerges in one Francis Dolarhyde. Jack reaches out to Will to help him track down the brutal serial killer.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasA series of family murders takes place, and Will determines they were conducted by each of the families' missing children, who were abducted and brainwashed into killing their old families for their "new family." Against Alana's advice, Hannibal checks Abigail out of the hospital for some frightening psychiatric practices that ultimately align her loyalty with him.
- DirectorJohn DahlStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasBeth LeBeau is found murdered, having drowned in her own blood as a result of her face being cut into a Glasgow smile. Graham's mental state continues to sharply decline; he loses hours at a time and when a vivid hallucination causes Graham to contaminate the crime scene, Lecter refers him to a neurologist, an old residency colleague, Dr. Sutcliffe.
- DirectorTim HunterStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasWhile Will continues to assert his innocence, Hannibal and Jack try to come to terms with the fact that he's in jail; Kade Purnell visits Will.
- DirectorTim HunterStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasThe BAU team narrows in on the origin of the discarded bodies from the soupy crime scene, working to discover the killer's artful plan, while Will Graham begins an artful plan of his own from within the asylum.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasJack Crawford risks his job by going against the FBI's directives and revealing to the court that it was his hand that pushed Will to his limit.
- DirectorTim HunterStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasA city councilman's body is found intertwined with a tree; Jack crashes Hannibal's dinner party to investigate Will's suspicions; a revelation shocks everyone.
- DirectorMichael RymerStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasWill is released from Chilton's Asylum, while the discovery of Miriam Lass gives Jack new hope in finding the Chesapeake Ripper.
- DirectorDavid SladeStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasJack and team discover the truth of Freddie Lounds' disappearance. Hannibal shows Will how much Abigail reminded him of his sister.
- DirectorMichael RymerStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasDuring a therapy session, Will shares a vision of how he would kill Hannibal. Meanwhile, an increasingly impatient Jack brings in a surprise witness to help Will catch Hannibal.
- DirectorVincenzo NataliStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasWill assists the investigation into a woman's body found inside a horse, while Alana frets about Will's intentions toward Hannibal. With the clock ticking, Will and Hannibal race to protect a witness they believe to be in great peril.
- DirectorMichael RymerStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasThe BAU team look into the case of a truck driver's body that appears to have been torn apart by two different animal species. Will meets Hannibal's strange new patient after one of his sessions. Determined to find Will's true self, Hannibal devises a test but the results surprise him.
- DirectorVincenzo NataliStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasWill's willingness to go to dark places strengthens his bond with Hannibal -- and garners Jack's attention; Hannibal gives Margot advice about her brother's violent nature.
- DirectorDavid SladeStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasJack devises a plan to apprehend Hannibal, while Hannibal prepares for his departure. Will makes his decision, and it results in devastating consequences.