User Reviews

Thursday saw the premiere episode of NBC's new series, Hannibal. Directed by Bryan Fuller, based on the novels by Thomas Harris and following in the footsteps of filmic adaptations such as Manhunter and The Silence of the Lambs, we are now treated to a televisual adaptation. A prequel, one in which we see the delights of Dr. Hannibal Lecter before his trip to Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. We see him as a psychiatrist (... with a very nice office), a 'friend' to Will Graham (a relationship that inevitably turns sour) and we see him eat... a lot. I will tell you now, it is nice to have such a worryingly charming cannibalistic psychopath back on our screens.

The first episode begins straight in the middle of a crime scene, introducing us to Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), an FBI criminal profiler. A man whom, we instantly become aware, has a mental ability to remove himself from the crime scene and into the shoes of the killer. This dark transition of empathy frequently haunts Will (symptoms include a profuse amount of sweating) and is no doubt responsible for his socially awkward sensibility. Unfortunately or not for him, it also means he is highly sought after in order to aid a new FBI investigation, one in which eight girls have gone missing. Will is recruited by Special Agent Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) in the hope that his special skills will help solve the case. His struggle to create a profile for the suspected "sensitive psychopath" causes Special Agent Crawford to hire forensic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen). As the episode develops, Dr. Lecter's interest in the case and Will becomes increasingly evident, so too does his penchant for eating human organs. Lungs anyone?

The first thing to say about this episode, and hopefully the rest of the series, is how wonderfully stylistic it is. In particular, the cinematography during Will's frequent transgressions into psychopathic territory is a wonderful platform to showcase technical flair and gory imagery. It immerses us deep into the dark realms of human psychosis, consistently effective with sequences short and intermittent.

It is also great to see that there is no hanging around plot-wise. We have skipped the starter and headed straight for the main course. No time is taken in hiding the fact that Dr. Lecter is a cannibalistic killer. Conversely, it's flaunted. Preparing human lungs then frying them in a pan? You cannot get more obvious than that. Dr. Lecter and Will's relationship is also swiftly interjected. A wonderful sequence in which both converse over breakfast (including questionable sausage) is a nice taster to their relationship dynamic, one of psychological evaluation and latent commonalities. I look forward to its progression.

Hugh Dancy performs well as Will, cleverly contrasting awkward social outcast and empathetic killer. Mads Mikkelsen lives up to expectations as Dr. Lecter, providing that sheer magnetism required. Laurence Fishburne is well... Laurence Fishburne. Always a joy to watch.

All in all a thoroughly enjoyable first episode, teasing my appetite for what will hopefully be deliciously thrilling entertainment.

A fantastic premiere. It manages to introduce and develop its characters and plot to such a great extent, which is an impressive feat for a 40-minute premiere featuring several deep characters.

The very first scene is one that you remember for a long time even after the series' end. It ensures that, from the first moment, you know this isn't an ordinary crime procedural. The intense, dischordant music starts at once and our first sight of the protagonist is of him experiencing his perfect empathy. The weirdness of blood travelling in reverse, Will walking backwards from the house, making all the police around him go away in his mind, seeing the house as it was before the murder, and killing the victims in his mind. It immediately lets you know: this is not your standard network fare.

Will's unique mind is a fascinating focus here, and how various characters use it. It's wrong to say that Jack doesn't care about Will's state of mind, but he definitely sees things in a more utilitarian way than Alana Bloom. If Will's fragile state of mind is put at risk in catching the killer before he kills anyone else, then so be it. Hannibal's relationship with Will is the most fascinating part. On the surface, the most obvious reason why Hannibal is eager to become Will's psychiatrist is so he can manipulate him away from any evidence pointing towards him. But of course it goes far deeper than that. He is interested in Will's empathy, as put simply it means he can see things the way Hannibal does. Will's empathy is also a source of humour at times, when he almost acts like he *is* the killer, even getting passionate about the fact that the killer wants his victims to suffer as little as possible.

Atmosphere is set perfectly. The scene in which Will realises that Abigail is still in her room is incredibly creepy, from the realisation that she is there to the sight of her body to the moment of brutal intensity when he imagines strangling her. Will's surreal visions are also effective.

Hannibal's desires with key role are a key factor in some of the plot twists. We have Will denying he is anything alike Hannibal but Hannibal saying they are very much alike. A similarity is definitely reflected in the final shot: they both care deeply about Abigail. Hannibal already intervening in ways that don't have a simple explanation. Killing the girl in such a savage way and leaving her body in plain sight was his first true assessment of Will. How would he react? But I guess it was also an attempt to influence Will, to use his perfect empathy to show him the attractiveness of killing. To show him how killing can be elevated to be a form of art. His phone call to Garret Jacob Hobbs is an even more complex intervention. Did it have something to do with where he wanted Abigail? Or Will? Or both? He definitely wanted Will in the line of fire, to experience violence firsthand. That much is obvious by how he lays back and lets Will walk into the danger. The climactic scene is intense and almost hyper realistic, Hugh Dancy wonderfully acting Will's shock.

This premiere incredibly manages to both have a fantastic "killer-of-the-episode" as well as convincingly introduce Hannibal as the main antagonist of the series. Both he and Garrett Jacob Hobbs are fascinating characters explored to much depth.

I have watched the first two seasons of Hannibal before a while ago. Now I'm going back and re-watching them more intently and trying to write a review for each episode.

This is a great pilot episode. I usually don't like the Pilot of a promising series (with rare exceptions like West Wing, Game of Thrones, Walking Dead, Arrow, and Lost) because they have to put in so much data in a short amount of time. However, this episode seems to fall into the 'rare exception' folder.

From the moment it begins, this episode's level of disturbing intensity is off-the-charts with Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) describing a bloody home invasion to a class involving a mysterious assailant. Then it goes even darker and disturbing. What's interesting is that it doesn't bring in the titular character of Dr. Lecter at first, but focuses on the missing girls investigation and who is investigating the potential murders. Besides Will Graham, we meet Jack Crawford, Dr. Alana Bloom, the investigation team of forensic people working for Crawford, and finally we meet the Bad Doctor himself with a perfect build-up.

When I first watched this episode back in 2013, I was a little confused at first with Will's odd 'mind-palace' like trick where he mentally reconstructs and acts out the crime in his head, much like Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes on the BBC. Ironically, I had to watch 'Sherlock' to understand what Will was doing with his mind, since no one really explains what Will's technique is other than Hannibal saying its 'pure empathy'.

Another thing I found interesting about this episode is Hannibal. I've Anthony Hopkins as the captive Hannibal and the fugitive Hannibal, but never have I seen Hannibal as a civilian before his arrest. Nobody seems to have a clue, and he is so exceptional at hiding his tracks. Mads Mikkelsen is not just sexy as Hannibal, but he seems to elevate the character to a different level than Hopkins was able to get. Not that Hopkins wasn't great, but I think Mads is the definitive Hannibal.

Despite the show being pretty gory, this episode seems a bit tame. It's more like a Christopher Nolan production, where he cuts away just as the gory parts happen. True, the Autopsy sequence of Elise Nichols is a little gruesome, especially when you find out the motive of the Minnesota Shrike, but nowhere near as gross as a typical autopsy scene on Bones or CSI.

Great start to a Great Show!

My Reaction / Review for Hannibal Season 1 Episode 1: Ive watched the entire show but this time im gonna review every episode, im excited. Will is a SCI and a very good one. He found a sweet doggo, so cute. Wow, he has so many dogs. Both Will and Jack are interesting characters. Dr Lecter also seems to be a very interesting and complex character. So far this is pretty good for a first episode. I love that they ask for Lecters help to find the guy who eats people, the irony. Oh boy he gave meat to Will and he is eating it, disgusting. Lecter framed this guy, that's cool but what did Lecter mean when he said to him on the phone ''they know''? Great episode and great way to start the season. My rating is 8.5/10.

This Episode begins with a man and a woman, they have been killed at their house. Will arrived at the crime scene. Jack wants Will his helo for a police case. Will found back Elise in her room, she died. Hannibal eats his diner. Hannibal has a psychological session with Franklin. Jack has a conversation with Hannibal. Another dead woman had been found. Hannibal baked Elise her lungs, he also ate it. Will and Hannibal eat breakfast together. Jacob killed his wife. Will killed Jacob. Amazing Episode of Hannibal Season 1, such a great beginning. I watched the movies of the Hannibal Franchise, but this begins so good!

Didn't thought I would rewatch this so fast but I have to. Almost like an addiction to watch this wonderful crafted masterpiece. Talking about masterpieces this first episode is even better after you watched the show. To see the dynamic between Will and Hannibal now in this first episode is very different knowing what's about to happen. Besides that this episode is so good because so much builds up from this. Will killing Hobbs, the character of Abigail playing an important role in the life of Hannibal and especially Will and very good character introductions with Jack and Alana. That makes this a 10/10 pilot and episode.