NBC’s ‘Hannibal’ season 3 spoilers: The meaning (and story) of ‘Aperitivo’

The third season of “Hannibal” is underway, and there is clearly quite a bit to look forward to. We’ve already had a chance to see Hannibal Lecter and Bedelia du Maurier, and next week marks our first appearance of the season for Will Graham.

But what about Frederick Chilton? We have to admit that when we saw Raul Esparza at Comic-Con last year promoting the show, we were very much surprised because of what happened the last time his character was onscreen (i.e. he looked as dead as dead can be). Luckily for us, he is somehow still alive; however, this may not necessarily be the best thing possible for Will, given that he could potentially go to some pretty crazy lengths in order to ensure that his mission of stopping Dr. Lecter is accomplished.

What we have for you below is the official NBC description of “Apertivo,” which for those curious is a traditional Italian drink that often is done before a meal to stimulate an appetite. In some ways, the cruel American version could be Happy Hour. This is the fourth episode of the season, and it will air on Thursday, 25:

“After surviving a disfiguring gunshot, Dr. Fredrick Chilton (guest star Raúl Esparza) is now focused on rallying support to capture Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen), using Will (Hugh Dancy) as bait. Jack (Laurence Fishburne) is distracted by Bella’s (guest star Gina Torres) failing health, but he implores Will to abandon the risky idea of finding Hannibal. Meanwhile, Alana Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas) entertains a different approach, potentially partnering with Mason Verger (guest star Joe Anderson) to utilize his vast resources.”

This episode will be a great test of Joe Anderson as the new Verger, as this is one of the major shifts this season. Michael Pitt played the famous part for a handful of episodes last season, but later opted to depart the series.

To see some other news on what could lie ahead on “Hannibal,” be sure to head over to the link here! Also, you can sign up here to gather up some other TV news on everything we cover, sent right in your direction via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: NBC.)