‘Hannibal’ season 3, episode 8 spoilers: Richard Armitage on the Tooth Fairy, Lecter, and more
Saturday’s episode of “Hannibal” is one that many have been looking forward to seeing: “The Great Red Dragon.” The next six episodes are one large arc focusing on this particular part of the Thomas Harris book series, and the character of Francis Dolarhyde a.k.a. the Tooth Fairy is one of the most frightening and nefarious foes we have met yet within this world. He’s right up there with Hannibal Lecter himself.
While Lecter is behind bars and not able to communicate directly with Francis as he commits his unspeakable acts against families, is there still some sort of almost ethereal connection between the two? This is something that Richard Armitage discusses to a certain extent in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter previewing his arc on the show:
“Hannibal is probably Dolarhyde’s idol, he’s studied him in the newspapers, he’s somebody that he aspires to be, and there’s a kind of mentor factor to it and a competitiveness. But I see when they meet in the imaginary world that Fuller creates, there is a sense of a boy in therapy with Hannibal and he really is looking to him for salvation. I see it become a sort of tug of war between Will and Hannibal. Will is trying to save Dolarhyde from a terrible fate, Hannibal is really pushing him toward the edge to get him to kill again and really using Dolarhyde as a tool against Will. He sort of becomes a pawn in between these two players.”
What will be unfortunate about Francis showing up to Will, beyond the unspeakable things he has done, is that it brings Hugh Dancy’s character back into this world. To a certain extent, Will Graham had actually started to move on to a certain extent from the pain and sorrow caused by Lecter and was starting to get down another path. This presence, and this level of blood and anguish, could fundamentally alter that.
If you are interested in receiving some other news when it comes to this “Hannibal” episode ahead, head over here to watch a preview. Also, you can sign up here if you want to get some other TV updates on everything we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: NBC.)